ANTHOLOGY

I might as well share my opinion of this compilation album since I already covered all of its material during my City Boy retrospective. The main question is whether a newcomer should invest into a 70+ minute anthology or just go with the actual studio albums? My answer has always been the latter, since compilation albums rarely manage to capture an entire carrier, especially when we're talking about a versatile band like City Boy. Surprisingly, this is really not the biggest concern that I have with this so called Anthology album.

It's not even the fact that this album doesn't have a single track off the band's seventh and final record It's Personal, although the later re-releases have No Ordinary Life added in as a bonus track. Nor is it the irritating decision of not placing the tracks in their chronological order (or any other logical order, for that matter). No, my main concern comes from the idea that there's just too much average material here that really doesn't do much for me.

I can understand why you would include the title track off Heads Are Rolling or the band's first ever single, Hap-Ki-Do Kid, which was also performed during their first Top Of The Pops performance. But then there are forgettable tracks like Need A Little Loving and Surgery Hours (Doctor Doctor) that I doubt that even the biggest fans would consider even remotely essential to the band's repertoire. The worst thing about this is that excellent compositions had to be overlooked due to these poor choices. I'm talking about classics like Sunset Boulevard, The Violin, State Secrets - A Thriller, Bordello Night, Cigarettes and Domino, just to name a few!

What I'm basically saying here is that if you want to explore City Boy then start with their band-titled debut album and Dinner At The Ritz. If you're short on cash, then go for the double disc package that features the two albums, released in 1998 by Renaissance Records. There is really no reason to purchase this Anthology since this is far from a Best Of collection, which I'm sure is the reason why such an album title was not chosen for this modest compilation!

***** star songs: Shake My Head And Leave, (Moonlight) (4:26) Dinner At The Ritz (6:43) The Day The Earth Caught Fire (5:26)

**** star songs: 5-7-0-5 (3:13) I've Been Spun (3:24) Beth (2:45) Modern Love Affairs (3:31) She's Got Style (3:20) What A Night (3:02) Goodbye Blue Monday (5:01) New York Times (5:11) Young Men Gone West (4:06)

*** star songs: Heads Are Rolling (3:59) Hap-Ki-Do Kid (3:13) Bad For Business (3:34) Need A Little Loving (3:41) Surgery Hours (Doctor Doctor) (3:04) You're Leaving Me (3:59)