I bet you can find at least a dozen "new" one hit wonders
Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 05/02/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
""Best One Hit Wonders in the World Ever" is an interesting collection because it comes from over the pond in England, which explains why it has songs by groups like Cutting Crew and the Mock Turtles. But there is more of an eclectic spirit behind the selection of these 44 one hit wonders. To be sure there is something of the international flavor alluded to in the title with Nena's "99 Red Balloons," Piero Umiliani's "Mah Na Mah Na," Lou Basil's "Mambo No. 5," and Los Bel Rio's "Macarena." You have televison represented with the Rembrandts' "I'll Be There For You" and Belouis Some's "Imagination" from "Pretty in Pink." There are some blasts from the past going back to "Rhythm Of The Rain" by the Cascades, "Fire" courtesy of the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, "Venus" by Shocking Blue, "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" from Edison Lightouse, "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen, and "Lovin' You" by Minnie Riperton. But most of those have been around so long that if you were into music in the 1960s and 1970s you should already have most of those. You can toss in some quirky hits like Tony Basil's "Mickey" and Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and there is also a decent sample of more recent one hit wonders as well, with the Knack's "My Sharona," Men Without Hats doing "The Safety Dance," "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls, and "Runaway" by Soul Asylum. But ultimately, what is going to make or break this CD in your mind are going to be the one hit wonders that you never heard before. You have "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew, "Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson, and "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder. Actually, all I really need to say is that I think you will have no problem finding a dozen tracks in this collection that you would appreciate adding to your music library. This is true if you have a dozen or more of them already, which should be the case with just about anybody with a decent music collection. There are not that many #1 songs in this collection (more from the English side as near as I can tell), so this really does go for a wider variety of one hit wonders. Check it out."
Bemusement
Michael J. Morris | 11/12/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm aware of a few of these artists and I've heard a few of their OTHER hits... Collections like this one are a great way to introduce people to some of the great music that's been out there, but the title 'one hit wonder' is so often fragrantly misused. It's more often an indication of the ignorance of the titler than anything to do with the band they're describing. Rather than being a collection of 'one hit wonders' this is just another conveniently titled collection of fine pop music from over the years."
Great Collection Of Some Classic Tunes
Lawrance M. Bernabo | 04/11/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well, I'd like to start off by saying that if you're looking for some hard to find hit songs from the 60's through the 90's, you won't go wrong with this collection! All of the original hits are here as you remember them. I do have just one disagreement with this collection. Eric Carmen should have not been included on a disc of artists that are "one hit wonders." Anyone who knows anything about music would have never included him in this collection. How about such hits as Change Of Heart, Make Me Lose Control, She Did It and Hungry Eyes from the movie Dirty Dancing. Eric Carmen has quite a collection as a solo artist as well as his work with the Raspberries. So, aside from this mistake, the songs chosen here are a pretty good retrospective of just some of the one hit wonders from the 60's/90's. I really don't think that you can compile a definitive "one hit wonders" collection unless you broke it down by individual years. However, this is a pretty good start. In short, if you appreciate top 40 music that covers several decades, then get this collection. You won't be sorry."
Track Listings (44) - Disc #1