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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the finest best-of collection ever, 13 Feb 2008
Given that The Cardigans have only ever reached the top 20 four times thus far, along with four other singles scraping the lower regions of the top 40, you may think that a 46-track Best Of would be excessive. But oh, how very wrong you would be.
Alongside the radio hits "My Favourite Game", "Lovefool", "Erase/Rewind" and "Hanging Around", this double-CD contains a number of lesser hits, the band's favourite album tracks, and an almost complete collection of b-sides.
The first disc contains all the singles that have been released both here and abroad, with the exception of "My New Cuckoo" (which the band hate), and a couple of the very early ones. Personally I've never been much of a fan of early Cardigans, so this is no major downfall. There are sufficient early tracks to get an idea of their roots without getting bogged down. High points of this disc include recent singles "Don't Blame Your Daughter" and "I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to be Nicer", alongside four tracks from the amazing Long Gone Before Daylight album, the aforementioned big hits, and the lovely song "War" which featured on a couple of soundtracks in the late 90s.
Disc two is where things start to get exciting for the super-fans amongst you... Back in the mid-90s, The Cardigans released a 16-track b-sides collection called "The Other Side of the Moon", however it was only available in Japan. 12 of those tracks now appear on disc two of this album, including a much heavier early mix of "War", and a dark version of "Carnival". Following on from this there is a lovely acoustic version of "Lovefool" (recorded live in a hotel room with police sirens in the background), and a rare early take on the song "Happy Meal". Then comes the second half of the disc, which is definitely the most important reason why any Cardigans fan should own this CD. Tracks 16-24 are the complete b-sides to the Long Gone Before Daylight and Super Extra Gravity albums. Every single one of these is a gem, and it is criminal that they've been so hard to track down until now. These five ballads and three up-tempo tracks really showcase the band at their finest, with "Hold Me", "If There Is A Chance" and "If You Were Less Like Me" being possibly three of the best recordings the band has ever made.
If I really had to pick fault with this album, it would be the dubious inclusion of Tom Jones duet "Burning Down The House" on the first disc instead of "Your New Cuckoo" (or another track from one of their two latest albums), and the few omissions from the b-sides disc due to lack of space. The songs that haven't been included on disc two are all either covers, live or alternate versions of album tracks, or in one case a 16-minute instrumental track. However, some of these arguably merited a place on the album more so than some of the early b-sides that did make it, particularly their lovely versions of Black Sabbath's "Changes" (from the "Live & Learn" single) and Kraftwerk's "Das Model" (from the "For What It's Worth" single).
All in all though, it's a pretty awesome album. Even with its (very minor) flaws, it still deserves five stars as I can't think of a more comprehensive and well thought-out Best Of. The disc comes with extensive liner-notes from the band and quirky cover art that looks like it is hand-written.
Once you've discovered this disc, you'll probably want to go on to hear more of their albums. "Long Gone Before Daylight" is a great place to start, then "Gran Turismo" or "Super Extra Gravity". The songs on the first disc are fairly representative of each album/era though, so just follow up on whichever group of songs appeals to you the most I guess.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For what it's worth, this is one of the finest 'Best Of's' you could possibly buy!, 4 Feb 2008
It's 2008, 12 years on from when I first saw this band at the Shepard's Bush Empire in London, at a (young) time where I listened to 'Life' and 'First Band...' almost daily. I loved them then, I love them now, and this Best Of truly demonstrates the sublime artistic scope of Sweden's arguably best ever exports.
For a start, unlike most supposed Best Of's these days, this album captures the band's FULL history without conveniently missing out vast chunks of their back catalogue; the trick of many bands traditionally as a way of distancing themselves from their younger creations. The Cardigans are clearly confident in their musical heritage where few other bands have been so consistent in terms of creating grand and beautifully crafted pop songs from the start of their career thereafter.
For starters, 'Sick and Tired' and 'Carnival' still sound as glorious as they ever did then and although steeped headily in nostalgic 60's production, draw the listener in with their fresh, insanely catchy melodies and timeless choruses. Surprisingly, featured here is the particularly dark and fascinating soundtrack-only tune `Deuce', which few but the hardest core of fans will have heard, but like I, the band have obviously realised the true greatness of this gem and actually given it over, at last, to the ears of the mainstream listener.
Additionally, the band have all chosen one extra album track alongside the predictable singles inclusions, which not only highlights the quality of them outside of their genius pop moments (`Lovefool', `Erase & Rewind', `My Favourite Game', `I need some fine wine' to name a few) but also reminds us of how strong they were/are as an albums band. And if you want value for money...well here you have it. 22 tracks on disc one alone! And the fans are actually considered here also, with the inclusion of a bonus disc filled with excellent rarities such as 'Plain Parade' (early 'Sick & Tired' B-side), 'Nasty Sunny Beam' (Original B-side to Lovefool), early versions of `Loser', `After all', plus the latter day 'clearly-should-have-been-on-the-album' track 'The Road'.
