The "SAW Years" are adequately represented here, though I personally miss the Chic-inspired "More Than Physical." As a collection of biggest chart hits, there were bound to be plenty of "near misses," especially in the Banana's catalog. Unfortunately, since this collection pre-dates all of "Pop Life" and "Please Yourself," these two very worthy albums (and at least five terrific singles) are not included. Since most Bananafans already own the original album releases, "Greatest Hits" is hardly an "essential" addition to your collection. If you consider yourself obsessive about the 'Rama girls, spend the extra $ for the Import version of this collection; it includes three dynamic dancefloor remixes (for "Venus", "Love In The First Degree" and the Youth/Shep Pettibone produced "Preacher Man"), "It Ain't What You Do" (with Fun Boy 3), and "Rough Justice." It also includes a great bit of musical comedy in "Help," where Brit TV stars Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French (of Ab-Fab fame) pose as "Lananeenoonoo" in a recorded benefit for Comic Relief UK.

Like a lot of Bananafans, my idea of a real "best of" would include a lot more material than appears here. I especially miss "Ain't No Cure" and "Movin' On." But as chart hits go, this IS their greatest hits, and any casual fan should be more than pleased with this career summation. I personally think that London should consider a three disc "Bananthology," and if they fail to get the rights to "Ultra Violet" I'll still be quite content.

-Mic


I can't help it   June 30, 2004
Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

As big of a music snob as I am, I can't help but go back into my music collection and listen to some of the cds/tapes that I grew up on, namely '80s music. Having grew up in the '80s, I will always have a soft spot for '80s music. Bananarama is one of those '80s pop acts that I will always have a soft spot for. I just loved their music, namely "Cruel Summer", "Venus", and "I Heard a Rumor". While The Bangles and The Go Go's were more rock orientated, girl groups such as Expose and Bananarama were vocal groups. Yeah the music videos for "Venus" and "I Heard A Rumor" were pretty silly, if not stupid but the songs were so much fun to listen to. They are unbelievably catchy. The songs always sticks in my head but unlike Jennifer Lopez's music, I actually like Bananarama's music. My favorite Bananarama song definitely is "Cruel Summer", the ultimate summer song. Although Ace of Base did a fine job covering the Bananarama song, I definitely prefer the trio's version. I also adore "Love in the First Degree" and "Robert De Niro's Waiting". Although they didn't get any airplay here in the states (as far as I know), they were just as irresistably catchy as the group's more famous songs. The girls' harmonies were excellent. Gimme Bananarama over Wilson Phillips any day.


GOOD COMPILATION BRINGS BACK GOOD MEMORIES.   July 11, 2000
G. McDermott (Palm Springs)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful

3 stars you ask?...well Bananarama was a good product of the 80s with "Venus", "Cruel Summer" and "I Can't Help It", etc...the list goes on...of course my all time fave was "I Heard A Rumor".

But the compilation is filled with "filler", songs that were not hits like "Na Na Hey Hey", and "Shy Boy", and missing songs too like "Doctor Love".

It is a good compilation, but after you hear it a couple of times you realize this music doesn't withstand the test of time...except of course "I Heard A Rumour".

They had their 15 minutes, now on to....Destinys Child, and others for their 15 minutes.


A Fun CD, Without A Doubt   September 9, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I have never been ashamed to say I was and still am a huge Bananarama fan. Their music was fun, lightweight, and sometimes even silly, but I have always thought that was their goal the whole time. On this, the only CD a casual listener would ever really need, most of the hits are included (although I don't understand why they left off the irresistible club hit "More Than Physical") and it's a glorious trip back to the 1980s, as well as a peek into what the 1990s would bring us. In the 1980s, there were surprisingly few vocal groups that could get airplay. Aside from Expose, you'd be hard-pressed to come up with any other group that could rival Bananarama in this vein. They never set out to change the world through their music, but to invite everyone to the party and have a few drinks while you were there. I've always envisioned Bananarama hanging out in the studio with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of vodka on the console, pressuring their producers to hurry up so they could make their next social engagement. But, fittingly enough, that casual sound is what makes this set so utterly charming. Production on this album is handled by a long list of producers, and it shows. Many of their early singles ("It Ain't What You Do," "Shy Boy," "Aie A Mwana," "Cruel Summer") have a very Caribbean sound, courtesy of the Fun Boy Three, among others. Later singles went more in a dance/disco direction, and ended up being bigger hits. But the production is never the center of the attention, anyway, but more the fun atmosphere that seemed to surround every Bananarama recording (in the liner notes, they even admit that "Venus" was recorded in two takes and that they headed off to the pub after the session--that's the kind of band we all dreamed of being in as youngsters). It may surprise some to know that Bananarama did play a part in writing some of these songs, though they did so alongside the producers. But with their string of remakes, they really hit their stride, showing their own love of pop music and interpretive skills. "It Ain't What You Do" is a remake of an old 1920s song. "Na Na Hey Hey" is a remake of the well-known Steam hit (although, in keeping with the casual feel, they didn't bother to change the pronouns in the song, so it's still sung from a jealous man's point of view). The obvious standout track is the remake of Shocking Blue's "Venus," which trades the 1960s psychedelia in for a fresh and almost raunchy dance vibe. But don't discount the later Stock/Aitken/Waterman singles, either. Boy bands of today would do well to release something as catchy as "I Heard A Rumour" or the cruelly underappreciated "I Want You Back." Were they perfect? Of course not, and there are a few missteps (an ill-fated remake of the Diana Ross-less Supremes' later hit, "Nathan Jones," as well as an "I Heard A Rumour" rewrite called "Love In The First Degree"). Many of these songs will fade together if you aren't familiar with them already, but if you're looking for a great overview of an essential 1980s group, you can't really go wrong here. And as a bonus, if you've never heard "Robert De Niro's Waiting" (and it wasn't a hit in the US, so I doubt many have), you're in for a real treat--a rare tribute song that works.