Track Listing

1. Primrose Hill - (previously unreleased)
2. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
3. Nothing Can Stop Us
4. Avenue
5. Mario's Cafe
6. Hobart Paving
7. Hug My Soul
8. Like The Motorway
9. He's On The Phone
10. Burnt Out Car
11. Sylvie
12. Lose That Girl
13. Good Night Jack
14. How We Used To Live
15. Heart Failed (In The Back Of A Taxi)
16. Action
17. Fascination - (previously unreleased)
18. Finisterre

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #158809 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
Since 1990, Saint Etienne has been putting out beautiful, high concept pop music that's as clever as it is catchy. This is their first compilation, collecting songs spanning the group's 15 year career to date and from multiple labels (Reprise, Sub Pop, Beggars Banquet, etc.) It includes their hits "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Nothing Can Stop Us", and "Avenue", domestically unavailable tracks like "He's On The Phone" and "Burnt Out Car", and a couple of unissued gems.

Customer Reviews

Very Good Compilation
A worthy collection of tracks from one of Britain's finest 90's pop groups. Tragically ignored in the USA, Saint Etienne had a string of hit singles, and two "best of" compilations in the UK. Many of these singles are present in this release, including "Like A Motorway", "Sylvie", and perhaps their finest moment "He's On The Phone". Some of their better singles are sadly omitted from this collection: "Pale Movie", "Bad Photographer", and especially "You're In A Bad Way". If included, this would have been a perfect CD.
As it stands, "Travel Edition" is a perfect introduction to Saint Etienne for anyone unfamiliar with their brilliance.

Great for Etienne Beginners, Less So for Pros
OK, from a very pro-Etienne point of view, there are 2 separate reviews that can be written here: one for those new to St. Etienne, and those who are long-time fans.

For those of you who are new to St. Etienne, this is a great introduction. Previous 'Best Of' collections (i.e., Smash the System) are great and more inclusive, but were released before the latest 2 studio albums. This is a great collection that covers the entire span of an incredibly eclectic but unwaveringly good career. As such, if you are only going to buy one St. Etienne CD, this is not a bad choice.

For those who have known and loved St. Etienne for some time, there arise a couple of problems. First are the 2 B-sides that will lure those of us who own all of the other 'best of' songs to buy the new album (myself included) - 'Primrose Hill' is an average instrumental; 'Fascination' is a good (though not great) track, with vintage Etienne sound. The second problem for longtime fans are some of the obvious omissions (Pale Movie, Shower Scene) which may offend the sensibilities of those who care about such things. The liner notes, however, are fantastic and list all Etienne releases (including fanclub-only CDs) and almost necessitate the album's purchase of their own accord.

So, for Etienne beginners and fanatics the album is a must; for those who fall in the middle, it's more difficult to justify.

pop perfection
saint etienne fans are apt to throw around superlatives like 'pop,' 'nostalgic,' 'glittery,' and my favorite: 'sophisticated.' and i admit i count myself as one of them. fortuntely, all those superlatives are true. saint etienne, quite simply, is the *best* pop band of the last twenty years.

subpop's 'best of' release (which was hardly necessary given the number of saint etienne 'best of's' out there: 'too you to die, smash the system, etc) is a nice introduction to the band, despite some glaring omissions (how can any 'best of' not include 'you're in a bad way?' criminal!). however, given the breatdth of the saint etienne catalogue (upwards of 300 songs not including remixes -- that'd add another 150 or so), any 'best of' will fall miserably short of truly representing the band's stylistic wanderings and deviations. what's most striking about this collection is how dance-oriented it is. an overwhelming majority of the tracks selected are more suited for dance floor. 'he's on the phone,' 'like a motorway' and 'action,' for example, are prime examples of saint etienne hitting all the right groove-buttons; but saint etienne never rested on their laurels. it would have been easy for st etienne to stand back and keep churning out catchy pop songs (and really, who did it better?).

sadly, some of the et's finest moments ('the process,' 'i buy american records,' 'clark county record fair,' 'california snow story,' 'spring,' 'leafhound,' 'marble lions,' 'former lover,' etc ad naseum) will never reach the casual fan's ears. it's a shame, but i can rest assured that any saint etienne is better than no saint etienne.

in the end, this is a nice intro to those who've never had the experience of hearing the band before; but saint etienne fans, rabid and completist as we are, will most likely buy this for 'fascination' and 'primrose hill' (an acoustic intrumental version of 'soft like me) simply because we have to have it, and doesn't subpop know it. damn them. =)