World Won't Listen

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
1986 hits & B-sides comp on WEA International. 18 tracks, including the CD exclusive of 'Money Changes Everything', aninstrumental that later became Bryan Ferry's hit 'The Right Stuff' in 1987 when he added lyrics & vocals to it. Others include 'Panic', 'London', 'Bigmouth Strikes Again', 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out', 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite', 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side', 'Ask' & 'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby'. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Panic
Ask
London
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Shakespeare's Sister
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
Shoplifters of the World Unite
Boy With the Thorn in His Side
Money Changes Everything
Asleep
Unloveable
Half a Person
Stretch Out and Wait
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
Oscillate Wildly
You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby
Rubber Ring
Golden Lights

Album Description

1986 hits & B-sides comp on WEA International. 18 tracks, including the CD exclusive of 'Money Changes Everything', aninstrumental that later became Bryan Ferry's hit 'The Right Stuff' in 1987 when he added lyrics & vocals to it. Others include 'Panic', 'London', 'Bigmouth Strikes Again', 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out', 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite', 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side', 'Ask' & 'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby'.

Album Details

Follow-up to 'Hatful of Hollow' best of that features tracks left off that retrospective. Includes alternate version 'Stretch Out and Wait' with different lyrics.

Customer Reviews:

Listen, this album is better than Louder than Bombs........2007-06-14

If you value quality of quantity then The World Won't Listen is for you (over Louder than Bombs). Aside from just a compilation of various tracks from their canon; this Smiths album is a wonderfully thought out collection of songs. It's a arrangement that flows wonderfully together, from one song to the next. For me, that's a crucial aspect of any album or compilation. And this collection fits that role perfectly.

It's also worth mentioning that this album's version of Stretch Out and Wait is lovely and that the inclusion of Marr's two instrumental masterpeieces (Money Changes Everything and Oscillate Wildly) works well as interludes between the standard songs - it's something I always do when I create playlists for myself and something I appreciate here as well.

Louder Than Bombs vs The World Won't Listen.......2005-10-24

Louder Than Bombs was my first Smiths album, and it took me a while to really get into it. I pushed my way through the songs, discovering the songs toward the end of the album much later. In short, it didn't flow for me. I bought The World Won't Listen unaware that it had most of the same songs as LTB, but as I listened, even though I was familiar with most of the songs, the album captivated my attention in a way LTB never did. If you want to have a solid collection, if you want a cheaper price, then go for LTB. However, if you want an album that works as an ALBUM, then get The World Won't Listen.

Unnecessary but excellent if you don't have "Louder Than Bombs".......2005-10-07

It's true that The Smiths' work has gotten the "reissue, repackage, repackage... extra track and a tacky badge" treatment in recent years. However that isn't really a valid criticism of this particular compilation. A reviewer below, with whom many of you seem to agree, actually makes a horribly illogical argument. He contends that you are better of buying the "actual albums" citing that most of these tracks can be had on "Louder Than Bombs". Well my friend, "Louder Than Bombs" was a compilation of early singles just like this one. LTB and TWWL were essentially the same exact album released for the same exact purpose. In fact, LTB is just TWWL released in the US as opposed to the UK intended to be basically a simultaneous release on opposite sides of the Pond. In reality "World..." slightly predates "Louder..." by several months; TWWL was released in the UK in February of 1987 while LTB was released in the US in May of the same year. So "Louder..." was NOT an "actual" album and it didn't come first.

Another reviewer says he hates the redundancy of Smiths' releases. I do too, but that is also germane only to later comps and not to this release. As noted before this and LTB are really just the same album intended for different populations... no one ever expected you to buy both. People in America were supposed to buy LTB while fans in the UK were supposed to buy TWWL... period. Having only the studio albums would cheat you out of many, many of the band's best songs. The simple truth is that every fan needs EITHER LTB or TWWL but not both. As for the posthumously released hits collections, I think they are redundant and I don't own them. The only argument that one can really make is that this is somewhat redundant with "Hatful of Hollow". However "Hatful" was never meant to be a proper release of the singles, rather it was released (very early in their career in 1984 I might add) to answer demand from fans for recordings of the band's Radio One John Peel Sessions; they added in a number of b-sides that many fans did not have to add value... so this was actually an attempt to help the fan out not to milk the redundancy cow. The versions at times are considerably different than the official versions and there are a couple of tracks hard to find elsewhere.

