Best Bands Compilations

BEST BANDS COMPILATIONS

The Best Bands Compilations Series

No one can say Virgin aren't turning out compilations.
Well, they can say it, but they'd be wrong.

This series is a pretty decent one, still too major label orientated to be a 'real' Indie collection, but then, it never claims to be.
Oddly they started putting the year into the title at the end, (rather than ‘Volume 2/3' etc.), as the mix is about 50% oldies, but the choices are often good, so no harm done.

Best Bands In The World Ever.

(November 4, 2002)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Virgin TV
ASIN: B000070WTA
Catalogue Number: VTDCD407

Disc: 1

1. Little By Little - Oasis
2. How You Remind Me - Nickelback
3. In My Place - Coldplay
4. It's Written In The Stars - Paul Weller
5. Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Travis
6. You Were Right - Badly Drawn Boy
7. Bohemian Like You (As featured in the Vodafone TV ads) - The Dandy Warhols
8. Walkin' On The Sun (As featured in the Ford Fiesta TV ads) - Smash Mouth
9. Grace - Supergrass
10. Girl All The Bad Guys Want - Bowling For Soup
11. Burn Baby Burn - Ash

12. Hate To Say I Told You So - The Hives
13. Come Back Around - Feeder
14. You Held The World In Your Arms - Idlewild
15. Plug In Baby - Muse
16. Take The Long Road And Walk It - The Music
17. Outtathaway - The Vines
18. Oxygen - JJ72
19. My Favourite Game - The Cardigans
20. Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
21. Scooby Snacks - Fun Lovin' Criminals

Disc: 2

1. Have A Nice Day - Stereophonics
2. There Goes The Fear - Doves
3. Alcoholic - Starsailor
4. Check The Meaning - Richard Ashcroft
5. We Are All Made Of Stars - Moby
6. Whippin Piccadilly - Gomez
7. Secret Smile - Semisonic
8. National Express - The Divine Comedy
9. Can You Dig it? (As featured in the Vodafone TV ads) - The Mock Turtles
10. Press 2 feat. David Byrne - X

11. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
12. Karma Police - Radiohead
13. Late Night Radio - David Gray
14. Long Distance - Turin Brakes
15. Beautiful - Athlete
16. Space Walk - Lemon Jelly
17. So Easy (As featured in the T - Röyksopp
18. Days Go By (Steve Osborne Acoustic Mix) - Dirty Vegas
19. Destiny - Zero 7
20. All I Need - Air

An unauspicous start to Cd 1 bodes ill, Oasis boring the pants off us again, the god forsaken sludgy crowing of Nickelback and Weller all kick in before track 5, but there's some better tracks on the way. ‘Whippin Picadilly' for example, is one of Gomez' best (in a small pool of tracks, admittedly), ‘Bohemian Like You' was a good ‘un and The Vines had a tune or two, but by and large you only have to see the words ‘David Gray' , ‘As Featured in the Vodafone TV ads' and ‘As featured in the Ford Fiesta ads' all on the back of one fun packed cd to know this hasn't been aimed anywhere other than the late 20's/early 30's market of artists you already know.

(Has anyone spotted the fact I'm trying to find a decent mix of popular and up and coming yet? No? Well, I thought it might help to point it out.)

The Best Bands 2004

(October 27, 2003)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Virgin TV
ASIN: B0000AQVHQ
Catalogue Number: VTDCD538

Disc: 1

1. The Thrills - Big Sur
2. The Coral - Pass It On
3. Coldplay - Clocks
4. Starsailor - Silence Is Easy
5. Travis - Sing
6. Turin Brakes - Pain Killer
7. Oasis - Songbird
8. Super Furry Animals - Golden Retriever
9. The Doves - Pounding

10. Supergrass - Moving
11. Badly Drawn Boy - Something To Talk About
12. Athlete - You Got The Style
13. Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather For Ducks
14. Radiohead - There, There
15. Goldfrapp - Lovely Head
16. Blur - Out Of Time
17. Stereophonics - Handbags & Gladrags
18. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Disc: 2

1. Electric 6 - Danger! Hi Voltage
2. The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun
3. Good Charlotte - Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous
4. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Higher Ground
5. Jane's Addiction - Just Because
6. Muse - Feeling Good
7. Placebo - The Bitter End
8. The Vines - Get Free
9. Liam Lynch - United States Of Whatever
10. R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World As We Know It

11. OK Go - Get Over It
12. Blondie - One Way Or Another
13. The Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends
14. David Bowie - Moonage Daydream
15. Iggy Pop - The Passenger
16. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Spread Your Love
17. Nickelback - Someday
18. Feeder - Just The Way I'm Feeling
19. Elbow - Fallen Angel
20. British Sea Power - Carrion

2003 gets skipped then. Well, no harm no foul. A few odd old choices from this freaky series, Blondie ‘One Way Or Another' a belter, I never have a problem with Iggy Pop and you'd have to be a harder man than I to deny Jeff Buckley, but nonetheless the skew of recent material to older is a little weak and makes the ‘2004' title a little odd.

But, ok, British Sea Power feature, as do Black Rebel Motorcyle club, but, really, you could have called it “Best Bands…Ever Volume 2” and been closer.

Oh and Nickelback, this had better be the last time we see your faces around here.

Best Bands 05

(December 27, 2004)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Virgin TV
ASIN: B0006FMKFC
Catalogue Number: VTDCD639

Disc: 1

1. Embrace - Gravity
2. The Zutons - Confusion
3. Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
4. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
5. The Killers - Mr Brightside
6. The Libertines - Can¹t Stand Me Now
7. The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love
8. Graham Coxon - Freakin¹ Out
9. Steriogram - Walkie Talkie Man
10. The Vines - Ride
11. The Clash - London Calling

12. Baby Shambles - Killamangiro
13. The Bees - Horsemen
14. The Music - Freedom Fighters
15. Oasis - Slide Away
16. The Black Keys - Girl Is On My Mind
17. Bloc Party - Helicopter
18. 22-20s - Shoot Your Gun
19. Hundred Reasons - What You Get
20. The Departure - Be My Enemy
21. Placebo - Twenty Years

Disc: 2

1. Kasabian - L.S.F
2. Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence Œ04
3. Manic Street Preachers - The Love Of Richard Nixon
4. The Thrills - Whatever Happened To Corey Haim?
5. Delays - Long Time Coming
6. Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday
7. The Ordinary Boys - Talk Talk Talk
8. Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
9. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Nature Boy
10. R.E.M. - The One I Love

11. Elliott Smith - Coast To Coast
12. Coldplay - God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
13. Wolfman feat. Peter Doherty - For Lovers
14. The Verve - Lucky Man
15. Starsailor - Four To The Floor
16. The Concretes - Seems Fine
17. Fountains Of Wayne - Stacy¹s Mom
18. 5,6,7,8¹s - Woo Hoo
19. The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop (Live)
20. Goldie Looking Chain - Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do

And we reach the (at the time of writing), newest compilation. Much improved, It's got a few nice selections, The Delays, 22-20s, the Concretes, even so, we have to ask why, if it's “the bands 2005”, The Verves ‘Lucky Man' from 1997 (Suggested Answer – Hut are a Virgin owned label), or Mozzer from 1988 are here etc, but they're both decent songs, so no great bother. Newer stuff would have been nice, but, I'd guess, pricier and less likely to pull the floating, ‘scared by the unknown' punter (when did everyone get so woolly, by the way?)

The Clash or the Ramones we can live with on any compilation, mind.

And an absence of Nickelback.