Best of Chicane

Album Review

Best of Chicane is an updated version of Best of Chicane: 1996-2008 (2008) that adds a new single, "Poppiholla," in the place of "Daylight," one of the previously unreleased songs from the album Easy to Assemble (2003). Besides this one-track difference and the slightly altered title, which does away with the time frame, Best of Chicane is the same as its predecessor. It compiles the most popular songs from producer Nick Bracegirdle's three Chicane albums to date: Far from the Maddening Crowds (1997), Behind the Sun (2000), and Somersault (2007). Moreover, it includes "Love on the Run" and "Locking Down," a couple of singles from the lost album Easy to Assemble, which was scheduled for release in 2003 but ultimately went unreleased. There are also a few new songs: the aforementioned single "Poppiholla," a dance version of Sigur Rós' 2005 single "Hoppípolla"; "Bruised Water," a mash-up of the Chicane favorite "Saltwater" with Natasha Bedingfield's 2005 single "I Bruise Easily"; and "Wake Up," a dance version of Keane's 2005 single "Bend and Break." These new songs aren't especially interesting — in fact, they're rather slight, as all three of them rework the music of others — though the unreleased material from Easy to Assemble should delight completists who never got themselves a copy of that much-pirated album. In the end, however, it's the previously released album material that stands out most on Best of Chicane, in particular the smash hits "Offshore," "Sunstroke," "Saltwater," and "Don't Give Up." The selections are well balanced between each of the three Chicane albums, including five songs from Far from the Maddening Crowds, four from Behind the Sun, and four from Somersault. The only significant omission is the 1998 non-album single "Strong in Love" featuring vocalist Sylvia Mason-James. Best of Chicane is otherwise on the mark, rounding up all of the best-known hits plus a bunch of previously unreleased material.