OK enough griping but I really hate inaccuracy and false arguments if you can't tell.

Having said the above, I personally slightly prefer "Louder Than Bombs" to "The World Won't Listen" simply because it is domestic and therefore cheaper, otherwise they are essentially the same. The only thing offered here that is truly rare is the instrumental "Money Changes Everything", later used as the music for Bryan ferry's hit "The Right Stuff" from 'Bete Noire'... a great song that Marr actually played on. Obviously the music is great as you already know.

Reissue, repackage, repackage.......2005-08-04

Geez, I hate how redundant the Smiths collections are! There seem to be more Smiths compilations than there are actual albums, and it makes it very frustrating when you only want each song they've made ONCE, because that's impossible. All through their catalog, even during their existence, tons and tons of songs were squashed together for UK releases, US releases, extra Peel sessions, it goes on and on.

The alienating thing about The World Won't Listen and its US counterpart Louder Than Bombs is that, unless you spent your time in the 1980s in England, you might not know a b-side from an album single from a non-album single from a non-album track from a big hit. While this is a testament to the Smiths overall consistent quality (they were one of the best b-side bands to exist, ever), it makes you wonder how many times a song like Hand In Glove or The Boy With The Thorn In His Side has to appear on different CDs.

What could be done instead (but no one seems to be interested in this idea, as indicated by the recent release of The Very Best of the Smiths) is to assemble all of the Smiths b-sides together. They already did it for the singles, so why not their counterparts? The Smiths spoiled their fans with the quantity and quality of their b-sides, and consolidating them to one release would help many of us clueless Yanks find out what makes a good British band tick.

So there is nothing especially wrong with The World Won't Listen. It's just that it's another piece to an already cluttered catalog of compilations that can't decide what it is they're compiling. Your time and money would be better spent on Louder Than Bombs (24 tracks...that's a lot for your money).

Inessential compilation.......2005-04-14

For the America Smiths fan, it's totally not worth paying the money to buy an import copy of this. All of the songs can be found on albums here except for Money Changes Everything, which is an instrumental and you can live without. The alternate vocal version of Stretch Out and Wait is on here as well, but unless you're a hardcore Smiths fan, it's not worth it.

Average customer rating:

Mixed feelings
Your love for this superb collection will be here to stay...
He's done it again
Absolutely 'S WONDERFUL!
A beautiful 2 disc CD-another hit for Michael

The Michael Feinstein Anthology

Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Romance on Film/Romance on Broadway
Michael & George (Feinstein Sings Gershwin)
Hopeless Romantics
Pure Gershwin
Isn't It Romantic

ASIN: B000065DVH
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Tracks:

Nice Work If You Can Get It
Isn't It Romantic
Swinging On A Star
Ask Me Again
Rhode Island Is Famous For You
'S Wonderful
Wonder Why
Too Marvelous For Words
Where Do You Start
Theme From The Bad And The Beautiful
Easy To Love
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Who Are You Now?
You're An Education
You Are There
Sophisticated Swing
Love Can Change The Stars
Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are
Half Of April (Most Of May)
Marianne
They Can't Take That Away From Me
I Love A Piano

Tracks:

That's Entertainment
My Favorite Year
Ten Feet Off The Ground (With Rosemary Clooney)
I Never Felt Better
Someone To Watch Over Me
Kiss Her Now
The Ugly Bug Ball
For You, For Me, Forever More
The Mole People
And So To Bed
You're All The World To Me
Old Friend
Isn't It A Pity (with Rosemary Clooney)
Pattisserie
Open Your Eyes
For Love Alone
I Won't Send Roses/Time Heals Everything
Get Out And Get Under The Moon (with Page Cavanaugh)
My Romance
Love Is Here To Stay
Violin (with Liza Minnelli)

Amazon.com

The line between evangelist and entertainer has always been somewhat indistinct. But as showcased on this 43-track, double-disc collection culled from his '87-'96 recordings for Elektra/Nonesuch/Atlantic, Michael Feinstein's dedication to spreading the gospel of the American song often blurs it beyond recognition. While the singer's pedigree for the task is impeccable (a long-term stint as Ira Gershwin's assistant and early career sponsorship by Liza Minnelli), his interpretations often succeed by playing off a tense axis of fervent emotionalism and a joyous sense of irreverence.

