Was (Not Was)
Pick Of The Litter 1980-2010
Release Date: Feb 23, 2010
Genre(s): Rock, Dance, Alternative
Record label: Micro Werks
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Album Review: Pick Of The Litter 1980-2010 by Was (Not Was)
Excellent, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
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.
Based on rating 4.0/5
“Don and I started recording in the Pleistocene Era, with Fred Flintstone producing,” says David Was in the promotional materials accompanying the release of punk-funk band Was (Not Was)'s retrospective compilation Pick of the Litter 1980 - 2010. I've heard Meryl Streep make jokes to the same effect, which makes the comment probably the least original thing he's ever written. Otherwise, David Was (collaborating with producer and bassist Don Was) fashioned some of the most cracked, amusing, disturbing non sequiturs of 1980s no wave.
Based on rating 7/10
“Let’s layer anything, including the most disparate elements over groove…the groove can handle anything.”—David Was David Was made good on that promise. With co-conspirator Don Was, the Detroit-based duo layered seemingly random bits of sound and lyrics over deep grooves. Before Basement Jaxx and Matmos, Was (Not Was) created sound collages that seemed concocted from a whole other dimension, as if extra-terrestrials analyzed human behavior and threw a party to share their observations.