Greatest Hits

The Manics have been repeatedly voted the Most Important Band in the World in fan surveys, won many UK and MTV Europe awards, and took two spots in Q magazines "top 100 albums of the 1990s". This set combines the 18 Manics singles that have charted Top Ten in the UK in the past 10 years and adds two new tracks (There By The Grace Of God, Door To The River). This could prove embarrasing if the two new tracks fail to chart that well, I would think. Of course, they must do it to get the fans to buy a collection of tracks they already have (probably in several form factors).

I would argue that the artwork in the liner notes is reason enough to buy it, and in fact is a good argument for tracking this down on vinyl if you can (and you're a fan, of course). The hits are all solid tracks (obviously) and some of my favorites are on here (Little Baby Nothing, Faster, Motown Junk, La Tristesse Durera, The Masses Against The Classes, etc). The new tracks are solid, if a bit too U2-ish. The limited edition (of course, for the completist) has a bakers dozen of remixes by people like Massive Attack, Ian Brown, David Holmes, Chemical Brothers, Stereolab, Mogwai, and Stealthsonic Orchestra.

If you're a fan, it's worth picking up, but if you've never heard them it's the best possible introduction to one of the best British bands of the last 20 years.