This is Really Something is a
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
album by Australian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and
pop band
The Sports
The Sports were an Australian Rock music, rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on dru ...
, released in August 1997.
The album was re-released in August 2004 under the title ''The Definitive Collection''.
Background and release
The Sports
The Sports were an Australian Rock music, rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on dru ...
formed in 1976 and were signed to
Mushroom Records in 1977. Their first Australian hit was "
Boys! (What Did the Detective Say?)" in 1978 but they cracked the UK chart with "
Who Listens to the Radio
"Who Listens to the Radio" is a song recorded by Australian rock music, rock band The Sports. The song was written by band members Stephen Cummings and Andrew Pendlebury. The original single version was released in October 1978. In 1979, it was re ...
" in 1979. They broke up in 1981 after just four albums, three of which peaked within the top 20 in Australia.
Reception
Bernard Zuel of
Sydney Morning Herald believes if
The Sports
The Sports were an Australian Rock music, rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on dru ...
had been English they would have been huge. saying ""
Boys! (What Did the Detective Say?)" and "
Who Listens to the Radio
"Who Listens to the Radio" is a song recorded by Australian rock music, rock band The Sports. The song was written by band members Stephen Cummings and Andrew Pendlebury. The original single version was released in October 1978. In 1979, it was re ...
" are classic new wave moments" adding "it's in the collection of could-have-been/should-have-been hits from 1979-81 that this compilation provides its worth. Great pop songs played well - rare enough at any time, a treasure all the time.
Jason Ankeny from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
said "The two-disc, 36-track complete anthology paints a definitive portrait of the Sports' career; split between singles and album tracks (compiled on the first disc) and rare and unreleased material (found on the second), the set is a solid introduction to the work of a sadly underrecognized group, a kind of Australian counterpart to the music of
Elvis Costello,
Graham Parker
Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.
Life and career Early career (1960s–1976)
Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...
or
Joe Jackson."
An Amazon reviewer said "This definitive collection features 2CDs each containing the quintessential The Sports tunes including "Who Listens to the Radio", "Don't Throw Stones" and "Strangers on a Train".
Track listing
References
{{The Sports
The Sports albums
Mushroom Records compilation albums
1997 greatest hits albums
Compilation albums by Australian artists