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| Image Source: fanart.tv |
Album: Best Of
Artist: The Cardigans
Release Date: January 25, 2008
Genre: Alternative
Track Listing:
Disc 1
1. Rise & Shine
2. Sick & Tired
3. After All...
4. Carnival
5. Daddy's Car
6. Lovefool
7. Been It
8. Losers
9. War
11. Erase/Rewind
12. Hanging Around
13. Higher
15. You're the Storm
16. Live and Learn
17. Communication
20. Godspell
21. Bonus Track
Disc 2
1. Pooh Song
4. Laika
5. Plain Parade
6. Emmerdale
8. Happy Meal 1
10. Blah Blah Blah
12. Country Hell
14. War (First Try)
15. Deuce
16. The Road
18. Hold Me
20. For the Boys
22. Slowdown Town
24. Slow
Rating: 9.1/10
Note: I have linked the songs to the track listing. However, some songs may not be available in your country due to the content owner restricting its availability.
Note: I have linked the songs to the track listing. However, some songs may not be available in your country due to the content owner restricting its availability.
Hit singles can point out the best moments of a musician, but b-sides and demos reveal the most about his/her passion and talent as a musician.
Best Of gives an audio history of The Cardigans and their evolution as one of the most prominent bands of the 90s. The first disc is a compilation of hit singles that will take you on a nostalgic road trip through a decade of pop rock and sounds that can only be associated with the 90s and the outrageous trends and fashions that came out of those years. The second disc, on the other hand, shows a different side to The Cardigans where their b-sides and demos show that their music can be obscure, complex, serious, and even more enjoyable in contrast to their hit singles. This is not to say that the songs that made it to their studio albums did not contain these qualities and are therefore of low quality. In fact, their b-sides actually made me like The Cardigans even more, which is impressive because their second disc is what makes this album a worthy staple if you are a fan of alternative and 90s music.
Disc 1
When I bought this CD, I purchased it for the sake of the first disc. Although the band is not too popular in the US (unless someone mentions Lovefool), The Cardigans do have a lengthy history of hit singles that were released over a span of at least 10 years since they first came out. The song selection in the first disc is great, but it could be better.
There are a couple of things that fall short with the selection of songs in this disc. The first issue is that the Emmerdale version of "Rise & Shine" was chosen to be included instead of the Life version*. The Emmerdale version of the song was one of their first hit singles and was released in 1994, which was around the time the band was coming into prominence and their sound was focused on indie pop and jazz. In contrast to its first release, the Life version, which came out a year later, was more developed since Nina's vocal style began to sound more crisp and less mellow and was the style she used throughout the rest of the band's career. In addition, the instrumentals to the song had changed such that their sound was beginning to move away from jazz and towards alternative. Life (1995) was intended for international release and was a commercial success, so it would have made more sense to include this version rather than the Emmerdale version unless the song choices were due to historical reasons to show how the band kicked off their career. In short, it would have been great if they had chosen to put in the Life version.
The second issue with the first disc is that it does not have "Your New Cuckoo." The song was released as a single off of First Band on the Moon (1996) and should have been included in their greatest hits since, in addition to it being a single, it was a part of an album that gave the band an international breakthrough and made them a 90s household name.
Despite these shortcomings, the first disc has (for the most part) all the songs that a fan wants to hear. You can definitely hear how the band evolves over time as the songs are ordered according to release date. In chronological order, the evolution of their sound is as follows:
jazz → 60s-inspired alternative → pop alternative → 70s-inspired alternative → hard rock-inspired alternative
The first disc does a fine job of showing how the band develops their sound over the years and consequently takes the listener through these phases where each period will incite a different way of jamming and moving with the music. They will make you slow dance, identify with Nina, and maybe even compel you to pour yourself a glass of wine and feel classy. Whatever mood it puts you in, there is no room for feeling down when you listen to the first disc.
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Image source: joyreactor.cc
The Cardigans on the set of their music video, "Carnival." This song was included in Life (1995) and, along with the rest of the album, had a 60s pop-inspired sound to it.
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The band's ability to provoke a different response from the listener each time is not an end to their greatness as one of the most prominent groups of the 90s. Instead, their talent expands even further as soon as the listener plays the second disc...
Disc 2
At this point, this part of the album has left me wondering, "Why are The Cardigans not as famous as they should be?"
There are many songs on this disc that had more than enough potential to make it into the band's studio albums. But for reasons we'll never know, they ended up being b-sides and testimonies to their unknown greatness. The rest of the songs are demos to their hit singles and give a glimpse at the process of how they compose their songs until they reach the final product as well as to what these songs could have been and sounded like in an alternate universe.
There is not much to critique about the second disc since it's a compilation of demos and unreleased tracks. The nice thing about this is that it gives the listener another perspective on the band in terms of how we perceive their music since demos can be viewed as a hidden side to any musician that is only revealed to very few people. The Cardigans gives everyone the chance to see this part of their music and they are not afraid to show it.
I actually enjoyed the second disc more than I did the first disc. This is not due to the song selection that was noted earlier, but it is rather because this part of the album is worth listening to (and the additional cost if you ever plan on purchasing it).
What makes it worth listening to is that the band exhibits a wide range of styles from acoustic versions to unlikely takes. The songs that were chosen to be included in the second disc go on a tangent from what one would expect of the group if that person has only heard of their most popular songs. But these tracks are a pleasant divergence from their more structured work and show that The Cardigans are not afraid to experiment with their sound nor are they afraid to take themselves seriously (or not at all). If anything, the second disc is what sealed the deal for me to become a loyal fan of the group.
*The Life version of "Rise and Shine" differs between country. The version I am referring to in this case is the UK, French, Canadian, and Brazilian version. It turns out the US version is the same track on Emmerdale
*The Life version of "Rise and Shine" differs between country. The version I am referring to in this case is the UK, French, Canadian, and Brazilian version. It turns out the US version is the same track on Emmerdale
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