Ultimate Collection

by

Graham Parker

Edit

GP beginners buy this.

This CD contains many of GP's best songs (not all. impossible to cover them all in one CD anyway). They range from "White Honey" ---A-1 of his debut album--- to the unforgettable "Disney's America" from his '95 Album, all arranged in chronological order.

Deep fans buy this too.

I have been a GP fan for 25 years, and I can tell you that this CD has the best sound quality of all. Many of his classic songs sound much better than in the 25th anniversary re-issues released in 2001. Do not complain about the number of GP compilations, it's not this CD's fault. This collection deserves its title.

Graham Parker was up to near 20 albums spread across six labels by the time Hip-O dropped this single disc on the market, and unfortunately it falls far short of the mark. Parker developed from an excellent Van Morrison/Bruce Springsteen acolyte (Howlin' Wind and Heat Treatment) to contender on the charts for Angry Young Man King (Squeezing Out Sparks) to a gradual slide into middle aged malcontent/romantic (everything from Another Grey Area on).

However, this CD front-loads the music from the first four albums (arguably Parker's best work) and then skimps. It abandons several albums entirely (The Real Macaw, Burning Questions and three of his 4 RCA albums. "Life Gets Better" could have bumped something from the first half easily, and "Empty Lives" (from The Up Escalator) is one of his fiercest rockers ever, but not here.

However, all the obvious "hits" are here, including Parker's one US Top 40, "Wake Up Next To You" (off the recently reissued Steady Nerves), the radio rockers "Get Started. Start a Fire" and "Discovering Japan." You can hear Parker gain confidence and personality as he changes from those first albums to the intensity of the classic "Sparks," then note the sophistication that increases the complexity of his music even as his fan-base dwindled. His jaunty pub-rock (it's almost impossible not to notice Nick Lowe's guiding hand in the early production) sharpens by "Sparks" to laser-like burn, then to the folkish lover's lament "Disney's America" that closes this disc.

While the Rhino double disc Passion Is No Ordinary Word: The Graham Parker Anthology [2-CD SET] does a better job in fleshing Parker's music out (but ended before the Capitol and Razor/Tie CD's), this single disc offers a solid overview/introduction. If you're just curious, there's also The Best of Graham Parker 1988-1991 to cover the RCA years, Master Hits: Graham Parker for the Arista years, and - of course - those incredible first four studio albums.