Customer Reviews

Supergrass Is 10: Best of 94-04

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Yup. Perfect.
For most of us here in America, Supergrass is virtually unknown. That's a crime.
I was lucky enough to have picked up 'I Should Coco' way back when, but nobody else I know did. They've put out quite a bit of good music since.

Here's the thing: this reminds me of Elton John's first greatest hits album. Yeah, he had a bunch of good songs, but when placed on one album, the world as a whole went bonkers. It properly reflected his then-prodigious talent.

Now here, we have a collection of songs that will serve several purposes.
1) The rabid Supergrass fan will play this and say, "Yes! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!" No question, their best moments are here.

2) The casual Supergrass fan will play this and say, "Wow! There's a few more records I need to go pick up!" It will expand their appreciation of the band.

3) The rabid music fan, who may have a cursory awareness of the group will play this and won't say anything. He or she will be left stunned, cataloguing the various obvious musical influences and references, and simply blown away by their energy and talent. It is THIS person who will benefit most from this album.

4) The casual (but still serious about music) "alternative" rock enthusiast will play this, and decide they have a new favorite band.

Very few albums, and even less "greatest hits" albums, satisfy any of these types of fans, let alone all of them.

This one does. This is the real deal.

This should be the number one rock record in America today.

Since first hearing Supergrass seven years, I have been simply blown away. And this most recent compilation does not fall short. I am amazed that this band is not HUGE, HUUUUUUGGGE in the U.S. Just another example of how people in this country are isolated from so many other great bands out there and settle for the everyday dreary, monotone schlock they get on any commercial radio station (i.e. Staind, Creed, Linkin Park, Saliva, 3 Doors Down -- whatever! Aren't they all the same band anyway?). Anyway, I highly recommend this CD, as well as their back catalogue, and the 'Supergrass is 10' DVD. The documentary on disk 1 is incredible. Enjoy!

Supergrass has long been overlooked by the masses and the critics for their goofy antics and the frustrating nature of the band which never fully lived up to their promised potential shown on I Should Coco. Their last two studio albums could have been much better seeing the impressive catalog built up on their first two albums alone. Nevertheless, Supergrass is an amazing singles band and they never disappoint in that respect. Whenever a new Supergrass album comes around it's almost guaranteed you can find several gems on it immediately. That's what makes Supergrass Is 10 such a treat: it's all the past Supergrass greatness gathered on to one perfectly mixed compilation. Every moment here is alive and absolutely filled to the brim with that pure energy one expects from Supergrass singles and there isn't a single dull moment in the entire group. Very few bands can make a greatest hits album that would be able to hold a candle to Supergrass Is 10, which is surely a thought that will come across listener's minds as they take the time to relive all the great moments had with this hugely underrated band.

C'mon America! It's not you to blame for not knowing about Supergrass, because the British Media and Press kept pushing for Oasis and Blur as those who should be listened to. Nope. The brightest band on the Britpop landscape was and still is Supergrass, and this collection of their 'greatest hits', gives a very clear overview of the talent that exists in this band, the quality of their recognised material, and is enough of a starter pack to say to the average onlooker, that there is more of this quality should you buy a complete Supergrass album.

In Britain, The Scissor Sisters have caused a storm, and have been on the Top 10 album charts for at least 6 months now. Truly a success story, and I do wish them the best for the future. They write songs that Elton John used to write back in the early 70's, and the first three songs of original material on their latest album makes the album. When Supergrass released the ''Kiss Of Life'' single (issued for this collection only), the British media constantly knocked Supergrass for going for a Scissor Sisters sound and jumping on the current bandwagon.

Firstly, ''Kiss Of Life'' deserved better than that.

Secondly, trends come and go. And the media is notoriously forgetful of what happened last week, let alone what happened 5 or 10 years ago that 'Now' just echoes or regurgitates, especially in the pop world. And that same British press that accused Supergrass of ripping off Scissor Sisters:

A) Should remember that Supergrass is 10 years old. The title told them so.
B) Should listen to their previous albums, and that the Scissor Sisters are only doing things that Supergrass were doing years ago.
C) Should listen to the whole Scissor Sisters album, realise that its 3 singles are simply the strongest material on an 'average' album (no offense to SS, just not all the songs are as good as those first three original numbers, and Elton John would be lucky to get songs like that back in his catalogue or his creativity), and that a Supergrass album track-to-track can often yield a whole album worthy of praise. Not just its lead-off singles.

I even remember mentioning this 'accusation' to an HMV employee in London as I bought the ''Kiss of Life'' single (issued with a remix by Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz)made by the British media, and he looked at the Cd and said ''but Supergrass were here first? Whaddup widdat!'' In an English accent of course. And he was right. Supergrass is 10, and that should be celebrated, noted and remembered. Because British pop music has been better for their appearance, their creativity and presence, and setting a standard that their contemporaries and peers have yet to do on successive releases.

I'm not a 'greatest hit's package' collector by nature. But if you want to find out a little bit about Supergrass, without dipping into your wallet for a major withdrawal, please try this collection of their known material. The material that is missing from this collection would make a whole other album, but that's not the point. I could complain that ''Brecon Beacons'' isn't on this album, rather than '' ''. But the point is, ''Brecon Beacons'' is as good as what is included here, and the amount of material they have that qualifies as greatest hits worthy, is on 4 albums previous to their 10 year celebration.

And anything with ''Pumping On Your Stereo'' on it, is worth purchase. Even the DVD to see the video, which is hilarious.

Like the other reviewers had said before, I think Supergrass is too good of a band to be overlooked and there is without doubt that their music is up there with with Blur, Ash and Libertines to name a few. Well, in my opinion, Supergrass Is 10 Best of 94-04, is a generous album yet all tracks sound brilliantly consistent. Such albums are a fresh breath of rubbish music nowadays from Good Charlotte, Simple Plan and some hip-hop artistes.This compilation is highly recommended for people ignornant of what underrated bands can carve out. Notable tracks: Pumping On The Stereo, Moving, Alright and Sun Hits The Sky.

I was amazed how many songs Supergrass have had- wot a collection of records! These songs are very feel good summer drive time songs- play in your car and start the summer fun! A refreshing change to the manufactured crap (aka Busted- down with Busted) out there. Listen

Supergrass seem to have flown under the radar recently. Their later albums, following the wonderful In It For The Money, have attracted little attention but the band has continued to release some terrific music and now we find them at the ten year anniversary of the beginning of their career, prompting the release of this best of compilation.
They are without doubt one of the best bands of their generation, one of those groups that wears their influences on their sleeve, yet creates a unique and instantly recognisable sound and style of it's own. Though they are sometimes lumped together with the "Britpop" bands, that label never entirely suited them and they have continued making great music after that era faded, while bands like Oasis and Blur either fell by the wayside or lost the plot completely. Judged on the music alone, this is the best CD you will hear this year. If you have never heard Supergrass before and you like smart, hooky British guitar-pop music, I imagine that hearing all of these songs together would leave you pretty dazzled (I am biased though!).
This compilation takes a pretty safe route by gathering together all of the singles from the band's four albums (and there are plenty) plus "Strange Ones", which as far as I know isn't a single. For some reason there are also three "bonus tracks" tacked on the end. The presence of these "bonus tracks" is a little puzzling - these are album tracks but, like "Strange Ones", they all come from I Should Coco (which is probably the most intoxicatingly exciting debut by any band that I have heard). There doesn't seem to be any reason why tracks from other albums couldn't be included - tracks like Sitting Up Straight (ironically also from I Should Coco), Beautiful People, Your Love, G Song, Tonight and Evening Of The Day would have been welcomed.
The only slight disappointment with this collection is the two new tracks, which is the reason long-time fans like myself are buying this. "Bullet" is not too bad, but it's a bit heavier than the usual Supergrass fare and it's maybe a bit too grungy and non-descript. The other song, "Kiss of Life" is very weird, not in character with the band at all. It seems to be heavily influenced by Prince - in fact, I thought it sounded like an outtake from Beck's Midnite Vultures album! Honestly, there are a lot of Supergrass b-sides that are way better than these songs, for example "Nothing More's Gonna Get In Our Way", "Melanie Davis" "20ft Halo" and "Believer" so these songs may be a bit of a letdown for hardened fans.
To put it simply, if you are curious about Supergrass or just a casual fan this is an almost perfect compilation. If this is your introducation to Supergrass I can guarantee that you will be compelled to check out their albums. The music is simply that great.

I'm a huge Supergrass fan...have all their albums, seen them live a couple of times, and I've been in to them for a long time. I'm still shocked they're not more popular in America, but not surprised, if that makes sense. Anway, this is a greatest hits collection that includes two new awesome songs, Kiss of Life, and Bullet. If these is any indication of what their next album will sound like, we're in for a treat. Even if you have all of their albums, this is great to pull out, put in the car on a warm day, crank the windows down and the sound up! Some of their best are on here, like Sun Hits the Sky, Rush Hour Soul, Strange Ones, Alright, Richard III...hell, every song is great on this! Mine also came with a live XFM radio session, 12-track bonus disc....snag it if you can!!

If you're ever going to listen to Supergrass, it's got to be now. This is one of the best bands to come out since the Beatles, sounding a bit Beatlesque themselves.
Yes, they are quirky, but imaginative and catchy also. I am not going to disect each song, but suffice it to say there is something for everyone on these discs. I strongly suggest the DVD as a companion to the CD. Take a leap of faith and get to know these amiable chaps soon.

Wow, this is some good stuff. A British band that we Americans either knew nothing about or chose to ignore but don't ignore this one , please! "Supergrass is 10: The Best of 94-04" is, well, just super. Add it to your collection because you won't regret it for a minute. Supergrass is probably one of the best British based guitar rock groups that has risen to the top in the last fifteen or so years. Don't forget to give a listen to some clips here on Amazon, then you will decide for yourself. Glad I discovered this set when I did because I was starving for something new and different. I was not disappointed and hopefully you won't be either.