Greatest Hits Collection (Bananarama Album)

''The Greatest Hits Collection'' is a compilation album released by Bananarama which features their single releases and greatest hits. It was issued by London Records in 1988, eight months after the departure of group member Siobhan Fahey. The track listing differed between versions released in the United States and Canada, as well as those released throughout Europe and other territories.

Composition

Except where otherwise noted, all songs are represented on the album in their single or 7" mix variants. The version of "I Want You Back" (originally on their ''Wow!'' album) on this collection is the newer version of the song with vocals re-recorded by Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward with new member Jacquie O'Sullivan, following the departure of Fahey. One new song, "Love, Truth and Honesty", was released as a single (which featured O'Sullivan's first credits as a song-writing contributor), and peaked inside the UK top 30. The other new track on the compilation was a re-recorded version of the Supremes track " Nathan Jones". Like "I Want You Back", this song was originally included on the ''Wow!'' album released before Fahey's departure. The new line-up re-recorded the song with new vocal and instrumental arrangements. This new version, now known as the 'Dave Ford Mix', was initially included on vinyl and cassette issues of this compilation, and on the original Canadian CD pressing. It was subsequently remixed by in-house PWL Mixmaster Pete Hammond and released as a single, reaching the UK Top 20 and this version replaced both the earlier 'Psycho 7" Edit' and 'Dave Ford Mix' versions on the compilation. Later re-issues have added on various remixes, as well as a cover of the Beatles hit, "Help!".

Critical reception

A review published in ''Music Week'' stated the compilation is composed of "a surprising amount of hits" and deemed it "enjoyable, disposable, fair play to them and hard to deny".

Track listing

Original Release

LP and Cassette

''Side A''

# "Venus"
# "I Heard a Rumour"
# ”Love in the First Degree"
# "I Can’t Help It"
# "I Want You Back"
# "Love, Truth and Honesty"
# "Nathan Jones"

''Side B''

# "Really Saying Something" – with Fun Boy Three
# "Shy Boy"
# "Robert De Niro’s Waiting"
# ”Cruel Summer"
# "It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It" – with Fun Boy Three
# "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)”
# "Rough Justice"

CD

As noted above, many variants of the album exist on CD depending on region and edition. On all editions of ''The Greatest Hits Collection'', the included version of "Trick of the Night" is now known as the 'Tricky Mix 7" Edit'. While the 1999 international re-release included the 7" version of Preacher Man from the Pop Life album, most variants of the CD release contain some version of the following track listing:

# "Venus"
# "I Heard a Rumour"
# ”Love in the First Degree"
# "I Can’t Help It"
# ”I Want You Back"
# "Love, Truth and Honesty"
# ”Nathan Jones"
# "Help!” – with Lananeeneenoonoo
# "Really Saying Something" – with Fun Boy Three
# "Shy Boy"
# ”Robert De Niro’s Waiting"
# ”Cruel Summer"
# ”It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It" – with Fun Boy Three
# ”Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)”
# "Rough Justice"
# ”Trick of the Night"
# "Aie a Mwana"
# "Venus (12" Hellfire Mix)”
# "Love in the First Degree (Eurobeat Style)”

''The Greatest Hits & More More More''

In 2008, a reworked version of ''The Greatest Hits Collection'' was released. Titled ''The Greatest Hits & More More More'', this release featured an expanded track list incorporating many of the singles not present on the original compilation, most notably those from '' Pop Life'' and '' Please Yourself''. This release contains the album version of "More, More, More" and the 'PWL 7" Mix' of "A Trick of the Night".

# "Venus"
# " Love in the First Degree"
# "I Want You Back"
# "Robert De Niro's Waiting"
# " Cruel Summer"
# "Really Saying Something" (with Fun Boy Three)
# " It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)" (with Fun Boy Three)
# "Shy Boy"
# "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)"
# " Love, Truth & Honesty"
# "Nathan Jones"
# "I Heard a Rumour"
# " Movin' On"
# "More More More"
# " I Can't Help It"
# "Only Your Love"
# "Preacher Man"
# "Long Train Running"
# "Aie a Mwana"
# "A Trick of the Night"
# " Rough Justice"
# " Cheers Then"

2017 Collector’s Edition

In order to coincide with Siobhan Fahey's return to the group for The Original Line Up Tour in 2017, London Records released an expanded version of the original 1988 edition as a double album. The tracklist was updated to include all of their UK singles released between 1981 and 1988 on disc one and a selection of remixes from the same period on disc two. The cover art from the original release was reused, however, the booklet was updated to include some additional pictures of the group in 2017 along with new liner notes for the additional tracks.

Personnel

Bananarama
*Sara Dallin – vocals
*Siobhan Fahey – vocals
*Jacquie O'Sullivan – vocals on "I Want You Back", "Love, Truth and Honesty", " Nathan Jones", "Help!" and "Preacher Man"
*Keren Woodward – vocals

Musicians
*Fun Boy Three – vocals on "Really Saying Something" and " It Ain't What You Do It's the Way That You Do It"
* Lananeeneenoonoo – additional vocals on "Help!"

Additional Personnel
*Andrew Biscomb – sleeve design
*Peter Barrett – sleeve design
*Herb Ritts – cover sleeve photography
*Andrew McPherson – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end chart

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Hits Collection (Bananarama Album)
Bananarama compilation albums
1988 greatest hits albums
London Records compilation albums