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BrosThe Best Of Columbia/Sony The Vapors The Best Of EMI The Best Of is a much maligned beast, and yet it serves an important purpose. When first faced with the formidable back catalogue of an artist like Elvis Costello, say, or Guided By Voices, an inspired Best Of can distil decades of unwieldy music into one digestible collection. Some bands - Blondie, Duran Duran, Buzzcocks, The Cure - had such strong singles that their compilations are actually stronger than most of their albums. The Best Of can be a noble thing. Which brings me to these two collections, both of which stretch credulity to breaking point. The Vapors are mainly - alright, only - known for Turning Japanese and no amount of plaintive (and poorly written) sleevenotes claiming that they were actually more innovative than they were ever given credit for will change that. The case isn't strengthened by one of these 17 tracks being a tedious interview with lead singer Dave Fenton. The music here's often perfectly enjoyable, but is still unlikely to spearhead a Vapors revival. 'The Best Of Bros', on the other hand, is entirely aware that it's a complete waste of resources. It doesn't dick around with sleevenotes, archival photos, or even cropping the front cover properly. It wisely sticks When Will I Be Famous? and Drop The Boy up front, not seriously expecting you to venture much further. It's there for you to buy as a joke for your sister who'll laugh like a drain, put it on, dance for a bit like it's an 80s Blue Light Disco, then take off and never ever acknowledge again. Hence: Margot, if you're reading this, I have something for you.  |
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