5 DECADES OF HITS
VA - Decades, The Ultimate Collection [2020] (5 x CD's)
This set summarises the music of each decade from the 1950's to the 1990's - one per CD! The 1950's CD delves into classic rock'n'roll (Everly Brothers, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates), rhythm & blues (Ray Charles, The Coasters), and pop (Bobby Darin, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers). CD2 covers the 1960's and the remarkable breadth that the decade produced - from The Monkees to Marmalade, from Sam & Dave to Sonny & Cher, and The Drifters to The Searchers. The 1970's are captured on the third disc: be it disco favourites (You Sexy Thing, Young Hearts Run Free), glam rock (Tiger Feet, Ballroom Blitz), reggae (Everything I Own, Uptown Top Ranking), or joyous pop (Hooked On A Feeling, Love Is In The Air) - it's all there. CD4 features the 1980's and huge hits by Rick Astley, Duran Duran, a-ha, Kylie Minogue, Madness and Tina Turner, whilst the final disc rounds off the collection with the 1990's: Groove Is In The Heart, Love Shack, Return Of The Mack, and Rhythm Is A Dancer are just the tip of the iceberg. With 100 tracks across five discs and five decades, this is the best of the best. (Amazon)
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Track lists
CD1 50's
01 Ritchie Valens La Bamba 2:07
02 Ray Charles What'd I Say 3:10
03 Coasters Yakety Yak 1:50
04 Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers Why Do Fools Fall In Love? 2:18
05 Everly Brothers Wake Up Little Susie 2:00
06 Cliff Richard Move It 2:22
07 Johnny Kidd & The Pirates Please Don't Touch 1:52
08 Emile Ford & The Checkmates What Do You Want To Make Them Eyes At Me For? 2:04
09 Bobby Darin Dream Lover 2:31
10 Craig Douglas A Teenager In Love 2:17
11 Jimmie Rodgers Kisses Sweeter Than Wine 2:20
12 Chordettes Lollipop 2:09
13 Adam Faith What Do You Want? 1:37
14 Michael Holliday The Story Of My Life 2:14
15 Petula Clark With All My Heart 2:35
16 Alma Cogan The Birds And The Bees 2:15
17 David Macbeth Mr Blue 2:40
18 Joe 'Mr Piano' Henderson Trudie 1:57
19 Chris Barber & His Jazz Band & Monty Sunshine Petite Fleur 2:44
20 Lonnie Donegan Cumberland Gap 1:57
CD2 60's
01 Monkees I'm A Believer 2:46
02 Love Affair Everlasting Love 3:02
03 Foundations Baby, Now That I Found You 2:36
04 Tommy James & The Shondells Mony Mony 2:48
05 Sam & Dave Soul Man 2:35
06 Wilson Pickett Mustang Sally 3:06
07 Booker T. & The MG's Green Onions 2:53
08 Bob & Earl Harlem Shuffle 2:45
09 Drifters Come On Over To My Place 2:27
10 Little Eve The Locomotion 2:17
11 Marcels Blue Moon 2:15
12 Searchers Sweets For My Sweet 2:27
13 Easybeats Friday On My Mind 2:42
14 Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers Got To Get You Into My Life 2:35
15 Marmalade Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da 3:01
16 Petula Clark Downtown 3:04
17 Sonny & Cher The Beat Goes On 3:26
18 Joe Brown & The Bruvvers A Picture Of You 2:20
19 Jimmy James & The Vagabonds Red Red Wine 2:54
20 Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen Midnight In Moscow 2:58
CD3 70's
01 Chic Good Times 3:41
02 KC & The Sunshine Band That's the Way I Like It 3:02
03 Candi Staton Young Hearts Run Free 4:09
04 Hot Chocolate You Sexy Thing 3:59
05 Real Thing You To Me Are Everything 3:28
06 Sister Sledge We Are Family 3:20
07 Amii Stewart Knock On Wood 3:44
08 Sugarhill Gang Rapper's Delight 3:59
09 M Pop Muzik 4:54
10 John Paul Young Love Is In The Air 3:27
11 George McCrae Rock You Baby 3:19
12 Ace How Long 3:20
13 Gilbert O'Sullivan Get Down 2:38
14 Blue Swede Hooked On A Feeling 2:52
15 Mud Tiger Feet 3:49
16 Sweet The Ballroom Blitz 4:01
17 Nicky Thomas Love Of The Common People 2:17
18 Althea & Donna Uptown Top Ranking 3:53
19 Ken Boothe Everything I Own 3:09
20 Lindisfarne Run For Home 4:16
CD4 80's
01 Rick Astley Never Gonna Give You Up 3:33
02 A-Ha Take On Me 3:46
03 Nena 99 Red Balloons 3:49
04 Duran Duran The Reflex 4:24
05 Chaka Khan I Feel For You 4:10
06 Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel White Lines (Don't Do It) 4:27
