Best of collections can be curious beasts. Sometimes an overdue retrospective of an historic artist, sometimes a way of introducing newer fans to a current acts back catalogue and sometimes simply a cynical cash in from a former record label. Idlewild's set leans more towards the latter two but only sort of, given that it includes tracks from all of their six albums so far - including this years “Make Another World” and that they parted company with Parlophone at the end of their contract in 2005 . 

In recent times the band's career has been in relative decline since the success of The Remote Part back in 2002, especially when you consider that that album spawned their most successful single so far in “You Held The World In Your Arms”. Looking back over these tracks you can sort of see why. On one level it seems that Idlewild are in complete thrall to REM circa “Out Of Time” and “Automatic For The People” and it's clear that, no matter how much you try and argue that Idlewild are a completely different entity to the Athens quartet and Michael Stipe in particular, they have been a formative, and long lasting, influence on Roddy Woomble and the guys. 

However if you combine the best parts of early nineties REM with the fizzed up energy of the likes of Nu-Clear Sounds era Ash then you can pretty much sum up the early period of Idlewild. “When I Argue I See Shapes”  is a great example of this, with its sarcastic lyrics coupled with a bass led verse and guitar driven chorus that gives way to a multiple vocal interlude providing the listener with a snapshot of the singles that were making chart progression around the turn of the millennium. 

The later tracks such as “No Emotion” from  “Make Another World” are a bit more polished in their execution and production, but this seems to strip them of character a  little, although that same album's “Love Steals Us From Loneliness” exhibits those REM influences again, its verses really evoking memories of “Losing My Religion”. You can also see similarities in some of the post ”The Remote Part” tracks to offerings from the likes of U2 and Coldplay over the same period. 

It's difficult to understand where the rationale comes from for the release of this kind of package. It's not as if Idlewild are currently riding the crest of a wave of popularity allowing the record company to introduce a new audience to their back catalogue and milk the cash cow but anyone intrigued by Idlewild, or who enjoyed the latest releases by Biffy Clyro or Snow Patrol, could do worse than to take this chance to get acquainted with a band that are an influence on the former and a peer of the latter.

Let us know your views on Scottish Fiction: Best of 1997 - 2007

 Track Listing

You Held The World In Your Arms
No Emotion
Roseability
When I Argue I See Shapes
Love Steals Us From Loneliness
American English
These Wooden Ideas
El Capitan
A Modern Way Of Letting Go
Let Me Sleep (Next To The Mirror)
I'm A Message
In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction
I Understand It
Little Discourage
As If I Hadn't Slept
Live In A Hiding Place

Line Up

Roddy Woomble - Vocals
Rod Jones – Guitar
Colin Newton - Drums
Allan Stewart – Guitar
Gareth Russell - Bass