Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

The two-disc retrospective The Essential Leonard Cohen traces the Canadian bard's musical maturity from poet and novelist who sang a little, to multidimensional artist whose oracular vocals and increasingly rich arrangements are every bit as compelling as his verse. Even when Cohen came to prominence through the 1960s songcraft of "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire", the "folksinger" tag never really fit. Later highlights ranging from the deadpan drollery of "Tower of Song" and "Everybody Knows" to the apocalyptic anthemry of "First We Take Manhattan" and "Democracy" suggest that other labels might be more appropriate: cabaret surrealist, spiritual gadfly, sensual prophet, agent provocateur.

Cohen chose the selections, drawing more than half of the 31 tracks from three landmark albums--his 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen, 1988's I'm Your Man, and 1992's The Future--along with four from 2001's Ten New Songs. The collection justifies its title as deep as it goes, though it's a shame that Cohen's commercial profile couldn't justify the more elaborate box set his artistry warrants (one that would at least include lyrics and musician credits). Those who sample the consistently inspired music here might come to the conclusion that everything Cohen records is essential. --Don McLeese

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perhaps, alongside Jeff Buckley's GRACE and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, the greatest debut of all time, for my money).

It's like sipping your best brandy whilst puffing on a quality cigar, 04 May 2007
The voice is the first thing you notice. The early poetic renditions on such classics as "Suzanne", "Sisters of Mercy" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" are presented in a voice that is deadpan but not as gruff as in later years. This was at a period when he was a well kept secret and with a style and presentation that not everyone took to. Move onto disc 2 and you notice how the voice deepens and the songs become bigger. One thing that Cohen has never failed to deliver is quality songs with curious stories to tell. He has an almost hymn-like or gospel touch on a lot of his work, usually enhanced by superb backing singers and wondrous musicians and arrangements.

I move between both of his periods with equal ease, but I find the latter stuff more appealing these days. Some people could sing the contents of the telephone directory given the right voice, he is one of them. "Democracy", "Tower of Song", "First we take Manhattan" and "Hallelujah" are stand out tracks but I defy anyone not to get lost in "Closing Time". This is by far my favourite. A fun song, with so many catchy hooks it just pulls you off your seat and invites you to dance with the nearest partner. You can almost smell the smoke and alcoholic fumes as if you are drinking in the bar with him. A tremendous talent......but what great assistance from his backing singers.

This is a great selection of his work. If you are a fan, you'll want it in your collection. If you are just curious, buy it.........it's a great introduction.


A lesson for what really music is, 02 Feb 2007
There's nothing missing from this collection. Not the quality, not the deep, truthful voice, not the fully poetic and inspirational lyrics, nothing. My boyfriend bought this CD and we can't get enough of it- especially DISC 2.
Cohen is and will remain unique in this industry, mainly because he has something solid yet so delicate to say, because he is a musician, because he possesses the gift to sing stories instead of 'telling a song'. Great music, great lyrics, great singer.

Simply Blown Away.....New Convert, 27 Nov 2006
Well I cannot believe I have lived for 42 years without listening to a Cohen Album.I tried this on spec seeing the reviews and having been a big Dylan/Springsteen fan for many years.For me this album has been like meeting a soulmate in a slightly run down but all too comfortable bar and wishing you had met them much earlier in your life!!!!!
Songs like "Democracy" and "I'm Your Man" cover the dark side of politics and personal relationships superbly and the former should be essential listening for the Neo-Cons of the White House.
I will not go over everything already written but this double disc set seems a top introduction to Cohen's development and style.I have already ordered 2 more albums from his back catalogue and I feel this discovery could hit my bsank balance hard in the near future.Totally recommended.

A wonderful cross section of Cohen's music, 18 May 2006
This album is superb value, two generous discs crammed with very special music. It spans the whole range of Cohen's output (up to "Ten new songs") and you can hear his voice becoming deeper and more melancholy as the tracks go by.

Whilst everyone will have his favourite Cohen track, it must be said that there is not a bad track in the collection. Whilst all are clearly "Cohen", there is within that heading a tremendous range of moods and styles from the driving rhythms of "Democracy" to the more reflective favourite "Suzanne". In the later songs Sharon Robinson (the co-writer) plays a big part, but I find these songs just as good as the "pure" Cohen: in any case one of Cohen's strengths is that he changes in style, but still remains distinctly himself.

As always the lyrics are superb and blend in perfectly with the music: really the two cannot be separated. For me the very ambiguity and different possible interpretations of the words of such songs as "Alexandra leaving" add to their universality and give them an appeal to so many people (and make them suitable for so many moods).

When I purchased this disc I had not listened to Cohen for some time and had forgotten just how much I liked him and just how unique he is. I regard it as one of the best discs in my collection

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perhaps, alongside Jeff Buckley's GRACE and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, the greatest debut of all time, for my money).

It's like sipping your best brandy whilst puffing on a quality cigar, 04 May 2007
The voice is the first thing you notice. The early poetic renditions on such classics as "Suzanne", "Sisters of Mercy" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" are presented in a voice that is deadpan but not as gruff as in later years. This was at a period when he was a well kept secret and with a style and presentation that not everyone took to. Move onto disc 2 and you notice how the voice deepens and the songs become bigger. One thing that Cohen has never failed to deliver is quality songs with curious stories to tell. He has an almost hymn-like or gospel touch on a lot of his work, usually enhanced by superb backing singers and wondrous musicians and arrangements.

