In my never-ending quest to organize my music CDs, I came across these Entertainment Weekly compilations from 2000. I have no idea how EW determined their choices of The Greatest Hits but here we have a wide range of music from the late Eighties. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B (for all three CDs)
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | R.E.M.– | The One I Love | 3:19 |
| 2 | The Grateful Dead– | Touch Of Grey | 4:32 |
| 3 | Starship (2)– | Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now | 4:31 |
| 4 | Whitesnake– | Here I Go Again | 4:36 |
| 5 | Crowded House– | Don’t Dream It’s Over | 3:55 |
| 6 | T’Pau– | Heart And Soul | 4:03 |
| 7 | Aretha Franklin & George Michael– | I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) | 4:02 |
| 8 | Gregory Abbott– | Shake You Down | 4:06 |
| 9 | Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam– | Lost In Emotion | 5:09 |
| 10 | Debbie Gibson– | Shake Your Love | 3:44 |
| 11 | Samantha Fox– | Touch Me (I Want Your Body) | 3:43 |
| 12 | Richard Marx– | Should’ve Known Better | 4:05 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | New Kids On The Block– | You Got It (The Right Stuff) Written-By – Maurice Starr Written-By – Maurice Starr | 4:14 |
| 2 | Taylor Dayne– | Tell It To My Heart Written-By – Ernie Gold, Seth SwirskyWritten-By – Ernie Gold, Seth Swirsky | 3:40 |
| 3 | Eric Carmen– | Make Me Lose Control Written-By – Dean Pitchford, Eric CarmenWritten-By – Dean Pitchford, Eric Carmen | 4:47 |
| 4 | Rick Astley– | Together Forever Written-By – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*Written-By – Stock/Aitken/Waterman* | 3:26 |
| 5 | INXS– | Need You Tonight Written-By – Farriss*, Hutchence*Written-By – Farriss*, Hutchence* | 3:04 |
| 6 | Terence Trent D’Arby– | Wishing Well Written-By – Sean Oliver, Terence Trent D’ArbyWritten-By – Sean Oliver, Terence Trent D’Arby | 3:33 |
| 7 | Billy Ocean– | Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car Written-By – B.Ocean*, R.J.Lange*Written-By – B.Ocean*, R.J.Lange* | 4:45 |
| 8 | D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince*– | Parents Just Don’t UnderstandWritten-By – J.Townes*, P.Harris*, W.Smith*Written-By – J.Townes*, P.Harris*, W.Smith* | 5:14 |
| 9 | Al B. Sure!– | Nite And DayWritten-By – Sure*, West*Written-By – Sure*, West* | 4:05 |
| 10 | Exposé– | Seasons ChangeWritten-By – Lewis A. Martinee*Written-By – Lewis A. Martinee* | 4:17 |
| 11 | Boy Meets Girl– | Waiting For A Star To FallWritten-By – George Merrill, Shannon RubicamWritten-By – George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam | 4:33 |
| 12 | Bobby McFerrin– | Don’t Worry Be HappyWritten-By – McFerrin*Written-By – McFerrin* | 4:50 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Soul II Soul– | Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) | 3:42 |
| 2 | Fine Young Cannibals– | She Drives Me Crazy | 3:38 |
| 3 | Young MC– | Bust A Move | 4:26 |
| 4 | Tone Loc– | Funky Cold Medina | 4:10 |
| 5 | Kiss | The Art Of Noise–Lead Vocals – Tom Jones Lead Vocals – Tom Jones | 3:32 |
| 6 | The Jeff Healey Band– | Angel Eyes | 4:23 |
| 7 | Warrant– | Heaven | 3:57 |
| 8 | Michael Damian– | Rock On | 3:23 |
| 9 | Love And Rockets– | So Alive | 4:14 |
| 10 | Mike & The Mechanics– | The Living Years | 5:30 |
| 11 | Martika– | Toy Soldiers | 4:47 |
| 12 | Richard Marx– | Right Here Waiting | 4:25 |
A few good ones here amongst the dross: “The One I Love” (definitely NOT a love song when you listen to the lyrics); “Don’t Dream It’s Over”; “Tell It to My Heart”; “Wishing Well” (if you ever want to fall down an internet rabbit hole, start reading about what happened to Terrence Trent D’Arby); and “She Drives Me Crazy”. As with most of these musical compilation CDs, you get the feeling choices were driven mostly by what song rights were available as opposed to any sort of cohesive theme or selection process.
