1998 saw the release of the Jim Croce best-of set BAD BAD LEROY BROWN: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION. This two-disc set clocks in at 39 tracks overall, and covers much of the same ground as another Croce double-disc set--1992's THE 50th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION. But while the '92 collection included many rarities, BAD BAD LEROY BROWN focuses primarily on material that was included on Croce's studio albums released during his lifetime, like YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM and I GOT A NAME. Name a Croce classic, and chances are it's here, tops being the humorous "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," "Photographs and Memories," the haunting love ballad "Time In A Bottle," the wistful, lovelorn "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)," and the rocking bad-man anthem "Bad Bad Leroy Brown." Keying in on the high points of this folk-pop legend's discography, BAD BAD LEROY BROWN: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION proves to be an expertly selected anthology.
Disc 1: You Don't Mess Around With Jim (3:04) Photographs And Memories (2:08) New York's Not My Home (3:08) Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) (3:49) Time In A Bottle (2:27) Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) (2:44) Hey Tomorrow (2:45) One Less Set Of Footsteps (2:48) Roller Derby Queen (3:29) Alabama Rain (2:13) Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (3:00) These Dreams (3:12) Speedball Tucker (2:26) It Doesn't Have To Be That Way (2:34) I Got A Name (3:12) Lover's Cross (3:04) Workin' At The Car Wash Blues (2:34) I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song (2:32) Salon And Saloon (2:28) Chain Gang Medley: Chain Gang/He Will Break Your Heart (He Don't ...) (4:40)
Disc 2: Spin, Spin, Spin (2:46) Tomorrow's Gonna Be A Brighter Day (2:53) Hard Time Losin' Man (2:28) Walkin' Back To Georgia (2:51) Box, No. 10 (2:27) Long Time Ago (2:19) Dreamin' Again (2:41) Careful Man (2:24) Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' The Blues) (2:06) Next Time, This Time (2:54) Five Short Minutes (3:28) Age (3:44) Thursday (2:27) Top Hat Bar And Grill (2:47) Recently (2:33) Hard Way Every Time (2:28) Ol' Man River (2:28) Which Way Are You Goin'? (2:19) Mississippi Lady (3:57)