Bananarama / The Greatest Hits Collection / newly expanded

Oh…and another re-re-re-re-re-release of this one, of which I already have two.
And each time they never seem to get it all covered.
We’re final treated to MORE THAN PHYSICAL, which has always been the “reject” track, yet strangely one of their all-time best.
And don’t be misled by the bonus/second disc containing “all” their 12″ remixes. LOVE, TRUTH AND HONESTY has somehow been conveniently omitted. And the weaker Eurobeat Style version of LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE surfaces again, as compared to the superior Jailer’s Mix.

Having received this I must point out that while they did update the images and got some new comments from the band for songs not featured on the original release, they did not update the old notes so, the tracks with Jaquie still feature the quite bogus notes of how she was their best friend since 18 and even Siobhan agreed she is the perfect replacement… when they later admitted it was all drivel and nothing but a record company decision forced on them and quite far from the truth.
somewhat cringe-worthy :)

Release date changed back to the original release date….

What a shambles lol

From Amazon: “The items listed below will actually be dispatched sooner than we had originally expected based on the new release date:

Bananarama “The Greatest Hits Collection [2017 Collectors Edition]”
Previous estimated arrival date: December 01 2017
New estimated arrival date: November 24 2017″

Had an email from Amazon saying the release date has been put back to December 1st by “the supplier”.

I already have several versions of this but I’m still getting this release. Would have been nice though if they had offered signed copies to make it a little special for the fans, since there is nothing on the CD not easily available on other discs.

I am really looking forward to seeing them live in London later this month – it feels like they should have released the CD a few weeks earlier to coincide with the UK shows.

HOORAH!

Life is so much happier and brighter with the Bananas back in it!

Great idea to re-release and expand – I’ve already ordered mine – don’t care two hoots if I’m not getting anything new track-wise, it’s just nice to be able to buy a current release from the best girl group EVER!!!

The Eurotrash suggestion above is spot on, would’ve made this re-release essential as it didn’t appear on any of the (excellent) book bound reissues from 2013. They could’ve made this book bound too so it would’ve fit right in the set, and, as someone commented, it seems a shame vinyl apparently wasn’t considered as they could’ve Super Deluxed up the whole package.

This Greatest Hits always felt current at the time as the track listing was subtly changed incrementally during the late 1980s, to reflect new singles and edits etc. Was one of the best selling Greatest Hits of that time, if I remember rightly.

There seems to be a lot of love for these women reforming right now which is nice to see as they span the last 35 years from punk, via their famous Stock Aitken Waterman ‘Venus’ days, through to the present.

Eck. Having bought all 6 Bananarama cd’s on reissue plus Megarama (waste of money) and the Singles Box I will skip this one & make a 2 CD compilation myself. The cover art is great what would have been a better idea is a 2 CD compliation up to Now Or Never. That I would have shelled out for.

Lost my original copy years ago and have all the remasters and In A Bunch box but since this has new notes and some track commentary, I am buying it. Tracks 17-21 on Disc One were not on the original GH compilation, btw. So that might be a draw for casual fans.

Hope it sells well (again!) and then maybe the girls will think seriously about releasing some new music.

If anyone wants an even better option than this one, the 30 Years of Bananarama CD and DVD (with 35 videos!) combo is fantastic. I got mine from Amazon UK brand new a few months back for under a fiver. They usually go for silly money when they are available through marketplace only. Just checked before posting this and it’s back to marketplace again for that compilation. 26 quid being the cheapest, and an outrageous 118 being the most expensive. They do crop up cheap very occasionally on eBay.

Sorry for the overly long post!

I think it’s a fab idea, this compilation isn’t aimed at the mega fan like me who owns the 33 disc box set, it’s to celebrate the original line up and tour, it’s for the fan that doesn’t own all their stuff but wants a Singles collection. I’m not gonna quibble about the 3 Jacqui singles included, since 2 if them were originally recorded with Siobhan, it would have been very petty to exclude Jacqui’s version for Siobhan’s.

This is so cool!
a reissue and expanded edition of a classic compilation from their golden years. I’m in!
I feel Curt & Roland missed a trick here. They could have expanded Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) into 2CDs to include every singles & the 2 new tracks, instead of another new compilation that no one needs. (Poor choice of cover as well.) Such a shame, what a waste…

are they no unreleased remixes in the vaults ?
often the dave ford mixes were done but not choosed for official remix releases.
i have all remixes inside the “bunch” 33 disc box set.
the problem after releasing such box sets like “in a bunch” is
you must come then with more and unreleased stuff…
no demos ? ( “love generation” and much more are unreleased )
so, thanks but not interested.

Waterloo from “a song for eurotrash” would’ve been the perfect inclusion here as it’s missing from every other bananarama only release and includes the current (original) line up

Well they were supposed to have been recording a new single so I half expected to find it here as a lure..no such luck.:)

Wow this Bananarama Greatest Hits album has had practically more issues than a phonebook. Great release and great value. I got the Bananarama CD Singles Box Set so no need for me to get this. No new remixes on here but great value for the casual fan. I didn’t realize they are touring, let alone they were back to the original line up. Great news. That’s what the fans want to see. May get tickets to see them in NYC on Feb 24. Should be fun.

These would’ve been my choices for the 12″ versions:

1. Really Saying Something (US 12″)
2. Shy Boy (US 12″)
3. Cruel Summer (12″)
4. Robert De Niro’s Waiting (12″)
5. Rough Justice (Ext.)
6. Do Not Disturb (Alternate 12″)
7. Venus (Extended)
8. A Trick Of The Night (Tricky Mix)
9. I Heard A Rumour (Horoscope Mix)
10. Love In The First Degree (Eurobeat Style)
11. I Can’t Help It (The Hammond Excursion Version)

Maybe this is a big clue to the tour set list?

Personally, I’d have liked a 3 disc edition with a DVD of all the videos added.

Good release. Not aimed at fans like us, bur at the general public. Good price, great tracks. Us fans have it all but again this is not for us.

Worth it just for disc 2.

Might as well buy the Deluxe Editions of their albums, the Singles Box Set and the 3Disc Remixes Collection than waste money on this.

Why, oh why, oh why? This is just milking it.

I’ll be having some of that. Brings back memories of selling hundreds of copies of this in my days of record shop selling.

As always we will not have a complete greatest hits but only a SAW’s era CD. Ok it’s the original line up but there’s nothing unreleased on it….

Interesting that they have gone down the CD only route, this would have been perfect for a decent 21 track double LP. Just in time for Christmas, they would have sold buckets to Mums and Dads of a certain age, me included, particularly if they kept it to a break point of £20. Plenty of profit still to be had there.

Weren’t the single versions of “I Want You Back” and “Nathan Jones” re-recorded with Jacqui?

Love that they are doing this. Looking forward to seeing them in NYC.

It’s a good selection for the price.