Having made a remarkable comeback with 'White On Blonde' and 'The Hush', it's about time for a summary of the music Texas have been making over the last decade and a bit.
Beginning in the beginning with the steel guitar-embellished sheen of debut hit 'I Don't Want A Lover', the album (as seems to be the norm nowadays) takes an 18-track non-chronological stroll through their career.
Recent single 'In Demand' is still resolutely average, but trip-hoppy comeback track 'Say What You Want' and the full-on, Spectoresque stylings of 'Summer Son' demonstrate the band's magpie-style knack of pilfering their influences and incorporating them into guaranteed chartbusters.
New track 'Inner Smile' has an almost infuriatingly memorable chorus and should be another surefire hit. Some of the band's older country-rock material does sit slightly uneasily amongst the looped, soul-influenced recent tracks. Generally, though, it's a seemless collection.
Another newie, 'Guitar Song', samples the guitar riff from Birkin and Gainsbourg's 'Je T'Aime' and puts into a simple tale of, well, Sharleen playing her guitar. The album ends with arguably the most unlikely collaboration of recent times - Texas and the Wu-Tang's RZA and Method Man's interpretation of 'Say What You Want'.
It's an incongruous mix and shows that, while Texas haven't struggled for hits, they want a slice of the credibility pie as well. A point further illustrated by a limited double set featuring a bonus disc of remixes from the likes of Rae & Christian and Andrew Weatherall.
The sad thing is that, listening to hit after hit on this album, one realises that Texas are very good at what they do. The grass ain't always greener on the other side, Sharleen.
