Greatest Hits, Etc.

AMG Review of Greatest Hits, Etc.

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

Six of Paul Simon's ten chart singles between 1972 and 1976 are found on this 14-track compilation, which is filled out by a handful of album tracks, live performances and two new songs, the Top Ten hit "Slip Slidin' Away" and "Stranded in a Limousine." That makes for a well-stuffed LP, and several of the tracks have had a few seconds shaved off to cut down the running time. All of which is to say that Greatest Hits, Etc. is not a by-the-book best-of. But then, the three albums from which most of the tracks here come are essential documents of 1970s American pop music as well as big sellers, so maybe it was necessary to do some creative meddling to keep from assembling a collection that would be redundant to fans. Over the longer term, however, the album proved to be a less-than-ideal career sampler (not to mention obselete), and when Simon's catalog moved over to Warner Brothers Records in 1988, he put together a new compilation, Negotiations And Love Songs 1971-1986.