Search - City Boy :: Anthology

Do NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS!!!

Philip Dercole | Cranston, RI United States | 02/16/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is possibly the WORST compilation I have ever purchased. As a long time City Boy fan I am disgusted by the exclusions of such classics as "Mr. Shoes", "Summer in the Schoolyard", "Moving in Circles", "Machines", "Cigarrettes", "Mama's Boy", "The Man Who Ate His Car" just to name a few!!!!! The liner notes are completely wrong from the albums the songs came from to the personell on each album. I wonder if the band even knows about this release. The cover isn't even new. It's the "Young Men Gone west" artwork. Don't waste your money on this poor excuse for a City Boy "Anthology".....you can't call this poor representation of one of the greatest bands to come out of the '70's an anthology. Call it a ripoff!!!"

They Got Style!

the-disco-kid | Bay City, Babylon 7 | 01/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the greatest under-appreciated Pop/Rock acts in history, City Boy first caught my attention circa 1977 with "She's Got Style" -- a "lost classic" if there ever was such a thing -- off the "Young Men Gone West" LP. Their sole U.K. Top 10 single hit "5.7.0.5." and its parent album "Book Early" ('78) were also worn out by the time I got through with them, while their later work ("The Day the Earth..." + "Heads Are Rolling") never found much favour with me due to me being otherwise occupied at the time (Punk/New Wave).Recently, however, I had the opportunity to check all of CB's recorded work out more thoroughly and was pleasantly surprised by how well it has held up compared to much of the more generally celebrated popular music from that late '70s/early '80s era; solid musicianship, some of the tightest harmonies you're ever likely to hear, very well written songs + nearly always, ummm, "interesting" lyrics a la early Sparks -- these, duly, were CB's main strengths.Musically, and for those who like to do that, it's tough to categorize this band. But for better or for worse, I would say at several different times they sound a little like such overall unsimilar acts as Queen, 10cc, around '80-era Rollers and the aforementioned mid-'70s Sparks -- which should say something about their overall diversity. Their first two LP's are a tad too "proggy" for my taste, but nearly always (again) "interesting" nonetheless.Which brings us to this "Best Of" anthology-type-of-thing here. Although, as ALWAYS in such cases, I miss more than a couple of old faves ("Mr.Shoes", "Summer in the Schoolyard", Goodbye Lorelei"), it is indeed an exceptionally well compiled collection. But the biggest beef -- and that is also exactly what keeps this one from getting my full, flawless, 5 star rating -- is the sloppy packaging, the clumsy spelling mistakes and the highly inaccurate sleevenotes ("The Day The Earth Caught Fire" a U.K. Top 10 hit?! I don't think so). And althought the overall sound and (re?)mastering is good, it quite frankly escapes me why the the ending of "Mr.Shoes" -- which, lest we forget, is omitted from this collection -- is included as the beginning of "Heads Are Rolling", the next track behind it on the "H.A.R" album!! Evidently -- and in spite of managing to make this much-needed compilation sound good -- the people behind it weren't able enough to make it also sound RIGHT.But for some people these may be just minor flaws and the main issue here is to finally have a (mostly) fine representation of City Boy available on CD. And for that we should just be grateful. As good place as any to start your exploration of this great, yet mostly unknown, band. Enjoy!"

City Boy anthology

David Cole | Cardiff | 11/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A great underated band, this selection could have been better, but as a taster its ok. It does give a new listener an idea of how good they were."