Every one of the band's seven albums released by Arista during the time period indicated is represented here. Designed specifically for the American market, it peaked at No. 159 on the Billboard 200 and failed to chart in the United Kingdom.
Content
This album comprises a survey of the band's output during their second period of commercial success after their early hits of the mid-1960s, this success predominantly in the United States. After four moderately successful concept albums for their previous label, RCA Records, their contract was not renewed. In 1976 they signed with a company recently launched by ex-Columbia Records head Clive Davis, Arista, making one live and six studio albums for the label during a stay of a decade. In an effort to reverse diminishing cash flow, the band jettisoned the horn players, back-up singers, and the theatricality of the mid-1970s work and embraced the arena rock styles of the period. Ray Davies decamped to New York and worked to write songs with the commercial American market in mind:
I started working with Clive. I think Sleepwalker was an attempt to make it more palatable to radio and that's why Clive wanted to get involved. I was working with him very closely in those days. I rented an apartment in New York, and I would take my demo tapes into his office, he'd play the songs and make comments, and I would go back and work on them.[2]
The compilation contains thirteen tracks released as singles, including one non-album single, and six album tracks.
The original 1986 CD version varies from the original LP release, removing "Sleepwalker", "Catch Me Now I'm Falling", and "Misfits" entirely. The CD also has the longer 4:40 album version of "Don't Forget to Dance". Aside from the removal of those three tracks, the running order is maintained.[3] These changes result in a shorter runtime of 69:53.
The album was reissued on CD in 2000 with a number of changes. It replaces the single versions of "Catch Me Now I'm Falling", "Sleepwalker", "Misfits", and "Don't Forget to Dance" with the longer album versions, and replaces the album version of "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" with the 12" disco mix. The songs "Celluloid Heroes" (live version), "Juke Box Music", "Long Distance", "Heart of Gold" and the live intro to "Lola" were removed and "A Gallon of Gas", "Full Moon", and "Good Day" were added.
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