{"id":1998,"date":"2009-02-09T08:50:42","date_gmt":"2009-02-09T13:50:42","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2009-05-22T22:39:19","modified_gmt":"2009-05-22T22:39:19","slug":"compilations-that-don-t-suck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/compilations-that-don-t-suck\/","title":{"rendered":"Compilations That Don’t Suck"},"content":{"rendered":"

What makes a decent compilation album<\/strong>? By which I mean, a collection of tunes that is, well, more than just a collection of tunes. I have recently been reviewing Dark is the Night<\/a><\/i>, the latest of the Red Hot Organization’s fund-raising records. It’s a who’s who of the young, gifted, and groovy, including Bon Iver, Stuart Murdoch, Feist, Cat Power, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, and more. It’s a magic pudding<\/a> of an album, a cut-and-come-again collection. I am enjoying its parts but does it represent anything more? Is that what good, even great, compilations do? Or am I just looking at the moon through a keyhole?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n
A magic pudding<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By compilations I mean collections of more than one artist or band. <\/p>\n

I tread warily around reggae compilations from Studio One<\/strong>. When does a collection of rare “classics” become the scraping of the barrel? I am rarely curious enough or cashed up enough to fund out. And I run screaming from most tribute albums<\/strong>. Gram Parsons, The Smiths, The Go-Betweens, Serge Gainsbourg…I’m outta here. When is the whole greater than the sum of the parts, grasshopper? <\/p>\n

I have fond memories of the early Hal Wilner<\/strong> sorties Lost in the Stars<\/a><\/i> (a collection of songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil, and Stay Awake<\/a><\/i>, the music from Disney films. Highlights here include Los Lobos’ “I Wanna Be Just Like You” (from the Jungle Book<\/i>) and Bonnie Raitt, who I otherwise don’t go out of my way for caressing “Baby Mine” (from Dumbo<\/i>) into exquisite moods. The take out from these two records is that I come away with a greater appreciation of the idea being compiled. There may be one or two stinkers in there too, but I’m prepared to forgive in the name of eclecticism. There’s a Martin Hannett anthology, Zero<\/a><\/i>, that is an interesting tour of post-punk (Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Kitchens of Distinction) that I am not ashamed to own.<\/p>\n

What compilations have lasted longer than a fake tan?<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object>