I move between both of his periods with equal ease, but I find the latter stuff more appealing these days. Some people could sing the contents of the telephone directory given the right voice, he is one of them. "Democracy", "Tower of Song", "First we take Manhattan" and "Hallelujah" are stand out tracks but I defy anyone not to get lost in "Closing Time". This is by far my favourite. A fun song, with so many catchy hooks it just pulls you off your seat and invites you to dance with the nearest partner. You can almost smell the smoke and alcoholic fumes as if you are drinking in the bar with him. A tremendous talent......but what great assistance from his backing singers.

This is a great selection of his work. If you are a fan, you'll want it in your collection. If you are just curious, buy it.........it's a great introduction.


A lesson for what really music is, 02 Feb 2007
There's nothing missing from this collection. Not the quality, not the deep, truthful voice, not the fully poetic and inspirational lyrics, nothing. My boyfriend bought this CD and we can't get enough of it- especially DISC 2.
Cohen is and will remain unique in this industry, mainly because he has something solid yet so delicate to say, because he is a musician, because he possesses the gift to sing stories instead of 'telling a song'. Great music, great lyrics, great singer.

Simply Blown Away.....New Convert, 27 Nov 2006
Well I cannot believe I have lived for 42 years without listening to a Cohen Album.I tried this on spec seeing the reviews and having been a big Dylan/Springsteen fan for many years.For me this album has been like meeting a soulmate in a slightly run down but all too comfortable bar and wishing you had met them much earlier in your life!!!!!
Songs like "Democracy" and "I'm Your Man" cover the dark side of politics and personal relationships superbly and the former should be essential listening for the Neo-Cons of the White House.
I will not go over everything already written but this double disc set seems a top introduction to Cohen's development and style.I have already ordered 2 more albums from his back catalogue and I feel this discovery could hit my bsank balance hard in the near future.Totally recommended.

A wonderful cross section of Cohen's music, 18 May 2006
This album is superb value, two generous discs crammed with very special music. It spans the whole range of Cohen's output (up to "Ten new songs") and you can hear his voice becoming deeper and more melancholy as the tracks go by.

Whilst everyone will have his favourite Cohen track, it must be said that there is not a bad track in the collection. Whilst all are clearly "Cohen", there is within that heading a tremendous range of moods and styles from the driving rhythms of "Democracy" to the more reflective favourite "Suzanne". In the later songs Sharon Robinson (the co-writer) plays a big part, but I find these songs just as good as the "pure" Cohen: in any case one of Cohen's strengths is that he changes in style, but still remains distinctly himself.

As always the lyrics are superb and blend in perfectly with the music: really the two cannot be separated. For me the very ambiguity and different possible interpretations of the words of such songs as "Alexandra leaving" add to their universality and give them an appeal to so many people (and make them suitable for so many moods).

When I purchased this disc I had not listened to Cohen for some time and had forgotten just how much I liked him and just how unique he is. I regard it as one of the best discs in my collection


all that you need, 07 Dec 2007
Yet another greatest hits album, but what the hell, this contains every decent track he has ever recorded. Many collections are padded out with gastly stocking filler tracks, not this one. I must admit that I really liked at least 20 of the tracks on this. Enough said.

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perhaps, alongside Jeff Buckley's GRACE and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, the greatest debut of all time, for my money).

It's like sipping your best brandy whilst puffing on a quality cigar, 04 May 2007
The voice is the first thing you notice. The early poetic renditions on such classics as "Suzanne", "Sisters of Mercy" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" are presented in a voice that is deadpan but not as gruff as in later years. This was at a period when he was a well kept secret and with a style and presentation that not everyone took to. Move onto disc 2 and you notice how the voice deepens and the songs become bigger. One thing that Cohen has never failed to deliver is quality songs with curious stories to tell. He has an almost hymn-like or gospel touch on a lot of his work, usually enhanced by superb backing singers and wondrous musicians and arrangements.

I move between both of his periods with equal ease, but I find the latter stuff more appealing these days. Some people could sing the contents of the telephone directory given the right voice, he is one of them. "Democracy", "Tower of Song", "First we take Manhattan" and "Hallelujah" are stand out tracks but I defy anyone not to get lost in "Closing Time". This is by far my favourite. A fun song, with so many catchy hooks it just pulls you off your seat and invites you to dance with the nearest partner. You can almost smell the smoke and alcoholic fumes as if you are drinking in the bar with him. A tremendous talent......but what great assistance from his backing singers.

This is a great selection of his work. If you are a fan, you'll want it in your collection. If you are just curious, buy it.........it's a great introduction.


A lesson for what really music is, 02 Feb 2007
There's nothing missing from this collection. Not the quality, not the deep, truthful voice, not the fully poetic and inspirational lyrics, nothing. My boyfriend bought this CD and we can't get enough of it- especially DISC 2.
Cohen is and will remain unique in this industry, mainly because he has something solid yet so delicate to say, because he is a musician, because he possesses the gift to sing stories instead of 'telling a song'. Great music, great lyrics, great singer.

