Pre-Owned Hit Parade [Single Disc] (CD 0602517199576) by Paul Weller

0602517199576. Pre-Owned: Good condition. CD. If the single disc of Hit Parade doesn't have the depth of its accompanying box set -- at a quarter of the length, how could it? -- it nevertheless has the breadth, offering a sampler of Paul Weller's ever-changing moods, from the Jam to his solo career. And that word, "sampler," is key here: sure, this isn't a complete set of A-sides, the way the four-disc box is, but it's not even necessarily representative of his very biggest hits with the Jam, the Style Council or as a solo act. Rather, it's a cross-section, containing most, but not all, of his best-known songs: there's "Town Called Malice" and "Going Underground," but not "In the City" or "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street," for instance. Then, all these 22 songs are presented in seemingly random order, bouncing from decade to decade apparently at whim when straight chronological order would have provided more cohesion. That said, these are minor flaws, since Hit Parade is indeed a generous compilation and it contains the great majority of Weller's biggest and best songs, making it a good sampler of his work. It's ideal for listeners who have liked bits of all his phases, and a pretty serviceable introduction for neophytes. [This single-disc, condensed version of the box set contains 23 tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi