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James: The Best Of
 
 
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James: The Best Of

~ James
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
Price: £4.98 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
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James: The Best Of + The Collection + Hey Ma
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  • The Collection ~ James

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Product details

  • Audio CD (18 Jun 1999)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Mercury Records Ltd (London)
  • ASIN: B000007Q8H
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 852 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories:

    #12 in  Music > Rock > Indie Rock & Punk > Greatest Hits
    #13 in  Music > Indie > British
    #28 in  Music > Bargain CDs > The Best of the Best

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Track Listings

1. Come Home
2. Sit Down
3. She's A Star
4. Laid
5. Waltzing Along
6. Say Something
7. Born Of Frustration
8. Tomorrow
9. Destiny Calling
10. Out To Get You
11. Runaground
12. Lose Control
13. Sometimes
14. How Was It For You?
15. Seven
16. Sound
17. Ring The Bells
18. Hymn From A Village

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Riding on the powerful wave of Manchester's early 1990's musical renaissance, James' intellectual and improvised approach complemented a dance heavy scene and catapulted the seven-piece in to the limelight. "Come Home" and "Sit Down"--James' most lucrative singles--commence this 18 song Best Of collection. Elsewhere, the equally commercial "She's A Star" from 1997 and 1998's satirical "Destiny Calling" prove that James have consistently carved out new territory for themselves and their listeners. Gradually drawing away from the brittle bones of their 1980s incarnation as a provocative but marginalised indie four-piece--as evinced on 1995's "Hymn From A Village"--1991 saw a strengthened James refining their musical designs to the point of subtle perfection on the epic "Sound". Writers of pop songs, devotees of producer Brian Eno's spirit of adventure--and occasionally unwitting victims of singer and lyricist's Tim Booth's sanctimonious and heavy-handed manner--James are a true enigma. Their Best Of is an island of musical intrigue and possibility. --James Littlewood

CD Description
JAMES: THE BEST OF is an excellent sampling of the late output of the band that was almost too happy for Manchester. Culled mostly from James's albums from the 1990s, the 18 songshere include the smash hit "Laid", and several other UK hits that were US sleepers, including "Come Home", "Sit Down", "She's a Star", and others.
Sadly, JAMES: THE BEST OF provides only one example of the band's earlier work on FactoryRecords. Nevertheless, the compilation attests to the wonderful pop sensibility that characterised the James sound, as well as to the lyrical depth that helped the band develop the dedicated following that enabled its survival long after the Madchester scene had floundered. James's phenomenal staying power is well documented on JAMES: THE BEST OF.

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (18)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Those who find themselves ridiculous..., 12 Mar 2004
By Robbie Swale - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
This collection has exactly the effect any Best Of should. You start off by skipping to the songs you know and love by one of the most underrated bands of the last 20 years. Underrated despite a long list of hits. Whether it's Destiny Calling, She's A Star, Laid or the monsterous crowd anthem and all-time-great Sit Down, there will be something you know the title of. But then you start listening to the rest of it, and you realise how good James are.

From start to finish there are brilliant tracks. For me, the stand-outs (as well as those above) are the magical tantra-like Walzting Along and the sudden move down-tempo to the sad Out To Get You. Throughout though, are excellent tracks that you will almost certainly enjoy.

James are a band that produced plenty of classics in their 20 or so years together, and plenty more that should have been classics. The only problem is that since this compilation was released they have released two more albums, so there are some great songs that were too late to make it on.

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24 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest of all James albums (well of course, doh!), 16 Feb 2002
By Jonathan Collin "JC" (Leigh-on-sea, Essex, UK) - See all my reviews
This album has resided in my cd collection ever since it's release and takes the top position as my all-time favourite cd. Occasionally I am distracted by some other classy albums but this is one I always come back to and always will.

It seems ridiculous to assume that this won't be James' greatest album, but it's a sad fact that many bands just do not have the back-catalogue of high quality material to fill 70 mins of a 'best of...' cd.

I can honestly say that this is one of the few albums where I will listen all the way through without skipping a single track. In fact, lately I have come to realise that the most well-known and successful tracks on the album are not necessarily the best by any means.

For the first few years of owning this album I never really listened to it in it's entirety and always assumed 'Sit Down' and 'She's a Star' to be the best tracks.

Then within the last three or four years I slowly came to realise the quality of the less well-known tracks - 'Sometimes', 'Tomorrow' and 'Ring the Bells' to name but a few. My favourite track is 'Sometimes' - I have never heard such a powerful and moving ballad as this one.

I remember when it was played in my school's sixth-form common room and I sat with my mates, proud in the knowledge that they and most of the other guys in the room at the time had never heard the song before, and I was one of the few to immediately recognise and appreciate it.

This album sits higher in my estimation than Millionaires and Pleased to meet you (though I haven't yet listened to that one in it's entirety either!) It's a testiment to a band who have never been mainstream or very well-known but have not let this stop them creating some of the most original and melodic tunes of any group in the last 20 or 30 years.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What an album!!, 21 April 2004
By Mr. J. G. Ball "utd666" (Lancashire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Wow what an album, there are many many hits here of which most of you willhave heard most of the songs. Thats a good sign for an album, how manyalbums have we heard that states "best of" only to be disappointed witheither the choice of songs or that laughably that they release the albumat all. Well this really is a best of. This album is a really goodchoice for a pre night out belter. There are some fine belters here likeSit Down, She's A Star and Born Of Frustration, but the best of all is theFlood Mix of Come Home. There are also a few mellow songs the best beingOut To Get You. If you are a massive James fan you will already havethese songs, however if you are a casual fan buy this then buy the rest oftheir back catalogue, well what are you waiting for, you too can besinging How Was It For You.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars What was I thinking??
There aren't many albums that I'm ashamed to have ever owned, but this is definitely one of them.

In a moment of student madness I bought this album at some hazy... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Matt_K

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best "Best of" Ever
Best of albums are normally thought of as a cop out by bands to fill in time, and make some money.

But every so often they are just a wonderful display of talent that... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Carl Parkin

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond comparison
This collection is proof that James were the most under appreciated band in UK history. Not a bad track, every one a gem, fabulous lyrics, tunes, hooks and associated memories... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2007 by J. J. Blackbourn

4.0 out of 5 stars James. The Best Of. Go figure!
James are... well, I'd like to say rock, but I'd be pushing it a bit. As has been said before, they are very hard to classify, they're... well, they're James. Uh... Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely unbeatable
I first got introduced to James in 1989, when I was only 9 myself. Since then, I've never looked back on them and certainly never found a band and their music to be so unique,... Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars Memories of being a teenager
It is so easy to forget how many songs James actually released, until you listen to this album. I received this CD as a birthday present, and as soon as I listened to it, it... Read more
Published on 10 Jul 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best CD of the 1990's???
A breath-taking album by one of the UK's finest bands. The whole record exudes a certain confidence that other lesser artists can only dream of. Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Meaningful Pop, or Thought Provoking Rock
James a band always hard to classify in terms of genre show their stripes with an eighteen track cd that tears shreds of other bands like U2 or Oasis. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars a masterpiece in itself
this is an amazing piece of musical brilliance, a feel good album, suitable for anyone or any age who feels anything. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch, but not everything
This is one of the greatest albums ever produced. Ignoring their early Sire work, this is essentially "the singles collected"; all bar two of these tracks were top 75... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2001

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