#616: "Slopping the Hogs"

1st off, the phrase "Slopping the Hogs" comes from my son ADD, who 1nce Xplained 2 me that record companies HAVE 2 fill best-of albums with filler & crap in order 2 keep ALL the fans happy.
Which makes a certain amount of sense. Just Bcos I don't like a song doesn't mean SOME1 Out There doesn't LOVE it.
4 Xample: What would a Best Of Fleetwood Mac be without including "Dreams" & "Don't Stop"? I think they're filler & garbage, but millions love them & would B disappointed without them. So....
At their worst, record companies fall 4 the "Slop the Hogs" syndrome a lot. Especially on best-of's. Best-of's R meant 4 non-hardcore fans anyway, right? & there's nothing a record company loves more than selling you the same song 2wice....
4 me, a best-of really Slops The Hogs when it's thin or especially unrepresentative of an artist's work. When the assemblers don't even TRY 2 make it worth yer $$$. My son 1st used the phrase referring specifically 2 1 of the items below -- see if you can figure-out which 1....
Listed below R the worst best-of's I can think of -- submit your nominees 2 the Comments section below....

- Cheap Trick: THE GREATEST HITS -- A little thin, with just 14 songs from a band that could easily fill a 2-CD best-of. This is just the bare bones of what you need from these guys. The real giveaway? -- There's an address included where you can send complaints 2....
- Cheap Trick: AUTHORIZED GREATEST HITS -- Better, 16 trax. But there's a 'live' version of their #1 power-ballad "The Flame," which the Tricksters probly hate by now -- you can hardly blame them. But fans will be mildly disappointed. The Xcellent non-hit "Stop This Game" is included, but not the also-great "World's Greatest Lover" from their George Martin-produced ALL SHOOK UP. The real disappointment: Not included is the gorgeous Move-like "Voices," which was an actual hit....
- Manfred Mann's Earth Band: THE BEST OF -- This is a thin, 12-track, strictly-WarnerBros-era best-of, which means no "Runner" (which was released by Arista), & no "Living Without You" or anything else from their 1st 1/2dozen albums released by Polydor -- which some critics think was their best work.
Some pretty lame selections -- "Blinded by the Light" is here, of course, but also a weak 'live' "Quinn the Eskimo" & some other stuff you won't remember 5 mins later. There ARE 4 good later trax: Bruce Springsteen's "For You," "Don't Kill it Carol," "Hollywood Town" & Bob Dylan's "You Angel You." A couple of these were almost hits.
But where's "Stranded," "Heart on the Street," "Belle of the Earth," "Singing the Dolphin Through," "Waiter There's a Yawn in My Ear," "Angelz at My Gate," "The Road to Babylon"...? BONUS: The disc doesn't include "Lies (Through the '80s)."
- Gerry Rafferty: RIGHT DOWN THE LINE: THE BEST OF -- There R some cardinal Rules about best-of's. 1 is: All the hits MUST B included, no matter how small. This breaks that rule. Not included R hits like "Days Gone Down (Still Got That Light in Your Eyes)," "Home and Dry" & "The Royal Mile (Sweet Darlin')" -- which 1 critic at the time called "the ultimate Rafferty track." 3 trax R remixed, "Baker Street" & "Bring it All Home" among them. "Night Owl" is edited -- sure the original track's 6+ mins long, but that's how long it took 2 set a mood.... There's maybe 2 much later stuff nobody ever heard, from after Rafferty had his 3 years of fame. There IS some good support material: "Bring it All Home," "The Way That You Do It," "Get it Right Next Time," "Family Tree." But there's 2 much filler, not enuf of the hits, & 2 much has been messed with. Fans were disappointed.
Complaints?