December 21, 2008
25 best-of CDs of 2008
By Darryl Sterdan – Sun Media
Image: CartoonCity2
Christina Aguilera
Keeps Gettin’ Better: A Decade of Hits
Chronic oversinger Xtina condenses her three English CDs and assorted singles down to 12 essentials. YEARS: 1999-2008. HITS: Genie in a Bottle, What a Girl Wants, Candyman. EXTRAS: Two stylish and impressive new electro-pop tracks; likeminded remakes of Genie and Beautiful; a DVD with 10 videos.
4/5 stars
Dave Alvin
The Best of the HighTone Years
The ex-Blasters guitarist and roots-rock maverick reviews his ’90s releases on a respected indie label. YEARS: 1991-2000. HITS: None – but it does have a cut from his Grammy-winning 2000 CD Public Domain. EXTRAS: One previously unissued tune; acoustic and live versions of three more.
4/5 stars
Danielson
Trying Hartz: First Fruits
Quirky indie-popster Daniel Smith has put out seven CDs on a handful of labels. This two-disc set cherrypicks highlights. YEARS: 1994-2004. HITS: Well, it does have singles. EXTRAS: A handful of rarities.
3.5/5 stars
Celine Dion
My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection
All the Celine anyone could want – and in the two-disc Ultimate edition, much, much more. YEARS: 1990-2008. HITS: The Power of Love, My Heart Will Go On, I Drove All Night. EXTRAS: The new song There Comes a Time; a live version of My Love; a couple of tribute-album rarities.
3.5 stars
Hilary Duff
Best Of
The 21-year-old teen-popster has only made one CD since her last compilation, which makes this cheap cash-in even more egregious. YEARS: 2003-2008. HITS: So Yesterday, Come Clean, With Love. EXTRAS: Two new clubby cuts called Reach Out and Holiday; a trio of remixes.
2/5 stars
Good Charlotte
Greatest Remixes
Instead of just regurgitating hits, the pop-punks get Junior Sanchez, The Game, FoB’s Patrick Stump and more to revamp them. Points for originality. YEARS: 2000-2008. HITS: Dance Floor Anthem, The Young & the Hopeless. EXTRAS: Three new tunes. But really, the whole thing is kind of a bonus.
4/5 stars
Herbie Hancock
Then and Now: The Definitive
Jazz keyboard vet Hancock capitalizes on his recent left-field Grammy success with this too-brief –
and hardly definitive – 12-song retrospective. YEARS: 1964-2008. HITS: Cantaloupe Island, Watermelon Man, Wiggle Waggle. EXTRAS: Two recent live recordings.
3.5/5 stars
Chantal Kreviazuk
Since We Met: The Best Of
Apparently, the Canadian piano balladeer took a few minutes off from raising her kids and shilling hair colour to assemble this unexceptional collection. YEARS: 1996-2006. HITS: In This Life, God Made Me, Weight of the World. EXTRAS: Some soundtrack cuts.
3/5 stars
Laika and the Cosmonauts
Cosmopolis
After two decades, the Finnish spaghetti-western surf-rock twangstrumentalists call it a day with an extensive 76-minute career anthology. YEARS: 1988-2008. HITS: Um, maybe in Scandinavia. EXTRAS: Tunes that were never issued in North America.
4/5 stars
Sarah McLachlan
Closer: The Best of
Apparently, the OTHER Canadian piano balladeer also decided to take time away from child-rearing to put together this chronological retrospective. YEARS: 1989-2008. HITS: I Will Remember You, Angel, Building a Mystery. EXTRAS: Two undated new cuts that don’t sound much different from the old ones.
3.5/5 stars
Katie Melua
The Collection
Still haven’t heard Soviet-born British jazz-pop vocalist Melua? This compendium of her three albums is a good starting point. YEARS: 2003-2008. HITS: None – but plenty of tunes that could have been. EXTRAS: Three impressive new numbers.
3.5/5 stars
Bette Midler
Jackpot: The Best Bette
Judging by the cover pic of this well-balanced collection, the Divine Miss M. still has the body of a 20-year-old model – or a photographer who knows PhotoShop. YEARS: 1972-2006. HITS: Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Rose, Wind Beneath My Wings. EXTRAS: Just one ’80s demo.
4/5 stars
Buddy Miller
The Best of the HighTone Years
Americana singer-guitarist Miller has been a sideman for Emmylou, Lucinda and more. If he’s good enough for them, this retrospective is good enough for you. YEARS: 1995-2002. HITS: Sadly, playing on other folks’ hits is as close as Miller has come. EXTRAS: Nothing.
