Search - Huey Lewis & The News, Huey Lewis and The News :: Greatest Hits (CD + DVD Combo)

This Is It

Michael Kerner | Brooklyn, New York U.S.A. | 05/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are often times where a good group can have a mediocre greatest hits record. And, there are other times where a better greatest hits record by a guily pleasure group can be just down the road. That has been the story with Huey Lewis & The News recently. Back in 1996 they had a good, but not completely over the top hits record with Time Flies. Although the record was good, there just could've been a whole lot more that should've been highlighted. Now, there is a new decade, and a better chance to hear this great guilty pleasure from the 80's in action all over again, on a new greatest hits record.



Huey Lewis & The News 2006 Greatest CD & DVD combo delivers as well as the regular-priced edition of this great 80's group. The collection includes a lot of great tracks that've been restrored and remastered from its original format well. The compilation includes so many great cuilty pleasure songs like If This Is It, Doing It All For My Baby, The Power of Love from Back To The Future, their breakout hit Do You Believe In Love, Stuck With You, and other great tracks. The collection adds on the feeling by showcasing tracks that were overlooked before from Time Flies like Hip To Be Square, Small World, and Jacob's Ladder. This edition also adds on the great classics by featuring a DVD compilation of some of the groups best videos like The Power Of Love, and Bad Is Bad which sadly was the only track that was overlooked on the CD where it was delivered on DVD.



All in all, Huey Lewis & The News Greatest is a welcomed edition to your record collection for anybody who loves the music of the 80's, or for anyone who has missed the Soul and Pop that this group brought from the 80's. I absolutely suggest this delightful record, and this is really it.



Album Cover: A-



Songs: A-



DVD: B 1/2+



Price: A-



Remastering: A-



Overall: B+"

Decent song solection BUT weak video selection and quality

K. Drew | Back East, USA | 03/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
First off, I am a huge Huey Lewis and the News fan and was lucky enough to have seen them "back in the day" as a $5 bar band in the SF Bay area. Although thought of as a pop band and dismiessed and panned by many in the music business, HLN were and still are an excellent rock and roll band. They always put on a great show and Huey Lewis, himself, is a class gentleman. They certainly belong in the R&R Hall of Fame in my opinion.



That said, the DVD portion of this release is dreadful. There are numerous ommisions such as "Back In Time" and "Some Of My Lies Are True" and "Perfect World". What is even worse is the quality of the video. I made a better copy of my HLN Video Hits using my VHS to DVD recorder! Whomever was in charge of the video portion should not pass go and not collect $200 for their work.



All in all, one can only hope for some great old stuff to get released like the live New Year's show from Japan and the remastered Video Hits collection. Thank goodness for my video to DVD recorder! If you are a true HLN fan, you have all the songs but wanted the DVD (like me). Sadly, you will be disappointed in the quality."

Without repeating the other reviews...here's mine!

You Know My Name (Look Up The Numbe | Audubon, NJ USA | 07/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I try to fill my iPod with songs I know and love, I also get the chance to listen again to my favorite music. This music will always help define my memories in a way few things will. When I hear tunes from the Beatles or Herman's Hermits, I think of my childhood as I wasn't born until Beatlemania was already underway in the mid-60s. I have studied their times and music and became a musical follower of Paul and John and I always enjoyed any new releases they would provide us. So, once John was murdered it was clear there would be no reunion and my musical tastes would need to expand.



So needless to say much time has passed for me since high school and Huey's heyday, but what a great time it was for music. Huey Lewis was one of those bands I avoided until about late 1984 when Sports was the hottest album going next to some girl flash-in-the-pan named Madonna's self-titled album, (good stuff, too!). So after finally listening to I Want A New Drug and discovering it wasn't even a drug reference song (duh!) I decided to buy the LP. What a great decision! Early 1985, I bought my first CD player ($300 bucks!) and the CD. Then I found the other two CDs he had released and I have been a fan ever since. I even saw his Tour in 1989.



On this CD the only song from Huey's first album is the live version of Trouble In Paradise. Trust me, the live version is better than the studio version. It seemed Huey's first album was a bit faster tempo all the way around then his subsequent albums and it may be why the first album was a minor selling album. If you have the first album you'd here Some Of My Lies Are True and you might think you are hearing an early 80's punk band trying to play a ballad. LOL If you get the chance to hear Huey sing his songs from the first CD, live, you'd be in for a treat as he slowed them down a bit like the songs on Picture This and Sports as the group found their sound and beat and really put together some absolutely fun albums. I almost wish he would have pulled a Billy Joel (Songs in the Attic) and re-recorded his first album at a slower pace.



If you are in it just for the hit songs, then, THIS IS IT! There, I let you know. ;-)



If you are in it for a great collection, then you are Hip To Be Square.



If you just bought it for the videos but the CD also adds to your collection (like I did), then I am happy to be Stuck With You!



And you've just heard, The News! lol



As for the videos...

I'd like a whole collection of all the videos and maybe even the MTV concert he performed. Did you know, the very first live concert on MTV was Huey Lewis and The News? This was before Sports! It was the deciding factor for me that this band was great! They covered some great accapella, like Chain Gang and It's All Right. The odds at this point of a whole DVD of everything you ever wanted is probably just not going to happen. So, this will have to do! It is fun to see the old videos though and how us (the first MTV generation) had the chance to see our favorite bands in rotation and now to look back and wonder...what the hell happened to MTV? LOL I want my MTV! And I mean actual music television!



The bottom line is you can't beat the price for a DVD and CD set which has everything you would want and then some more. Great for parties and 80's reunions as well!"