07 Nu Shooz I Can't Wait 3:40
08 Shalamar A Night To Remember 5:06
09 Nick Kamen Each Time You Break My Heart 4:27
10 Crown Heights Affair You Gave Me Love 3:36
11 Coldcut Feat. Lisa Stansfield People Hold On 3:57
12 Whispers And The Beat Goes On 3:25
13 Kelly Marie Feels Like I'm In Love 3:17
14 Kylie Minogue I Should Be So Lucky 3:24
15 Jason Donovan Too Many Broken Hearts 3:25
16 Tina Turner The Best 4:09
17 John Parr St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) 4:08
18 Madness Our House 3:10
19 Shakin' Stevens This Ole House 3:05
20 Bucks Fizz Making Your Mind Up 2:37
CD5 90's
01 Cher Believe 3:55
02 Ultra Nate Free 3:51
03 Deee-Lite Groove Is In The Heart 3:52
04 B-52's Love Shack 4:20
05 Moloko Sing It Back 4:37
06 K-Klass Rhythm Is A Mystery 3:25
07 Snap! Rhythm Is A Dancer 3:40
08 Dr. Alban It's My Life 4:00
09 Gina G Ooh Ahh... Just A Little Bit 3:22
10 Eternal Feat. Bebe Winans I Wanna Be The Only One 3:34
11 Cleopatra Cleopatra's Theme 3:49
12 Kim Appleby Don't Worry 3:29
13 Lonnie Gordan Happenin' All Over Again 3:21
14 West End Feat. Sybil The Love I Lost 3:25
15 Kylie Minogue Give Me A Little More Time 3:07
16 Kym Sims Too Blind To See It 3:27
17 Mark Morrison Return Of The Mack 3:31
18 Bob Marley Versus Funkstar Deluxe Sun Is Shining 3:54
19 Farm Groovy Train 4:08
20 Terrorvision Tequila (Mint Royale Shot) 4:07
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Not having listened yet but just looking over the track lists.. this is a very weird collection. That someone even decided to try and represent a decades worth of music in 20 songs is crazy to attempt. Who knows, maybe they were not even trying and just picked a bunch of easily licensed songs at random. Once you get past all that what we have here is 100 songs spread across 5 decades. One of the nice and truly great things about any compilation is diversity and if you find just one or two songs you're really interested in, that can make the whole thing worth it. There IS good stuff.. for me, it's great to find Kenny Ball's rousing "Midnight In Moscow", and a B-52 dance tune where "you see faded sign by the side of the rode that says 15 miles to the" Love Shack, Bay-Bee! Weird and Fun.
ReplyDeleteHi mrRadion,
DeleteIt is impossible to compress 5 decades of tunes into a list of 100 songs. It is even more impossible to say any track was the best of twenty in any given decade. We all have different ears. Track lists that are based on sales and or chart positions are easier to identify but this being the ultimate collection is quite laughable. Then there is the genres representation which could be much broader. There are definitely some big hits in this lot. Even the write up finds difficulty in appraising this set. Nonetheless there are many great tracks in each of the decades. and it is an enjoyable listen. Strange and weird compilation indeed.
Cheers.
merci :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, g8rrick.
DeleteCheers.
nice thank you Butterboy
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Aussie.
DeleteCheers.
What is sure with this kind of compilations is that it gives me ideas to send you my own compilations of those mid 50's, 60's or 70's when people bought a lot of singles, and even (for me) the songs released in France at that time, very interesting for me, I mean the many hits. Anyway, (strange or weird) I take those.
ReplyDeleteThanks Butterboy. Patrick
Hi Burmapat/Patrick,
DeleteStrange or weird, but still good.
I would like to to see your take on the Ultimate Decades... it would make a great entry into the MY COMPILATION offerings.
Cheers.
This looks like such a goofy collection, but fun at the same time - thanks, I look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteHi Gummo,
DeleteWe all like a little weird from time to time... which is often good.
Cheers.
Hi Butterboy,
ReplyDeleteAlthough most songs are known, in comps of this kind there is always a few ones that surprises you!
Thanks a lot
Very true,Il Commendatore.
DeleteEnjoy.
Cheers.