Loverboy — Greatest Hits… The Real Thing

Depending on how you count, Greatest Hits… The Real Thing is roughly the sixth time Loverboy have attempted to put together a greatest hits-type compilation. This go-round no doubt was timed to coincide with their recent induction into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame at the Juno Awards. They generally get it right.

Most of the genuine "hits" are here, including "Working For The Weekend," "Turn Me Loose" and "The Kid Is Hot Tonite." The attempt to sneak in two newer tracks ("I'm Alive" and "The Real Thing") are pretty uncomfortable speed bumps, but minor hits "Hot Girls In Love" and "Lovin' Every Minute Of It" from the band's third and fourth albums, respectively, are surprisingly fun trips down memory lane.

The cruel truth about Greatest Hits... The Real Thing is that, in the iTunes universe, most people will only need to own five Loverboy songs — all of which can still rock a party, whether for serious or ironically. The only thing another reissue/repackage run does at this point is saturation bomb the few people who haven't quite figured out how to get music from the internet yet.

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