STREET LIFE: 20 GREAT HITS

I have no single opinion about song compilations. I think it's normal for some bands, like ZZ Top, Status Quo or AC/DC. These bands didn't change their style, weren't very diverse, didn't create concept albums, many of their recognized hits often rock the listeners no worse than the neighboring tracks on the album. Starting your first acquaintance with their music with such a compilation is ideal in my opinion.

It's completely different with bands like Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, ELP. How can you make a guide to their work if many of their outstanding compositions last more than 10-15 minutes? Theoretically, it's possible, but how will it work in practice? Such songs will be taken out of context, and this will not give a full understanding of the album and the creative period from which they were taken. It's the same as reading separate chapters of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. Or fragments of separate chapters.

A separate story with compilations like this. They focus on only one aspect: singles, hits and radio idols. It is impossible to get a full idea of ​​the band's work from such a collection. I have seen this for myself. About 30 years ago, I first heard Roxy Music from this CD. I barely perceived the first half. But the second half, starting with Dance Away, seemed to me the lightest, most sincere and most understandable from a musical point of view. Later, I was surprised to learn that Roxy Music is classified as progressive rock, although I did not notice any traces of progressive in either the first or second part. At that time, I was already familiar with the work of the classics of progressive rock, there was something to compare it with. Even later, I was finally able to get to know Roxy Music's work in more detail, listened to all their albums. I did not find any progressive either, although I was looking for it. But I noticed something else: at first, I did not perceive the songs that were not included in this collection and were new to me. I have listened to this collection many times and got used to it, got used to a certain sequence of songs. There was a time when I thought that Roxy Music was somewhere between rock and the Pet Shop Boys or Duran Duran. The second part of this collection and the lack of opportunity to listen to the group's work by albums are to blame. Fortunately, the mp3 format soon appeared, and I was able to listen to Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry and many others in their entirety. After several years, I finally realized how interesting and diverse the Roxy Music group is, how much their music differs on early and later albums. The collection does not convey this at all, concentrating only on time-tested and accessible to mass perception hits. This follows from its title. At least it is fair to consumers.

That's why I'm convinced that compilations are bad for bands like Roxy Music. Yes, they probably increase sales, but they also create a false impression of the music. Based on this, I think the 3-star rating for this compilation is well deserved. This disc is great to listen to in the car, on the beach, in solitude on a quiet evening. But you definitely shouldn't start learning Roxy Music's music with this disc.

By the way, in Ukraine you can still download the full discography of almost any band or artist from the Internet for free, and that's great.