Favorites

Album Review

There are bands in rock history that came oh-so-close to making it, who just never broke through for one reason or another. Chicago power pop champions Enuff Z'Nuff was one such band, but in their case, you can easily point out their fatal flaw. When they first burst on the scene during the late '80s, the group had little in common musically with the then-thriving glam metal movement, as their prime influences were the Beatles and fellow Chicagoans Cheap Trick. But, as evidenced by their first few videos — "New Thing" and "Fly High Michelle" — the quartet made the mistake of getting so dolled up that they made even Pretty Boy Floyd blush. As a result, the band couldn't shake their glam tag when grunge exterminated the genre, and never received the attention they deserved. Which is a shame — as proven by any of the selections on the career encompassing compilation, Favorites, under the image was quite a fine power pop group. While the band is best-known for the two aforementioned songs (both hits on MTV), Enuff Z'Nuff continued on for years afterwards, with la crème de la crème of their catalog included here — "Right by Your Side," "Mary Ann Lost Her Baby," "Freak," and a cover of the Cheap Trick obscurity "Everything Works if You Let It." Favorites is an exceptional introduction to one of the more overlooked '80s era rock bands.