Faith No More - The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection (Rhino)
3/5
By: Matt Cole
When The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection showed up in my package of CD’s to review, I have to admit to emitting a somewhat girlish squeal of excitement.
You see Faith No More’s Live At Brixton Academy was the tape that I had on permanent loop in my first car, a 1986 black Ford Escort that smelled like a swamp. I hated that car. I loved Faith No More. They were like a Red Hot Chilli Peppers with balls to go with the cocks in their socks.
And from the first dub-chamber snare ricochet of ‘The Real Thing’, I was transported back to early 90’s nights of too much Diamond White and thrashing that knackered old Escort through the streets of Portsmouth. Not at the same time obviously. That would be illegal.
Unfortunately once you get beyond the foot stomping, head nodding, neck aching belligerence of ‘We Care A Lot’, the heady wave of nostalgia begins to ebb away and you’re left with… a headache to be honest.
Let me put it this way. One year I bought a friend of mine a DVD compilation of 70’s animated favourite Hong Kong Phooey. We sat down to enjoy the gaudily coloured “Blaxploitation With Dogs” marathon (how did nobody spot the subtle racism inherent to that concept I wonder?) and for the first 15 minutes it seemed our Childhood obsession was warranted.
However an hour in and we felt not unlike Malcolm Macdowell under-going the Ludavico Technique at the end of A Clockwork Orange. I’m ram-raiding metaphors here but you get the picture.
More than an hours worth of chugging metal guitars and Mike Patton’s army grunt vocal delivery is about 45 minutes too much even if it does climax with their wonderfully sarcastic, chart bothering rendition of The Commodores’ ‘Easy’.
Having said all that, Live At Brixton Academy still kicks ass from beginning to end. Buy that instead.
Artists in this article: Faith No More
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