Less than a year after EMI released The Very Best Stranglers Album Ever, they released
Peaches: The Very Best of the Stranglers, which actually outdoes its predecessor and a fair amount of the predecessor's predecessors -- which are well over a dozen in number. This one includes 20 tracks and covers all the essentials, such as "Peaches," "Golden Brown," "No More Heroes," "Skin Deep," and "Hanging Around." It does stretch out chronologically enough to include (unfortunately) their covers of
? & the Mysterians' "96 Tears" and
the Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night." Although it ignores other strong moments -- "Let Me Introduce You to the Family," "Just Like Nothing on Earth," "Toiler on the Sea," the original version of "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" -- due to space constraints, it's one of the better introductions to the band available. ~ Andy Kellman