If his readings of romantic standards can sometimes tend toward the precious, they're often balanced here by sheer dramatic power and telling insights ("Isn't It Romantic" fairly bristles with ironic chauvinism) and a few loopy curves ("The Mole People," the Sherman Brothers' "The Ugly Bug Ball," and the previously unreleased "Rhode Island Is Famous for You"). Feinstein's dedicated song archaeology is also showcased on several gems: "Violin," a duet with Liza Minnelli; "My Favorite Year," a rejected ballad for the film of that name; the sublime "lost" Gershwin classic "Ask Me Again."

Sprinkled with live performances (the forum where Feinstein's talents seem most energized) and studio outtakes and featuring a lengthy print interview with the singer, the set chronicles both the pioneering efforts of one of pop music's most successful revivalists and, crucially, the cream of his beloved American songwriters, from stalwarts Gershwin, Berlin, and Porter to later legends like Herman, Styne, Lane, Martin, and Mercer. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

The definitive collection of performances by the Grammy nominated singer features 43 tracks from 14 albums released by Elektra, Elektra Nonesuch, and Atlantic labels from 1987-1996. Plus 8 previously unreleased live tracks only available here 'Rhode Island is Famous For You', 'S Wonderful', 'Alexander's Ragtime Band', 'I Love A Piano', 'Patisserie', 'Get Out And Get Under The Moon' (with Page Cavanaugh), 'Love Is Here To Stay' & 'Violin' (with Liza Minnelli). 2 Digipacks housed in a slipcase with a booklet. Rhino Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed feelings.......2005-10-05

This album has some GREAT songs on it; sophisticated swing being one of my favorites. However many of the other songs are too operatic and lame. I give three stars but this album is definatly worth it just for some of the better songs.

Your love for this superb collection will be here to stay..........2002-07-18

The magnificently talented Michael Feinstein has made one wonderful album after another for nearly two decades. Now that Elektra and Rhino have put together this anthology, I am blown away by the versatility and diversity in Feinstein's recorded output. Such amazing rare gems, combined with the most beloved favorites in the history of American Popular Song. Assembled with wit, intelligence, and obvious affection on the part of the record company, this set is a keeper. You'll love it!

He's done it again.......2002-07-15

Is there anything this man can't sing? This collection is so varied as to be the definitive collection of songs for any occassion.

This is perfect background music for a dinner party for a whole group but especially for two. Light, romantic and just gorgeous. You just can't go wrong when Michael Feinstein is your musical choice.

Way to go Michael, you've done it again!

Absolutely 'S WONDERFUL!.......2002-06-10

There are very few contemporary performers who can hold their own with the truly great interpreters of American popular song. Michael Feinstein is truly the ONLY performer of the "younger" generation who really understands what these songs are all about. His incredible knowledge of this music, and his enthusiasm and passion for it have fueled his career. Rhino Records has done a truly outstanding job of putting together an anthology that exemplifies why Mr. Feinstein has become so beloved by audiences around the world. The packaging is excellent, and filled with interesting photos and background information about many of the selections.

This collection not only contains all the favorites one would expect, but a neat group of surprises too. I especially love the duets with people like Liza Minnelli and Rosemary Clooney, and the various collaborative efforts with songwriters like Jule Styne and Burton Lane accompanying Michael at the piano.

This collection is a classic to be treasured. Bravo Michael!
Bravo Rhino!

A beautiful 2 disc CD-another hit for Michael.......2002-06-09

I have every CD Michael has ever made and this is by far one of the best ones because of Michael's range in singing and his wonderful singing voice. I love his duets with Rosemary Clooney and Liza Minelli. He is a wonderful performer on this double CD and am looking foward to the next CD.