The first 4 tracks are all excellent choices; "Kundalini Express" was an underground mega-hit up there with The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Dog End of a Day Gone By" is a wonderful inclusion that thankfully was not overlooked. That leads us to "Yin & Yang the Flower Pot Man", a decent song but not one of the better ones on "Express"; I would have greatly preferred "All in My Mind", especially the brilliant and captivating acoustic version. "Holiday on the Moon" is also unnecessary and should have been scrapped to make way for a song from elsewhere in their catalogue. "So Alive" was their big U.S. hit so it has to be here; it's a good song but it never really represented their sound well in my opinion. "No New Tale to Tell" was one of those great underground singles from the 80's that stands as an alternative classic - Not sure how the 'Donnie Darko' soundtrack missed it actually. The grinding, feedback-laden "No Big Deal" was better than its album-mate "So Alive" and is properly included here; unfortunately the fuzzy, charged-up "Motorcycle" is left off. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" is another fine inclusion from their first full-length as is the album-ending instrumental "Saudade"; I am very happy they included so many tracks from "7th Dream of Teenage Heaven" but wish they have made room for "God & Mr. Smith" which should have been the replacement for "Holiday on the Moon" or one of the newer songs maybe. "It Could Be Sunshine" is also a great pick with its raucous combination of post-punk and straight punk. Another omission is "The Light" from "Earth Sun Moon", an ominous but mesmerizing piece that is surprisingly catchy.

All in all, a fantastic collection that could have been made stronger with a few simple changes. Still, as a big L&R fan in the 80's I know there are better ways to enjoy this band: listen to "Earth Sun Moon", "Express" and "7th Dream..." and also pick up "Everything" or "Night Music" by Tones on Tail - these showcase the band at their best. This album is a decent starting point for news or casual fans but may leave aficionados disappointed.


Some things holy and some things carnal   September 10, 2004
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Several of L&R's signature tunes rightfully make their appearance here, along with a couple of questionable selections. My personal favorites are well represented here...the psychedelically-tinged sing-along "Kundalini Express", the mind-altering masterpiece "Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man" and the subversive pop classic "No New Tale to Tell", in which Messrs. Haskins, Haskins, and Ash use a flute solo to an even greater effect than one of Ash's savory, understated, yet compelling guitar refrains. While I was happy to see that "Mirror People" and its explosive riffing were included along with the stately tone poem "Haunted When the minutes Drag", I disagree with the inclusion of any of the material recorded after 1989 other than "Sweet Lover Hangover".. If that makes me an elitist urban sophisticate, so be it; but the band took a left turn at a tangent when they flipped over to techno from which they never recovered.



Bad collection of a great Band   March 11, 2005
 9 out of 13 found this review helpful

It would be almost impossible to make a greatest hits album of Love and Rockets without leaving some of their great songs out, but it seems that they actually omited some of their best songs ever, for instance "All In My Mind" or "An American Dream". I would not recommend this album very much, the tracks selection is poor.


All aboard...   July 6, 2004
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Last year, Love And Rockets finally came out with their best-of compilation.

It's worth the purchase for any newcomers to the band since it has lots of their best songs such as Kundalini Express, Dog End Of A Day Gone By, and No New Tale To Tell. It's also essential for the longtime fans too because it has the rare 7-inch versions of Ball of Confusion and Yin & Yang The Flowerpot Man (the ones that were used in the music videos). Plus a single version of "Mirror People" which is way better than the one on their album "Earth Sun Moon".

Personally, I didn't think Holiday On The Moon and It Could Be Sunshine should of been included on here, I would of preferred to see All In My Mind, Motorcycle, or If There's A Heaven Above to make the cut but unfortunately they didn't.

Well, if you bought this and liked it, I recommened picking up Express next.


Good, but should've been better   April 3, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I'm a long time fan of the group, but am a little puzzled in the arrangement of this compilation as some of their best tunes were omitted in exchange for some of their lesser work. For example, "Holy Fool" and "Sweet Lover Hangover" shouldn't be on this list. Intuition tells me they're on the CD for marketting purposes to sell the album than anything else as younger fans know these songs more than the others. Other suspect choices include: "It Could Be Sunshine", "No Big Deal" (this mix anyway), and "Holiday on the Moon". While not bad songs in their own right, they would never see daylight on my Love and Rockets top 20 list. Some songs I was hoping to see were "The Light", "An American Dream", "My Drug", "All In My Mind", "The Teardrop Collector" and a few others.

To do a proper Love and Rockets greatest hits album really requires 2 discs as they really have that much good material as they also tend to write longer length songs than your average rock band. This would also provide the opportunity to slip in a few lesser known tracks that only existed on B-sides of the obscure singles. "BikeDance", "Lucifer Sam", and the alternate mixes of songs that were often better than the album versions such as "This Heaven (Lost in it mix)", "RIP 20 C", and "Mirror People" (which forntunately made it on this disc).

If you're new to Love and Rockets, this is not a bad sampler disc, but be aware that some of the regular albums will have just as much punch. Newcomers should start with "Express" then move onto "Earth Sun Moon", then "Lift" to get a taste of the full gamut.