******
- Verified Buyer
Best-of collections of any artist are usually either very good, or a complete waste of time and money. Fortunately, this retrospective of Died Pretty's music is the former. It chronicles an impressive resume of work from this always innovative Sydney band. "Out of the Unknown" is not simply a collection of all the band's singles - although the songs are mostly singles, and listed (mainly) in chronological order, the list is somewhat eclectic and indeed very satisfying. There are a few touches that are typical of Died Pretty. The first song is the 8 minute "Desperate Hours" - it hardly seems like an appropriate opener, but somehow it succeeds (perhaps because it is the earliest song featured). Also, the band's debut single, "Out of the Unknown", is not included despite the CD title! The choice of tracks is a good selection - "Stoneage Cinderella", "Blue Sky Day" and "Winterland" are the obvious choices of early singles, but they are joined by non singles such as the beautiful "Final Twist", from the "Pre Deity" EP, the intense and sweeping "Life to Go (Landsakes)" from "Free Dirt" and the serene, hypnotic ballad "Springenfall" from "Lost". The album "Every Brilliant Eye" is under-represented, with only the one song - but that song is the excellent "Whitlam Square". But where is "True Fools Fall"? Likewise, "Trace" has only one song - the equally terrific "Harness Up", but other fine singles from the album, such as "Caressing Swine" or "A State of Graceful Mourning", are absent. As expected, "Doughboy Hollow", their landmark album, has three songs ("D.C", "Sweetheart" and Godbless"). From "Sold" there's the very poppy "Good at Love" and the back to basics rocker "Stops'n'Starts" - the latter of which originally appeared on the "Days" EP, while their most recent album at the time of this relase, 1998's "Using My Gills As A Roadmap", has the single "Radio". However, the absent tracks are made up for by the non single choices listed above, which makes it more than just a singles package. Perhaps the best bonus of all is the inclusion of "Everybody Moves", the haunting and soulful non album single from 1989. It's good to finally have this on CD - it was formerly available on a now deleted CD single I was never able to find. As a retrospective of Died Pretty's work, "Out of the Unknown" is very impressive. Initially a bonus CD was included (I don't think this is available on this edition however, but I'll mention it anyway!!). This second CD is an equally impressive collection of out-takes. The acoustic version of "Wig-Out" and their version of Bob Dylan's "From A Buick 6" are both B-sides from the days of vinyl, while there are some cuts from CD singles ("Lonesome Bull", "This Reason" and "Big Star"). A brilliant cover of Ed Kuepper's "Eternally Yours" is another highlight, as are the previously unreleased numbers, including the Brett Myers composed and sung "Work", the rockabilly-like "Plaintive" and the sensuous "You Are" and "Marlborough". This collection is worth having - for a long time fan it is a good representation of material with the added bonuses mentioned above. For a new listener, it's a good start to a great band.
