Choices – The Singles Collection
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Choices – The Singles Collection'' is a
greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
by British band
The Blow Monkeys The Blow Monkeys are a British pop band formed in 1981. Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before split ...
, released in 1989 by
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
and distributed by
BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations Music publishing companies * Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 ** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that was pur ...
/
Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international ...
. The album includes most of the band's singles and features genres from the new wave of their debut album to
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
and funky evolution, up to their discovery of the potentialities of the new dance revolution, a genre that they embraced on their final album, ''
Springtime for the World ''Springtime for the World'' is the fifth album by British band The Blow Monkeys, released in 1990. The work represented the band's ultimate transformation into a dance music act, a direction the band had been gradually moving since their bigge ...
'', which was released the following year, shortly before they split up.


Composition

Two editions of the album were released: the
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
version only included the first 10 songs (from "Wait" to "It Pays to Belong"), whereas the CD version contained six more songs, also presenting the singles from their 1984 debut album, ''
Limping for a Generation ''Limping for a Generation'' is the 1984 debut album by the British band The Blow Monkeys. In the booklet to 1999 ''Atomic Lullabies – Very Best of the Blow Monkeys'', lead singer Dr. Robert (born Robert Howard) categorized the record as ''j ...
'', which didn't chart in the UK Top 75, as well as two 12" remixes of "Wait" and the title-track "Choice?", and the first single taken from their 1986 second album, "Forbidden Fruit", which also didn't make it into the UK charts – it was released a short time before the group obtained their very first smash hit with the single "Digging Your Scene", reaching number 12 in March 1986. The album also includes their only UK Top Ten hit as a band, "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way", which reached number 5, in January 1987. The other big hit for the group was "Wait", reaching number 7 in January 1989, although the song was credited only to The Blow Monkeys' lead singer Dr Robert's real name, Robert Howard, along with
Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture History and origins D ...
singer
Kym Mazelle Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of house music in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop. She is credited as " Th ...
. "Wait" also appears on the band's fourth album, '' Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'', as well as Mazelle's album, ''Crazy''. The collection contains three more duets: "Celebrate (The Day After You)", with
Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...
(a favourite of Dr. Robert), and the latest 1989 singles, "Choice?" and "Slaves No More", with vocalist
Sylvia Tella Sylvia Tella (born Silifatu Mornii Wehabie Tella in 1961) is a British lovers rock singer, who after working as a backing band vocalist for Boney M embarked on a successful solo career, releasing her first album in 1981. She had a top 40 hit in ...
, which were previously unreleased when the album came out. The title-track got to number 22 in the UK Singles Chart, one of two Top 30 hits from the group (the other being the soulful
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
"Out with Her", which reached number 30). The 1989 dance remix of "This Is Your Life", the version featured on this album, went to number 32 in April of that year – the original peaked at number 70 in August 1988. Minor hits were "Wicked Ways" (from the band's 1986 album '' Animal Magic''), which reached number 60, the duet with Curtis Mayfield, "Celebrate (The Day After You)", number 52, and "Some Kind of Wonderful", which reached number 67 – both taken from The Blow Monkeys' album, ''
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter ''She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter'' is the third album by British pop band the Blow Monkeys, originally released in 1987. The album's title is a reference to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, whose Conservative governme ...
'' – and "Slaves No More", which reached number 73. The compilation does not contain the group's 1984 RCA début single "Go Public", nor the 1986 single "Don't Be Scared of Me", which didn't chart, but does include 1988's "It Pays to Belong", which also didn't chart. The title-track, "Choice?", and the 1989 UK number 7 duet with Kym Mazelle, "Wait", are considered today as anticipatory of what would later be defined as the
UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...
musical subgenre.


Commercial success

''Choices – The Singles Collection'' peaked at number 5 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, their highest chart position.


Track listing

Words and music by Dr. Robert, except track 13 by Dr. Robert/Mick Anker # "Wait" (1989) from '' Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'' # "Choice?" (1989) Previously unreleased # "Slaves No More" (1989) Previously unreleased # "Celebrate (The Day After You)" (1987) from ''
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter ''She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter'' is the third album by British pop band the Blow Monkeys, originally released in 1987. The album's title is a reference to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, whose Conservative governme ...
''
# "Wicked Ways" (1986) from '' Animal Magic'' # "Digging Your Scene" (1986) from ''Animal Magic'' # "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way" (1987) from ''She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter'' # "Out With Her" (1987) from ''She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter'' # "This Is Your Life" (1988) from ''Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'' # "It Pays to Belong" (1988) from ''Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'' # "Wait" (Long) (1988) from ''Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'' # "Choice?" (Long) (1989) Previously unreleased # "Man from Russia" (1984) from ''
Limping for a Generation ''Limping for a Generation'' is the 1984 debut album by the British band The Blow Monkeys. In the booklet to 1999 ''Atomic Lullabies – Very Best of the Blow Monkeys'', lead singer Dr. Robert (born Robert Howard) categorized the record as ''j ...
''
# "Atomic Lullaby" (1984) from ''Limping for a Generation'' # "Wildflower" (1984) from ''Limping for a Generation'' # "Forbidden Fruit" (1985) from ''Animal Magic''


Personnel

Adapted from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
. *Mick Anker – bass guitar *
Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. ''Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of the Belle ...
– producer, remixing *Axeman – assistant producer *Michael Baker – mixing, producer *Brian Bethell – guitar *
Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine, in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...
– producer *Neville Henry – saxophone *Robert Howard (Dr. Robert) – guitar, piano, producer, programming, vocals *Tony Kiley – drums, machines *Andy Mason – engineer *
Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...
– vocals *
Kym Mazelle Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of house music in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop. She is credited as " Th ...
– vocals *Adam Moseley – producer *Barbara Snow – flugelhorn, trumpet *
Sylvia Tella Sylvia Tella (born Silifatu Mornii Wehabie Tella in 1961) is a British lovers rock singer, who after working as a backing band vocalist for Boney M embarked on a successful solo career, releasing her first album in 1981. She had a top 40 hit in ...
– vocals * Peter Wilson – producer


Additional singles taken from the album

* "Choice?" (1989) K Singles Chart: Number 22* "Slaves No More" (1989) K Singles Chart: Number 73


Additional singles track listing

"Choice?" *7" and cassette single: "Choice?" / "Oh Yeah!" *12" maxi single: "Choice?" (Remix) / "Choice?" (Dub) / "Choice?" *CD single: "Choice?" (Short) / "Choice?" (Long) / "Oh Yeah!" "Slaves No More" *7" and cassette single: "Slaves No More" / "What's That?""What's That" is a previously unreleased non-album track, which does not feature on any album by The Blow Monkeys. *12" maxi single: "Slaves No More" (Long) / "Slaves No More" (Short) / "What's That?" *2nd 12" maxi single: "Slaves No More" (Long – Extra Special Remix) / "Slaves No More" (Short) / "What's That?" *CD single: "Slaves No More" (Short) / "Slaves No More" (Long) / "What's That?"


VHS video release

''Choices – The Video Collection'' was also issued in 1989, to complement the album release.


Release details


References


External links


Fencat Online
Dr Robert's Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Choices - The Singles Collection 1989 greatest hits albums Albums produced by Adam Moseley Albums produced by Stephen Hague The Blow Monkeys albums