Since there have been so many compilations released over the years, it's easy to assume that his stint at in the '80s is well documented, but that's not necessarily the case. First of all, many of the proper studio albums are either long out of print or have never made it to CD, so it's hard to hear the entirety of his catalog, and secondly, there just haven't been that many hits collections, and those aren't entirely satisfying either. Apart from 1984's , released partway through his time at the label, there has been only one other U.S.-released compilation, 1990's , which covered the same territory, but not any better. So, it's been a full 20 years since there's been a good collection of 's recordings released in America. In the meantime, released the excellent collection in 1998, which ran a generous 24 tracks and contained the bulk of his best work for the label. Given the length of that collection, it's not surprising that 's 2004 , the first domestic comp in 14 years, has a lot of overlap with it -- in fact, 11 of the 14 songs on this compilation are also on (the ones exclusive to are and ). So, if you already own that, this isn't necessary, but is difficult to find, going out of print just a few years after its release, so this becomes the best overview of years on the market. At only 14 tracks, it's not as exhaustive as the disc, but this contains all the big songs -- -- and is a highly entertaining listen, making it an excellent overview and introduction to an underrated phase of 's rich career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine