Bang!... The Greatest Hits Of Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Frankie Goes to Hollywood hyped their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome so much that when their second record, Liverpool, failed to live up to expectations, their career was effectively over. That didn't stop them from releasing greatest-hits albums, however, nor did it stop the inevitable wave of '80s nostalgia that surged forth in the '90s. To cash in on whatever meager Frankie nostalgia that may have existed, Bang!... Greatest Hits of Frankie Goes to Hollywood appeared in 1994 and was reissued in 1998, when the rights shifted to Universal Records. Bang! is as good a compilation of Frankie's material as could be assembled, featuring no less than eight songs from Pleasuredome (including, of course, "Relax," "Two Tribes," "The World Is My Oyster," and "Bang") and five songs from Liverpool. There were a couple of good songs stranded on the second album ("Ferry Cross the Mersey," "Rage Hard") and certain casual fans may enjoy having those singles on the same disc with the hits, but the fact remains that Frankie can only truly be understood (and, to a certain extent, truly enjoyed) on Pleasuredome. That debut stood on its own, sounding unlike any other record of its time, and it contained all of the big hits in the first place. Consequently, many casual listeners will be satisfied with simply acquiring that record, even if the album versions were slightly different than the singles. If they feel otherwise, Bang! will serve as the definitive singles collection, satisfying both the hardcore and casual fan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine