Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume I Sacd

Released seven years and four albums after Lee Ann Womack began her career with her eponymous 1997 debut, Greatest Hits chronicles her career to date. The 14-track collection contains all of her biggest hits.

The mid-'60s were a time of transition for Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. The teen market had put Valli on the map, but he knew that teenagers turn into adults, so he gradually shifted his focus from teen pop to a more mature and middle of the road (although still quite sugary) approach that incorporated influences ranging from Motown and the Beach Boys to the British Invasion. This new outlook would be reflected not only in his work with the Four Seasons, but also in the solo career he launched in 1965. Spanning 1964-1978, Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 spotlights an edgier Valli than you'll generally find on Vol. 1.

The Four Seasons were never in a class with Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers or Little Anthony & the Imperials, and Franki Valli's voice tended to sound shrill. But despite their imperfections, Valli and friends came up with their share of fun, enjoyable teen pop in the early '60s. In fact, it's hard to imagine the early '60s without teen pop favorites like "Candy Girl" and "Big Girls Don't Cry." Spanning 1962-1965, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 boasts many of the Newark, NJ, group's definitive early hits, including "Stay," "Walk Like a Man," "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry." and "Candy Girl." One hears the group maturing somewhat on 1965's classic, Beach Boys-influenced "Bye, Bye, Baby," which became a major hit for the Bay City Rollers in 1975. Obviously, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 isn't meant to be an in-depth study of Valli and the Four Seasons, but for the casual listener, this CD and its companion, Vol. 2, are easily recommended.

The Greatest Hits Volume III album includes hits from 1983 to 1997. Three previously unreleased studio tracks are included, "To Make You Feel My Love", "Hey Girl", and "Light as the Breeze". All three tracks are covers songs (a rare occurrence in his catalogue), and although "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl" were recorded to be singles for this album, Joel originally recorded the song "Light as the Breeze" for a Leonard Cohen tribute album, Tower of Song, released in 1995. Chronologically, Greatest Hits Volume III overlaps slightly with Volume II, as the first two tracks, "Keeping the Faith" and "An Innocent Man", first appeared on his album An Innocent Man.

In his own inimitable fashion, Billy Joel has crafted some of the catchiest pop hits of the '80s and '90s, and most of them–17, to be exact–are on this disc. The jaunty, nostalgic "Keeping the Faith" opens things up, and we cruise right down memory lane with Billy: through the pop-soul of "A Matter of Trust", the brash, rocking "I Go to Extremes" and "All About Soul" (remixed here to good effect). Joel has grown over the course of his long career, and you can trace his maturity as an artist through these later songs. The tone is a bit darker, a bit edgier than on his earlier tunes. This is an artist who has always been about making pop music, but he's also lived and learned: "You gotta get tough/but that ain't enough/it's all about soul". Fans will probably agree, and will enjoy this collection immensely.

Limited Hybrid SACD edition of the rocker's 2000 collection.

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is the second greatest hits album and fourth U.S. #1 album by Barbra Streisand. Released in 1978, it included Streisand's greatest hits from the previous eight years with one new track, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," a duet with Neil Diamond which never appeared on a previous Streisand album. Greatest Hits Volume 2 was also the only Streisand album where the song “Prisoner” appeared. It originally appeared on the now out-of-print soundtrack album to The Eyes of Laura Mars.

"Greatest Hits Vol. 2" is the second greatest hits album and fourth U.S. #1 album by Barbra Streisand. Released in 1978, it included Streisand's greatest hits from the previous eight years with one new track, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," a duet with Neil Diamond which never appeared on a previous Streisand album. "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" was also the only Streisand album where the song “Prisoner” appeared. It originally appeared on the now out-of-print soundtrack album to "The Eyes of Laura Mars".