There have been plenty of George Strait compilations, and most of have been very good, but none have been as good as 2004's 50 Number Ones. While the 1995 box set Strait Out of the Box illustrated the range and depth of Strait's musical achievement, it may have been too lengthy for some listeners, and shorter compilations like the two-volume The Very Best of Strait left too many hits behind -- and by 2004, all those compilations were out-dated, since Strait continued to top the charts until the release of 50 Number Ones. This double-disc contains all the big hits that he's had since Strait Out of the Box, along with all of his classics from the '80s and early '90s. The title might bend the truth a little bit -- at least according to the Billboard charts, such latter-day singles as "True" and "Run" only peaked at number two, not number one -- but it doesn't matter, since this contains all of his major singles in one convenient package. And it's not noteworthy just because it's one-stop shopping, it's also noteworthy because it proves exactly how consistent George Strait's body of work has been over the last twenty-some years. From start to finish, there's not a slow spot here -- it's a thoroughly entertaining collection that belongs in the ranks of country's greatest-hits albums.
1 is a compilation album of the English rock band the Beatles, originally released on 13 November 2000. The album features virtually every number-one single the band achieved in the United Kingdom or United States from 1962 to 1970. Issued on the 30th anniversary of the band's break-up, it was their first compilation available on only one CD. 1 was a commercial success and topped charts worldwide. It has sold over 31 million copies.[1]
George Strait, 50 Number Ones full album zip
1 was compiled by producer George Martin and former band members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.[6] The album contains the 27 Beatles songs that went to number one in the United Kingdom on the Record Retailer Top 50 chart or in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Despite Harrison's "For You Blue" charting at number 1 on Billboard, along with the A-side "The Long and Winding Road",[7] Capitol Records treated "For You Blue" as strictly a B-side and did not promote it as an A-side. "Day Tripper" was included on 1 since it charted at number 1 in the UK as a double A-side with "We Can Work It Out", while in the US, only "We Can Work It Out" was number 1. Two singles written by John Lennon and released in both the UK and US were omitted as they did not top either the Record Retailer chart or the Billboard Hot 100: "Please Please Me" and "Strawberry Fields Forever". The former was the Beatles' first UK number one single in all British charts except Record Retailer, reaching the top spot in the music magazines New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Disc. "Strawberry Fields Forever" was part of a double A-side single with "Penny Lane", which reached the top spot in Melody Maker and peaked at number 2 in the other UK charts, behind Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me".
The album is a combination of both the US and UK versions of the 1982 compilation 20 Greatest Hits, with the addition of "Something" (which was left off 20 Greatest Hits because of time constraints).[citation needed] On 1, "Hey Jude" was included in its original full-length version (slightly over seven minutes), whereas the American version of 20 Greatest Hits contained a shortened version.
The package of 1 was intended to be simplistic and ambitious at the same time. Its cover was designed by Rick Ward,[8] and consists of a pop art-style yellow number one on a red background. The emphasis on the 1 digit was used on many of the compilations of number-one hits by different artists that followed this album; for example, ELV1S by Elvis Presley and Number Ones by the Bee Gees. The album's back cover features the famous photos of the Beatles taken by Richard Avedon and copyrighted on 17 August 1967.[8] The design exclusively uses variations of the Helvetica typeface.
The LP and cassette keep the main art of the CD version, but in a different form.[10] The double vinyl record version was not released in the US, but the imported British edition was available. The vinyl version features a large full-colour fold-out poster showing 126 picture sleeves (37 fewer than on the CD), and reproductions of the four Richard Avedon photos. The Avedon portraits also appear on the inside of the gate-fold cover. The records have custom labels featuring the same graphics as the front cover and are packaged in custom inner sleeves. The deluxe packaging of the vinyl album, with its four portraits and poster, is reminiscent to that of their titular 1968 album. The cassette included a 20-page insert, including the collage, the George Martin commentary and paged Avedon's portraits on its inlay and the whole description for the tracks as a total of 36 covers on its inlay reverse.
1 went on to inspire the release of a wave of compilation albums, in particular three other "number ones" albums: Elvis Presley's ELV1S (2002),[18] Michael Jackson's Number Ones (2003)[19] and the Bee Gees' Number Ones (2004). Other compilations inspired by 1 issued included Nirvana's Nirvana (2002),[20][21] the Rolling Stones' Forty Licks (2002),[22] Pink Floyd's Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (2001), The Who's The Ultimate Collection (2002)[23] and Dean Martin's Dino: The Essential Dean Martin (2004).[24]
The reception of 1 surpassed all critical and commercial expectations.[citation needed] It reached number 1 in over 35 countries, achieving the record for the album debuting at the top of the most national charts ever.[citation needed] It became the highest-selling of 2000 and, some time later, of the entire decade.[25] This achievement made the Beatles the first and only artist to have the best-selling albums of two different decades: they also released the best-selling album of the 1960s, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[citation needed] No tracks from Sgt. Pepper appear on this album. With this album, the Beatles also achieved having an album hit the number 1 position in the US in four non-consecutive decades (1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s).
In Canada, 1 debuted at number 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 54,668 copies in its first week.[50] The album was certified Diamond (1,000,000 units) by the CRIA in February 2001, just four months after its release.[51] As of 2009, 1 has sold 1,103,000 units in Canada, making it the fifth best-selling album ever in Canada of the Nielsen SoundScan era.[52]
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