Released: October 6
Forty years of his recorded music career are collected on the brand new best-of from one of Britain’s most pioneering musicians of the ‘80s, Howard Jones.
For his latest anniversary, the synth-pop and new wave star offers up a mega collection spanning his entire catalogue to date, from the original version of New Song all the way to its 2023 Elephant Talk remix.
It includes songs from his classic Warner-era catalogue, as well as work from his independent Dtox label, highlighting the progression of his output over the decades and shining a spotlight on his work outside of the major label system that he quit back in the early ‘90s and never looked back.
The biggest edition of the release – the 4CD box – contains 64 recordings, all remastered, and grouped into four categories by the performer himself: Popular Hits, Electro, Chill and Curiosities. A neat approach in classifying a diverse array of material into digestible sequences beyond the typical chronology of such sets, it of course offers up his most popular recordings – What Is Love?, Pearl In The Shell, Like To Get To Know You Well, Things Can Only Get Better, etc. – along with selections from his repertoire that typically wouldn’t make it onto such compilation releases.
Within the sequencing, album versions sit alongside single mixes, alternates and remixes, with four previously-unreleased tracks and a further six songs previously-unavailable on CD – impressive, considering the comprehensive album reissues that have materialised over recent years.
While the double-disc version does away with any themes, it’s largely split between his most well-known releases on the first side, and a run of more obscure offerings on the second half.
Packaged together with a 12-page fully-illustrated booklet containing brand new photos and an interview with Howard, reflecting upon the 40 years of his recorded music career, it’s a nice touchstone for the latest landmark in his musical journey.
An essential release? With such a stellar run of reissues having materialised over the past six years, loyal fans will have the bulk of this in their collection already. But there are selling points and particularly as a retrospective overview, it’s without doubt the strongest Howard Jones compilation on the market right now.
