Search - Tubes :: Tubes Rarities & Smash Hits

There are Better Tubes Compilation Albums Than This One

Sam Bethune | Lincoln, Nebraska USA | 01/08/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Do yourself a favor. If you want a compilation of early Tubes classics from the 70's, pass on this CD and buy "The Best of the Tubes-Millenium Collection". The version of "White Punks on Dope" which appears on T.R.A.S.H. is a godawful edit that loses the sonic mayhem which makes the original a punk classic. This same criticism goes for the live version of "Mondo Bondage" which appears on this CD. The original studio version from the first Tubes LP (available on CD) is much better. The studio version of "Bondage" is also included in the Millenium Collection. My other criticism of this collection is the somewhat questionable decision to include "I'm Just A Mess", in my opinion the weakest track on the "Now" album. The Millenium Collection includes "Pound of Flesh", a much better track from the same album (which by the way should be released on CD if anyone from A & M Records is reading this review)."

Completists only

Chris Adamson | Marietta, GA USA | 06/30/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A middling collection of, as the title calls them, "Tubes Rareties and Smash Hits", this album wraps up the band's A&M tenure (before they got pop-friendly on Capitol).The best moments are the highlights from the first two albums -- and if you want "White Punks on Dope", "What Do You Want From Life", and "Don't Touch Me There", (and you know you do!) spend the extra $ and buy both "The Tubes" and "Young And Rich".The rareties here are of mixed appeal. The "Part A" intro to "White Punks on Dope" is a late 70's Eagles / John Denver take on the notorious anthem's first verse. More amusing is the thrashingly stupid cover of the Captain and Tenille's "Love Will Keep Us Together". A live take of "Mondo Bondage" is borrowed from the band's live album and after that it's all downhill -- bits of "Remote Control" removed from their concept-album context, a tedious song from "Now", and a generic unreleased rocker "Drivin' All Night".Three great songs and a bunch of filler... eh. The near hits on the first two records, plus the thematic cleverness of "Remote Control", are much more worthy of your Tube-time."

The Front Cover Tells a True Story

Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 08/21/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"No matter how much a label is band-friendly, business is business when an album is needed to wrap up a recording contract and this is example of the slipshod nature when product is needed after a band is literally dumped into the trash can.



An early-1981 release on A&M Records, it is a collection of odds-and-ends from the vault that adds next to nothing to the five previous albums on the label. This project was placed on the fast-track when a proposed studio album had been rejected by A&M, with the band essentially fired with one release to complete its recording contract.



This is far from the place to start for new fans to hear the band at its outrageous best, though the front cover is a wild way to depict the drama that found the group soon inking a deal with Capitol Records."