# Greatest single-LP, one-performer anthology? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 24, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480 "2022-07-24T16:15:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/41 "2022-07-25T15:59:34Z")
There are so many great “best-of’s” that it’s hard to even know where to start. But I’ll go with [The Best of Chuck Berry.](https://www.discogs.com/master/495021-Chuck-Berry-The-Best-Of-Chuck-Berry) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/42 "2022-07-25T16:01:24Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I wondered whether “ **Legend** ” was a single or double before posting it. I’ve only had it on CD and it “felt” like a single album. It certainly was a single CD. I figured someone would come along and holler at me if it was a double. It was originally a single album, so you’re in the clear! 😅 > **[Legend (Bob Marley and the Wailers album) | Original 1984 US album](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_(Bob_Marley_and_the_Wailers_album)#Original_1984_US_album)** > > In celebration of the 30th anniversary, the compilation was re-released (as its "The Definitive Remasters" form) in two formats: > 1.A tri-color (red, yellow, green) double 180g vinyl set | > 2.A CD/Blu-ray 5.1 audio set; the Blu-ray disc contains the studio version of "No Woman, No Cry" and previously unheard alternate takes of "Easy Skanking" and "Punky Reggae Party." ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/43 "2022-07-25T16:13:46Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I also briefly considered the Beatles’ “ **Hey Jude** ” album. Per the OP’s criteria, it is a single LP collecting previously-issued music, but I don’t think we could call it an anthology. That’s an interesting case, since a lot of those songs were issued on LP (in the UK) but not here. And even if it is kind of a catch-up package rather than a true anthology, I’d count at least four of its songs as “musts.” Honestly, I’m not even that big a Beatles fan, but I don’t think any 45-minute anthology of their music could do them justice. You could probably do a good one for every year 1963-1970 they worked together. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/44 "2022-07-25T16:27:59Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > I wondered whether “ **Legend** ” was a single or double before posting it. I’ve only had it on CD and it “felt” like a single album. It certainly was a single CD. I figured someone would come along and holler at me if it was a double. > > It was originally a single album, so you’re in the clear! 😅 “Legend” is a wonderful compilation, but there had been backlash from the beginnning from people complaining that almost none of Marley’s political songs landed on the album, with the exception of “Redemption Song”, and as such misrepresented his songwriting and larger impact. The label (Island) made up for it in 1986 by releasing “Rebel Music”, an equally strong companion piece with some of his deepest political anthems. > **[Bob Marley & the Wailers - Rebel Music Album Reviews, Songs & More |...](https://www.allmusic.com/album/rebel-music-mw0000190934)** > > Discover Rebel Music by Bob Marley & the Wailers released in 1986. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/45 "2022-07-25T16:59:15Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > That’s an interesting case, since a lot of those songs were issued on LP (in the UK) but not here. I thought the issue was that the songs were issued only on singles in the UK. British labels maintained an attitude that people didn’t like paying for the same song twice, so some singles weren’t on the LPs released at around the same time. The album wasn’t released at all in the UK, and the songs didn’t make it onto an official Beatles UK album release until the Red and Blue albums in 1973. Except “Rain,” which was left off for mysterious (to me) reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/46 "2022-07-25T18:02:42Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I thought the issue was that the songs were issued only on singles in the UK. British labels maintained an attitude that people didn’t like paying for the same song twice, so some singles weren’t on the LPs released at around the same time. You’re probably right. I thought they were mostly songs from British LPs that were left off the American versions so Capitol could issue “new” albums with the leftovers, as happened earlier in their career with _Yesterday and Today._ ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/47 "2022-07-25T18:24:50Z")
I nominate the Rolling Stones’ Made in the Shade, a 1975 release made up mostly of songs from Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street: Brown Sugar Tumbling Dice Happy Dance Little Sister Wild Horses Angie Bitch It’s Only Rock & Roll Heartbreaker Rip This Joint It’s both great and completely inessential, since all the songs are awesome but you should already have all the original albums anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/48 "2022-07-25T19:06:57Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Rip This Joint As an album closer? Interesting choice, considering it’s such a perfect opening for _Exile_. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/49 "2022-07-25T19:16:15Z")
Don’t want to be the smart aleck, but the opener of Exile is “Rocks Off”. But it’s a two punch attack, second is “Rip This Joint”. I’m sure you knew this. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/50 "2022-07-25T19:22:24Z")
D’oh! I was getting the titles mixed up. That said, how could this anthology exclude “Rocks Off”? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/51 "2022-07-25T21:45:27Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > That said, how could this anthology exclude “Rocks Off”? Even more egregious, it omits “Time Waits For No One.” ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/52 "2022-07-25T21:54:52Z")
This thread is heavy with nostalgia for me. My wife and I met as teenagers and I fondly recall driving around in her crappy yellow ford fiesta (I couldn’t afford a car) and listening to many of the albums mentioned here. Certainly “Queens Greatest hits” “Legend” and “Standing on a Beach” were on constant replay. As was “live under a blood red sky” which may count and “Snap” by The Jam which a was a double album and so doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/53 "2022-07-26T01:28:52Z")
Best of the Doors\* was the only Doors LP I owned as a child/teen, and it’s pretty great. (True, their first album is an amazing debut as well). \*The 1973 single album one: > **[The Best of The Doors (1973 album)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_The_Doors_(1973_album))** > > The Best of the Doors is a compilation album by the American rock band the Doors, released in September 1973 by Elektra Records. It was the third compilation album to be released by the band and contains seven of the Doors' eight Top 40 hits. > Critic Robert Christgau gave the compilation a "B" rating, while AllMusic's William Ruhlmann rated it four and a half out of five stars. The latter commented that at the time of its release, "it was the best Doors greatest-hits collection on the market", bu... ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/54 "2022-07-26T02:08:46Z")
I always think of the Doors as one of the few 60s acts who couldn’t be represented by their singles, only by their album cuts. Not that the cuts on this compilation aren’t all good ones. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/55 "2022-07-26T03:03:07Z")
It’s a strange Doors respective that doesn’t include Break On Through. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480/56 "2022-07-26T08:00:50Z")
Harpo and Jaycat, good points. Here’s a much better example — the album I wore out when I was six years old, and is still as good today: > **[Pete Seeger - Greatest Hits Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000191795)** > > Discover Greatest Hits by Pete Seeger released in 2002. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-single-lp-one-performer-anthology/968480.md?page=2)