Eagerly-anticipated by those few who have never bought a solo album, this CD should only be regarded as a taster of what David Gray has up his sleeve. For Britain's best singer-songwriter of the last thirty years has sought to seive through the bountiful collection of songs in his repertoire to bring together his most recognisable radio-friendly hits. Hardcore fans will probably just download the new upbeat belter You're the World to Me and have the studio albums playing on the multi-changer. But what this small collection of songs presents is a wondrous, beautiful experience, songs that will forever be ingrained into the memory of first-daters, happily-married veterans and loved-up singlefolk alike.

Typically, it is not hard to see where Gray has searched for a hits collection, for his last three albums ~ White Ladder (2000), A New Day at Midnight (2003) and 2005's Life in Slow Motion ~ have for nearly 8 years rose to the epitome of modern British music, a musical trilogy… more »

Eagerly-anticipated by those few who have never bought a solo album, this CD should only be regarded as a taster of what David Gray has up his sleeve. For Britain's best singer-songwriter of the last thirty years has sought to seive through the bountiful collection of songs in his repertoire to bring together his most recognisable radio-friendly hits. Hardcore fans will probably just download the new upbeat belter You're the World to Me and have the studio albums playing on the multi-changer. But what this small collection of songs presents is a wondrous, beautiful experience, songs that will forever be ingrained into the memory of first-daters, happily-married veterans and loved-up singlefolk alike.

Typically, it is not hard to see where Gray has searched for a hits collection, for his last three albums ~ White Ladder (2000), A New Day at Midnight (2003) and 2005's Life in Slow Motion ~ have for nearly 8 years rose to the epitome of modern British music, a musical trilogy towering over popular music, a Dylanesque behemoth of emotional breadth, lyrical spirituality and technical diversity. Songs from his earlier career such as Alive were forerunners to the immense talent that has unfolded during the noughties.

Gray's tone of poignancy, nostalgia for lost love, love in the making and celebratory love are the cornerstones of the emotional scope of the songs. Lyrically, Gray is as successful a poet as Nick Drake or, perhaps, even Cobain ~ only less fatalist, less outwardly miserablist. This Year's Love and Alibi rest together in the middle of the album as pleas to something better; in the first song, Gray sings "it better last", only for the next song to ask desperately "where'd it all go wrong?". But songs like Caroline, You're the World to Me and The One I Love will probably stand as anthems for every Valentine's Day from now on. Then, of course, there's Babylon, a track that defined a generation of twenty- and thirtysomethings across the country, a trip into the mind of a luvved-up bloke at his wits end, singing "if you want it, come and get ~ cryin out loud!"

Gray's lyrics may be beautiful and so catchily diverse that you'll be singing them in your head even when you press repeat. But the sound is something else, an experiment in ballad pop (Caroline), tortured indie (The Other Side), acoustic folk (Babylon, even Hospital Food), electronic soul (Please Forgive Me) and, particularly for the Slow Motion album, orchestral and instrumental harmony (Alibi). Gray is at his best when the acoustic guitars strum across the divide between the stage and his audience ~ remember the famous duet with Damien Rice at Live Earth ~ or when he is sat at his piano singing "honey honey please don't stop" (Be Mine). White Ladder and Midnight felt like intimate experiences ~ like it's him and you conquering the world together with a CD. And so Gray's Motion album ~ recorded in a church with a whole lot of guys with instruments ~ was an experiment in massive sounds, echoing heartache lyrics and epic tell-tale rhythms. Scattered across this album in between the 'sadder' and tear-jeaking stuff, it provides further proof that Gray is at the peak of something much more important in music, and exploration of something deeper and more spiritual than anything that has gone before it.

The concise list of choices may not be as epic and sprawling or diverse enough for fans; perhaps a two-disc live album would have been better. Yet Gray is one of the great genius' of British music, without a doubt, and this CD, like the Dylan collection, will suit those who have never fully got into the whole 'Babylon thing'; in short, it is a testament to the 'raw-polished' dynamism and poeticism of Gray's work.