Definitive Collection, The

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It's tempting to include Men at Work in the "one-hit wonder" category. Yes, the group did indeed have more than one hit, but since its flame burned so intensely and quickly, it seems like the group was "there and gone" in the blink of an eye. Regardless, Colin Hay and company penned some of the biggest pop hits of the early '80s, all of which are showcased on the German import double-disc set Definitive Collection. The initial printing of the set came with a second disc, which was comprised of tracks not included on the first (sorry folks, no rarities here). And this is where the set's problem lies. Men at Work only issued three albums during the '80s -- 1982's Business As Usual, 1983's Cargo, and 1985's Two Hearts -- before riding off into the sunset. So you get a total of 25 tracks on the two discs of this collection, with only six on the second disc. Now, CDs can hold much more than just a mere six tracks, and if they expanded this by just five tracks or so, all three of these albums could have fit nicely over two discs -- with plenty of space to spare. Hence, you do get the largest Men at Work collection out there, but one that could have really saved the buyer some bucks. Regardless, such early MTV favorites as "Who Can It Be Now?," "Down Under," "Be Good Johnny," "Overkill," "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive," and "It's a Mistake" are as tuneful and enjoyable as ever (remember the good old days when bands actually wrote their own songs and didn't have to resort to outside writers?). And by listening to Definitive Collection, you even may pick up on a major flaw that the band committed career-wise. There were several other potential hit singles on Business As Usual ("People Just Love to Play With Words," "Underground," and especially the gorgeous "Down By the Sea"), but instead of milking the album completely, they opted to issue the not-as-strong Cargo, while the debut was still doing hefty business on the charts. ~ Greg Prato