Although the title of their first album was perhaps just a bit too clever,
Greatest Hits nonetheless contains at least one song bound to be near the top of any
Rheos fan's list. While most of the rest of the songs were jangly pop that showed a band with decent lyrics and a lot of unrealized musical potential, "The Ballad of Wendel Clark" was a bullseye. The song is an homage to Wendel the hockey player, but also to many suburban Wendels who had to choose between picking up a guitar and picking up a stick. The rest of the album features many good moments, but
the Rheostatics wouldn't actually hit their stride until their second long-player,
Melville. ~ Sean Carruthers