Very Best Of: 25 Years 1987-2012

Personnel: Charlie Reid (vocals, acoustic guitar); Craig Reid (vocals, harmonica).
Liner Note Author: David Tennant.
Recording information: Chipping Norton Studios; Comforts Place; Evannson Audio Media, Bath; Good Luck Studios; Mastermix Studios, Minneapolis; REL Studios; Rockfield Studios; Strangefruit; The Strongroom; West Heath Yeard.
Photographer: Murdo MacLeod.
Handpicked by charismatic, bespectacled Scottish siblings Craig and Charlie Reid, the 30 tracks that make up this two-disc greatest-hits compilation represent the cream of the crop from all nine of the Proclaimers' studio albums, from 1987's gutsy, stripped-down This Is the Story to 2012's sugary and infinitely more settled Like Comedy. Listeners who recoil upon hearing the churning, palm-muted guitar line that opens their most notable pop culture offering, 1988's near perfect folk-pop earworm "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," will retreat into the shadows even further at the thought of enduring nearly two hours of like-minded whimsy, but longtime fans, many of whom consider tracks like "Sunshine on Leith," "Letter from America," "Throw the 'R' Away," and "Oh Jean" to be far superior examples of why the Reid brothers are so beloved, both at home and abroad, will thrill to the idea of having almost (where is the magnificent "Over & Done With"?) all of their favorites, many of which have been remastered, together in one place. ~ James Christopher Monger