Julian Lennon - VH1 Behind The Music: The Julian Lennon Collection (2001)

Unlike some of the other discs in Rhino's VH1 Behind the Music series, Julian Lennon's edition is the first proper collection assembled about him, which may be why it succeeds so wildly. Every one of Lennon's hits is here, along with nearly every important album track, including latter-day selections like "Saltwater" and "Photograph Smile." These two songs prove that Julian Lennon grew stronger, more confident, as his career progressed, and they sound better than some of the earlier cuts that were stuck in the production of the late '80s (such as "This Is My Day," for instance). And while this doesn't make a case for Lennon as a consistent talent, it does have all the hits anybody could want, and "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes" hold up well, with "Say You're Wrong" and "Stick Around" making up the second tier. Then, there's the great "Now You're in Heaven," a wonderful Bowie ripoff that's not just among the best of its kind, it may be the best thing Lennon ever cut. But the unexpected thing about this collection is that the music gets better as it winds to a close, which almost never happens with an artist considered a one-hit wonder. And this does happen here, proving that while Julian Lennon's Behind the Music story was the most interesting in the '80s, his best work was done in the '90s.~VH1 Behind the Music: The Julian Lennon Collection Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine