The third volume in this half-decade retrospective from Spectrum Music is very eclectic and inadvertently offers more U.S. chart hits than any other volume in the series. Those hits, though, are among those forgotten by all but the most devoted aficionados of the '80s: entries like
ABC's "When Smokey Sings," "Walk the Dinosaur" from
Was (Not Was), and
the Fat Boys' demented
Run-D.M.C. knockoff "Wipeout." It is in this volume that the collection begins to demonstrate some signs of going through the motions: formulaic liner notes from
Daryl Easlea glibly recapping the year and an almost slavish devotion to post-new wave synth pop confections like
Swing out Sister,
Level 42, and
Curiosity Killed the Cat. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable and unpredictable alternative to U.S. 1980s musical retrospectives. ~ Joseph McCombs, All Music Guide