Simply Blown Away.....New Convert, 27 Nov 2006
Well I cannot believe I have lived for 42 years without listening to a Cohen Album.I tried this on spec seeing the reviews and having been a big Dylan/Springsteen fan for many years.For me this album has been like meeting a soulmate in a slightly run down but all too comfortable bar and wishing you had met them much earlier in your life!!!!!
Songs like "Democracy" and "I'm Your Man" cover the dark side of politics and personal relationships superbly and the former should be essential listening for the Neo-Cons of the White House.
I will not go over everything already written but this double disc set seems a top introduction to Cohen's development and style.I have already ordered 2 more albums from his back catalogue and I feel this discovery could hit my bsank balance hard in the near future.Totally recommended.

A wonderful cross section of Cohen's music, 18 May 2006
This album is superb value, two generous discs crammed with very special music. It spans the whole range of Cohen's output (up to "Ten new songs") and you can hear his voice becoming deeper and more melancholy as the tracks go by.

Whilst everyone will have his favourite Cohen track, it must be said that there is not a bad track in the collection. Whilst all are clearly "Cohen", there is within that heading a tremendous range of moods and styles from the driving rhythms of "Democracy" to the more reflective favourite "Suzanne". In the later songs Sharon Robinson (the co-writer) plays a big part, but I find these songs just as good as the "pure" Cohen: in any case one of Cohen's strengths is that he changes in style, but still remains distinctly himself.

As always the lyrics are superb and blend in perfectly with the music: really the two cannot be separated. For me the very ambiguity and different possible interpretations of the words of such songs as "Alexandra leaving" add to their universality and give them an appeal to so many people (and make them suitable for so many moods).

When I purchased this disc I had not listened to Cohen for some time and had forgotten just how much I liked him and just how unique he is. I regard it as one of the best discs in my collection


all that you need, 07 Dec 2007
Yet another greatest hits album, but what the hell, this contains every decent track he has ever recorded. Many collections are padded out with gastly stocking filler tracks, not this one. I must admit that I really liked at least 20 of the tracks on this. Enough said.

Very Good but..., 14 Nov 2008
I bought this CD on pre-order a while back when it first became available and this is a very good and complete "greatest hits" from Celine Dion. However, that being said there is a 2 CD version available and it is much more complete. Considering (at present) the difference between them is £3 its well worth paying just a tiny bit extra for 36 tracks instead of just 18 on this version. I returned my copy of the "standard edition" and paid the little extra for the "Ultimate Edition".

AMAZING ALBUM!!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perhaps, alongside Jeff Buckley's GRACE and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, the greatest debut of all time, for my money).

It's like sipping your best brandy whilst puffing on a quality cigar, 04 May 2007
The voice is the first thing you notice. The early poetic renditions on such classics as "Suzanne", "Sisters of Mercy" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" are presented in a voice that is deadpan but not as gruff as in later years. This was at a period when he was a well kept secret and with a style and presentation that not everyone took to. Move onto disc 2 and you notice how the voice deepens and the songs become bigger. One thing that Cohen has never failed to deliver is quality songs with curious stories to tell. He has an almost hymn-like or gospel touch on a lot of his work, usually enhanced by superb backing singers and wondrous musicians and arrangements.

I move between both of his periods with equal ease, but I find the latter stuff more appealing these days. Some people could sing the contents of the telephone directory given the right voice, he is one of them. "Democracy", "Tower of Song", "First we take Manhattan" and "Hallelujah" are stand out tracks but I defy anyone not to get lost in "Closing Time". This is by far my favourite. A fun song, with so many catchy hooks it just pulls you off your seat and invites you to dance with the nearest partner. You can almost smell the smoke and alcoholic fumes as if you are drinking in the bar with him. A tremendous talent......but what great assistance from his backing singers.

This is a great selection of his work. If you are a fan, you'll want it in your collection. If you are just curious, buy it.........it's a great introduction.


A lesson for what really music is, 02 Feb 2007
There's nothing missing from this collection. Not the quality, not the deep, truthful voice, not the fully poetic and inspirational lyrics, nothing. My boyfriend bought this CD and we can't get enough of it- especially DISC 2.
Cohen is and will remain unique in this industry, mainly because he has something solid yet so delicate to say, because he is a musician, because he possesses the gift to sing stories instead of 'telling a song'. Great music, great lyrics, great singer.

Simply Blown Away.....New Convert, 27 Nov 2006
Well I cannot believe I have lived for 42 years without listening to a Cohen Album.I tried this on spec seeing the reviews and having been a big Dylan/Springsteen fan for many years.For me this album has been like meeting a soulmate in a slightly run down but all too comfortable bar and wishing you had met them much earlier in your life!!!!!
Songs like "Democracy" and "I'm Your Man" cover the dark side of politics and personal relationships superbly and the former should be essential listening for the Neo-Cons of the White House.
I will not go over everything already written but this double disc set seems a top introduction to Cohen's development and style.I have already ordered 2 more albums from his back catalogue and I feel this discovery could hit my bsank balance hard in the near future.Totally recommended.

A wonderful cross section of Cohen's music, 18 May 2006
This album is superb value, two generous discs crammed with very special music. It spans the whole range of Cohen's output (up to "Ten new songs") and you can hear his voice becoming deeper and more melancholy as the tracks go by.

Whilst everyone will have his favourite Cohen track, it must be said that there is not a bad track in the collection. Whilst all are clearly "Cohen", there is within that heading a tremendous range of moods and styles from the driving rhythms of "Democracy" to the more reflective favourite "Suzanne". In the later songs Sharon Robinson (the co-writer) plays a big part, but I find these songs just as good as the "pure" Cohen: in any case one of Cohen's strengths is that he changes in style, but still remains distinctly himself.

As always the lyrics are superb and blend in perfectly with the music: really the two cannot be separated. For me the very ambiguity and different possible interpretations of the words of such songs as "Alexandra leaving" add to their universality and give them an appeal to so many people (and make them suitable for so many moods).

When I purchased this disc I had not listened to Cohen for some time and had forgotten just how much I liked him and just how unique he is. I regard it as one of the best discs in my collection


all that you need, 07 Dec 2007
Yet another greatest hits album, but what the hell, this contains every decent track he has ever recorded. Many collections are padded out with gastly stocking filler tracks, not this one. I must admit that I really liked at least 20 of the tracks on this. Enough said.

Very Good but..., 14 Nov 2008
I bought this CD on pre-order a while back when it first became available and this is a very good and complete "greatest hits" from Celine Dion. However, that being said there is a 2 CD version available and it is much more complete. Considering (at present) the difference between them is £3 its well worth paying just a tiny bit extra for 36 tracks instead of just 18 on this version. I returned my copy of the "standard edition" and paid the little extra for the "Ultimate Edition".

AMAZING ALBUM!!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

The Very Best of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, 17 May 2008
Fantastic CD & quality reproduction only disappointment is "Proud One" isn't included. Can't find this song on any Frankie Valli/Four Seasons CDs any ideas ?

Top quality pop music , 15 May 2008
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were hugely successful in America, where they had a long string of major hits, especially in the sixties. They were less successful in Britain but still managed seven top ten hits including a number one. Here you can find all the classics. From the sixties, there are Sherry, Big girls don't cry, Walk like a man, Rag doll, Let's hang on and many others. From the seventies, there are My eyes adored you, Who loves you, Night (a track recorded for Motown), December '63 Oh what a night (their only British number one hit) and Grease. One obvious omission from the seventies is Silver star (a UK top three hit).

Aside from their own hits, covers of their songs were also successful for others, four of them becoming UK number one hits via covers. The original Four Seasons versions of The sun ain't gonna shine anymore (Walker brothers), Silence is golden (Tremeloes), Bye bye baby (Bay city rollers) and Working my way back to you (Detroit Spinners) are all included here.

This is an excellent double CD collection of music by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, one of the best American groups of the sixties and seventies, released to coincide with opening of the West End musical Jersey Boys. Please note that a 3CD+DVD set covering the music of the Four Seasons in much more detail is available for those who want it and can afford the extra cost.

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perhaps, alongside Jeff Buckley's GRACE and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, the greatest debut of all time, for my money).

It's like sipping your best brandy whilst puffing on a quality cigar, 04 May 2007
The voice is the first thing you notice. The early poetic renditions on such classics as "Suzanne", "Sisters of Mercy" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" are presented in a voice that is deadpan but not as gruff as in later years. This was at a period when he was a well kept secret and with a style and presentation that not everyone took to. Move onto disc 2 and you notice how the voice deepens and the songs become bigger. One thing that Cohen has never failed to deliver is quality songs with curious stories to tell. He has an almost hymn-like or gospel touch on a lot of his work, usually enhanced by superb backing singers and wondrous musicians and arrangements.

I move between both of his periods with equal ease, but I find the latter stuff more appealing these days. Some people could sing the contents of the telephone directory given the right voice, he is one of them. "Democracy", "Tower of Song", "First we take Manhattan" and "Hallelujah" are stand out tracks but I defy anyone not to get lost in "Closing Time". This is by far my favourite. A fun song, with so many catchy hooks it just pulls you off your seat and invites you to dance with the nearest partner. You can almost smell the smoke and alcoholic fumes as if you are drinking in the bar with him. A tremendous talent......but what great assistance from his backing singers.

This is a great selection of his work. If you are a fan, you'll want it in your collection. If you are just curious, buy it.........it's a great introduction.


A lesson for what really music is, 02 Feb 2007
There's nothing missing from this collection. Not the quality, not the deep, truthful voice, not the fully poetic and inspirational lyrics, nothing. My boyfriend bought this CD and we can't get enough of it- especially DISC 2.
Cohen is and will remain unique in this industry, mainly because he has something solid yet so delicate to say, because he is a musician, because he possesses the gift to sing stories instead of 'telling a song'. Great music, great lyrics, great singer.

Simply Blown Away.....New Convert, 27 Nov 2006
Well I cannot believe I have lived for 42 years without listening to a Cohen Album.I tried this on spec seeing the reviews and having been a big Dylan/Springsteen fan for many years.For me this album has been like meeting a soulmate in a slightly run down but all too comfortable bar and wishing you had met them much earlier in your life!!!!!
Songs like "Democracy" and "I'm Your Man" cover the dark side of politics and personal relationships superbly and the former should be essential listening for the Neo-Cons of the White House.
I will not go over everything already written but this double disc set seems a top introduction to Cohen's development and style.I have already ordered 2 more albums from his back catalogue and I feel this discovery could hit my bsank balance hard in the near future.Totally recommended.

A wonderful cross section of Cohen's music, 18 May 2006
This album is superb value, two generous discs crammed with very special music. It spans the whole range of Cohen's output (up to "Ten new songs") and you can hear his voice becoming deeper and more melancholy as the tracks go by.

Whilst everyone will have his favourite Cohen track, it must be said that there is not a bad track in the collection. Whilst all are clearly "Cohen", there is within that heading a tremendous range of moods and styles from the driving rhythms of "Democracy" to the more reflective favourite "Suzanne". In the later songs Sharon Robinson (the co-writer) plays a big part, but I find these songs just as good as the "pure" Cohen: in any case one of Cohen's strengths is that he changes in style, but still remains distinctly himself.

As always the lyrics are superb and blend in perfectly with the music: really the two cannot be separated. For me the very ambiguity and different possible interpretations of the words of such songs as "Alexandra leaving" add to their universality and give them an appeal to so many people (and make them suitable for so many moods).

When I purchased this disc I had not listened to Cohen for some time and had forgotten just how much I liked him and just how unique he is. I regard it as one of the best discs in my collection


all that you need, 07 Dec 2007
Yet another greatest hits album, but what the hell, this contains every decent track he has ever recorded. Many collections are padded out with gastly stocking filler tracks, not this one. I must admit that I really liked at least 20 of the tracks on this. Enough said.

Very Good but..., 14 Nov 2008
I bought this CD on pre-order a while back when it first became available and this is a very good and complete "greatest hits" from Celine Dion. However, that being said there is a 2 CD version available and it is much more complete. Considering (at present) the difference between them is £3 its well worth paying just a tiny bit extra for 36 tracks instead of just 18 on this version. I returned my copy of the "standard edition" and paid the little extra for the "Ultimate Edition".

AMAZING ALBUM!!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

The Very Best of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, 17 May 2008
Fantastic CD & quality reproduction only disappointment is "Proud One" isn't included. Can't find this song on any Frankie Valli/Four Seasons CDs any ideas ?

Top quality pop music , 15 May 2008
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were hugely successful in America, where they had a long string of major hits, especially in the sixties. They were less successful in Britain but still managed seven top ten hits including a number one. Here you can find all the classics. From the sixties, there are Sherry, Big girls don't cry, Walk like a man, Rag doll, Let's hang on and many others. From the seventies, there are My eyes adored you, Who loves you, Night (a track recorded for Motown), December '63 Oh what a night (their only British number one hit) and Grease. One obvious omission from the seventies is Silver star (a UK top three hit).

Aside from their own hits, covers of their songs were also successful for others, four of them becoming UK number one hits via covers. The original Four Seasons versions of The sun ain't gonna shine anymore (Walker brothers), Silence is golden (Tremeloes), Bye bye baby (Bay city rollers) and Working my way back to you (Detroit Spinners) are all included here.

This is an excellent double CD collection of music by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, one of the best American groups of the sixties and seventies, released to coincide with opening of the West End musical Jersey Boys. Please note that a 3CD+DVD set covering the music of the Four Seasons in much more detail is available for those who want it and can afford the extra cost.

Garbage?, 09 Nov 2008
Yep. Track 21 (The World is Not Enough) is performed by someone called Garbage and talk about living up to one's name... How did someone who has no voice wind up singing a Bond song? *shakes head in disbelief* Actually, after kd lang's sublime performance of Surrender, the rest of the CD is not worth listening to. Before that, however, it's a lovely trip down memory lane listening to good sings sung by singers who can, well, sing.....

All the songs, and an unfortunate "extra"., 27 Oct 2008
Not much to say about the first 23 tracks on this collection that hasn't been said already - whatever your personal musical tastes, the pre-Goldeneye songs are all classics, the later ones may well become classics in time, except of course for the unfortunate blip that was Die Another Day. The Chris Cornell theme from Casino Royale is included, but sadly it's the version already released on the single, not as heard in the film.

This time, the CD has the songs arranged in chronological order, (previously only found on the 30th Anniversary Double CD), and would have got the full 5 stars, were it not for the inclusion of the last track, a re-working of the Bond theme by John Arnold.

There are no words to describe how pitifully bad this track is. It would be more at home amongst the anonymous cover versions of Bond themes found on those cheap cover Bond albums. Hopefully, this will be the first and last time it's ever released on an official Bond music compilation.

If you already have all the songs on one CD or another, you may want to consider if it's worth getting this one, as the only new music you're getting is the John Arnold track, and that alone is simply not worth it.

