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No doubt the reason most people buy this record will be for the massive minimal-synth/italo/vocoder/etc hits "Somewhere In The Night" and "No More" and for this reason alone it's definitely a worthwhile purchase. I was shocked how good these tracks sound compared to the lacklustre mp3s I'd only heard of them before.
The compilation subtitle "The Best Of Stereo" is in fact a bit misleading, as this record is really ALL of Stereo (minus one track on the vinyl edition) as it collects just the "Assembly Line" LP and "Somewhere In The Night".
Some will be surprised by how conventional the other tracks on this album are and it's hard to understand why the group didn't have more commercial success at the time, when some of their tracks wouldn't sound out of place next to other 80s synth-poppers like OMD, Duran Duran or even Quarterflash (okay that may be pushing it).
For my taste, the best of the new discoveries are "TV News"; an edgy fast-paced track a liitle bit similar to "No More", and "Lover On The Run"; which is pure 80s funk sleaze, nothing challenging, just a perfectly produced pop song that in an alternate universe could be recorded by Billy Ocean.
Of the rest, all are enjoyable and there's really no bad tracks, but deserving of particular mention is the final track "Moonshine", by far the slowest piece with a heavy, hypnotic beat, soft beautiful synths and female vox. I knew this one already from the b-side of the "Black Jack" 12", but I'm very glad it's included here as it's equally deserving of attention as "Somewhere..." and "No More".
The record is really a nice package with a high quality reproduction of the original "Somewhere In The Night" cover art (surely one of the greatest 12" illustrations), a glossy insert and most importantly a heavyweight vinyl pressing (that smells pretty good too).
Overall a great job by the Minimal Wave guys and a good example of how a comp or re-issue should be done, with excellent sound quality and money going to the original artists Bernie Adam and Terri Noritop (who is still producing music) rather than the tracks appearing on some soul-less bootleg.
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