Search - Greg Kihn :: Kihnsolidation: Greatest Hits

What Kihn a poor boy do?

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 07/18/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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. Along with labelmates EarthQuake, The Rubinoos and Johnathan Richman, Kihn was the most popstar friendly of the bunch. He also had a knack of terrible puns on his name substituting for album titles (a habit even he got annoyed with). He became a local legend in the San Francisco area for his great live shows and good-guy demeanor.



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. It also led to the lable getting snapped up for distribution by Elektra, and Kihn was ready for his close up. "The Break Up Song" cracked the top 40 with an infectious "Na na na" hook and the band became stars. (Missing from this CD, "Valerie" and a great cover of Tommy Roe's "Sheila" - that's a CD deserving a re-issue!) 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 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. 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.



There are plenty of gems here, and Kihn is certainly pleasant listening. 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. 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."

Remember Those Friday Afternoons At UC Berkeley?

ARMANDO R. VENEGAS | 08/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A highly underrated artist/songwriter. This is just the tip of the iceberg. How about re-releasing his first two albums?"

Good compilation, but...

ARMANDO R. VENEGAS | Lima, Peru | 07/04/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know why American "BEST OF" and "GREATEST HITS" CD compilations are always so 'fluffy'. Compare with any good Brit or German compilation, not only the song selection but the CD sound itself is ALWAYS BETTER!!! This 'KIHNsolidation' is no exception to the rule! Why not thinking about reissuing GREGROCKIHNROLLBAND and KIHNTINUED digitally remastered instead? Both are good pieces of the best American Rock'n'Roll!!!

Greg Kihn may not a be a rock Superstar, but he's certainly a serious and a good Rock music player!"