Keepsakes - A Collection [Box set]

As you'd expect from the title "Keepsakes : A Collection" is a new compilation from All About Eve. It's not really a 'Best Of' and not really a 'Greatest Hits', so with other compilation CDs already available what makes this one any different?

"Keepsakes" covers the time that All About Eve spent with Phonogram and Universal from 1988 to 1992, and adds in some new material from 2004 and 2006. Apart from a few early indie singles (which are covered in full on the CD "Return To Eden") this means it's a complete career retrospective, and is the first time that tracks from the band's 4 studio albums have appeared on a single compilation. Particularly significant is that tracks from the long deleted albums "Touched By Jesus" (1991) and "Ultraviolet" (1992) are available again after a long absence from the shops.

Essentially CD1 covers the first two albums, "All About Eve" (1988) and "Scarlet And Other Stories" (1989), while CD2 tackles the later two - although both CDs break this trend by ending with newer tracks.

All of the band's 'major label' singles are included, most in their original form but bonuses include Flowers In Our Hair represented by it's extended 12" version, Wild Hearted Woman by an unreleased live recording from 1988 and What Kind Of Fool appears in the form of the mellower Autumn Rhapsody mix.

As well as the singles there are some well-chosen b-sides (such as Calling Your Name, appearing here on CD for the first time and sounding fresher than it's age would suggest), a wonderful (and electric) unreleased version of Wildflowers from a 1988 BBC Session and more unreleased live tracks from 1988. Add in a previously unavailable studio cover of Pink Floyd's See Emily Play and an alternate version of Ultraviolet's I Don't Know, and then remember that there are a crop of quality album tracks on "Keepsakes" as well and it's obvious that this compilation is considerably more comprehensive than any that have been released before. Maybe that's not surprising, as singer Julianne Regan had a hand in putting it together.

Oh, and don't forget the new tracks. Raindrops is the first collaboration for 15 years between Julianne Regan and original guitarist Tim Bricheno, Keepsakes is a download-only single that picks up where 2004's Let Me Go Home (which is also included) left off. All four new tracks prove that All About Eve definitely aren't stuck in the late 80s.

For the casual listener, who maybe doesn't have any All About Eve CDs and has a vague recollection of hearing Martha's Harbour (their biggest chart hit), then "Keepsakes" is a great place to start as it includes everything you're likely to be familiar with and pulls the best tracks from all 4 albums.

For the diehard completist the quality and quantity of new material and previously unreleased tracks make it a 'must buy'.

For anyone stuck somewhere between 'casual' and 'die-hard', maybe someone with some of the albums already on their shelf who's a fan of the band, then there's enough here of interest that you won't already have (the b-sides, the live tracks, the BBC session, the unreleased material, the new songs) to make it a more-than-worthwhile buy.

Something for everyone, then. The Best All About Eve Compilation Album In The World. Ever.

Wow, the re-mastering on this CD is the best I've heard. I compared tracks to the originals and they sound much fuller and crisper on this CD. It feels as fresh now as it did then. I have forgotten how good this band was (and is).

If not for the whole great collection, buy this for the last 4 tracks. Two sound like a better version of Garbage and the other two are more old school, with great guitar and vocals.

Easily the best AEE compilation.

Though always named as Goth no doubt because of connections to the Mission the fact is the music created by All About Eve was off at a tangent from the start as it entered its own sphere.The soundtrack to The Wicker Man,to Alice In Wonderland,to The Woodlanders the best Indie bands were always the ones with girl leads.
Julianne Regan appeared a couple of times on the James Whale Show and I remember her educating him about who the Grateful Dead were and about her interest in white withcraft
Everything about All About Eve was elegance right down to the album sleeves and the mass of collectables which surrounded them.
And this 2CD/I DVD set is the kind of comp they deserve after all this time
Only 3 records made the Indie charts because their label Eden gained major distribution through Polygram
Previously known as the Swarm the biggest hit was Martha's Harbour