| 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ray Stevens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | March 9, 2004 | |||
| Genre | Pop, Novelty, Comedy, Country | |||
| Length | 38:50 | |||
| Label | Hip-O | |||
| Producer | Mike Ragogna | |||
| Ray Stevens chronology | ||||
| ||||
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ray Stevens is a 12-track collection of previously recorded songs by Ray Stevens, released in 2004. It consists of the biggest hits he had from 1961to1987, starting with his breakthrough hit "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills" to his hit "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex". Unlike many compilations of Stevens' music, this collection contains the original recordings of "Ahab the Arab" and "Harry the Hairy Ape", which were re-recorded for Stevens' fourth studio album Gitarzan. The selections of "Freddie Feelgood", "Mr. Businessman" and "Gitarzan" are album versions, the first and third of which were featured on Gitarzan. Inside the album cover are information on the featured singles (peaking chart positions, producers, record labels, and catalog numbers) and a biographical essay written by Gene Sculatti back in December 2003. In the essay, Sculatti mistakenly says that Gitarzan is the one who shouts, "Shut up, baby! I'm tryin' to sing!" in the song "Gitarzan", as it is actually Jane who shouts this phrase.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
This album received 4.5 out of five stars from Stephen Thomas ErlewineofAllmusic.[2] In his review, Erlewine states that this collection of Stevens' music is one of the better ones because it consists of all of his biggest novelty hits in chronological order. He also states that it might appeal to more casual fans than The Best of Ray Stevens because it "has all the truly big hits -- with the arguable exceptions of "Unwind" and "Santa Claus Is Watching You"—in a cheaper and more concise fashion."
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills" | Ray Stevens | 2:22 |
| 2. | "Ahab the Arab" | Ray Stevens | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Harry the Hairy Ape" | Ray Stevens | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Freddie Feelgood (And His Funky Little Five Piece Band)" | Ray Stevens | 2:50 |
| 5. | "Mr. Businessman" | Ray Stevens | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Gitarzan" | Ray Stevens, Bill Everette | 3:09 |
| 7. | "Everything Is Beautiful" | Ray Stevens | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Turn Your Radio On" | Albert E. Brumley | 2:11 |
| 9. | "The Streak" | Ray Stevens | 3:15 |
| 10. | "Misty" | Erroll Garner, Johnny Burke | 2:53 |
| 11. | "Shriner's Convention" | Ray Stevens | 5:36 |
| 12. | "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex" | Margaret Archer, Chet Atkins | 2:46 |
