Search - Railway Children :: Listen On: The Best of the Railway Children

Not Really a Best Of, But Still Essential

Denmark Jensen | Carson City, NV USA | 12/14/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If this is the first Railway Children CD you buy (and its the only one that's easy to find new these days) then you should be warned that the title is a bit decieving. Sure the first track is incredible, but midway through track 2 you might be wondering " ... and this is their best?". Rather then being a "best of" collection, this is really a mixed bag of singles and b-sides with a few standout album tracks as well, but not nearly all of the good ones. In my opinion, every track on their first three albums is very very good. However, I can't say the same for some of the b-sides on this disc. While some of them have definitly grown on me, tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 on this CD, which are all b-sides from the "Native Place" singles, are worse than any of the tracks on any of their regular albums. This is a good thing, as it shows they did a good job of selecting the best material for the albums, but unfortunately all of those first three albums have gone out of print. So, as its easy to buy, this CD may be a good place to start listening to the Railway Children, but I highly recommend tracking down the original albums. "Native Place" is quite easy to find for sale used. Their first, "Reunion Wilderness" has been reissued and is available on the bands web site. "Recurrence" is currently the most difficult one to find, but may well be the best. But even if you do manage to find all three of these, this CD will still be important. The original version here of "Listen On" is quite different from the album version, and I like the this one better. This plus the post "Native Place" single, "So Right", along with the b-sides, make this a great CD to own even if you have the original albums. The really exciting news is that the band has a new single out supposedly soon."

Introduction to a great unsung song-writer

Denmark Jensen | 03/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Railway Children's fifth album collects together songs from "Recurrence" and "Native Place" (both no longer available) + rare b-sides & remixes from Virgin releases. At over 60 minutes long it is very good value for money. Gary Newby is my favourite song-writer. His songs are always melodic & lyrically uplifting. The Railway Children are still making albums today and have their own official web-site which is run by Gary himself! His music will last forever."

Great, but songs are missing

Leshaun Fossett | Memphis, TN | 09/20/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Railway Children was one of the first bands I followed, so I know what constitutes as great. The songs on this CD are, but the absence of songs like "A Pleasure", which really shows the dynamic range of the band, it more than a mistake: it's just sloppy. Brovo to Railway Children's work. Shame on the idiot who put this collection together."