This two-fer CD handily compiles the Bongos' two releases for RCA on one compact disc. 1983's Numbers With Wings, the group's major-label debut, found them expanding into a four-piece with the addition of guitarist James Mastro. While the production on Numbers With Wings is far slicker than anything on Drums Along the Hudson, and the songs lack the physical punch of such previous Bongos classics as In the Congo or Three Wise Men, the EP's five cuts are as clever and tuneful as anything they ever recorded and proved they could smooth out the rough edges of their early work and still retain their unique sonic personality; Tiger Nights and Barbarella, in particular, gain a lot from the band's newly polished approach. Sadly, Beat Hotel, the band's last album, is a severe disappointment; producer John Jansen made the quirky Bongos sound like a typical radio-friendly "new wave" band of the period, and while the group performs with genuine enthusiasm, the quality of the songwriting was not up to their previous standards. With the exception of A Story (Written in the Sky) and Splinters, there's little on Beat Hotel that suggests the inspiration and inventiveness of the Bongos best work; while EPs are usually tacked onto CD reissues of albums as a bonus, Numbers With Wings is the item worth owning here, and Beat Hotel is just along for the ride. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

1		Numbers With Wings
2		Tiger Nights
3		Barbarella
4		Skydiving
5		Sweet Blue Cage
6		Space Jungle
7		Apache Dancing
8		Brave New World
9		A Story (Written in the Sky)
10		The Beat Hotel
11		Come Back to Me
12		Splinters
13		She Starts Shaking
14		Blow Up
15		Barbarella [Remix