Songs That Made This Country Great

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Songs That Made This Country Great album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 16   Total Length: 71:17

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Man they love to hate

Rambler77

Not as good as "Fly On The Wall" but spanning deeper into Stan's career "Songs" leaves out some of my early favorites. The entire "Mosquitos" is highly recommended. More of a story teller than a pop artist Stan writes a screenplay before he begins an album and then puts the songs together. This album takes some "scenes" from some of his albums and creates a highlight reel. Oh, and yes I was there when WOV played the Masque and the entire LA circuit. Sorely miss the days of Suburban Lawns, WOV, X and the entire scene. I believe it was more the Knack's fault than Stan's that the energy was watered down but I still understand Mc's point of view!

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Great Songs!

yellowman

Every song is great, especially the lesser known songs such as "Walkin' Home Alone."

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Stan is the Man!!!

ca.parker418

Stan Ridgway...This was one of my favorite albums!! In '86 some friends and I were stalking The Alarm at the Roosevelt when they played their free concert at UCLA and whenever I listen to Drive, She Said, I think of that day. (I loved The Alarm and did meet them that day. Memories.)But yeah, Stan Ridgway was one of a kind.

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I was there

Xin81

Dude, Mcwhater from DC. Were you there to see the rise of WOV as some of us were at Perkins Palace, The Whiskey, The Country Club, etc? Doesn't sound like it, cuz if you were (as I was, being born and raised in L.A.), you would know that WOV and Ridgway were--and are--one of the most original, eclectic, percussion-evoloved bands to come out of the L.A. early 80s scene. You don't sound like an Angeleno--they captured the heart of the city as well as X and Social D did--and still do. Go take a walk around the Washington Mall or whatever.

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More classics for your collection!

jeane1

What is mcameronboyd's problem? Wall of Voodoo and Stan Ridgway are fabulous! It's high time that classics such as Mexican Radio and Ring of Fire were available on emusic! And Lost Week-end is a bueatiful, haunting classic (and well worth checking out the 50s movie of the same name).

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Uniquely worthless!

mcameronboyd

Ridgway & his ilk ruined what energy there was in LA punk circa 77-79. The advent of "new wave," the feud between Madame Wong's Chinatown & the Hong Kong Cafe, and the introduction of skinny ties & "sunglasses at nite" to the "fashion duress" of LA's underground punk-scene offically ended a burgeoning era of possibilities. Besides, Stan's the jerk-off who set a garbage dumpster aflame & rolled it down Cahuenga Blvd. against traffic in '80 - we'd all have been better served if he'd become some African's bitch in La County.

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Excellent Collection

Rhino

A must have! You will not be sorry downloading the entire thing.

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Wall of Voodoo Lives Again!

brutal

Yes I agree with the last post. Stan was the driving force behind one of the quirkiest country-alternative bands from the 80's. I was upset when he left Wall of Voodoo and went solo. But he's an amazing songwriter and puts on great shows.

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essential listening

GreenDan

Great songs by one of the greatest overlooked songwriters of his generation, including tracks from Ridgway albums you won't find on emusic. If you're not familiar with Stan, start with "I Wanna Be A Boss," "Peg and Pete and Me," "Lonely Town" and "The Overlords."

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They Say All Music Guide

Songs That Made This Country Great recaps Stan Ridgway’s career with and without Wall of Voodoo, with a few rarities thrown in to make the package appealing to collectors. The essential tracks are here, from Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio” and “Ring of Fire” to solo singles like “Drive, She Said” and “Goin’ Southbound.” The compilers went to a lot of work licensing recordings from several labels, including “Don’t Box Me In” from the Rumblefish soundtrack and “Cannon Song” from a Kurt Weill tribute album. This is an excellent collection in terms of providing Ridgway’s handful of best-known recordings in one place, but a lot of excellent album tracks were omitted, making this an inadequate replacement for the original albums. – Greg Adams

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