What once seemed Queen's greatest liabilities--a preening flamboyance and pompous, overwrought theatricality--have ironically become their most enduring charms in a grey, postmodern pop-music landscape. While it eschews the glammy, pre-punk hard rock of live faves such as "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Tie Your Mother Down" for the band's more quirky club-beat string of latter-day hits , this 51-track triple-CD anthology goes a long way toward documenting the true dimensions of the band's music and fame. It even includes some solo work by Brian May and Freddie Mercury, whose duet on "Barcelona" with diva Montserrat Caballé transcends boundaries of both time and genre. A previously unreleased live performance of "The Show Must Go On" featuring Elton John on vocals is also included. --Jerry McCulley

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perhaps, alongside Jeff Buckley's GRACE and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, the greatest debut of all time, for my money).

It's like sipping your best brandy whilst puffing on a quality cigar, 04 May 2007
The voice is the first thing you notice. The early poetic renditions on such classics as "Suzanne", "Sisters of Mercy" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" are presented in a voice that is deadpan but not as gruff as in later years. This was at a period when he was a well kept secret and with a style and presentation that not everyone took to. Move onto disc 2 and you notice how the voice deepens and the songs become bigger. One thing that Cohen has never failed to deliver is quality songs with curious stories to tell. He has an almost hymn-like or gospel touch on a lot of his work, usually enhanced by superb backing singers and wondrous musicians and arrangements.

I move between both of his periods with equal ease, but I find the latter stuff more appealing these days. Some people could sing the contents of the telephone directory given the right voice, he is one of them. "Democracy", "Tower of Song", "First we take Manhattan" and "Hallelujah" are stand out tracks but I defy anyone not to get lost in "Closing Time". This is by far my favourite. A fun song, with so many catchy hooks it just pulls you off your seat and invites you to dance with the nearest partner. You can almost smell the smoke and alcoholic fumes as if you are drinking in the bar with him. A tremendous talent......but what great assistance from his backing singers.

This is a great selection of his work. If you are a fan, you'll want it in your collection. If you are just curious, buy it.........it's a great introduction.


A lesson for what really music is, 02 Feb 2007
There's nothing missing from this collection. Not the quality, not the deep, truthful voice, not the fully poetic and inspirational lyrics, nothing. My boyfriend bought this CD and we can't get enough of it- especially DISC 2.
Cohen is and will remain unique in this industry, mainly because he has something solid yet so delicate to say, because he is a musician, because he possesses the gift to sing stories instead of 'telling a song'. Great music, great lyrics, great singer.

Simply Blown Away.....New Convert, 27 Nov 2006
Well I cannot believe I have lived for 42 years without listening to a Cohen Album.I tried this on spec seeing the reviews and having been a big Dylan/Springsteen fan for many years.For me this album has been like meeting a soulmate in a slightly run down but all too comfortable bar and wishing you had met them much earlier in your life!!!!!
Songs like "Democracy" and "I'm Your Man" cover the dark side of politics and personal relationships superbly and the former should be essential listening for the Neo-Cons of the White House.
I will not go over everything already written but this double disc set seems a top introduction to Cohen's development and style.I have already ordered 2 more albums from his back catalogue and I feel this discovery could hit my bsank balance hard in the near future.Totally recommended.

A wonderful cross section of Cohen's music, 18 May 2006
This album is superb value, two generous discs crammed with very special music. It spans the whole range of Cohen's output (up to "Ten new songs") and you can hear his voice becoming deeper and more melancholy as the tracks go by.

Whilst everyone will have his favourite Cohen track, it must be said that there is not a bad track in the collection. Whilst all are clearly "Cohen", there is within that heading a tremendous range of moods and styles from the driving rhythms of "Democracy" to the more reflective favourite "Suzanne". In the later songs Sharon Robinson (the co-writer) plays a big part, but I find these songs just as good as the "pure" Cohen: in any case one of Cohen's strengths is that he changes in style, but still remains distinctly himself.

As always the lyrics are superb and blend in perfectly with the music: really the two cannot be separated. For me the very ambiguity and different possible interpretations of the words of such songs as "Alexandra leaving" add to their universality and give them an appeal to so many people (and make them suitable for so many moods).

When I purchased this disc I had not listened to Cohen for some time and had forgotten just how much I liked him and just how unique he is. I regard it as one of the best discs in my collection


all that you need, 07 Dec 2007
Yet another greatest hits album, but what the hell, this contains every decent track he has ever recorded. Many collections are padded out with gastly stocking filler tracks, not this one. I must admit that I really liked at least 20 of the tracks on this. Enough said.

Very Good but..., 14 Nov 2008
I bought this CD on pre-order a while back when it first became available and this is a very good and complete "greatest hits" from Celine Dion. However, that being said there is a 2 CD version available and it is much more complete. Considering (at present) the difference between them is £3 its well worth paying just a tiny bit extra for 36 tracks instead of just 18 on this version. I returned my copy of the "standard edition" and paid the little extra for the "Ultimate Edition".

AMAZING ALBUM!!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

The Very Best of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, 17 May 2008
Fantastic CD & quality reproduction only disappointment is "Proud One" isn't included. Can't find this song on any Frankie Valli/Four Seasons CDs any ideas ?

Top quality pop music , 15 May 2008
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were hugely successful in America, where they had a long string of major hits, especially in the sixties. They were less successful in Britain but still managed seven top ten hits including a number one. Here you can find all the classics. From the sixties, there are Sherry, Big girls don't cry, Walk like a man, Rag doll, Let's hang on and many others. From the seventies, there are My eyes adored you, Who loves you, Night (a track recorded for Motown), December '63 Oh what a night (their only British number one hit) and Grease. One obvious omission from the seventies is Silver star (a UK top three hit).

Aside from their own hits, covers of their songs were also successful for others, four of them becoming UK number one hits via covers. The original Four Seasons versions of The sun ain't gonna shine anymore (Walker brothers), Silence is golden (Tremeloes), Bye bye baby (Bay city rollers) and Working my way back to you (Detroit Spinners) are all included here.

This is an excellent double CD collection of music by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, one of the best American groups of the sixties and seventies, released to coincide with opening of the West End musical Jersey Boys. Please note that a 3CD+DVD set covering the music of the Four Seasons in much more detail is available for those who want it and can afford the extra cost.

Garbage?, 09 Nov 2008
Yep. Track 21 (The World is Not Enough) is performed by someone called Garbage and talk about living up to one's name... How did someone who has no voice wind up singing a Bond song? *shakes head in disbelief* Actually, after kd lang's sublime performance of Surrender, the rest of the CD is not worth listening to. Before that, however, it's a lovely trip down memory lane listening to good sings sung by singers who can, well, sing.....

All the songs, and an unfortunate "extra"., 27 Oct 2008
Not much to say about the first 23 tracks on this collection that hasn't been said already - whatever your personal musical tastes, the pre-Goldeneye songs are all classics, the later ones may well become classics in time, except of course for the unfortunate blip that was Die Another Day. The Chris Cornell theme from Casino Royale is included, but sadly it's the version already released on the single, not as heard in the film.

This time, the CD has the songs arranged in chronological order, (previously only found on the 30th Anniversary Double CD), and would have got the full 5 stars, were it not for the inclusion of the last track, a re-working of the Bond theme by John Arnold.

There are no words to describe how pitifully bad this track is. It would be more at home amongst the anonymous cover versions of Bond themes found on those cheap cover Bond albums. Hopefully, this will be the first and last time it's ever released on an official Bond music compilation.

If you already have all the songs on one CD or another, you may want to consider if it's worth getting this one, as the only new music you're getting is the John Arnold track, and that alone is simply not worth it.

Ageless music, 14 Jul 2008
I have just got the box set recently, and have been enjoying it greatly. Not just that, my three daughters aged 9, 6 and 2 are great fans, and want to listen to it all the time in the car. And the two-year-old even says 'Rock' once she hears the first few bars of 'We will rock you'. Just goes on to show that Queen truly made ageless music, which still scores far above most contemporary music.

A triumph!, 29 Jun 2008
Every song is great and "Don't Stop me now" and "Save me" are especially good.Even my 14 year old son loves this set. I recommend this to any Queen Fan!

fabulous, 08 May 2008
i love every track in this box set! it's brilliant and a complete bargain. would definitely recommend it to people wanting to get some classics in their collection

One of the best, 03 Apr 2008
If this collection doesn't represent 5-star standard then nothing does, i understand that music is a personal experience but queen's music really does span all tastes and i've yet to meet anyone who's spoken a bad word against them. Freddie Mercury has been described by many and the best frontman of all time and there really is no arguement, his vocals are strong througout every song here and brian may's excellent guitar work is an added blessing. Not only is this collection full of great songs but it's also extremely good value. Music rarely gets better than this and maybe never will again.

Bow down to Rock Royalty!!, 27 Mar 2008
The best, most flamboyant, most spectacular, most amazing rock group ever!! Queen are just brilliant. In Freddie Mercury, they had a frontman who had it all. He could command the stage like no one else, had a voice that was so incredible, a style that was so unique, and a talent that can never be dimmed. Brian May is a guitar genius, able to make the instrument speak, and being a good vocalist in his own right. John Deacon is brilliant on bass, and Roger Taylor a diva on the drums, each member stamping his own individuality on the band. Their music is so intense, so haunting, so fantastic, so QUEEN!! This band are THE Royalty of Rock, and as such, deserve all the homage that is offerred to them. They rock,their music rocks, they certainly rock my world, and I'm sure that everyone who listens to them will find their own world rocked too. God Save Queen!!

Pretty self-explanatory stuff, this, since Best of Bowie collects most of Bowie's hits and a few of his more fetishised songs onto two CDs, rendering previous compilations--notably 1990's ChangesBowie--redundant. Of course, it's fantastic. For this is Bowie's pop genius shrink-wrapped: music notable for both its pretension and its accessibility, brimming with unignorable power and bespangled absurdity. Racing through these 39 songs from "Space Oddity" to "Slow Burn" (from 2002's relative return-to-form Heathen), the surprise is how coherent they sound next to each other. For someone so often portrayed as an artistic shape-shifter, it's the consistency of Bowie's vision that's most apparent, how he stamps his identity on every trend he comes across.

