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Faith No MoreThis Is It - The Best Of Rhino/Warner This has already taken me longer to write than it should have, and will never be as perfect as I'd like. Faith No More, you see, are my favourite band. In the world. Ever. Like most, Epic was the first I heard them: it floored me and forever changed the way I look at music. I sought out the band's past and then stayed for the remainder of the journey. A thrilling ride all the way, the only disappointment is that it ended (and even that was perfectly timed). As the second FNM best of to be released, it's puzzling that this barely differs from the first. Despite the wealth of material available, there are only three surprises. The Cowboy Song (originally a bonus track on 'Live At Brixton Academy') is a piece of melodic rock from 'The Real Thing' era. There's a restraint to it that is unexpected, but works in its favour and it's about as structurally sound as FNM ever were. Having been left off the live album, As The Worm Turns is way out of left field. The sound is disappointingly tinny, but the song's swirling keys and walls of guitar are strong enough to hold up. Initially recorded with original singer Chuck Moseley, the studio version featuring Mike Patton is one of the highlights of the entire FNM catalogue and well worth hunting down the Midlife Crisis single to find. 'This Is It' finishes with another early Patton track, The Perfect Crime. An almost embryonic mix of rap and heavy rock, it's another fascinating look at the evolution of one of modern music's true originals. The remainder of the album is made up of the usual suspects - We Care A Lot, Falling To Pieces, Evidence, Ashes To Ashes. Few fall short of being brilliant; tellingly it's War Pigs and Easy - both covers - that do. 'This Is It' is in so many ways a disappointment: the artwork, liner notes and tracklisting are all way below par, especially for Rhino. But where it counts - in the music - it is devastatingly good. Faith No More always were canny bastards.  |
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