Very Best Of Bananarama, The - Bananarama > Reviews > TITS, HITS AND BANANARAMA SPLITS

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Cheese - tastic !
Disadvantages:	Embarrassing to admit you have a copy .  .  .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Christmas comes but once a year – and so does the deluge of Greatest Hits compilations flooding the shops. There was a time when you had to have been around for at least ten years to get a greatest hits compilation – these days the record companies are simply waiting for their signings to have at least 12 singles so that they can cash in on the lucrative Christmas market. Not so with Bananarama. It may make you feel rather old if I tell you that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the girls’ debut single, so there is some justification in the release of (another, albeit updated) greatest hits compilation.

When I was at school I was a big fan of Bananarama. Their peak in sales and popularity probably occurred in the late 1980s when they were taken under the wing of Stock Aitken and Waterman, and this was when I really liked them. Looking back, and listening to some of this stuff now, I’m quite amazed that they lasted the mile. They had distinctly unremarkable voices, with little depth or power – in fact, they were very bland. They didn’t really write any of their own music, and their most popular tunes were normally cover versions. The album is testament to their success though, with 21 chart singles and an additional bonus megamix. One of the things I did like about the Nanas was their lack of attitude. This was real girl power – they didn’t have to thrust their cleavage in your face, and wear no knickers, they simply released the records, got in the Charts and showed the boys how it should be done.

Band History
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The three girls Siobhan, Keren and Sarah started off life as backing singers for the 80s group Fun Boy 3. Somehow, someone decided that they had what it took to be a band in their own right, and before you knew it they had three top five singles under the belt – Shy Boy, Really Saying Something and Na Na Hey Hey. They then hooked up with the producers of Spandau Ballet and recorded a further two albums, which spawned the 80s monsters Robert De Niro’s Waiting and Cruel Summer.

1986 was a defining year for the trio when they embarked on a new look, with a new attitude and went all camp on us. “Venus” was a massive hit both in the UK and the US, and was also their first single to be produced by the Hit Factory – Stock Aitken and Waterman. They followed this up with a further six SAW anthems, most of which hit the Top 10 – they even graced the Brit Awards with a selection of half naked toy boys and a thrusting rendition of Love In The First Degree. It was during this era, in 1998, that founding member Siobhan decided she’d had enough and went off to conquer the world as one half of Shakespear’s Sister. This wasn’t the end of the band though – as Jacquie O quickly filled the shoes left by Siobhan and helped the band carry on.

When the SAW bubble burst 1989 the girls were quick to find someone new, and worked with (then trendy, apparently) producer Youth to create some distinctly SAW sound alike material that made a soft impression on the charts. But things just weren’t the same, and when Jacquie left the group in 1991 everyone thought that was the last of Bananarama. But it was not to be – in 1992, with only two members left, the girls went back to Pete Waterman, and squeezed three more tunes out of the producer before they finally decided to call it a day.

The Album
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The greatest hits compilation is a relatively interesting anthology, given that it covers a period of nearly twenty years, and amply demonstrates the group’s uncanny ability to keep going. It’s all cheesy pop music, but then you would expect nothing else. It’s not until you look at the group’s discography that you realise how many singles they have released. As a single cd, this is good value – 22 tracks for a possible £8.99 (check out www.cdwow.co.uk for good deals) can’t be bad. I don’t like the way the cd comes in a cardboard sleeve – totally unnecessary – but the cd booklet is one of those wrap up ones that shows all the single and album covers.

Highlights
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Love In The First Degree – probably the most memorable of all the SAW produced records. This was a number three record and is without a doubt the finest track recorded by the Nanas. About as camp as you can get, this defined a whole period of chart music.

Preacher Man – the first single after the SAW years with a remix from Shep Pettibone (he did Vogue). The closest the girls ever got to a club record, this had a meatier sound than their earlier stuff and promised good things (which never really came to fruition thereafter).

Help – the Comic Relief charity record from 1989, there were two versions of this. The album version is the one that includes the voice over from French And Saunders. It was great fun, a good cover version and a worthy top five single.

Cruel Summer – “the city is crowded, my friends are away and I’m on my own”. The Nanas anthem to misery, this was a big hit in 1983, and was rejuvenated in 1989 with a Stock Aitken and Waterman remix, when it made the top 20 again.

Movin’ On – the come back single from 1992, when the Nanas were depleted to just two girls. It was supposed to be an anthem to getting up and getting on with the rest of your life, but it actually sounds rather sad.

Lowlights
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Robert De Niro’s Waiting – he may have been waiting, and he may have been talking Italian, but I always thought this was such a silly song. A bit like something that Kirsty MacColl would have recorded (but not as good).

Long Train Running – this was a decidedly poor choice for a cover version. The Doobie Brothers original was much more atmospheric – and this was proven when a remixed version of their original hit the top 5 about a year after the Nanas very uninspired cover version. The girls’ soft vocals simply couldn’t do the song justice.

Last Thing On My Mind – yikes. You know a record’s bad when Steps do a cover version and make it sound good! Never before have the girls sounded so much like Karaoke rejects – painful as pain can be.

My Verdict
========

Not a cd you’d listen to at length – I think it’s more likely that you’ll have a few favourites that you’ll put on when the mood takes you. I liked the stuff they did from about 1986 onwards, so there was enough to justify buying this cd for me. It’s not a credible cd – and it won’t win any new fans – but the Spice Girls didn’t last twenty years did they? It’s interesting to read that the album credits and thankyous come from the record company – the girls are not quoted once on this album – which makes me think this was purely a marketing exercise.

For more news and gossip go to:

http://go.to/bananaramauk
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Union/6146/bananarama.html