The Roots Greatest Hits Zip
The Grass Roots Greatest Hits. The Grass Roots. Let's Live For Today. The Grass Roots. Greatest Hits. The Grass Roots. The Grass Roots - Their.
' third hits compilation in barely two years was made necessary by the AM radio one-two punch of 'Sooner or Later,' a number nine hit (and their last Top Ten single), and 'Two Divided by Love,' which reached number 16 on Billboard's Hot 100 (and number eight on the Cashbox listings, which meant it did better in actual sales than in radio play). Puzzle inlay for pc. This album also gave Dunhill an excuse to recompile the strongest songs (and all of the actual hits) off of (1969) and (1970) onto one long-player, exploiting them one more time in less than 36 months, and very successfully - distilled down from the 24 tracks on the previous two collections, and now reaching all the way from 1966 to 1971, caught the public at just the right moment and made number 58 on the charts as well as becoming only the group's second gold record award release. And it is a fun collection, kicking off with 'Sooner or Later' and leaping all the way back to 'Where Were You When I Needed You,' three lineups and several changes of sound removed, before zigzagging its way out of folk-rock, through the faux-Motown 'Midnight Confessions,' and into their pop/rock-soul sound of the early '70s. The song lineup is a jumble, but the singing, playing, and production represent a lot of what was good about AM radio during this period.
The only flaw is that it's just a little predictable all around, whereas the two prior compilations both benefited from the need to fill them out with unusual B-sides and even an album track or two that were more adventurous than some of the hits. This album - which, as with most of the group's collections, has been supplanted several times over by subsequent CD compilations - is eminently listenable, and might be the group's most accessible vinyl compilation, but it's also a somewhat dulled-down representation of the Grass Roots' overall sound compared to its predecessors.
Since forming in Philadelphia 25 years ago (yes, it really has been that long), the Roots have become one of the most innovative, progressive, and influential acts in the history of hip-hop. Originally coming up in age where artists like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul helped define what the left-of-center end of the genre was capable of, the group went on to find a sound that would represent its own notion of Illadelph.
Most noted at first for embracing live instrumentation and jazz tropes, they turned every show and production into a full-band affair. The first Roots record was released in 1993, and since then, they’ve gone on to make nine more, consistently proving that while many acts begin to sputter and falter with age, their creative engines are still running at full steam. Over the last two decades, there hasn’t been a huge amount of constancy in the band — the only members to have stayed in the lineup since the beginning are the same two who founded it, emcee Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, and drummer Amir Thompson, aka Questlove. Aside from the duo, the cast of the Roots has been ever-evolving, which could also help account for why the music itself never goes stale. These days, Thompson is regarded as one of the best drummers and producers in the business, and the band as a whole has a nice high-profile day job with Jimmy Fallon. But it hasn’t caused them to dial things back at all: They continue to tour, run their record label, okayplayer, throw annual festivals in their hometown, and write and record envelope-pushing new music.
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The Grass Roots Greatest Hits
In fact, after all this time, they released to date just last year. When it comes to an act this diverse, one that has broken so much ground and taken so many chances along the way, ranking their albums is a difficult task indeed. (Although you will most likely hear us say that for every artist we include in this recurring feature.) For the purposes of this exercise, we’re leaving out the collaborative projects the Roots count among their discography — such as the excellent Wake Up! With John Legend — and focusing on their 10 full-length studio releases solely under the Roots moniker.
I’m sure you might have a different opinion about where some of these picks should fall, but just remember, in my mind, every one of these albums is a winner. The Countdown; the arguments start in the comments.