Was (not Was) PICK OF THE LITTER 1

Personnel: Don Was (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums); David Was (vocals, flute, harmonica, alto saxophone, keyboards); Sir Harry Bowens, Sweet Pea Atkinson, Donald Ray Mitchell (vocals); Randy Jacobs (guitar, background vocals); Dann Huff, Paul Jackson, Jr. , Ricky Rouse, Stevie Salas, Wayne Kramer , Val McCallum, Bruce Nazarian, Greg Liesz, Cecil Womack (guitar); Mack Pitt (mandolin); Luis Resto (violin, strings, keyboards, background vocals); David Campbell , Beverly Lauridsen, Carol Poole-Gross, Jill B. Jaffe, String Fever, Suzie Katayama, Marin Alsop (strings); Armand Angeloni, Dan Higgens, Phil Todd, John "Birch" Weiss, David McMirray, Kim Hutchcroft, Stephen "Doc" Kupka, Chris Davies (saxophone); John Barclay, John Thirkell, Lee Thornton, Jerry Hey, Marcus Belgrave, Mark Isham, Rayse Biggs, Guy Barker, Stuart Brooks (trumpet); Pete Beachill, William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); Paul "Wix" Wickens, Irwin Krinsky, Daniel Schroeger, Jamie Muhoberac, Jeff Lorber, Aaron Zigman, Mark Johnson , Felix Morris, Vic Emmerson, John Robie, John Van Tongeren, Al Kooper, Martin Phillipps, Mike Renzi, Amp Fiddler, Raymond Johnson, Robin Smith, Booker T. Jones (keyboards); Arthur "Buster" Marbury (drums, background vocals); Curt Bisquera, Ron Pangborn, James Gadson, Franklin K. Funklyn McCullers, Russ Kunkel, Winston Watson, Yogi Horton, Jerry Jones (drums); Debra Dobkin (percussion, background vocals); Kevin Tschirhart, Carl "Butch" Small, Frank Ricotti, David Friendly, Larry Fratangelo, Lenny Castro, Alex Acu?a, Michael Fisher (percussion); Sheila Horne, Myrna Smith, Dee Lewis, G Love E, Doug Fieger, Gary Hirstius, Juliette Roberts, Helen Terry, Ken Collier , Jack Leitenberg, Desy Campbell, Ewreck Benson, "Downton" Julie Brown, Puppet Blum, Professor Goss, Pam Burns, Kathy Kosins, Michelle Goulet, Portia Griffin, Ruby Turner, Sally Dworsky, Arnold McCuller, The Mint Juleps, Tony Fagenson, Iggy Pop, Carol Hall, Carolyn Crawford (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: David Thoener; Don Was; Ed Cherney ; Ken Collier ; Duane Bradley; Keith Cohen; Michael Brauer; Rik Pekkonen; Steve "Silk" Hurley; Krish Sharma.
Audio Remasterer: Brian Gardner .
Liner Note Author: Brian J. Bowe.
Photographer: Taro Yamasaki.
This 19-track Was (Not Was) retrospective on Micro Werks goes far deeper than 2004's Collection, issued on the Spectrum Music imprint, which as nothing more than a slapdash licensing job. Pick of the Litter 1980-2010, is a hand-picked selection, programmed in aesthetic rather than chronological order -- though some tracks just fall that way -- of the band's best-known tracks. More importantly, in key cases such as "Spy in the House of Love" and "Out Come the Freaks," the original 7" versions are included rather than the album tracks. The group's cover of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" is a promo-only single edit that was sent to radio, and differs substantially from the one included on 1990s' Hello Dad...I'm in Jail. Other Was (Not Was) classics included here are "Walk the Dinosaur," "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming," "Sky's Ablaze," "I Feel Like James Brown," and "Wheel Me Out," to name a few. The music on this set has been completely remastered, and contains a liner essay by Brian Bowe with discographical annotation by Gary Peterson. While hardcore fans may argue -- a bit -- over the sum total, even they will ultimately agree that this is the only truly representative portrait of Was (Not Was) in all their incarnations; and besides, it's a stone killer of a party record. ~ Thom Jurek

• Format: CD