Eddie Money – Greatest Hits - Sound Of Money

"AOR" was the acronym used to describe the music prevalent on American FM radio in the late '70s and early '80s. In the late '70s, Album-Oriented Rock was mainly a derivative of singer-songwriter, pop, jazz and rock forms, albeit with richer productions and simpler lyrics. Journey, Boston, Eric Carmen, Genesis, and Chicago were all proponents of this style, and they all moved with the times when musical tastes changed in the '80s and synthesizer music began to dominate the charts. Several other mid-level artists gained airplay during this varied and unstable chapter in music history, with many modern rock radio and MTV stars deemed watered-down versions of classic rock era artists. Critics bemoaned the fact that FM-radio listeners had now entered into the habit of merely buying whatever was getting the most airplay rather than fully investing in an artist. One such upstart scaling the charts on the basis of this AOR boom was Brooklyn native Eddie Money, lending further credence to the notion that working-class rockers invariably hail from New York City. Having shown his determination to succeed in music by studying under a vocal coach and performing regularly on the San Francisco Bay Area club circuit, Money eventually signed a contract with Columbia Records and recorded his self-titled debut album in 1977. As his fanbase grew, so too did his relatability and sense of humour, mostly arising from his name and lyrics sarcastically referencing the fact he was always broke or down on his luck. Money's catchy compositions, replete with earworm choruses designed to be poorly recited by hordes within a stadium, earned comparisons to pre-"Reckless" era Bryan Adams, whose own pop-oriented rock arrangements had equally pronounced arena rock bias and infinite replay value. And yet, Money's career trajectory did not go the same way as Adams, who remained active as a recording artist and a live draw well into his forties. Aside from the almost identical smooth-tongued, superficial pedalling of a certain unaffected, congenial and inherently romantic charm, Money lacked the clean lifestyle, reliability and single-mindedness of his husky-voiced Canadian superordinate. Such personal and professional difficulties inevitably resulted in his inability to continually repeat the quality and comprehensive appeal of his inaugural chart smashes, which still represent Money at his wiliest, sharpest and most commercially viable.

If the albums following his excellent debut were anything to go by, Money was heading further into Adult Contemporary territory and rapidly losing credibility as well as his audience. In 1986, Money reverted back to album rock, crafting a comeback single that remains one of his very best efforts: the spellbinding and seductive duet-of-sorts with Ronnie Spector, "Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby". Given that he inadvertently penned two AOR standards - "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets To Paradise" - on his first time out, and thereafter produced a hit or two every few years, Money's speciality was clearly in yielding radio-ready anthems as opposed to cohesive albums devoid of filler. By 1989, Money was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the popularity that ensued from his recent return to form, hence why, instead of an album, a compilation was released. An apparent last-ditch cash grab at the behest of his label, Money nevertheless showed he had not lost his knack for irony and nuance by subtitling the compilation "Sound of Money". From the aforementioned career-defining tracks to "I Wanna Go Back," "Walk On Water," and "Shakin'", a live rendition of "Where's the Party?" and three brand new recordings "Peace in Our Time", "Looking Through the Eyes of a Child" and "Stop Steppin' on My Heart", "Greatest Hits: Sound of Money" offers an effective and satiating summation of the raspy yet soulful former NYC cop's finest vocal performances during his most productive period.

Rating: 4.5/5

After listening to this, he is only about halfway to being able to do a compilation. About half of these songs were never good to begin with.