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Glad i have it now. Good CD at a great price. I've wanted these songs forever and you hardly ever here on the radio any more so i could not resist.
Nice CD with a lot of good tunes but no GREG KIHN "Best Of" CD is complete without the rousing, energetic tune "ROADRUNNER" a great tune that SHOULD be on this copulation.but sadly it's not.
Enjoy. Unable to find the original versions of the two hits, 'Breakup Song' and 'Jeopardy', on an MP3 format, I purchased this CD, in order to download these two originals onto my iPod. The rest of the album is good to have, but I really wanted these specific songs, so it was worth it for them.
Greg Kihn is a lovable lightweight, a handsome guy who made endearing good pop songs on the eclectic Beserkely Label when they seemed destined to be an American Stiff. "The Break Up Song" cracked the top 40 with an infectious "Na na na" hook and the band became stars. He also had a knack of terrible puns on his name substituting for album titles (a habit even he got annoyed with). By the time his "With The Naked Eye" started flirting with Top 40 material (great covers of Springsteen AND Richman - "Rendezvous" makes this CD, but unfortunately "Roadrunner" didn't), Kihn became Beserkely's biggest seller.
There are plenty of gems here, and Kihn is certainly pleasant listening. (Missing from this CD, "Valerie" and a great cover of Tommy Roe's "Sheila" - that's a CD deserving a re-issue). He soon switched labels for EMI and snuck one more single into the top 40, "Lucky." After this, came "Love and Rock and Roll," but few were left to notice that Kihn wasn't making jokes for titles. I'd bet he's a great guy to go paling around with, that's how much his aw-shucks charm comes through on his best work. The title track was pretty good workman pop (and this compilation would have benefited from Kihn's cover of The Only Ones' "Another Girl Another Planet"), but the shimmer had dulled. Along with labelmates EarthQuake, The Rubinoos and Johnathan Richman, Kihn was the most popstar friendly of the bunch.
A little more grooming lead to the funky number two "Jeopardy" off "Khinspiracy" and Kihn was big enough to rate a Weird Al Parody.But the wheels came loose for ""Kihntagoius," despite the exuberant "Reunited" here. He still makes the occasional album ("Horror Show" being the best of the latter day releases), and "Kihnsolidation" gives plenty of reasons to note that Greg Kihn is a better artist than a one-hit-wonder tag would indicate. He became a local legend in the San Francisco area for his great live shows and good-guy demeanor. It also led to the lable getting snapped up for distribution by Elektra, and Kihn was ready for his close up.
I actually never enjoy his hit singles (Jeopardy and others). He was great for his time (and still does a great morning show in The Bay Area to this day). I grew up here in The Bay Area and saw Greg Kihn many times. The other songs on this disc, such as Madison Avenue Man, Love and Rock & Roll, Testify and a great cover of For You, are all very good examples of his talent and fun deliveries. A worthwhile and refreshing listen. He was always a first rate performer and wrote some great and catchy pop songs. He made you enjoy them with his passionate concert style.
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