Posted on: September 21, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Pretty much, the only familiarity that listeners on this side of the Atlantic would have had with Alabama 3 up to this point would have been through the use of “Woke Up This Morning” as the theme from The Sopranos. Luckily, One Little Indian has released a “greatest hits” for Alabama 3 in “Hits & Exit Wounds”. This disc gives listeners a quick rundown of those tracks deemed best by the band and the label. For those individuals that have the Alabama 3 discography, there are a number of different takes and re-mixes to be had among the 18 distinct cuts on the album.

This means that “Mansion on the Hill”, “How Can I Protect You”, and “Ska’d for Life” are given remixes, while “U Don’t Danse to Tekno Anymore” is envisioned as an acoustic track. While the disc has less tracks than there have been years since Alabama 3’s founding (they founded in 1989, 19 years ago), One Little Indian has done well to showcase the different nuances and styles that the band has flirted with over the years. The only thing that I would suggest in subsequent greatest hits types of albums is the inclusion of more live tracks. There have been countless articles about how intense of a live act Alabama 3 are, and there is little here to understand this claim.

With American tours not likely to happen on a regular basis, it is the duty of Alabama 3 to showcase this side of the act. I would suggest that, not given another option in terms of greatest hits, to try to pick up either “Live At Glastonbury 2005” or “Live In Dublin”. For those individuals that want to be utterly demolished by Alabama 3 and only have a short amount of time: “Ain’t Goin’ To Goa” and “Up Above My Head” are the two tracks that will tattoo an undying love for the band into the minds and hearts of anyone that is lucky enough to listen in. The eighteen tracks on “Hits & Exit Wounds” should be enough to keep individuals sated until the follow-up to 2007’s “M.O.R.” is released: if these songs are not enough, there are a number of full and short-length releases to dig through until that shiny new disc is released to the masses.

Top Tracks: How Can I Protect You, Speed Up The Sound of Loneliness

Rating: 7.4/10

Alabama 3 – Hits & Exit Wounds / 2008 One Little Indian / 18 Tracks / http://www.alabama3.co.uk / http://www.onelittleindian.co.uk /

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