The Best of Howard Jones [Import, Best of]

I can almost see him today, over twenty years after, with the spikey hair, wearing the mic on his head (like it became a standard years later) and sitting in front of a big fat synthesizer. The year was 1983 and the song was "What Is Love?" (I missed his debut single, "New Song"), my first introduction to Howard Jones' music, and one of several songs to become Synth-Pop standards. Followed by many other classics, such as "Things Can Only Get Better", "Life In One Day" and "No One Ever Is To Blame", Jones' music continues to have the same effect on everyone: it gets you off your seat, and if you're driving, it gets you to tap on the wheel while you sing along his catchy tunes.

This compilation captures them all, sadly (for him) rendering most of the rest of his collection pointless, but making his best works easy to access for longtime fans of his music as well newcomers into his musical legacy.

I was skeptical as always (with compilations) that the rest of the songs would be filler that I wouldn't care all that much about, but I liked the songs I did know enough to go ahead and make the purchase. I'm glad I did! Though I didn't know the other 14 tracks, it didn't take many plays for me to become a fan of them. The majority of the songs are slow, catchy tunes with top-notch singing and nice music to boot, and not a single of them are bad at all.

There's just something about Howard Jones's music. He seems to have a knack for making catchy hooks (listen to the way he says "love" in "What Is Love?," for instance) and for singing songs about as well as they could be done. You name it. "Pearl In The Shell," "Like To Get To Know You Well," "Life In One Day," and even the pleading "Look Mama," in which Jones says "Look mama, I love you. But you gotta let me live my life" are all nice to listen to, whether you're relaxing in the comfort of your own home or driving to and from work.

Perhaps there are some filler tracks that could've been left off to make the album stronger, but that's not the way I look at it. I'm now a proud owner of the songs I've been hearing for years on the radio, and the other 14 songs....well, I may not know them by heart, but I don't consider them to be filler. They're just more Howard Jones to listen to. Like some Howard Jones songs? This is the album to get.

PROS:
If you want the Howard Jones hits you'll hear on your local eighties station, you've come to the right place. Things Can Only Get Better, No One Is To Blame, What Is Love?, and Everlasting Love are all here. Plus, you get one of Jones' underrated masterpieces - Like To Get To Know You Well, as featured in the 1985 film Better Off Dead. The other tracks are excellent too; there are very few fillers.

CONS:
I really can't think of many bad things to say about this compilation, because it's excellent. But there are a few filler tracks, and a few excellent tracks that didn't make the cut. But then again, aren't these things problems that haunt every hits compilation?

OVERALL:
Do you like Howard Jones? Get THIS compilation. Don't get The Essentials or the budget-priced best of, get THIS one.