Greatest Hits, Etc.
| Greatest Hits, Etc. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by Paul Simon | ||||
| Released | November 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1971-77 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 51:38 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Paul Simon | |||
| Paul Simon chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | A |
Greatest Hits, Etc. is the first greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released in November 1977 by Columbia Records. It was his first compilation, spanning the first six years of his solo career. Its release was prompted by the facts that two years after his last studio album, Simon didn't yet have enough material to release a new full-length album, and his contract with Columbia was finished but a new album was needed to fulfill it. Simon later signed with Warner Bros. Records. The album was initially supposed to be called Blatant Greatest Hits.
The album included two new songs: the smooth ballad "Slip Slidin' Away", a US top 5 hit previously considered for Still Crazy After All These Years, and the upbeat "Stranded in a Limousine", which failed to chart in the US. "Slip Slidin' Away" was not available in any other album until 1988's Negotiations and Love Songs and "Stranded in a Limousine" was added as a bonus track on the CD reissue of One Trick Pony.
Half of the songs on the album were hit singles (including all of the five top 5 singles Simon achieved in his entire solo career in the US). The rest was filled with its two new tracks ("Slip Slidin' Away" and "Stranded in a Limousine"), some album tracks (particularly the radio favorite "Something So Right"), and live versions of "Duncan" (from the Live Rhymin' recording) and "American Tune". From this diversity came the Etc. on the album title. This collection omits two hits during the period covered by this compilation – the duet with Phoebe Snow, "Gone at Last" and his reunion single with Art Garfunkel, "My Little Town".
The album reached #18 in the US and #3 in the UK. Originally issued as an LP, it was pressed for a short time in the 1980s in CD format by Columbia Records. The pressing of the CDs was stopped upon the release of Simon's compilation album Negotiations and Love Songs, which was issued on Warner Bros. Records and designed to supersede this album. However, a few cuts, including "Stranded in a Limousine" and "American Tune", were not included on Negotiations.
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