S - U

Santana has a number of collections and box sets. His sixteen track collection The Best of Santana is the best one-disc overview, unless you are seeking some of the more commercial recent material. While the newer material is not bad, as the years pass, we do not think it will hold up as well as the classics on this collection. 

Santana really had a varied career performing in many styles such as Latin, jazz, rock, fusion, pop, etc.  As a result, some of his material works better in album form, for the period that you like best. 

Santana's mostly live album, Moonflower, is  excellent. The 2003 edition has three bonus studio version cuts.

Bob's Seger's Live Bullet is an excellent representation of his early work. 

1. Nutbush City Limits
2. Travelin' Man
3. Beautiful Loser
4. Jody Girl
5. I've Been Working
6. Turn the Page
7. U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)
8. Bo Diddley
9. Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
10. Heavy Music
11. Katmandu
12. Lookin' Back
13. Get Out of Denver
14. Let It Rock

Simon and Garfunkel have too many compilations and box sets. Some so unnecessary that they should be embarrassed. 

Regarding box sets, they released their complete studio material three times. Ok, the last, The Columbia Studio Recordings: 1964 - 1970 include bonus cuts to accompany each album, but the second one?  

To the right are the best compilations of Simon and Garfunkel. For a single disc, The Best of Simon & Garfunkel offers a 20 track overview and is a huge upgrade over their long standing Greatest Hits release, which was limited in length back in the days of LP's.

They released a 33 track two-disc  compilation The Essential Simon and Garfunkel, when they already had existing release Tales From New York; which has 40 tracks? They did tour to celebrate their eligibility for Social Security in 2003 and needed something promote, which is the reason for the release.

Live Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel's 2002 release, Live From New York, 1967, captures the duo in concert performing in an intimate setting. Unlike their other live album, Concert in the Park, this do not have a back up band, just the duo. 

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Includes:

1. A stunning DVD of the legendary 
1975 HAMMERSMITH ODEON CONCERT

2. A DVD of WINGS FOR WHEELS: THE MAKING OF BORN TO RUN, with never before seen footage. 

3. Remastered BORN TO RUN

Addition information about 
Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition

Bruce Springteen's compilation The Essential is quite well done selecting tracks from each of his albums. Personally, we like the early material quite a bit ("Spirit in the Night," and "Rosalita," etc.), which was  completely left off of Springsteen's single compilation, Greatest Hits. 

There are three discs included, though it is priced as a double disc. Two discs make up the compilation and a bonus disc of previously unreleased cuts, B-sides, contributions to soundtracks and benefit albums, covers, etc. A very good marketing move adding the third disc, as it will entice fans that already have the albums to pick up this compilation for the extra disc.

In addition to a strong selection of material, the music has been re-mastered, the liner notes include lyrics and credits, as well as a note from the boss. 

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Supertramp's two disc compilation Retrospectacle: The Supertramp Anthology is an excellent overview. As of this posting, it is very reasonably priced with several copies at $5 or less. 

Disc 1
Supertramp
Surely (edited) 

Indelibly Stamped
Your Poppa Don't Mind 

Land Ho (non-album single)
Summer Romance (non-album single, B-side to Land Ho)

Crime of the Century
School
Bloody Well Right 
Dreamer 
Rudy 
Crime of the Century 

Crisis? What Crisis?
Sister Moonshine 
Ain't Nobody But Me 
Lady 
Two of Us 

Even in the Quietest Moments
Give a little Bit 
Downstream 
Even in the Quietest Moments 
From Now On [edit]

Disc 2
Breakfast in America
Gone Hollywood 
The Logical Song 
Goodbye Stranger 
Breakfast in America 
Oh Darling 
Take the Long Way Home 

(Live) Paris
You Started Laughing 

...Famous Last Words...
It's Raining Again
My Kind of Lady 
Don't Leave Me Now 

Brother Where You Bound
Cannonball

Free As a Bird
Free As a Bird  

Some Things Never Change
You Win I Lose

(Live) It Was the Best of Times
Another Man's Woman 

Steely Dan's two disc compilation Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story is an excellent overview of their first seven albums. They select an excellent sampling from each album and even include two unreleased songs.

If you would like a single disc look, A Decade of Steely Dan offers no weak moments. Except, they could only fit so much material on one disc.

More to our taste, is their box set Citizen: Steely Dan, their first seven albums on four discs. We offer reviews of all albums.

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Rock: guitar and piano

The best single disc overview of James Taylor is his 20 track release The Best of James Taylor .  This is a huge upgrade over his long standing album James Taylor's Greatest Hits; that only includes 12 tracks. 

For the more ambitious collectors, his album Sweet Baby James is one of the greatest records ever, in our opinion. He includes Carole King on piano and back up vocals throughout the record. No short of a masterpiece.  

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