Absolutely the Best of the British Invasion

Track Listings

1. Shapes of Things - The Yardbirds

2. Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces

3. Well Respected Man - The Kinks

4. Pictures of Matchstick Men - Status Quo

5. Catch the Wind - Donovan

6. When You Walk into the Room - The Searchers

7. Go Now - The Moody Blues

8. Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

9. She's Not There - The Zombies

10. We Gotta Get Out of This Place - Eric Burdon

11. Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - The Walker Brothers

12. Concrete and Clay - Unit 4+2

13. Ferry Across the Mersey - Gerry & the Pacemakers

14. Here Comes My Baby - The Tremeloes

15. Love Is All Around - The Troggs

Tracks:

She's Not There
Leave Me Be
Tell Her No
The Way I Feel Inside
She's Coming Home
Nothing's Changed
I Want You Back Again
Whenever You're Ready
If It Don't Work Out
I Love You
Is This The Dream
Remember You
Just Out Of Reach
Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself
Time Of The Season
Imagine The Swan

Customer Reviews:

Unbelieveably Good.......2006-07-15

The Zombies are definitly one of my favorite bands. These songs were back made back in the 1960's and they were VERY ahead of their time. The melodies are so intricate and touching. They are one of the greatest bands in history, but sadly never got the rewards for it. Their 1968 album Oddesey and Oracle is in the Rolling Stone top 100 albums listing. This music is timeless. Its a relief to hear this real music compared to the complete garbage being pumped out by the money- obsessed music industry of today. If you dont like this music you apparently have no taste.

okay if you like mono.......2005-07-09

Granted, I don't know if some or most of these songs were only recorded in mono (I doubt it), and that format is true to the 'transitor radio' ethos of that era, but still, the label should have acknowledged on the outside CD packaging that all but one or two songs are in mono. Okay, enough whining. The Zombies were among the greats, IMO, in Britpop. Someone said Partridge family-esque. Say what?! Listen to these gems. Great melodies, great harmonies. In addition to the obvious Rod Argent-penned hits - "She's Not There," "Tell Her No" and "Time of the Season" - there's Chris White's "I Love Her," an incredible song that was taken to the charts by "The People" (who?!) in '68. All in all, an exceptional slice of the 60s, except...

Good material, but it's not enough.......2003-09-18

The Zombies were one of the finest rock groups of the sixties. It's no surprise they still get oldies and classic rock airplay. Needless to say, over the years, a number of compilations have been released for these guys. How does this one measure up? Read on and find out.

PROS:
-If you're the casual Zombies fan who just wants to get Time Of The Season, She's Not There, and Tell Her No on one disc, you've come to the right place!
-There are a plethora of underrated masterpieces here as well.
-You get two bonus tracks - alternative versions to two of the band's biggest hits.

CONS:
-The major problem with this compilation is that it's hard to come by. You may have to search a few stores before you find it.
-It's only fifty minutes long, and you can fit eighty minutes onto a CD.

OVERALL:
If you're a casual fan of the Zombies (and nothing more), than this compilation is recommended. These guys played REAL rock and roll, not the junk that has flooded the airwaves in the modern age.

A bit short on running time, but still some great music.......2003-01-01

With their Byrds-ish jangle, Beach Boys-ish harmonies and Moody Blues-ish keyboard parts, it is difficult to argue that The Zombies were a band ahead of their time. Yet, one of the major reasons this St. Albans, England quintet only had three hits, despite being one of the best singles-orientated bands of their day, is that popular music was not quite ready for their tricky time changes and winding melodies. Certainly, the quality of the material was not a problem. A survey of Absolutely the Best, which collects sixteen of The Zombies' greatest tracks, reveals a plethora of almost perfect pop-rock singles, such as the gently rolling "Remember You;" the hauntingly bleak "Imagine the Swan;" the masterful alternations between jazz-ish virtuosity and R&B-ish oomph, "Is This the Dream" and "Just Out of Reach;" and the remarkably clever "Whenever You're Ready," which is probably the best snide, offhand rejection song this side of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright." Then there are the hits: The frantic "She's Not There," the serene "Tell Her No" and the playful "Time of the Season," all of which are bonafied classics.

The consistent excellence of their work makes listening any Zombies collection a delight, but it also makes one hungry for more after this particular compilation, lasting a mere forty minutes, has ended. Surely, project supervisors could have found more material to treat listeners to, especially considering "Time of the Season" is the only track from the group's only proper album, 1968's Odessey and Oracle, which is considered a masterpiece in many circles. Hopefully, The Zombies will someday be granted a best-of compilation with a more satisfying running time. Until then, Absolutely the Best, although somewhat scanty, remains the best introduction to this astounding and underrated band.

liked about a third of it.......2002-11-03

That says it: a third of the album is good, the hit tunes they are known for--and the rest of the tunes are really not all that good. However, I will always like and appreciate the Zombies for the great hit numbers they had.

Average customer rating:

Absolutely The Best Of The 60's
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

British Invasion | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005Y203
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Tracks:

For Your Love - The Yardbirds
Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
The "In" Crowd - Dobie Gray
Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys
You Showed Me - The Turtles
Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces
It Hurts To Be In Love - Gene Pitney
Sugar Sugar - The Archies
The Boy From New York City - The Ad-Libs
Stay - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Let It Be Me - Jerry Butler & Betty Everett
Twist & Shout - The Isley Brothers
Gimme Little Sign - Brenton Wood
Cool Jerk - The Capitols
Judy In Disguise - John Fred & His Playboy Band
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five
Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen
Mother-In-Law - Ernie K-Doe
Chapel Of Love - The Dixie Cups
She's Not There - The Zombies

Absolutely the Best of the British Invasion

Average customer rating:

Absolutely the Best? Hardly

Absolutely the Best of the British Invasion
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

British Invasion | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

British Invasion: The Essential Album
Gold: British Invasion
Nuggets: A Classic Collection From the Psychedelic Sixties
Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits: 1965

ASIN: B00003IE22
Release Date: 2002-01-01

Tracks:

Shapes of Things - The Yardbirds
Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces
Well Respected Man - The Kinks
Pictures of Matchstick Men - Status Quo
Catch the Wind - Donovan
When You Walk into the Room - The Searchers
Go Now - The Moody Blues
Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
She's Not There - The Zombies
We Gotta Get Out of This Place - Eric Burdon
Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - The Walker Brothers
Concrete and Clay - Unit 4+2
Ferry Across the Mersey - Gerry & the Pacemakers
Here Comes My Baby - The Tremeloes
Love Is All Around - The Troggs

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely the Best? Hardly.......2005-04-11

If you're going to title a compilation of British Invasion music "Absolutely the Best of the British Invasion," you better be prepared to deliver. This compilation, while not bad, is far from being the best. In addition to the expected omissions (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits), this is fairly light on the music . . . fifteen tracks are listed here at Amazon, but my disc has only fourteen and doesn't include "Love is All Around" by the Troggs. With most songs clocking in at two and three minutes, there is definitely room on this disc for more songs. What's worse, the Gerry & the Pacemakers song "Ferry Across the Mersey" and the Tremeloes' "Here Comes My Baby" are re-recordings and Eric Burdon sings "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" without the original Animals!

To be fair, some of the songs included are different from what you might usually expect on this type of compilation. Here we get "The Mighty Quinn" from Manfred Mann rather than the usual "Doo Wah Diddy" and The Kinks sing "Well Respected Man" rather than "You Really Got Me." And there's a rarity of sorts for this type of compilation with the inclusion of The Walker Brothers' "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)." But, all in all, there are far better British Invasion compilations available. This one is just a minor entry.

Average customer rating:

Sorry, This Ain't It
A Good Place to Start!
Not worth it.

Absolutely the Best
The Small Faces
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

British Invasion | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005KBAY
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Tracks:

Here Come The Nice
Itchycoo Park (Stereo Mix)
Tin Soldier (Previously Unavailable Stereo Mix)
Talk To You
I'm Only Dreaming (Mono 45 w/ Alternate Vocal)
I Feel Much Better
My Way Of Giving
Become Like You
(Tell Me) Have You Ever See Me (Stereo LP Version)
Up The Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Lazy Sunday
Song Of A Baker
The Universal
Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass (Stereo Mix)
Me, You and Us Too (Alternative Stereo Mix)
Afterglow (Of Your Love) (Mono 45 Version)
The Autumn Stone

Customer Reviews:

Sorry, This Ain't It.......2007-04-04

"Absolutely The Best" and its companion piece "Odds And Mods" (the hits, and the 'rarities') are a pair of CDs collecting the Small Faces Immediate (1967 - 69) recordings issued by the Fuel 2000 label in 2001. If they were the only such collections on the market they would surely be godsends, but they have been eclipsed in every way by other packages issued in the past few years. The remasterring on both titles is especially drab and lifeless. For the recent convert, or curious consumer overwhelmed by the endless stream of compilations and multiple reissues of the same titles here for your perusal on amazon, a brief consumer guide:
"The Ultimate Collection" (Sanctuary, 2003) is a 2-cd set that traces the SF's evolution in 50 tracks, split evenly between the raw, explosive Decca period (1965 - 67, represented on disc one) and the group's Immediate period, when they were given free reign of the best studios (Olympic) and engineers (Glyn Johns, George Chkiantz) in Britain. The artistic and musical growth across a mere three and-a-half-years is amazing. This feature no real rarities, but is the best overview (and introduction), as it contains excellent liner notes and superb remastering that blows "Absolutely..." out of the water.
"Small Faces" (1966/2007) "Fortieth Anniversary Edition" of the band's debut, with 11 bonus tracks, and an expansive booklet, the best version of this band's ferocious debut.
"Small Faces - 35th Anniversary Edition" (2002) is a 2-cd set of the band's third (and first Immediate) album, with the original 14-track set in both stereo and mono, plus nearly a full album's worth of additional tracks that include some of their greatest singles, again in stereo/mono, and a few alternates. Lovingly restored and packaged.
Surprisingly, Fuel 2000's transfer of "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" (2003) may be the best version of that 1968 classic out there (though the tracks included on the Sanctuary comp sparkle with more life), with the added bonus of all five November 1968 Newcastle live recordings plus an alternate version of 'Autumn Stone'.
Finally, "Darlings Of Wapping Wharf Launderette" (Sequel/Castle, 1999) is another 50 track double CD set, this one devoted entirely to the Immediate years. You can create your own 'final' SF album from the batch of late period recordings that are included on the second disc! There are a few more strays, of course, scattered about, but you might check the Japanese 'Rarities' with its amazing sound and long alternate 'Donkey Rides Penny A Glass' if you find it reasonably priced....
Great band, and some of us do indeed become fanatics.

A Good Place to Start!.......2001-12-19

Being introduced to The Small Faces was one of the greatest musical gifts anyone has ever given me. Having been a fan of British music for some time, I had no idea how much inspiration bands such as The Jam drew from this group which I had previously only associated with Rod Stewart.

This line-up includes future Keith Moon replacement (The Who), Kenney Jones on drums, and Steve Marriott on lead vocals. Without question one of the greatest rock singers of all time, Marriott was a tiny tennager with an enormous voice, filled with passion and tremendous range. After leaving the Small Faces (who then picked up Rod Stewart for vocals and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, and dropped the "Small" in their name), Marriott formed the blues-flavored Humble Pie. But it is with the Small Faces that the young Steve really shines.

The Small Faces catalog has been repackaged and remastered over and over again, but this collection is an awesome introduction to the power-pop rock best showcased on "Tin Soldier" and "Talk to You". Once you know what you're listening for, you'll hear The Small Faces in everything from Led Zeppelin to Blur. If you're interested enough to look up this band, buy this CD. You will be left with only one question: "Where did these East End kids get so much soul?"

Not worth it........2001-11-18

(BTW, the three-star review is based on the practicality of the release, not necessarily the musical content...read on to find out why)

The Small Faces easily win the title of the most senselessly re-compiled and re-compiled band of all time, probably edging out even the Yardbirds in that respect. There are, approximately, seven-million different compilations, all offering variations on the same tracks, and most tossing in so many "rarities" that even the four-disc "definitive" boxed-set from a few years back couldn't hope to collect 'em all.

And this, folks, is yet another one. What do we have? Mostly the usual culprits, and the mastering sounds the same as the recent Castle series (which, BTW, isn't quite as good as the Charley permutations from a while back...notice how this costs more than Masters, yet is a single disc with fewer songs? Good). The singles are pretty well covered, although the tracklisting comes off as hopelessly random. And, as usual, a few rarities are thrown in...we get an "alternate stereo" Tin Soldier (I honestly can't tell the difference between this and the 30,000 other stereo mixes), the mono I'm Only Dreaming, the stereo Donkey Rides from the aforementioned Charly series, and the one thing I hadn't heard before (I think), another Me You and Us Too.

My verdict? There's nothing that really causes this to be any better than any other Small Faces collection, and you're probably better off getting something slightly more comprehensive...even the Darlings compilation, if you must.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Shapes of Things - The Yardbirds
2. Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces
3. Well Respected Man - The Kinks
4. Pictures of Matchstick Men - Status Quo
5. Catch the Wind - Donovan
6. When You Walk into the Room - The Searchers
7. Go Now - The Moody Blues
8. Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
9. She's Not There - The Zombies
10. We Gotta Get Out of This Place - Eric Burdon
11. Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - The Walker Brothers
12. Concrete and Clay - Unit 4+2
13. Ferry Across the Mersey - Gerry & the Pacemakers
14. Here Comes My Baby - The Tremeloes
15. Love Is All Around - The Troggs