Greatest Hits

From their earliest days busking in Grafton Street as The Benzini Brothers, to their most recent incarnation as a trio, there has always been a freshness about the Hothouse Flowers and their material. They have managed to sustain this freshness over four albums, mainly because the songs are things of substance, laden with hooklines and all sorts of hummable bits.

Greatest Hits albums can be interpreted in many ways, perhaps as a cynical marketing ploy, or a sure sign that a band has effectively run out of road. This is neither – it is a document of a band who have done the business, and who, after all these years, have nothing to prove. Fourteen songs, each one a gem, ranging from 'I’m Sorry' to 'It'll Be Easier In The Morning'. It’s proof, too, if such were needed, that Liam O'Maonlai is one of the finest vocalists in the country.

As for highlights, check out 'Give it Up' with Leo Barnes’ sax just laying waste to everything, and 'Love Don’t Work This Way'.

Don't take my word on the Flowers’ talent. Buy the album, and you'll see what I mean. Now for the next phase.