20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best of Head East

The line that divides a broadly popular band who makes it into the history books (and a lot of record collections) from a worthy also-ran is not hard to draw. When one looks at the career of the Midwestern mainstream group , who released seven modestly selling albums between 1975 and 1980, and compares them to such contemporaries as , , and , all of whom played the same kind of music, the difference is simple: Those other guys had hit singles, and didn't. It's not that the band's music was too complicated or inaccessible; as this, their first-ever compilation, demonstrates, their music often boasted hooks and other catchy elements. But it also shows that they were more interested in coming up with music that would work in concert than music that would succeed on the radio. It's a subtle distinction, perhaps, but the songs are often collections of showy instrumental pieces punctuated with short, chant-like vocal lines, the sort of thing likely to impress a live crowd, but not the kind of consistent writing that draws in listeners who hear it repeatedly over the airwaves. Nowhere does one find that big, sentimental that would have opened the band up to a broader, more female, more passive audience. Trading off vocals and frequently using harmonies, they sing well but not distinctively, and though their playing can be tasty, they never seem to come up with licks that stick. The compilation is well-chosen. There are the near-hits and as well as concert favorites like But even at their best, is a band whose music, while consistently enjoyable, is never compelling. ~ William Ruhlmann