Search - Sixpence None the Richer :: Best of Sixpence None the Richer

More "Odds & Ends" than "Greatest Hits": For Longtime Fans

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 11/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a longtime fan of Sixpence, I have been looking forward to this compilation, and was not disappointed. "The Best of Sixpence None the Richer" (18 tracks, 73 min.) features of course the handful of the band's truly "greatest hits" such as "Kiss Me", "There She Goes", "Breathe Your Name", etc. After that, this CD attempts to collect the many songs that Sixpence has released over the years on various soundtracks and compilations, and in fact does a great job at it. While I had a couple songs already, most of them I didn't. Outstanding is "I Need Love" (from the "Here on Earth" soundtrack), as well as "Brighten My Heart" (from the "Exodus" compilation). Less stellar is the Abba-cover "Dancing Queen" (from the the "Dick" soundtrack). The Japanese version of "Kiss Me" is also not really needed.



Some key album tracks are unfortunately missing, including the 1-2 punch of "Field of Flowers" and "Spotlight" (from "The Fatherless and the Widow"), possibly the best Sixpence songs ever, but also missing is "Tonight" from "Divine Miscontent", as well as "I Can't Catch You" and "Love" from the self-titled album, also among the best Sixpence songs ever. This makes the so-called "Best of" not the best possible overview of Sixpence's career for the casual fan, regretfully.



I am totally convinced that Sixpence's career was tanked by the inexcusable 6 year hiatus between their break-out self-titled album (in 1997) and "Divine Miscontent" (in 2003) due to a label implosion and subsequent never-ending legal tangling over Sixpence's musical rights. I remember seeing the band in concert in December 2000, with Leigh Nash sighing to the audience "we hope to have a new album out soon". It would be another 3 years, and by then the window of opportunity had come and gone, unfortunately. Sixpence was one of my very favorite bands ever, and I wish Matt and Leigh nothing but the best. (For longtime Sixpence fans: Matt has been touring with Over the Rhine in the last year. Check out Over the Rhine, they are awesome as well.)"

Worthwhile, although misnamed (3.5 stars)

spiral_mind | Pennsylvania | 11/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Does one of the most smart & creative pop groups around really need a best-of? The non-singles are just as golden as the songs everybody knows, and newcomers would be better served by their self-titled disc or Divine Discontent. However.. the selling point here is the nice pile of material hard to find elsewhere (nevermind the awful cover), and I for one think the good stuff makes it worthwhile. And if my love of the band can survive the horror of discovering that they covered Abba, well.. it can probably survive anything.



Ten of the 18 tracks here aren't on the regular albums. Three of those are unreleased till now, and they're just as stellar as everything else under the Sixpence name. "Loser Like Me" and "Us" are intriguing steps away from their general dreamy glossy sound. I'd almost be tempted to call them retro-pop or use a word like 'throwback,' but they're a little harder to classify. Think bouncy 70s-style hooks with a cheerful sugary dose of whimsy. "Too Far Gone" lives in more familiar melancholy-ballad territory, but it's so achingly bittersweet that I can't complain. If there's any overriding reason why you need this CD, those three tracks are it.



The remainder comes from soundtracks and the like. Three of them are covers including the abovementioned horror; cute if you like that kind of thing, but I'll pass. The real diamonds in the coal are intelligent ear-candy originals like "The Ground You Shook" and the lovely uplifting "Breathe," which are more examples of why SntR is such a treasure in the pop world. (A few songs suffer from overly religious lyrics, but "Trust" is the only one that's in danger of becoming unlistenable.) And then there's the Japanese single version of their megahit "Kiss Me," which puts a fun new twist on the whole thing.



The biggest travesty is that the oh-so-perfect B-side "Northern Lights" is nowhere to be seen (or indeed heard). It's one of the most gorgeous pop tunes you're ever likely to hear and its omission borders on criminal.



The Best Of isn't perfect but it's got plenty to recommend it, and as a semi-obsessed fan I'd say even the weak points are (mostly) worth hearing. And considering that Sixpence has now broken up, well, that's just another reason to enjoy everything we've got."

"Best Of" a misnomer, but a must-have album for true fans

Clayton Ryan | Seattle, WA | 06/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For Sixpence fans that rode the wave before and beyond the "Kiss Me" bandwagon, some glaring ommissions from this album will leave us scratching our heads, such as the absence of the brilliant "Northern Lights," one of my own personal favorites "Disconnect" from their "This Beautiful Mess" album, and "The Lines Of My Earth" from their self titled album (the latter being, to my understanding, one of Leigh Nash's favorite songs the band has recorded).



Nonetheless, the songs that ARE on this album are sure to please, especially given the convenience of having a set of rarities in one place that would be otherwise cumbersome to collect. The inclusion of three previously unreleased songs seals the deal for any fan on the fence of whether or not to buy.



The arrangement of songs on the album is awkward at best, and does not follow the typical pattern of a Sixpence album that almost seems to tell a story from beginning to end. But that is somewhat to be expected for a compilation disc.



The rise and eventual fall of Sixpence plays out like an ironic tragedy of sorts, peppered with folding labels and legal battles over the rights to their music, while the band seemingly just wanted to set forth music colored by a refreshingly raw honesty, highlighted by Matt Slocum's brilliant songwriting & guitar playing, and Leigh Nash's ethereal vocals. I long to see Leigh and Matt re-surface on the music scene in some capacity down the road, as I think each has a unique respective contribution to the industry not to be found elsewhere."