Deb, I’m always leery when I see claims of “The Greatest Hits” on these compilation CDs. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKly morphed into ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT on TV. I think they sponsored a concert series, too.
The magazine still limps along, I think.
The first cd has a few good bands-Grateful Dead, REM, Crowded House- but the rest of these are pretty lame. Top 40 radio at this time was pretty bad. Debbie Gibson, Whitesnake, Richard Marx (twice), Warrant, Rick Astley, NKOTB. And the every odious Don’t Worry, Be Happy. D-.
Steve, I agree that the 1987 CD is better than the 1988 and 1989. I wonder who picked the songs for these compilations…
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was simply BILLBOARD–whether in single sales or airplay.
About 4 good cuts here-REM, Grateful Dead, Crowded House, Fine Young Cannibals. Top 40 radio had pretty much turned to crap by this time. Warrant, Whitesnake, NKOTB, Debbie Gibson, Rick Astley, Eric Carman, Richard Marx (2), and the odious Don’t Worry, Be Happy. D-
Odd. I tried to post and it wouldn’t let me. So I rewrote the post. Than the first one showed up.
Steve, for some reason WORDPRESS has had a “lag” before comments show up on the blog. Todd Mason has encountered this annoyance frequently. Patrick will be home in a couple of weeks and I’ll have him take a look at the lag problem.
Surprisingly awful given the EW imprimatur. I can’t come up with anything Deb and Steve haven’t already mentioned, REM and Crowded House. Much as I love “Don’t Dream It’s Over” I’m struggling to think of anything else by Crowded House. And I never liked the Grateful Dead.
Michael, I’m with you on the Grateful Dead. But they certainly had loyal fans. A College colleague was a Dead Head and went to more than 50 of their concerts.
My brother probably went to 200 or more. He hung out at one with John Belushi. We went with him a couple of times. I do like the Dead’s WORKINGMAN DEAD and AMERICAN BEAUTY albums, and a few of their other songs – but not this one.
Jeff, every time the Dead came to Western NY for a concert, the turnout was tremendous.
Probably not telling you anything you don’t already know, but Crowded House was originally Split Enz, a New Zealand band who had a couple of hits in the States, including “I Got You” and “Six Months in A Leaky Boat.” The group morphed into Crowded House and they had a few hits in the U.S., with “Don’t Dream It’s Over” being the biggest. They were huge in Australia & New Zealand and quite popular in the U.K., but that success didn’t follow them to America. I do recommend their Greatest Hits CD which features some good music, especially “Something So Strong,” “Fall at Your Feet,” and “Weather with You.” One of the members was once married to actress Greta Scacchi, but I think that’s long in the rear view mirror.
Deb, I’ve always thought of CROWDED HOUSE as a one-hit wonder group. Next time I run across their GREATEST HITS CD, I’ll buy it. Some of our local Libraries are planning for Library Book Sales in June. There are usually hundreds of music CDs on sale for a pittance.
Last I looked, Scacchi was still married to her first cousin; they had a kid. Perhaps not as risky as folklore would have it, but still a bit royal bloodlines for my sense of risk.
According to Wikipedia, Scacchi had a daughter with Vincent D’Onofrio who is now married to Sean Penn. The daughter (Leila George) is 28. Penn is 60.
You are correct–and it’s a real pity how Penn keeps being treated as if he’s a good actor or a worthwhile husband (though the latter is only confident speculation).
It’s her son she had with her first cousin: from THE TELEGRAPH, but nonetheless…
Greta Scacchi on having a child with her cousin Carlo Mantegazza
AUSSIE actress speaks out about the decision to have a child with her cousin and how it almost tore her family apart.
Angella Johnson
DailyTelegraph
JULY 11, 20113:36PM
AUSSIE actress Greta Scacchi has talked openly about having a child with her cousin and of their love.
For several months, the secret relationship between Scacchi and Carlo Mantegazza had been her own private illicit thrill, MailOnline in the UK reports.
But having reached the first trimester of her pregnancy, Scacchi who had moved with her family to Perth, Australia, in 1975, knew she had to tell about the baby and who the father was.
The explosion, especially from the Italian branch of Scacchi’s family, was inevitable.
“My dad Luca was deeply offended and quite devastated. He was very angry,” Milan-born Scacchi said.
Several elderly uncles were equally outspoken in their condemnation, declaring the relationship with Mantegazza unacceptable and against the Catholic Church.
Even Scacchi’s then five-year-old daughter Leila, whose father is the Italian American actor and Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Vincent D’Onofrio, was furious – though her objections were more about having to share her mother’s affections for the first time.
More than a decade on and Greta says she still can’t believe some people continue to react negatively to the fact that she and Mantegazza, the father of her 12-year-old son Matteo, are first cousins (her father’s sister is Mantegazza’s mother).
“We were hounded by the media and a lot of nasty stuff has been written about me as a result,” she said. “But we’ve weathered the storm and are still together.”
The award-winning actress, whose smouldering looks in films such as Heat And Dust and White Mischief earned her the nickname “Scorchy Scacchi”, says the general reaction when the news first broke left her reeling.
In her frankest interview, the Emmy-winning star reveals that falling in love with her cousin and best friend almost tore her family apart. She admits even she was initially horrified to have romantic feelings for Mantegazza, who is three years older and worked for the family’s import-export textile business.
“It happened one night when he was visiting and it came as a complete shock.
“We were friends for a long time before we got together in 1997 and I had never seen him in that way before. I was definitely scandalised by it and worried about how to tell people – especially my family.
[etc.\
The ’80s are not my favorite decade in music by any means, but still better than what has followed. I know the ones previously mentioned. From the 1987, I’d definitely go with “The Dream is Over.” I hate the Starship song (though not as much as “We Built This City”). Wasn’t Samantha Fox’s claim to fame as a topless Page 3 model?
Some bad earworms on 1988 – Wishing Well, Don’t Worry (Be Happy) – the latter co-opted for George (Poppy) Bush’s election campaign. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Billy Ocean. 1989 there is actually a song I really like – “She Drives Me Crazy.”
Jeff, when it first came out, I remember playing “She Drives Me Crazy” for my Marketing class. No one (other than me) had heard of it. I did the same thing with Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” song when it was first released. One student told me, “Dr. Kelley, you sure how to pick’em!”
A load of crap in my humble opinion! You should be ashamed for having them in your house!
Bob, I had to listen to these three CDs before I could render an opinion. I’ll probably find a Good Home for them.
I never paid much attention to Crowded House, though I did like Don’t Dream It’s Over. With Neil Finn currently in Fleetwood Mac, I listened to his Essentials on Apple Music — which has Split Enz, Crowded House, solo songs, and ones with his brother — and was pleasantly surprised at how many I liked.
Entertainment Weekly the magazine had no connection at all to Entertainment Tonight on tv. I would have a complete collection of the magazine , which I have always loved, but I just didn’t want boxes and boxes of them, so I throw them out whenever I finish with them. (I have a box of unfinished ones.) Bill Crider said when each issue came in, he could read what he wanted in 20 minutes. Not me, I read every page, even stuff I don’t care about. It’s now a monthly, but keeps the Weekly name because that’s its brand.
Jeff, thanks for clearing up the ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (now monthly) and ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. We donate our magazines–THE ECONOMIST, THE NEW YORKER, BETTER HOMES & GARDENS, THE ATLANTIC, etc.–to our local public Library (sans our address). Days later, we see them in the permanent Library Book Sale in the Library Lobby. Like you, I don’t have room any more for boxes and boxes of magazines.
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT the tv series is much older than ENTERTAINMENT MONTHLY (as it should be).
Todd, thanks for that clarification. I’m not as aware of the entertainment world as you and Jeff Smith are.
I read you too fast! E. TONIGHT was the first sustained syndicated success of modern Paramount television, from its late ’70s debut, and it was one of the factors that led them to take the network leap again in the ’90s, after toying with the notion since the early ’70s, and UPN was born. (before the fusion into the CW). The early ’50s network, the one most notable for TIME FOR BEANY (the puppet show which won the Peabody and numbered Einstein among its fans), was the Paramount Television Network.
Not at all, George–and a memory failure for me, as ET the series actually began in ’81. The now-sundered Time/Life launched EW the magazine, actually weekly, in 1990.
Todd, my memory stumbles at times, too.