So another day, another greatest hits collection. The appeal of these singles collections is simple enough, allowing the more casual fan access to a band or artists backcatalogue on one handy disc, whilst giving the more obsessive of us to make that in car CD choice so much simpler; why spend agonising over which album to take when you can have all the singles at once? Last year was notable for the large number of ‘alternative’ artists who have succumbed to the festive spirit of money making. The closing months of 2001 career retrospective releases from the likes of Green Day, Tracy Chapman and the Smashing Pumpkins, in addition to the usual suspects such as Madonna or The Corrs.

Of course whether this represents a good value purchase is entirely debatable, and speaking as an owner of both the previous collection plus a fair smattering of ‘proper’ Cure albums I am still in two minds myself. Having thought up two at least partly original names for the previous two retrospectives inspiration obviously faltered in the Cure camp and this time we are stuck with the simple mantle of 'Greatest Hits', very original I'm sure you’ll agree. The commercial intentions of the release too could not be more explicit, as this is a singles collection there is no room for any inclusions from the Cure’s darkest pair of albums ‘Pornography’ and their most recent release the superb ‘Bloodflowers’. The track choices are (for the Cure) almost relentlessly upbeat, if you are seeking an appreciation of the more navel gazing, black obsessed bleak side to the band the this is clearly not the place to for it. On the other hand if you want evidence of why the Cure are one of the finest singles bands of all time this record gives you a fairly good argument.

Still the collection gets it’s self of to a good start, adopting the chronological approach and beginning with the band’s first major hit ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. The fact that this song is over twenty years old is betrayed slightly by the tinny quality to the drums and the general lack of studio sheen to the song. Opening with a lightly strummed series of chords (which Madonna would much later appropriate for the opening of ‘Ray of Light’) the drums quickly kick in closely followed by that familiar guitar motif. Smith’s vocal style has yet to fully develop into the distinctive voice of their later material, here his whelp could be largely interchangeable with a large number of other post punk bands. There is also hints of early Smith’s here, both in a lyrical and musical context, demonstrating that Morrisey’s lyrical character has something of a pedigree. The happy go lucky feel to the track, combined with the adhesive melody from an interesting contrast to the aggrieved teenage angst of the lyric.

The 1982 album ‘Japenese Whispers’ is treated to a whole two (wow count ‘em) inclusions. The first ‘Let’s Go to Bed’ is not exactly in the super league of the bands work, sounding shockingly dated its back drop of 80s synths and heavy handed electric bass. Still the bounding ‘do do do do’ rhythm and a decent chorus make it still fairly palatable. ‘The Lovecats’ on the other is another cast iron classic (that’s three in four tracks, pretty impressive don’t you think), with its curious syncopated rhythm, double bass backdrop and joyfully playful piano line it is a decidedly odd song with an almost vaudeville feel to the proceedings. The heart of the songs appeal however, is Smith’s wonderful half hissed half camped up vocal and the sheer delight of the unpredictable melody which wanders around seemingly randomly but always engagingly. The comic parping trumpets and the strung out end to the track add the icing to the cake and what is one of my very favourite songs.

The two choices from 1985’s ‘The Head on the Door’ on the other hand are both tremendous and show the gradual evolution of the band from quirky showmanship to a fuller sound. ‘Inbetween days’ despite its similarity to the equally wonderful ‘Just Like Heaven’ finally finds a place for the synthesiser in the band’s sound without sounding faintly comic. Rising up on a storm of rapidly strummed acoustic and electric guitars, the song soars along with the keyboards elevating the music rather then bringing things down to earth with a bump. The lyrics again sound faintly out of place to the backing as Smith alternates between imploring the songs subject to “Go on, just disappear” and “Come back to me” but his vocal mannerisms manage to make the whole thing sound just right. ‘Close to Me’ is another classic, probably famed chiefly for its video which featured Smith inside a wardrobe being pushed over a cliff (hmm). The song begins with a creaking door being opened, but the chief melodic features are the is the repeated tinkling keyboard and the minimal hand clapped rhythm. Smith’s vocal is slightly crooned, whilst the odd use of a recorder manages to give depth, although the appearance of the trumpets mid way through does over egg the pudding a little.

Far superior are the two inclusions from 1992’s ‘Wish’ the record which belatedly made them massive in the US and is another contestant for the prize of the Cure’s finest album. ‘High’ jangles along melodically and owes much to previous triumphs such as ‘Just Like You’ and ‘Inbetween Days’, whilst retaining that distinctive bass guitar sound which along with New Order the Cure created. ‘Friday I’m in Love’ however, is probably the bands last cast iron classic to date and undoubtedly one of my favourite songs of all time. From the initial ringing blast of jangling guitar through to rousing middle eight with its “Dressed up to the eyes” sentiment (one that I still follow *gryn*) it is one of those songs that always makes me smile and run screaming for the dance floor, not always a reaction you might associate with the Cure.

A surprise inclusion is the bonus track from the bands last greatest hits package ‘Wrong Number’, odd when this record ignores several albums worth of material but decided to pick up on the only original track from a compilation. Still its a deserving inclusion both to this album and the Cure’s history as a singles band. Dominated by a pulsing disco influenced beat and a swirl of distorted guitar, it has the feel of baggy bands of early 1990s with Smith even adopting a Damon Alburn like mockney twang to his vocals and a killer chorus with a memorable hook attached to the lyric “I had the best laid plans this side of America’ and demonstrates that nearly twenty years into their life span the Cure were still willing to experiment with other musical styles.