Hits+&+rarities

I feel this album to be one of Numan's best; sure, it's not Replicas or Pleasure Principle, but fans of an ever-evolving artist have to keep up with him in taste and style, which this album clearly has great value in. 1983's Warriors was a mislead and equally misleading album that paired Numan's signature style with dancier beats and instrumentation; for me, it misses the mark. Berserker was a great album, though found Numan in the same strange place that Warriors was trying to get out of.

Though its modern-day connotation means something quite the opposite in terms of flattery, the Knickerbockers in their heyday were the ultimate bar band. With a stripped-down lineup of guitar, bass, drums, and tenor saxophone and all four members singing, their repertoire truly "covered the waterfront." Their harmonies were gorgeous, fuller and sharper than your average self-contained band, and their collective ear for mimicry was unparalleled. When they recorded a deadly accurate Beatle sound-alike original, "Lies," for the tiny Challenge label, it started zooming up the charts, and the band seemed poised for multi-talented stardom…

Released for the British market, Hits and Rarities combines a good basic Sheryl Crow hits compilation with a collection of rarities that are either not that rare or interesting. The first disc is the stronger of the two, containing almost all of her big hits, not presented chronologically but presented entertainingly and not leaning too heavily on any particular era. Here, there are a few minor rarities…