All in all, if you only ever heard a couple of Cardigans singles over the years (really, where have you been??) and never truly got to grips with them as a great albums band, this is most certainly for you. Simultaneously, as a fan, you can't go wrong here...not only do you get a 2-disc retrospective of your fave songs over the past decade or so, you also get the 'lost tracks' that only ever appeared on either the singles themselves, or on the long deleted and vastly expensive Japanese import of 'Other side of the moon'. All I can say now is...roll on to the Best Of tour!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Cardigans' discography with an extra CD of unheard stuff thrown in - what more could you want?!, 17 Mar 2008
As a major fan of The Cardigans, I didn't think I would need to buy this "Best Of..." collection. How wrong I was, and how glad I am that I did.
I was first enamoured with this group the summer of "Lovefool", when it appeared on the soundtrack for "Romeo + Juliet"; and this is quite a brave thing for a Cardigans fan to admit. Having seen them live two years ago at a concert in which they omitted playing "Lovefool", I learned that, apparently, they don't like it. Most probably, one would imagine this is because they are sick of it and because it is so different from anything else they have produced. But, whether they like it or not, it was "Lovefool" that really put them on the mainstream map, opening a new avenue for them. It was probably this newfound popularity that dared them to produce their fourth album, the electric-sounding "Gran Turismo", which featured tracks like "Erase/Rewind" and "My Favourite Game", the songs that are possibly the next-most-famous.
But the truth is, The Cardigans were around years before this particular success, and had released three prior albums to a very different sound. And it is the style of these albums ("Emmerdale", "Life" and "First Band On The Moon") that is their true sound - a sound that has continued on after "Gran Turismo", with the albums "Long Gone Before Daylight" and "Super Extra Gravity", having matured and deepened further in the process.
And so "The Best Of The Cardigans" gives us all of this history in, not one, but two discs, cataloguing the bands' development and narration.
Disc One is pretty much a discography, in chronological order no less, of the singles that they have released since 1993. And it's a nice CD for the fan to own, simply because it provides all of their best work together in one collection. Most excitably, it features "War", which has never actually appeared on a Cardigans album before (only on the soundtrack to the movie "A Life Less Ordinary"); most pointedly, it includes "Lovefool", allowing me to put aside the rumours that they hate it (I'm sorry but I like this song); and most bravely, it contains "Burning Down The House" featuring Tom Jones - something fans have been quick to snort at. I, however, applaud this; they have released a CD of their released songs, and, like it or not, this was one of them! And I don't care who they sing it with, it's The Cardigans and I love it!
The real reason the fan should buy this album though is the inclusion of Disc Two. This disc features early versions of songs such as "Losers" and "War", re-jigged (and darker) versions of "Carnival" and "Lovefool", instrumental tracks, new versions of current album tracks, demos from 1993 and plenty of B-Sides - enough, in fact, to make you feel like you are getting a whole other album of fresh material in the deal. What's great is that the B-sides are both early and more recent, and so the listener is receiving a variety. When you listen to the earlier ones you feel like you've been treated to a new album from the old days of The Cardigans - something I thought I'd never hear, seeing as the band have since developed their style into something a little different. On the flip-side of this, the more recent B-Sides stand out in contrast to Nina Presson's past, higher tone, next to her current, deeper sound. What many don't know, however, is these B-Sides had featured on what was essentially their original fourth album, called "Other Side Of The Moon", which had been released after "First Band On The Moon" yet never made it out of the Japanese bargain bins. So effectively, we are being provided with this, only 10 years later.
Of most note on Disc Two are the tracks "I Figured Out", "Nasty Sunny Beam", "Hold Me" and "For The Boys", which all should never have been left out of the albums in the first place, they are that great. "For The Boys" is particularly nice seeing as, on hearing them play live, Nina referred to their song "Good Morning Joan" as a song "for the girls". "Pooh Song" is another great one that is almost like another version of early track "Over The Water" but in a different key (although I don't like the name, nor do I understand it. Never mind.) Also interesting to hear is the song "Emmerdale", the actual name of their first album, which made me wonder why this provided the title for the album but never actually made it onto it.
The only negatives here are that they waste time re-doing tracks such as "Good Morning Joan" from "Super Extra Gravity" and calling it "(If You Were) Less Like Me" and "Junk Of The Hearts" from "Gran Turismo" and calling it "Laika" - although I think the latter is an example of an early idea, later picked up and transformed into something new, which is actually quite interesting to hear. I also don't really see the point of the inclusion of "Give Me Your Eyes" and "Slow", which are the last two tracks on their latest album "Super Extra Gravity" anyway - so why do we need them here? And finally, the only other downside is the omission of any brand new songs. While it is true you don't really need them as you're provided with so many scarcities that you've never heard before anyway, it would still have been nice to have one or two new tracks in place of unnecessary rehashes and repeats.
In a nutshell though, this two-disc compilation is terrific. It is a wonderful account of The Cardigans' history, from their vintage tracks, to their poppy ones, to their electric ones, to their matured ones. And so, as a fan, you get a Cardigans discography, all in one place, with a bonus CD thrown in; whilst, as a newcomer, you get a dead-on listing of their most noted work, and an example of their progression over the past 15 years.
Whether you are an established fan like me, or a newcomer who only really knows The Cardigans for songs like "Lovefool" and "Erase/Rewind", get this album!
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