Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of or Greatest Hits - the Foo Fighters at their very best, November 3, 2009
Many think a Greatest Hits release is just the record company cashing in on music that fans already own or that the Greatest Hits omits what they consider to be the best tracks and for some the Foo Fighters Greatest Hits may be looked on in this way. You will never please everyone!
For me, if most of the tracks are ones I would include in a playlist taken from the band's many albums, then the Greatest Hits is probably just that and with this release that is certainly the case.
The good thing about the Foo Fighters music is that whether released as a single or not their "Hits" ar really the best of their album tracks, some happen to have achieved commercial succcess, other great songs getting no air play at all but all are great examples of the band's music.
From hit tracks like the 'Pretender from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace through to This is a Call and Big Me from their debut release, Foo Fightes, this is the band at their best, a great representation of the Foo Fighter's first 15 years and a great cd for those that want a first taste of the band, are casual fans or already have the music but want a listen to the best without changing from CD to CD.
To top it off, and selling in Australia at the same price as a normal new release CD, comes a second DVD disc containing all the Greatest Hits Videos so you can listen while watching your heros and enjoying the warped humour that has become a trademark of the bands releases over the years.
Great value and highly recommended!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's just skin and bones, November 11, 2009
While diehard fans often grumble about compilations, they're usually not the target demographic anyway. It's for casual fans, or those who want a nice introductory overview of a band's history (as such, I never like it when the songs are out of chronological order, as it is here). In that regard, it delivers, and if it brings in a whole new set of fans, all the better. So for them, maybe this is 4 stars. For the rest of us, it's 2.
It's always hard not to grumble. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about greatest hits albums is how they often don't fill up an entire disc, especially when a band easily has enough songs to do so. In this case, about four more probably could've been squeezed in, and there's plenty of more singles to choose from. "I'll Stick Around," "Walking After You," "Next Year," and the solo acoustic "Times Like These" are found on the DVD at least.
While some may dismiss the Foo Fighters as a singles band, a lot of their best work are album tracks which could've made for a solid second disc, even if only as part of a separate package. As a result, a lot of casual fans will never know just how great the Foos can be outside of their trademark power pop sound, and will thus miss out on (frankly) beautiful songs like "February Stars," "A320," "Aurora," "Ain't It the Life," "Virginia Moon," and "Cold Day in the Sun.". They've also done some memorable unlikely covers, such as "Down in the Park," "Baker Street," "I Feel Free," and "Band on the Run."
Older fans will likely get this only for the DVD, which unfortunately is also lacking in some areas. One of my favorite videos was the bridge one for "Times Like These" (only the studio acoustic version is included here). "Breakout" is also missing. Lesser known alternates such as the green-screen "Times Like These" and the Davy Grolton Band-only "Long Road to Ruin" also would've been nice to have. "No Way Back" is included as an easily found easter egg, as is a rendition of "Home." "The "sampler" set of live performances is a nice touch.
As was probably expected, Grohl has expressed disappointment in the album, saying it was only a contractual obligation and that the band had no input on it. His statement that they wanted to wait until the band was retired, and that they still hadn't written their best songs, can be a bit presumptuous (even contemporaries like Green Day and Chili Peppers had their greatest hits albums long ago). Still, Grohl does provide a classy write-up in the liner notes, which otherwise consists only of your usual candid photos. In it, he mentions how this is strictly a greatest hits package, and not their best or favorite songs. That'll probably have to wait until their retirement, which hopefully will be a long time from now anyway, though Grohl has hinted that a hiatus will continue.
(As for the new songs, "Wheels" is catchy but does sound a bit too much like "Learning to Fly" at times, and it gets repetitive at the end - one of my few Grohl pet peeves. "Word Forward" is a bit better, with a more bouncy "Let It Die" feel to it.)
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10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
So-so compilation, better if you get the videography, November 3, 2009
FIrst off, it's always disappointing that bands are required by their labels to release a greatest hits compilation, especially with such a great band as the Foo Fighters who have enough solid albums that they don't really need a greatest hits compilation.
This disc is great for people who want an introduction to the past decade + of Foo Fighters music but in all honesty, with the catalogue the Foo Fighters have, they should have had a double-disc Greatest Hits. From this is missing the singles: Walking After You, I'll Stick Around (yeah I know the Foos don't care for it, but truth is, it was a single), For All The Cows, The One, Generator, Tired of You, Low, and No Way Back.
The bonus tracks are highly disappointing as I was pumped to hear them after the Foo Fighters website was promoting them as the Foos next giant arena rock tunes.
And the Everlong acoustic version is a bit unnecessary. The best acoustic version of that song recorded was from the 2 Meter Sessions; I would suggest checking it out on Youtube if you've never seen it.
The Videography is nice and long sought after for my personal collection. The Foo Fighters have always had fun and artistic videos to compliment their songs.
So yeah, overall, unless you're buying the Deluxe edition with the videography, the CD isn't really worth the time for true fans and might be worth it for new listeners!
Greatest Hits (Deluxe CD/DVD)
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