Decade in the Sun: The Best of Stereophonics [Extra tracks, Import]

Stereophonics | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Extra tracks, Import
• Label: FONTANA UNIVERSAL
• ASIN: B001GCWRI4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,590 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The band's first 'best-of' -a must have collection. The deluxe edition includes a bonus disc and includes special packaging. Tracks; Disc 1: Dakota; The Bartender And The Thief; Have A Nice Day; Handbags And Gladrags; Local Boy In The Photograph; Maybe Tomorrow; Superman; You're My Star (Radio Edit); A Thousand Trees; Just Looking; Moviestar; It Means Nothing; Madame Helga; Hurry Up And Wait; My Friends. Disc 2 includes; Madame Helga; Bank Holiday Monday; Rewind; My Friends; Climbing The Wall; Mama Told Me Not To Come; Since I Told You It's Over; Moviestar; Not Up To You; Getaway; I Stopped To Fill My Car Up; Carrot Cake And Wine; Billy Davey's Daughter; Raymond's Shop; Stone; I'm Alright (You Gotta Go There To Come Back); First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (with Jools Holland Orchestra); Same Size Feet; She Takes Her Clothes Off (World Gets Around Sessions) and Hurry Up And Wait. Universal. 2008.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generous deluxe "greatest hits"... but for whom is this intended?, December 9, 2008

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decade in the Sun: The Best of Stereophonics (Audio CD)

Stereophonics have been churning out albums (and singles) pretty much like clockwork since their 1997 debut album: every 2 years fans get a new album, and after 6 studio albums (and one live album), the band finally gets the "greatest hits" treatment.

This is the deluxe version of "Decade In the Sun: Best of Stereophonics" (2CDs; 40 tracks; 158 min.). CD1 (20 tracks; 79 min.) brings the proper greatest hits of the band, and rightfully, this compilation focuses on the first 3 studio albums. The very promising 1997' debut "Word Gets Around" has 4 tracks on here (Local Boy in a Photograph; Thousand Trees; Traffic; More Life in a Tramps Vest). The band's best album ever, 1999's "Performance & Cocktails" also gets 4 tracks (Bartender and the Thief; Just Looking; Pick a Part that's New; I Wouldn't Belief Your Radio). And 2001's "Just Enough Education to Perform" also gets 4 tracks (Have a Nice Day; Mr. Writer; Step On My Old Size Nines; Vegas Two Times), plus this includes the non-album single from the same sessions, the Rod Stewart-cover "Handbags and Gladrags". The rest of CD1 is filled out by singles from the last 3 albums, with the 2005 "Language" album getting 3 tracks (including "Dakota", the band's biggest UK charting single ever). There are also 2 new tracks, the so-so "My My Own Worst Enemy" and the much better "You're My Star".

CD2 (20 tracks; 79 min.) brings a much greater hotch-potch, which I suppose is geared towards the more rabbit Stereophonics fan. "2003's so-so "You Gotta Go There To Come Back" gets a generous 4 tracks (it only got 1 track on CD1). 2007's "Pull the Pin", which also got only 1 track on CD1, gets 3 more (including the excellent Bank Holiday Monday). Rightly, the first 2 albums each get another 3 tracks. But the best of CD2 are the harder-to-find tracks like "Momma Told Me Not To Come Over" (recorded for/with Tom Jones for his "Reload" album), the excellent "Carrot Cake and Wine" (B-side of the "Thousand Trees" single, also featured on the 2006 "Live From Dakota" album), "Raymond's Shop" (B-side to the "More Life in an Tramp's Vest" single), and "First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" (the Roberts Flack cover, B-side to the "Handbags and Gladrads" single), and the 2004 non-album single "Moviestar". Despite the generous running time, several tracks are nevertheless missing, such as the 2000 non-album single "Clichés Are True".

In all, this is a very generous serving of Stereophonics. I don't like the sequencing of the tracks, to be honest. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Certainly for CD1, a chronological sequencing would have served the listening experience better. As to this 2CD "deluxe" version, it presents the same issue as the Radiohead "greatest hits" deluxe version: the casual fan will only want the single CD compilation, and the die-hard fan will have all of this already anyway, making me wonder for whom this is intended?