A wonderful starting point for TMBG newbies (Dial-a-song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants - They Might Be Giants)

Member Name: Wezzo

Product:	Dial-a-song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants - They Might Be Giants
Date:	30/04/08 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Generally excellent music, lovingly packaged

Disadvantages: Some key tracks missing

They Might Be Giants. Perhaps the most diverse band of all-time. I mean, who else have managed to deliver everything from polka and techno in such style? They combine their now-trademark offbeat melodies with weirdly wonderful lyrics set to all manner of backing: while their focus has always tended to lean towards the "alternative rock" side of the spectrum, everything from folk to R'n'B has been given the TMBG treatment. Whilst never the most mainstream band, forever lacking the media attention they deserve, the two Johns (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) have nevertheless forged a legendary following among everyone from nerdy college students to froufrou coffee drinking sorts and even young kids with their consistently unique and entertaining output over the last 25 years, and deservedly so. Their songs are so fully-rounded, for many it's a shock to find out they started their career with a "Dial-A-Song" service: you phone their number (still operating now, I believe), and their latest experimental musical work play back to you from their answering machine.

"Dial A Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants", released in 2002, is a packed 2-CD set featuring 52 songs that the band believe are their best of their considerable 1982-2002 output. Whether these songs really are TMBG's best is of course, debatable and is ultimately down to personal opinion, but I for one think this compilation accurately represents the first 20 years of the band's history, covering as wide a range of their genre-hopping as one could realistically expect. It's certainly a solid starting point for the unaccustomed.

The package contains the two discs, each featuring 26 tracks, enclosed in two separate cardboard digipaks, along with a detailed and fully comprehensive booklet, featuring two essays on the band (one by the band themself) which tell the story of the band from the beginning of their career to nowadays, as well as giving complete lyrics to every song on the compilation. The CDs and the booklet are held in a nice, solid cardboard box, adorned with typically obtuse cover art depicting.. well, er, insects of some sort. Ants? Who knows.

So, onto the music itself. As detailed as I usually like to be, I'm not convinced going through all 52 tracks here one-by-one would be any fun for either of us. So instead, I'll look at some highlights (there are many), omissions and the occasional misstep.

-- HIGHLIGHTS --

* CD1's opening track, "Birdhouse In Your Soul", which must have been a no-brainer choice for the compilers. The band's biggest hit (it made #6 in the UK charts back in 1990) it combines wonderfully complex metaphoric lyrics (the "blue canary in the outlet by the lightswitch" is a nightlight, if you can't figure it out) with a ridiculously catchy melody. And it works perfectly. It's the Giants' most polished tune and deserves its prime spot on this set

* "Ana Ng" (pronounced "Anna Eng" for the uneducated), a rather unusual tale of a Japanese girlfriend. Another alternative rock number, it's home to witty lyrics and an awesome chorus.

* "Boss Of Me" - the theme song to "Malcolm In The Middle". What most people know them for nowadays (even if they don't know it's by They Might Be Giants..)

* "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man", which many will know for their use on kids' cartoon series "Tiny Toon Adventures". Both slightly more facile and less fully-rounded than a lot of their other offerings, but both are still great fun, especially "Istnabul", a fast-paced rockabilly-type song.

* "New York City", a cover of a song by girl-grunge band Cub, is perhaps the set's absolute best track. It's an out-and-out driving rock song that masks melancholy and yearning in a loud, catchy, rocking backing. The lyrics self-knowingly recall the naivete of adolescence perfectly: "Everyone's your friend in new York City / And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty / The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see / But the best thing about New York City is you and me"

* "Man It's So Loud In Here", the Giants' stab at techno - as ever, they turn tradition on its head by singing about how hard it is to talk in a club with rowdy techno music playing

* "Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas!)", essentially an "educational" song for children but still fantastically singable

* "Twisting", a peppy pop song about a woman who yearns to see her boyfriend "slowly twisting / in the wind" - er, that'll be hanged, then..

* "Another First Kiss", which sees the Giants get uncharacteristically heartfelt ("How 'bout another first kiss like this? / I want another first kiss")

* "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head", one of the band's earliest tracks; eminently listenable but impenetrable lyrically

* "I Palindrome I", a song of palindromes - both in words and in life

* "How Can I Sing Like A Girl?" - intriguingly, home to some of the band's finest vocals

* "James K Polk" and "Meet James Ensor" - two songs about unsung heroes (the former was the 11th President of the USA, the latter a noted Belgian painter). The former is slow, the latter is fast - both are stellar material

* "Mammal", a showcase for the Johns' biological knowledge.. amongst other things, they reveal that the echidna and caribou are indeed mammals!

* "I Should Be Allowed To Think" - an Allen Ginsburg-referencing catchy rocker

* "Fingertips", a wonderful experiment that must be heard to be believed. It's a collection of about 20 ten-second clips from failed Dial-A-Song answering machine projects, varying from depressing and sad to gleeful, happy and joyous. Vocals are not just by the two Johns; some female vocalists are in there too. Originally spilt into multiple tracks on its original CD release (on "Apollo 18"), here it's combined into one 4-minute masterpiece. The Giants' "Bohemian Rhapsody"!

* "The End Of The Tour", a lovely emotional track that goes from ballad to heavy rock and back again smoothly. It's about a car crash in which the person who caused it gets off scott-free.. but the crash proves to be fatal for those who he crashed into. The song is told from the car's point of view, an interesting perspective to say the least.

* "Hey Mr DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal", a hilarious tale of a corrupt DJ. Love the opening line: "I could never sleep my way to the top / 'Cos my alarm clock always wakes me right up".

So, a lot of highlights there. (And there are plenty more I could mention too.) But thing aren't quite perfect.

-- LOWLIGHTS --

* "Dr. Evil", from "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". James Bond pastiche that never really gets off the ground.

* "Minimum Wage" and "Spider" - 50-second long space wasters that don't add anything to the experience (other than to drill in TMBG's eclecticism)

* "No!" - track from the first of three (thus-far) albums the Giants have written aimed entirely at kids. I appreciate they needed to represent that material here but there are better choices they could have made.

* "I Can Hear You" - presumably included for novelty factor only (it was recorded on a wax cylinder at Edison Laboratories - and sounds like it too).

* "Robot Parade" - dull attempt at electronica.

* Live versions of "She's Actual Size", "Stormy Pinkness" and "Spy" - presumably included to increase the appeal to the established fan, these previously-unreleased live cuts are invariably weaker than the studio versions. TMBG are good live but these tracks don't prove it.

-- NOTABLE OMISSIONS --

Well, with a band as prolific as TMBG, there's always going to be a few favourites that don't quite make the cut. Those that stick as the most surprising omissions to my mind include:

* "Everything Right Is Wrong Again", first track from their first album

* "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair", witty paean to boss "Mr. Horrible" from their best-selling album to date "Flood"

* "Destination Moon", one of their most eminently catchy songs

* "No-One Knows My Plan", best use of trumpets in popular music ever!

* "I've Got A Match", an outstanding early ballad

* "The World's Address", some of their finet wordplay

* "Why Must I Be Sad?", Alice Cooper-referencing rocker

* "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes", a rather-too-literal sparsely-backed pop song

Additionally, a wealth of material from 2004's "The Spine" and 2007's "The Else" is worthy of inclusion here - but as these were released after this compilation, it's hard to complain about that. (A similar Greatest Hits-type 2006 compilation, "A User's Guide To They Might Be Giants", includes a couple of tracks from the former - but it's only a single CD and given the wealth of material the Giants have released, I'd argue the 2-CD set remains the better starting point, despite the lack of more recent material. If you enjoy this set, you'll inevitably to want to seek out the Giants' entire catalogue anyway!)

-- FINALLY --

Well, I've said about all I need to say, but what kind of closing would that last paragraph be? Not much of one! If you're familiar with the Giants, feel free to skip over this and keep collecting their regular studio albums' but if you're completely new to the band (or have heard "Birdhouse" or "Boss Of Me" and want to check out more), this is as good a starting point as you'll get. A highly recommended compilation.

The set, which is only available on CD (or digital download), can be found for around £12 on Amazon Marketplace (£17.98 from Amazon itself). The music is generally suitable for children but there is one use of mild language ("bitch" on "I Palindrome I").

-- TRACK LISTING --

CD1
1. Birdhouse In Your Soul
2. Ana Ng
3. Don't Let's Start
4. Boss Of Me
5. Older
6. Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
7. Doctor Worm
8. The Guitar
9. Dr. Evil
10. New York City
11. Particle Man
12. Cyclops Rock
13. Minimum Wage
14. Man, It's So Loud In Here
15. We're The Replacements
16. Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)
17. Your Racist Friend
18. Bangs
19. Snail Shell
20. Twisting
21. Another First Kiss
22. They'll Need A Crane
23. The Statue Got Me High
24. (She Was A) Hotel Detective
25. Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head
26. I Palindrome I

CD2
1. She's An Angel
2. How Can I Sing Like A Girl?
3. James K. Polk
4. Meet James Ensor
5. Mammal
6. Pet Name
7. No!
8. I Can Hear You
9. Spider
10. I Should Be Allowed To Think
11. Fingertips
12. She's Actual Size (Live)
13. Spy (Live)
14. Stormy Pinkness (Live)
15. Exquisite Dead Guy
16. Robot Parade (Adult Version)
17. Boat Of Car
18. S-E-X-X-Y
19. Number Three
20. The End Of The Tour
21. They Might Be Giants
22. Her Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal
23. Nightgown Of The Sullen Moon
24. Snowball In Hell
25. Purple Toupee
26. Cowtown

Summary: If you only know "Birdhouse" or "Boss of Me", pick this up