A decent compilation of tracks from the band's first 4 albums. There's no logic to the sequencing, but I've almost come to expect that from "best of" compilations. I had H17's first 3 albums on vinyl, but thought their 1984 release, How Men Are, was so weak compared to its excellent predecessor, The Luxury Gap, that I didn't bother buying subsequent releases. No tracks from the group's fifth album, the unfortunately titled Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (1988), made the cut for this CD. I've yet to replace How Men Are with a CD, and this CD contains some good remixes, so this compilation is still needed to fill a small gap in my collection. Normally people look at collections such as these when they are looking to sample a band's work, but if I were to recommend a H17 album, I'd have people start with The Luxury Gap rather than recommending any of the group's compilations.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks:
| Song | Original Album | |
| Temptation (Brothers In Rhythm Remix) | The Luxury Gap | ✔ |
| (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (Rapino Edit) | Penthouse and Pavement | ✔ |
| Let Me Go | The Luxury Gap | ✔ |
| Come Live With Me | The Luxury Gap | |
| This Is Mine | How Men Are | ✔ |
| I'm Your Money | Heaven 17 (US release) | ✔ |
| Play To Win | Penthouse and Pavement | ✔ |
| And That's No Lie | How Men Are | |
| Contenders | Pleasure One | |
| We Live So Fast | The Luxury Gap | ✔ |
| Sunset Now | How Men Are | ✔ |
| Trouble | Pleasure One | |
| Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu) | Penthouse and Pavement | ✔ |
| Penthouse and Pavement (Tommy D's Master Remix) | Penthouse and Pavement | ✔ |
| Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry | The Luxury Gap | ✔ |
| (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (Original Version) | Penthouse and Pavement | ✔ |
| Temptation (Original Version) | The Luxury Gap | ✔ |
My favorite H17 song is Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry but Temptation is a very close second.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This was the first Heaven 17 CD I ever purchased. About a year after I bought it, I took it to my ten year high school reunion where I was quickly reminded that I was the only one in my high school class that listened to Heaven 17 in the early '80s. To be fair to my classmates, the closest thing H17 ever had to a US Top 40 hit was when their single Let Me Go peaked at #74.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Before After (2005)
Retox/Detox (1998)
Bigger Than America (1996)
Endless (1986)
The Luxury Gap (1983)
Penthouse and Pavement (1981)
Have a promo stamped version of this CD and no idea how it came into the fold. Do not care for the modern remixes one bit and I already had all the other songs so the disc never gets the call up.
ReplyDeleteKnow for a fact I was not the only Heaven 17 head in high school though I've managed to dodge all of our reunions so I cannot say if it would get played or not.
I'll concede that How Men Are was somewhat weaker than The Luxury Gap but it was not "so weak". Ouch. Potato, potato.