Inspiral Carpets

In May 2003, Mute issued a definitive three-disc Inspiral Carpets retrospective to coincide with the band's round of U.K. club and festival dates. In addition to a greatest-hits disc, the set featured a second disc with rarities and exclusive tracks, as well as a DVD of videos and live footage. Cool As was certainly quite the complete package, but it didn't see a release date outside of the U.K. Mute has remedied that oversight by releasing its Greatest Hits portion as an abbreviated Carpets retrospective. The album is perfect for fans who rest somewhere between Madchester reminiscence and completist fanaticism. Every great single is here, including "Joe," "She Comes in the Fall," "Dragging Me Down," and the Mark E. Smith duet version of "I Want You." The 1995 Mute release Singles included all of this, too. But Greatest Hits ups the ante with "Come Back Tomorrow," a great lost track built around a Tommy James-styled organ hook and a robust classic pop chorus, and switches out Singles' "Sackville" and "Commercial Rain" for "Keep the Circle Around" and "Butterfly," two early cuts that feature original vocalist Stephen Holt. Greatest Hits also pays better attention to Inspiral Carpets' time line -- it's sequenced in order of release. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide