Best of Bowie

Posted at 8:23 am on Thursday, October 11, 2007, in Uncategorized, and tagged beatles, music.

I have never been a major fan of greatest hits albums, or best of’s, or whatever, at least in general. When I was discovering the music of the Beatles in high school, I didn’t go out and get the red and blue albums. Instead, I purchased the white album. And Abbey Road. And Revolver, Rubber Soul, Magical Mystery Tour, Sgt. Pepper, Help!, Let It Be. I think you get the point.

Albums were made to be listened to. At least back in the day. Nowadays, however, the single, and maybe the B-side, are the main product, not an entire album, which may be a good thing in the case of disastrous sideshows like Britney Spears, etc. (By the way, wouldn’t it be great if, over time, Ms. Spears became the next Shirley Temple, an ambassador of good will. Only time will tell.)

My album philosophy does have its drawbacks, however. I do own several horrible albums, like Loggins & Messina and Traffic, as a result. If I could have only purchased a single song or two, instead of the entire album, I would have been better off. With the advent of the iTunes music store, and other similar outlets, it has become even more of a pain to buy entire albums, especially if only one or two songs interest you. But that is where the greatest hits albums come in to play. In the digital age, albums suffer and greatest hits compilations prosper.

Last night I downloaded David Bowie’s most recent greatest hits album, Best of Bowie. It is ri-fuckin-diculous. Bowie has to be considered the most underrated songwriter and performer of the last fifty years. The album is terrific, up and down. Trust me, it is plenty worth it to download the entire album. (Now, if the Beatles catalog can finally be added to the iTunes catalog, I can download Beatles For Sale, and I can consider my Beatles library complete.)

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