“The Best”?!!

A t.A.T.u. greatest hits package, mostly comprising tracks from their first two studio albums, was released last year and passed me by unnoticed which, considering I consider myself a bit of a fan, surprised me when I found out earlier in the week! Perhaps I was unaware of it because I wasn’t expecting it. How many groups release a compilation after such a relatively short time on the pop music scene? This suggests, therefore, that they expect their success to be short-lived and that time is running out for them to cash in on their popularity. Maybe I’m over cynical but I get the feeling that they’re not particularly popular in the UK anyway! Save their number one hit single, “All the Things She Said”, I’m sure most people are hard pushed to name another song by the female duo. Participating in the Eurovision Song Contest probably didn’t help their credibility, even if it was an honour to represent their country, and not winning is always something of an embarrassment for a well-established name. I’ve always thought the UK might do better if we entered someone like Girls Aloud but they probably wouldn’t want to risk their reputation, such as it is, for the reasons already stated in relation to t.A.T.u..

On the other hand, the t.A.T.u. album, “The Best”, is certainly value for money in terms of quantity, especially if you haven’t invested in any of their back catalogue. It contains twenty tracks while the deluxe edition also comes with a DVD. Surprisingly, the CD opens with “All About Us”, the lead single from their second album “Dangerous and Moving”. The title “All About Us” rather-literally indicates what is to follow! The single was a number one in foreign climes but not in this country. “Dangerous and Moving” seemed only to receive a limited release here. I saw the single in supermarkets but not the collection from which it was taken, prompting me to ask, at the time, if they would be stocking it… for which I received the usual bemused look! If Asda, and such places, want to dominate in this arena, they’re going to have to work a little harder. If they don’t want to stock a, presumably, major release by a well-known pop artist, choice will become incredibly restricted for the consumer, if it isn’t already. It’s not like I was asking for “Pithoprakta” by Xenakis or Ligeti’s “Lontano”!

I was dubious about the choice of “The Best” for the title, too, rather than “The Best of”, a seemingly-insignificant distinction, you might think, but the former implies a somewhat arrogant assumption. Then I discovered the record was originally going to be called “The Chrysalis Period”! Seeing as t.A.T.u. are pop stars with SF inclinations, perhaps the girls should follow Billie and Kylie into “Doctor Who”!!