3.5/5 stars
Rascal Flatts
Greatest Hits Vol. 1
The harmony-loving country-pop trio dish up a chronological overview of their first four albums. Guess even they didn’t like their last CD. YEARS: 2000-2008. HITS: Bless the Broken Road, Fast Cars and Freedom, My Wish. EXTRAS: A second disc with three Christmas songs – which could easily have fit on the other CD.
3/5 stars
Jay Reatard
Singles 06-07 | Matador Singles ’08
If you wanna follow garage-punk maniac Reatard’s twisted path, you have to spend a lot of time tracking down his singles – or pick up these compilations. YEARS: 2006-2008. HITS: None – but he did punch an unruly Toronto fan in the face last April. EXTRAS: 06-07 has a DVD of live footage. ’08 has one bonus cut.
4/5 stars
Tom Russell
The Anthology: Veteran’s Day
With some 20 albums to his name, cowboy troubadour Russell’s career is tough to anthologize. This two-disc set comes close. YEARS: 1978-2008. HITS: If life were fair, U.S. Steel and The Pugilist at 59 would be classics. EXTRAS: A new recording and an acoustic remake.
4/5 stars
Santana
Multi Dimensional Warrior
Want Smooth and Oye Como Va? Look elsewhere. This is one CD of spiritual (and obscure) Latin-rock vocal tracks and a second disc of jammy instrumentals. So by multi, he means two. YEARS: 1970-2004. HITS: Nada. Thanks, Carlos. EXTRAS: Nada. Thanks again – this time for real.
2/5 stars
Simply Red
25: The Greatest Hits
This two-disc set isn’t Mick Hucknall and his blue-eyed soul-pop outfit’s first best-of. But it is their most extensive, with 25 tracks spanning their entire career. YEARS: 1985-2008. HITS: If You Don’t Know Me By Now, Holding Back the Years. EXTRAS: A lush cover of the Moody Blues’ Go Now.
4/5 stars
Stereophonics
Decade in the Sun
This Welsh trio has never been able to crack North America – so this 20-song CD is a good intro for most people. YEARS: 1997-2008. HITS: Dakota, Just Looking and Local Boy in the Photograph were huge in the U.K. EXTRAS: The grungy rocker My Own Worst Enemy and the dreamy pop single You’re My Star.
3.5/5 stars
Rod Stewart
The Definitive
With a Faces reunion looming, raspy rooster Rod stops crooning standards and sets out to re-establish his rock cred with a double-disc set of solo hits. YEARS: 1971-1998. HITS: Maggie May, Hot Legs, Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? EXTRAS: The 1998 ballad Two Shades of Blue; a DVD of 14 videos.
4/5 stars
Streetheart …
Read All About It: The Hits / Anthology
One disc of singles + one CD of album tracks = the biggest and best anthology yet from these ’70s rockers fronted by Kenny Shields. Get it at their website: www.kennyshields.com. YEARS: 1978-1984. HITS: Under My Thumb, Action, Here Comes the Night. EXTRAS: Track-by-track liner notes.
4/5 stars
Subhumans
Death Was Too Kind
If you remember these Vancouver punk pioneers, you’re almost as old as we are. And if you own their first EP and singles, well, you don’t need this 25-minute compilation. YEARS: 1978-1981. HITS: For some reason, anthems like F— You and Slave to My D— never caught on. EXTRAS: Two demos from 1981.
3.5/5 stars
Switchfoot
The Best Yet
For a bunch of Christians, these alt-rockers crank it up pretty convincingly on this 18-cut retrospective that draws from their six albums. YEARS: 1997-2006. HITS: Meant to Live, Dare You to Move, Stars. EXTRAS: Nothing.
3/5 stars
Tina Turner
Tina!
Tina rules – but her umpteenth anthology is a typically spotty and superficial affair, flitting between Ike-era oldies, solo hits, live filler and soundtrack cuts. YEARS: 1966-2008. HITS: Nutbush City Limits, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Private Dancer. EXTRAS: Two recent, unremarkable tunes recorded with Brit-pop svengali Guy Chambers.
3.5/5 stars
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu: The Story Of
This companion CD to a new Wu doc isn’t the most complete anthology – but it does have a decent mix of group tracks and solo jams. Not the whole story, but not bad. YEARS: 1993-2000. HITS: Method Man, Protect Ya Neck, Shimmy Shimmy Ya. EXTRAS: Nothing.
3/5 stars
darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca
