IMPORTANT PIECE FOR RICK FANATICS+a great listen to boot!!!
Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY, USA | 04/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"All I say is FINALLY that this is out, but the price is a tad high...yet, this is an important piece to every SERIOUS Rick fan...due to the price, casual fans stay away.
This is important, as it has EVERY 80's era 12" vinyl single version, and B-sides from these 12"'s on CD for the first time, all in one place. Also, it does 1 better than that 2003/2004 RCA/BMG Heritage Rick compilation with the 3 rarities ("Celebrate Youth" 12", "Souls" (Live) and "The Language Of Love"): all 3 are included here, along with 9 more tracks!!
Now, there's nothing here from "Working Class Dog", or SDAA, or his 70s work. None of these songs were top 10 hits. It seems that RCA only released 12"'s for 5 singles in the 80s: "Human Touch" (1983, a #18 pop hit), "Bop Till You Drop" (1984, a #20 pop hit), "Celebrate Youth" (1985, a #26 pop hit), "State Of The Heart" (1985, a #22 pop hit), and "Rock Of Life" (1988, a #22 pop hit), as these were the hits with more of a dance beat than usual, and RCA probably thought, HEY, why not try and break Rick into the clubs?? I'm not sure how much of these tactics worked, BUT these 12" singles became somewhat collectible among Rick fans and those of the cool, extended 12" singles of 80s new wave acts like New Order, Bronski Beat, Erasure and Depeche Mode. What I recalled was how well these versions worked, arrangement-wise, and how cool they sound now, with all these new new wave bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers being in vogue these days.
Soooo, this Japanese import compilation is important and valuable because it puts these increasingly rare 12" versions and their B-sides on CD for the first time, rescuing them in fact, and all in one place for safe keeping. What's also great are the 2 B-sides: "The Language Of Love" (one of Rick's best-ever songs, surprised it's so obscure), and a killer live version of "Souls", one of my fave Rick tunes and a #23 pop hit from 1983.
As this collection is only 12 cuts, it proves that the amount of material ACTUALLY released on 12" vinyl was very limited, but it's great that it fits all on 1 hour-long CD. Also, the fact that it has the B-side instrumental version of "Human Touch", I can now both marvel at the powerpop/dance music hybrid arrangement of the song, how well-crafted it is, and how well it works as an instrumental, but maybe I can figure it out and learn it, and/or do my OWN vocal performance of it, karaoke style!!
Rick's the best!!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1