Search - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians :: Ultimate Collection

Ju S. (jsrs) from HOUSTON, TX
Reviewed on 1/10/2007...

from BMG

Great for hardcore fans, bad as an overview

Greg Brady | Capital City | 04/29/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Presumably when you put together an "ultimate" collection, you want to gather at bare minimum every one of the band's singles since those are most likely to be the songs that the biggest percentage of the fanbase will know.



This collection is missing "Mama Help Me" from 2nd album "Ghost of a Dog". STRIKE ONE...



2nd single "Black and Blue" isn't here either. STRIKE TWO.



"Tomorrow Comes" was the single from Edie's 1st solo album "Picture Perfect Morning". STRIKE THREE...



Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians really were an album group more than a singles act, though, and that means aside from the handful of singles you'll want to use care in choosing the rest of the cuts to select their artistic, if not commercial, peaks. How is it that "Air of December" misses the cut from SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS...? "Nothing"? They chose "Woyaho" or "Stwisted" instead of "This Eye","Carmelito" or "10,000 Angels"from GHOST OF A DOG? And though it was wasted as a bonus cut on their debut, "I Do" is one of the band's most gorgeous moments.



For those reasons, I can't suggest this as an opener to casual fans or Edie newcowers...they're much better off purchasing SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS AT THE STARS(ASIN B000000OQW,the more accessible of the 2 band albums).



If, however, you already have the 1st 2 albums and want to fill in the gaps, this CD is perfect. This gets you out of needing to buy the NOBODY'S CHILD compilation (which is OK but not fantastic) to get "Big Day, Little Boat" or the BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY soundtrack for their cover of Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", as well as the rarity "Zillionaire" previously only found on Rob Wasserman's TRIOS CD (To be fair, that one's a little more worth your time, particularly if you're a Brian Wilson fan. He does a great song "Bells of Madness/Fantasy is Reality" on there with his daughters..) Also you'll be spared buying Chris Botti's FIRST WISH just to grab the song "Like I Do Now".



But the motherlode here for Edie connoisseurs are the last 7 tracks, consisting of four songs recorded by Edie's post Bohemians band The Slip, and 4 recordings made after she'd left the Geffen label ("A Little Time","Boys In The Band","Baby" and a duet with Carter Albrecht on "Vodka").



BOTTOM LINE:

If you only know "What I Am" and "Circle", buy SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS AT THE STARS. If you're a big Edie fan already, get this for the unreleased material and rarities."

Press Release

Greg Brady | 09/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FIRST CAREER RETROSPECTIVE FOR EDIE BRICKELL -&- NEW BOHEMIANS FEATURES BEST-LOVED TRACKS AND SEVEN PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RECORDINGS
Any list of musical shooting stars must include Edie Brickell -&- New Bohemians. Their debut album, 1988's Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, went #4 pop, double platinum, and #10 on Rolling Stone's list of the best albums of 1989. The single What I Am (with its memorable "I know what I know if you know what I mean/Choke me in the shallow water/Before I get too deep") went Top 10 as well. The band debuted nationally on Saturday Night Live and went on tour with Bob Dylan, Don Henley and the Grateful Dead. But while they never reached that plateau again, the band and Edie solo continued making music emphasizing feeling over attitude, the small moment over the big picture--music that has continued with a recent reunion on stage and album. Edie Brickell -&- New Bohemians: Ultimate Collection (Hip-O Records), released September 10, 2002, their first comprehensive career overview, features 19 digitally remastered selections, including Edie solo material (produced by husband Paul Simon), recordings with Rob Wasserman/Jerry Garcia and jazz popster Chris Botti, and seven previously unreleased tracks. Compiled with Edie's and the band's participation, Ultimate Collection also boasts their take on Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall for the 1994 Born On The 4th Of July soundtrack and Big Day, Little Boat, her contribution to the George Harrison-led 1990 benefit project Nobody's Child - The Romanian Angel Appeal. In 1985, Edie was a Southern Methodist University freshman working as a waitress in hometown Dallas, TX. One late night/early morning at a tiny after-hours club, inspired by a friend (and Mr. Jack Daniels) she got up on stage and sang with the band, New Bohemians. Three years later, signed to Geffen Records, the shy young girl and the band were being acclaimed as the best of a new breed of new artists. From Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, Ultimate Collection culls What I Am, Little Miss S. and Circle. From 1990's Ghost Of A Dog, there's Woyaho and Swisted. Taken from Picture Perfect Morning, Edie's 1994 Simon-produced solo album, are Good Times (with Barry White on vocals), Lost In The Moment and Green. Zillionaire with Wasserman and Garcia was first heard on the former's 1993 Trios album and Like I Do Now on Botti's 1995 First Wish album. The previously unreleased tracks are from '90s sessions intended to be issued under the moniker The Slip (Girl In A Magazine, 1873 (Buffalo Diary) and Invisible Man) and four post-Geffen recordings (A Little Time, Boys In The Band, Baby and the Edie-Carter Albrecht duet Vodka). Edie Brickell -&- New Bohemians is the latest compilation album in the Hip-O Ultimate Collection series which celebrates noteworthy artists."