Customer Reviews

Good As It Gets: Best of

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amid the BritPop resurgence of the mid-1990s (Morrissey, Radiohead, Oasis, &c.) Gene delivered solid songs with haunting melodies & lyrics that still stand up, as evidenced by this collection. Listening to these songs, I can still remember where I was, who I was with, & what I was feeling. The songs resonate with a time & place, but they are also (for the most part) timeless works.

In addition to these "greatest hits," I would highly recommend picking up Gene's first two albums. Their first album, _Olympian_, was an elegy to lost love, & an incredible cycle of songs that took the listener on a journey through pubs & down city streets haunted by memories. The title track is a catharsis of intense pain, yearning, & hope not to be forgotten. Their follow-up, _Drawn to the Deep End_, dealt with emotional breakdown & recovery. It is more musically cohesive than the first album, with repeated themes, motifs, & structures throughout.

Personally, I like a lot of the later work Gene has put out as well, & there are lots of stand-out tracks on their subsequent albums. However, I would highly recommend the 1st 2 albums as essential listening.

As Good as It Gets simply is as good as it gets with Gene, this is a CD where you don't have to worry about only enjoying a couple songs, once in your CD player each song compliments the next. I suggest listening while have some alcohol on hand, great sounds to drink to.

Definitely hits a lot the high points. Would be worth five stars except for the price ($35??) and it's missing one of my favorites, Truth, Rest Your Head, from Olympian. If you're willing to spend $35, Rising for Sunset might be a better value. That's live recording of great Gene songs. The band sounds quite a bit different live, a little rougher around the edges, and has some arrangements that are quite a bit different from the studio versions.