The Ultimate Acoustic Anthems

With more than 600,000 albums sold in the UK, the compilation "The Collection" is relaunched with new tracks and visual identity. Acoustic - The Collection features 54 stripped-down versions of some of the greatest hits of all time, either in the studio or live, it's all here! From Van Morrison's classics, Dionne Warwick, Duran Duran and Fleetwood Mac to contemporaries Biffy Clyro, Jamie Lawson, Jess Glynne, Jason Mraz and many others.

She may be responsible for one of the ultimate cheerleader anthems, but Avril Lavigne's material is hardly suited to floor-filling dance routines, which makes this latest compilation from the Essential Mixes series seem rather superfluous. Indeed, perhaps mirroring her recent acknowledgment that she had to fight against record label interference to prevent her recent album, Goodbye Lullaby, from taking a more dance-led direction, these ten tracks are hardly a club-friendly affair…

Heaven knows, the Scotsman born Donovan Leitch was ripe for ridicule, even when he was hitting the charts with regularity. He was the ultimate flower child, and his airier pronouncements made cynics want to tighten up those love beads around his neck. Listening to Troubadour, however, it's striking how versatile, melodic, and agreeable most of his material sounds decades after "Mellow Yellow" has faded into a jaundiced yellow. Clearly under the sway of Bob Dylan early on in his career, Donovan nevertheless was capable of directing his reverence into something as enchanting as "Catch the Wind." Amping up as the '60s progressed, he assembled a series of psychedelic-pop classics, including "Season of the Witch," the "Hey Jude"-like sing-along "Atlantis," and the uncharacteristically driving "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (the latter features three-quarters of what was to become Led Zeppelin providing stellar support). This two-disc anthology may be more Donovan than some desire, but the booklet, seven previously unreleased tracks, and expansive perspective it provides makes it a more-than-worthy overview for those who take their paisley folk-rock with a beatific smile.