Like the Rolling Stones' similarly enjoyable 40 Licks, things do get a bit sticky towards the end of Disc Two, though there's mercifully nothing from the two Tin Machine albums. Obsessives should note, too, that the tracklisting of Best of Bowie varies from country to country: the albums have been compiled according to the most popular songs in each territory. Wonder which lucky place got "The Laughing Gnome" included on their version? --John Mulvey

Celine belting them out & then there is the sleeve...., 19 Nov 2008
I would never consider myself to be a lover of the type of music that Celine Dion sings but I do think that she is the absolute best at what she does.A lot of people may well harp on about Mariah,Whitney or even Beyonce but Celine has always been one step above all of the other ballad singers and I really do believe that she has a great voice.She does seem to rub some people up the wrong way and she can be a trifle over dramatic but she gets away with it because of her singing talents.

This is a pretty good selection and includes her greatest song 'A New Day Has Come'.I don't think she has ever bettered it vocally and it is a special song.I say that as someone that likes Oasis,Slade and Alice Cooper!!We have been lucky enough to have seen her twice in concert and she was fabulous both times.She is a consumate professional and by and large always delivers.

If you still have any doubts,check out the picture of Celine on the cover.OK,I'm shallow but she looks fantastic and makes this compilation even more worthwhile!

excellent!, 17 Nov 2008
...another "greatest" hits collection but at the very least, this double cds have an extra something which set this collection apart from her other
compilations.
Personal notes inside the jacket/cover dedicating this to the fans and i like this collection although i have her other collections as well because
the chronological order of the songs suits just fine and there are also the live version of "my love" and then some. Great gift to Celine Dion's fans for Christmas.

An essential buy., 28 Oct 2008
This album from the greatest female singer of our time is an essential buy not just for devotees, but for those wish to purchase some of the best songs that Celine has done.

A truly worthwhile buy.

Another failed opportunity, 26 Oct 2008
I am beginning to wonder what Celine Dion has done to not deserve a half-decent Greatest Hits/Best Of collection. Did she offend someone in a former life? A decade ago we were treated with the derisory "All The Way A Decade Of Song" which as every fan knows was a half-baked cash-in album which randomly skimmed about ten Celine hits and matched them with eight or ten new recordings. For the last ten years we have been hoping for a proper retrospective for this astonishing artist and after all these years we get served up only a marginally better product than all those years ago. Better because it gives us more hits from Celine's heyday, but still woefully lacking. No sign of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" nor "If You Asked Me To" but loads of padding from recent albums which even the keenest Dion devotee would acknowledge is past the diva's best.

This is someone who is by all records and acclamation one of the greatest female singers of all time. It defies all logic why after two decades we are still awaiting a passable retrospective.

Amazing collection!, 22 Oct 2008
This is by far the most complete collection of Celine Dion's outstanding music career. It has all the smash hit singles from the 90's & 00's, as well as two new songs which are amazingly sung. This album is a must-have for any Celine fan or even people who haven't truly discovered her incredible talent. This album has everything from ballads, to uptembo pop music like I'm Alive and One Heart, to the rock oreinetated Taking Chances, showing Celine's extreme diversity as an artist.

I'd recommend anyone to buy this album, it's worth every penny!!

Soulfood Essential, 23 Aug 2008
This is as fine an introduction to the works of Leonard Cohen as could be imagined. The track list, selected by the man himself, covers almost every period of his recorded output (Cohen is not prolific in the way, say, Bob Dylan is, or Neil Young), but I do feel some truly great stuff has been overlooked, i.e. the hushed, but haunting version of 'Story Of Isaac' from 1973's LIVE SONGS, which is one of the most profound things that anyone has ever written, the great live recordings from FIELD COMMANDER COHEN: Tour Of 1979, which admittedly was not released until after THE ESSENTIAL LEONARD COHEN appeared. Of those songs, I feel the title track is as good and epic a song as any he's recorded, and the version from NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY would have sufficed over e.g 'Take This Longing' which already appears on his GREATEST HITS. As for the Passenger version of 'Lover Lover Lover', what can I say? It is blistering! Likewise (from that same album) versions of 'The Window', 'The Smokey Life', 'The Stranger Song', 'The Gypsy's Wife' (long since a staple of the live act) and an unforgettable reading of 'Memories' from the unfairly-maligned DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN, are all worthy of inclusion. In fact, it's true to say that all Cohen's output is essential, but I would also have included 'Ballad Of The Absent Mare' and 'Came So Far For Beauty' from RECENT SONGS, 'The Old Revolution' from SONGS FROM A ROOM (if only for discovering it had been a minor hit in the UK: hats off to Dale Winton for pointing that out to me!), the live 'Joan Of Arc', 'One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong' and 'Hallelujah' from 1993's COHEN LIVE, 'Coming Back To You' and 'The Captain' from 1984's VARIOUS POSITIONS, but the greatest omission surely has to be the Lorca-inspired 'Take This Waltz' from the brilliant I'M YOUR MAN. I could eulogise forever. Suffice to say, if your not familiar with the man's work, this is the perfect place to start. After that, buy THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, his debut (perh