Martin Briley - The Mercury Years (2006)

Salt in My Tears compiles Martin Briley's three classic albums from the '80s in their entirety (Fear of the Unknown, One Night with a Stranger, and Dangerous Moments) plus an entire bonus EP's worth of rare unreleased tracks, Salt in My Tears is a dynamite anthology in every sense of the world. There has never been as idiosyncratic and melodic a pop singer wrapped into one bundled package as Martin Briley, and the fact that greatness eluded him is criminal. Most people know him for his 1983 hit, "The Salt in My Tears" -- though this is by no means the highlight of his oeuvre. By compiling all three of his masterwork albums in one collection and then offering the outtakes, this is the mother lode of anthologies for quirky pop aficionados. Included are the tracks that should have been hit singles -- "I Feel Like a Milkshake," "Heart of Life," the heartbreaking "One Step Behind," "Maybe I've Waited Too Long," "Another Rainy Day in New York City," "Think of Me," "Alone at Last," "School for Dogs," "Underwater" -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The bonuses include "All the Right Moves" (which was written for the Tom Cruise film of the same name and later became a German hit single for David Hasselhoff) and "Rich Women" (one of the songs that got Briley his solo career). Since he is also a brilliant art designer, the original packaging for Salt in My Tears is brilliant as well. Designed to look like a used book (right down to the "Used" sticker on the spine and song-by-song notes by Briley), it is a tongue-in-cheek self-referential look for Briley back on his brief shining career. That fame and fortune eluded him truly is unfortunate. That this collection exists is one of the greatest things that Universal Records has ever done for pop music fans everywhere. A must-have. [The track listing of Salt in My Tears is identical to that of The Mercury Years, released by Hip-O Select in 2005.]~Tomas Mureika