The Best “Best Of” Albums
Even in the streaming age, where you can make your own playlist in minutes, there is still something special about ‘Best Of’ albums if they are done well. The golden rule? Avoid “Greatest Hits’ comps that are just a chronological list of singles (Green Day’s ‘International Superhits’ and Slipknot’s ‘Antennas to Hell’, for example). Instead, here is a list of top-drawer ‘Best Of’ collections that are brilliant records in their own right. What do you think? What else would you add? Let us know in the comments below.
For a band that prided itself on creating long-form concept albums, Pink Floyd might seem like the least likely source of a ‘Best of’ compilation. ‘The Wall’, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, ‘Animals’, ‘Wish You Were Here’ - in fact, all of their albums to an extent - they aren’t records to just cherry pick from, because the experience of build-up, release, storytelling and atmosphere, comes from listening to each entire record as a whole,
What a pleasant surprise, then, when Pink Floyd released ‘Echoes’ in 2001. 7 years had passed since 1994’s ‘The Division Bell’, the last Pink Floyd studio album (until the curious ‘The Endless River’ was unearthed in 2014); and it had been a whopping 18 years since the last record featuring Roger Waters, 1983’s ‘The Final Cut’. In other words, in the early 2000s no-one was really talking about Pink Floyd.
‘Echoes’ was released to big fanfare, and for good reason. It works as an album in its own right. With 26 tracks over 2 CDs', ‘Echoes’ works because not only do the songs fit together well sonically, but also the tracks flow brilliantly into each other. We jump seamlessly from 1967’s ‘See Emily Play’ into 1979’s ‘The Happiest Days of Our Lives / Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)’. 1973’s ‘Us and Them’ moves majestically into 1987’s ‘Learning to Fly’. The mournful elegy of ‘High Hopes’ nearly signals the end of the record, only to divert into Syd Barrett’s playful ‘Bike’ as a fun final detour. Some of the longer songs such as ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Echoes’ are included, and even though they are edited they still retain enough of their atmospheric majesty to not feel rushed.
Everything about ‘Echoes’ feels meticulously crafted, including the clever 2-way artwork that uses motifs from each of Pink Floyd’s albums. Whether you are new to the band, or a long-time fan, this ‘Best Of’ is highly recommended - much more so than 2011’s superfluous ‘A Foot in the Door’.
Released between 1991’s stadium-bothering ‘Keep The Faith’ and 1995’s more introspective ‘These Days’, ‘Crossroad’ featured a selection of singles and album tracks from Bon Jovi’s first 5 albums, as well as one cut from Jon Bon Jovi’s solo album (‘Blaze of Glory’ from the ‘Young Guns II’ soundtrack), and it was also a vehicle for two brand-new songs, the playful ‘Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night’ and the anthemic single ‘Always’.
The sequencing on ‘Crossroad’ is so good that ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ always now feels like an album opener, and it is strange to listen to the ‘Slippery When Wet’ record and not hear it until Track 3. Similarly, the transition from ‘Lay Your Hands on Me’ into ‘You Give Love a Band Name’ feels like those two songs (from 1988’s ‘New Jersey’ and 1986’s ‘Slippery When Wet’ respectively) should have been next to each other from the very beginning.
At 76 minutes, ‘Crossroad’ filled every second of the CD. Had there been space for more tracks, another song from ‘7800° Fahrenheit’ would have been great (perhaps ‘Only Lonely’), and ‘Born To Be My Baby’ and ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ were surprising omissions. Still, you can always make your own playlist and add these tracks nowadays! ‘Crossroad’ is a fantastic introduction to Bon Jovi, working extremely well as a standalone release.
If you like pop-infused melodic punk rock, with an occasional bite, No Use For a Name set the gold standard. American punk rock was huge in the late 90s, both in the mainstream (Blink 182, Green Day, Offspring) and in the lesser-known but still revered scene (NOFX, Rancid, Lagwagon, Descendents, Bouncing Souls, Less Than Jake, Pulley, MxPx, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Strung Out and countless others on FAT Wreck Chords).
It was very hard to dislike No Use For a Name, given that they ticked all the right boxes (lightning fast drums, razor-sharp guitars, harmonies galore) and had a multitude of memorable tunes to boot - but they often got lost in the pile of other great bands. The untimely death of frontman Tony Sly in 2012 led many to revisit NUFAN’s discography, and to truly appreciate the genius of Tony Sly’s songwriting.
‘All The Best Songs’ was originally released in 2007, but was then re-released in 2016 following Tony Sly’s passing, to include songs from the final NUFAN release, 2008’s excellent ‘The Feel Good Record of the Year’. As a ‘Best Of’ compilation, ‘All The Best Songs’ works very well, with only a couple of questionable omissions, and is a brilliant way to experience No Use For a Name’s hardcore roots (‘Feeding the Fire’), poignant lyrics (‘Life Size Mirror’, ‘For Fiona’, ‘Biggest Lie’), singalong hooks (‘Coming Too Close’, ‘Dumb Reminders’, ‘Chasing Rainbows’) and versatility (‘Let It Slide’, ‘Black Box’). It is almost criminal that No Use For a Name released so many stellar punk rock songs but remain so unknown outside of the (now sadly aging) 90s punk rock community.
It seems crazy now, in the late 2020s, to think that Pearl Jam released a ‘Best Of’ album in 2004, documenting ‘only’ their first 12 years as a band, given that they are still going strong more than 20 years later. It is interesting to consider what songs would make it onto a 2-CD compilation now, if tracks from the ‘Pearl Jam (Avocado)’, ‘Backspacer’, ‘Lightning Bolt’, ‘Gigaton’ and ‘Dark Matter’ albums were also eligible for inclusion - and what songs would be culled.
The USP for ‘Rearviewmirror’ is that Disc 1 (‘Up Side’) features more up-tempo rock songs, while Disc 2 (‘Down Side’) is comprised of more reflective, mellow cuts. It makes for an absorbing listen, giving you the chance to either rock out or chill out, in a way that isn’t too dissimilar to Foo Fighters’ 2005 ‘In Your Honour’ double album. In fact, perhaps Dave Grohl & Co took some inspiration for this Up/Down format from ‘Rearviewmirror’, given that they recorded ‘In Your Honour’ soon after its release.
One of the great things about ‘Rearviewmirror’ is how well balanced it is. ‘Once’, ‘Alive’ and ‘Black’, three standouts from Pearl Jam’s debut record ‘Ten’, were remixed by Brendan O’Brien for this release, and they sound even more urgent and powerful than they used to, fitting in perfectly with the material that was recorded for ‘Vs’, ‘Vitalogy’, ‘No Code’, ‘Yield’, ‘Riot Act’ and ‘Binaural’. This is also not ‘just’ a singles collection, but a new home for random songs such as ‘Breath’, ‘Last Kiss’, ‘State of Love and Trust’, ‘I Got Id’, ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ and ‘Man of the Hour’, which had previously only been available as b-sides or soundtrack contributions. A highly recommended, absorbing listen, both for casual fans and completists.
