Putting together a greatest hits compilation can be a dicey proposition. Things
get even tougher when the band in question has a fantastic debut that they are
never able to subsequently match. Throw in the fact that the band usually sounds
better live than they do in the studio and it can make putting together a
definitive collection next to impossible. This is the situation that the Violent
Femmes were in when compiling their most recent greatest hits attempt, Permanent
Record: The Very Best of the Violent Femmes. While all the hits are accounted
for, fans will argue with the decision to leave a few cult favorites off the
disc.
In truth, the Violent Femmes only have five “hits” – in this case, songs most
casual fans would recognize – “Blister In The Sun,” “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up,”
“Gone Daddy Gone” and “American Music.” Two other songs – “Nightmares” and
“Breakin’ Up” – apparently charted, but I hadn’t heard them before hearing them
on this disc. After that, it’s up to the band to compile a list of songs to fill
out the disc. The problem is that each fan is going to have their own favorites
depending on when they discovered the group and how deep their fanaticism runs.
For instance, several songs from the band’s debut were left off – most
noticeably “Please Do Not Go” and “Prove My Love,” which are both very solid,
deserving tunes. The collection does provide a few pleasant surprises - the
biggest being how easily “I Held Her in My Arms” wormed its way into my brain
and, subsequently, into my music collection. What’s even more surprising is that
it accomplished this feat while featuring a saxophone solo – and I hate
saxophone solos. There are only two live tracks on the disc: the fan favorite
“Country Death Song” and the quasi-beautiful “Good Feeling.” The band sounds so
good in concert that it’s a shame that they don’t just release the best live
versions of these songs instead of forcing their fans to cobble their own
collection together.
Outside of leaving off the two aforementioned tracks from their debut, it’s hard
for a casual fan to quibble with the studio versions that were chosen. It would
be nice to have live versions of the five hits along with “I Held Her in My
Arms” to round out the collection. Now that we’re in the era of digital music,
fans might be better off picking and choosing their own favorites. In the end,
all of the group’s best songs are there and most of the better ones, so it’s not
a bad collection for those that don’t want to put in the time to make their
own.
~John Paulsen
jpaulsen@bullz-eye.com
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