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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Everclear album for non-Everclear fans., October 23, 2004
There most definitely is an Everclear sound. They are instantly recognizable, and that is a good thing. Alexakis and company, while maturing over the years, have created alternating harrowing ("Wonderful") and humorous ("Volvo Driving Soccer Mom") tunes that have the same song structure, production quality, etc.
They only use, like, five notes. Honestly, Art's vocal range is minimal. His melodies are all variations on a theme, but who cares? Spread over several albums it might get weary, but by cherry-picking the most irresistible cuts, it presents a defining picture of a very cool band.
Even the guitar playing. Dum, dum, dum, da-da-dum, dum. That rhythm is found in every bass line or rhythm guitar in their canon, it seems. But again, who cares? These guys make it work, and work well.
So, the CD will in essence blow away the casual fan, yet as expected, frustrate the more serious fan who may be more familiar with the entire body of their work. The essential tracks are here, and presenting them this way does emphasize their similarity, but doesn't take away from their greatness.
Opening with "Wonderful", and it's painful observation of divorce, is brilliant. Then the hits come fast and furious, with "Santa Monica", "Everything to Everyone" and the joyous "AM Radio". "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom" is a hoot. "I Will Buy You A New Life" continues the Everclear sonic hit parade.
Then I began to lose interest. It became easy to skip a track ot two. The album is front-loaded with the big tunes. The second half of the album loses consistency, but it did give me a taste of some other aspects of Everclear's career.
Overall, I think it's the perfect album for a casual Everclear fan. If you like one of the singles, you'll find plenty more where they came from.
Rabid Everclear fans will likely be disappointed or unimpressed, but since they probably have all the albums already, would be best served by a rarities-type compilation.
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21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everclear's Best Of is a great CD for anyone to own., January 12, 2005
Everclear's Best Of is a great CD for anyone to own.
This is a great Everclear best of CD. I am glad there are 21 songs and that it is almost 80 minutes long. There are 2 b-sides on here called Local God (from the Romeo And Juliet soundtrack) and The Boys Are Back In Town (a Thin Lizzy cover that was originally a hit off of the Detroit Rock City soundtrack). There are also 2 new songs on here that were originally recorded during Everclear's recording sessions for their previous CD Slow Motion Daydream. The new songs are called Sex With A Movie Star (The Good Witch Gone Bad) and The New Disease.
The songs and what I think of them is the following:
#01. Wonderful - This is a great pop sounding song from them. It is a big hit too. This is a great song to listen to when you are in a good mood. Even though the lyrics sound happy, they are not.
#02. Santa Monica - This is a great rock song from them with a great beat and great words. This is this first big hit and the song that made them famous.
#03. Everything To Everyone - This is another good rock song that was a big hit. This was followed by other hit songs that broke them into the mainstream music concious.
#04. AM Radio - This is another big hit with a 70's feel to it. It surprised me by how popular it became. This is not a favorite of mine off of here, but I like it. It is a necessity for this CD.
#05. Volvo Driving Soccer Mom - I like this song a lot. It was a hit but not a big one. This song did not help their CD Slow Motion Daydream sell well because not many people liked this song I guess or that album.
#06. I Will Buy You A New Life - This song was a huge hit. I think it was either this song, Santa Monica, Father Of Mine, or Wonderful that was their biggest hit. This is the song that broke them into the mainstream music concious and made them a household name. If you didn't know Everclear from their song Santa Monica off their CD Sparkle And Fade, you now did because of this song off their CD So Much For The Afterglow.
#07. Learning How To Smile - I don't remember this song being a hit. But it is another kind of pop song from them. It is not as good as Wonderful in my opinion. Both these songs can be found off of their CD Songs From An American Movie, Vol. One: Learning How To Smile, which is their most pop sounding CD.
#08. Strawberry - This song was a small hit. It is a slower song, but I like it and the acoustic guitar that you can hear throughout the whold thing. I like the words to this song and how well they go with the music.
#09. Local God - This song was a hit in Austraila. I am not sure if it was here in the U.S.A. But it sure sounds like it was, because it is a great sounding rock song and sounds like a big hit. This is the first b-side off this CD. It was originally on the Romeo And Juliet soundtrack. If it wasn't a big hit, then that is because it is a off a soundtrack and wasn't promoted right. This is a favorite Everclear song of mine.
#10. Summerland - This is another hit, not a big one or small one though. In the booklet for this CD Art Alexakis says about this song: Hands down... my favorite Everclear song of all time. This is a slow rock song. Not a favorite of mine, but I like it some.
#11. Fire Maple Song - This was not a hit. But if it was, it would have been their first one. This is the only song on this compilation CD off their first CD World Of Noise. This song is alright. It is growing on me. It is another slower rock song. I wish they included another song or two from their first CD on this compilation than some others included on here.
#12. When It All Goes Wrong Again - This is their first hit off of their CD Songs From An American Movie, Vol. Two: Good Time For A Bad Attitude, which is the more rocking of the two Songs From American Movie CDs. This is another rock song. I prefer their song Rock Star over this one. Both songs are on Good Time For A Bad Attitude.
#13. Father Of Mine (Radio Mix) - Father Of Mine was another huge hit from Everclear. This is the radio mix version, so if you have So Much For The Afterglow, this version may sound a little different to you. But it still sounds good. This is Art Alexakis's favorite version of this song. This is Everclear song has touched and helped more people than any other.
#14. The Boys Are Back In Town - This song was originally a hit off of the Detroit Rock City soundtrack. It is a cover of an old Thin Lizzy song. This is a good rock song. This song is the second b-side off of this CD. I like this song better than their cover of Brown Eyed Girl.
#15. Heroin Girl - This is a rock great song. This was a big hit and another one of my favorite Everclear songs. This is the fastest song off of this CD. It has great music and the lyrics are really cool. I love listening to this song. It is cool.
#16. Brown Eyed Girl - This is another hit song. This is a slow rock song. But that should be obvious since it is a cover of the Van Morrison classic. This is a good cover, but I prefer The Boys Are Back In Town over this one. But this is still good.
#17. Sex With A Movie Star (The Good Witch Gone Bad) - This is the first previously unreleased song off of this CD. This is a good rock song. It is not that hard but not that soft either. I like the words and the music to it.
#18. The New Disease - This is the second previosly unreleased song off of this CD. This is a good rock song. I am not sure if this song or Sex With A Movie Star (The Good Witch Gone Bad) were hits or not. I am not sure which one I like better. They are both good songs. I am glad that they are on here.
#19. The New York Times - This song is about hoping there is love and compassion in this post 9/11 world. 9/11 plus something tragic that happened to a poor soul in Everclear's hometown of Portland Oregon inspired Art Alexakis to write this. He wrote this hoping the world would stop hating and fearing, and start loving and being compassionate. This is a slow moving rock song. A definiate inclusion on this CD. I like this good hit song too.
#20. Song From An American Movie Pt. 1 - If any song doesn't deserve to be on this CD, it is this one. This is just a soft nice intro to a previous CD of theirs. They should have taken this song off and replaced it with the song One Hit Wonder off the CD So Much For The Afterglow. That would have been better.
#21. Rock Star - This is of course a rock song. I like this song a lot. It has great music and some cool lyrics that got misinterpreted by a lot of fans of the band. This is another hit song. This is a great way to end the CD. This is another favorite Everclear song of mine. It is a song I am sure you will like too. It is a loud fast and just excellent song of theirs.
So there you have it. 21 great songs from a great band. I am glad I got this CD. I recommend it to anyone, even if you don't like the band or already have all of their other CDs. Pick it up.
It is too bad though that Everclear is just done to one member now, Art Alexakis. But he promises another Everclear album later this year. I hope he makes a great one with some great musicians. Everclear is a good band and I hope they live on and on.
Just go out and pick up this CD and enjoy it as much as I do.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best collections EVER, and that's CLEAR., April 4, 2005
Unlike some other people, I find this "Best Of" to be perfect. Mostly because I always liked them when I heard them, but not enough to buy an album, so "Ten Years Gone" was made for me. This is also packed full of 21 songs, the more popular ones being "Wonderful", "Santa Monica", "AM Radio", and "I Will Buy You A New Life". Plus the excellent "Father Of Mine", which unfortunately many relate to, and 2 good covers of "The Boys Are Back In Town" and "Brown Eyed Girl". Most of what I didn't know I like now also. This collection should easily please most, but it probably won't be "Everything To Everyone".
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