10 Years in the Life

by

BT

Edit

Personally I thought it was a bit early in BT's career to release a greatest hits album however looking at the tracklist, I thought it was compelling enough to buy. I'm a big fan of BT's music, especially his first two albums ("ESCM" in particular). I pleasantly surprised to see that my personal favorite BT song "Lullaby For Gaia" was included on the compilation since it was never released as a single. That alone scored major points from me. On the first disc, the cd consists of original material of BT's more familiar singles like "Dreaming" (Libra Mix) and "Blue Skies" (w/Tori Amos). I absolutely loved the single mix of "Remeber". I think it sounds a lot better than the album version of that same song. On disc 2, the cd consists of remixes BT did for various artists that ranges from The Crystal Method to Billie Ray Martin. This greatest hits compilation is quite thorough and diverse unlike a lot of greatest hits compilations which consists mostly of the more familiar and popular tracks by the artist. It is a bit pricey for a greatest hits comp but it is well worth the cash.

I bought this cd because I had to refund something at the store for the same price. This quite possibly may be the worst musical selection I have bought.

I don't care if this was a greatest hits collection from BT, many songs that should've been on here were not. No versions of Mercury and Solace were on this cd, no remixes of Godspeed, Namistai was nowhere to be found, Sunblind isn't here, and I could go on and on. Somewhere in the process of making this compilation, someone had the great idea to put a picture of BT on every other page, followed by an analysis to each song. Fame must have gone to his head to actually go into depth about everything, topping it all off with a picture of him in his limosuine with a terrier. However, I also have problems with the song selection, giving me the impression that the producers thought it more important to put the name of a famous person BT worked with as opposed to quality. Such artists include Tori Amos, Richard Butler, and Madonna, and not surprisingly, most of them are overplayed and the epitome of pop culture.

Overall, cd one is ok, except the first 4 songs suck, Blue Skies got old after hearing it too much in 6th grade, Flaming June is edited too much, and Remember can just be found off ESCM or the Hackers soundtrack and you won't have to spend 26 bucks on this whole cd. Dreaming and Giving Up The Ghost are the only songs that really stick out on both cds. However, these tunes can be found on the double disc version of Movement in Still Life, which consists of incredible tracks. As for Revolution, this song is a complete copy of Gil Scott Heron's song. I can't listen to it, because the original was by far better and this version plain sucks.

As for cd 2, I was ashamed I owned this cd. Calling Your Name is the only good song, and it is cut short from the original thanks to time constraints.

All in all, don't buy this collection if you don't have to. If you are a die-hard fan of BT (not me), then buy this album for the rare songs, or so they are called, otherwise stick with ESCM, Movement in Still Life, and Rare and Remixed. At least those cds are grand and don't have pictures of Brian on every sleeve.