Greatest Hits [Sony/BMG]

Photographer: John Paul.
Arranger: Mike Batt.
The most complete David Essex hits collection on the market (if all you want are the hits), the 20 songs on this beautifully remastered package represent almost every U.K. chart entry Essex scored through his first decade of recording, followed up by highlights from the sometimes awkward moves he's made since then. Running flawlessly through the early smashes, from "Rock On" to "Rolling Stone," the chronology stumbles with the omission of "Coming Home" and "Cool Out Tonight," from his mid-'70s dip, and "Brave New World" and "Imperial Wizard," from later in the decade. But we pick up again with "Oh! What a Circus" (from Evita) and "Silver Dream Machine," and then dip in and out of the catalog for the next 20 years. "You're in My Heart" and "Falling Angels Riding" are both exhumed from the basement of '80s pop memory, while "Picture This Sky" is a delight to hear again. Of course, it's the first half of the disc to which your ears will be returning again and again, but still it's difficult to argue with the rest of the set. At least until we're given the David Essex box set. ~ Dave Thompson