Blink 182 - Greatest Hits

Sun 20th Nov, 2005 in Music Reviews

You know its Christmas time when these things are released, it’s the easy choice for all those parents and aunties/uncles who haven’t a clue about what to buy the young ones for a present. “Ahh, this is that popular rock group I saw on Video Hits while switching channels, little Johnny will love that”, they think to themselves while shopping in the local record shop for that Michael Bublé disc they heard on the radio.

So really, how can you go wrong with a “Greatest Hits” disc? Well if little Johnny is in his mid teens he’s more than likely going to love this, otherwise stay out of HMV, Auntie Beryl! I know I know, there’s a few kids in their late teens who like this band, and there’s even a few in their twenties who still feel a certain sense of nostalgia about these guys, so maybe this could be a nice little present for your Blink fan of a brother/sister/friend.

Reviewing a Greatest Hits compilation seems like a pointless exercise, talking about songs that everyone has heard three and a half thousand times each on the radio and in department stores, so I’m not here to insult your intelligence by telling you what they sound like. The disc comprises of fifteen of their singles (it’s arguable whether all of these are “hits”) spanning from way back in the days of Cheshire Cat through to self titled, plus a bonus of three extra tracks.

Considering any self-respecting fan would actually already own all of the band’s previous full-length releases, and more so that any wannabe completist fan would own most or all their singles, the disappointment comes in the form of the three so-called bonus tracks. Two of the three songs are previously released (Not Now was a previous B-side to the I Miss You single and Aliens Exist was taken from their live album), with Another Girl Another Planet being the theme to Travis’ reality TV show, Meet The Barkers. The song also happens to be a cover, originally by The Only Ones, so it’s not really a new Blink song either.

For those who have not yet heard Not Now, it could be described as sounding like a cross between the slower and darker sounds of self-titled and the pop-punk stylings of Enema of The State. It’s and interesting number but personally I find the following track, Another Girl Another Planet, to be the real gem of the bonus tracks. Up-beat and poppy, but not sounding like the generic pop-punk you come to expect of the band prior to their self titled effort, it is all over within a matter of about two and a half minutes.If you happen to have gaps in your collection, this compilation is a nice way to temporarily fill them in until you get around to properly doing it, otherwise it’s likely to be a waste of your hard earned money for two “new” songs.

The Australian edition also comes with a DVD, not to be confused with the actual Greatest Hits DVD, featuring all the band’s video clips. Again it’s another exercise in putting a bunch of content on it that is neither new, nor insightful. Content includes three live clips, three behind-the-scenes clips and a trailer for the release of the package.

Where do I start with this thing? It’s an absolute joke, and if you are one of those Blink near-completists, this will seem insulting to you. The live clips are nothing more than What’s My Age Again?, Anthem Part II and Carousel ripped directly off of the bands Urethra Chronicles DVD. ‘Nuff said.The behind-the-scenes clips are another piece of crap. These were obviously not shot for the purpose of becoming such clips, they actually come across looking more like the guy operating the camera forgot to turn the record function off, and then one of the boys make some comment about the clip or some joke. No really, there is very little insight into how the clips were made, where they were shot, what went into the preparation or anything of the sort. Each clip only lasts around two to three minutes, and by this stage I’m sure you’d be feeling ripped off if you paid for this.

To close the trailer is nothing more than 15-20 snippets of various video clips with previous album covers flashing onto the screen.

There’s nothing to fault in the way of the music. You’re either a fan or you are not, there’s nothing more to say about that. The problem with the whole thing is that the label is trying to pass this off as something of a must-have for fans, which is simply not true. The “liner notes” are nothing more than song lyrics and dodgy half-silhouetted photos of the band, the bonus songs aren’t exactly previously unreleased, and the DVD is disappointing to say the least. Go and buy the proper DVD instead, you’re more likely to not own any of those clips in a form other than dodgy VHS copies of Rage.