Greatest Hits from the Bong [PA] (CD - 2005)

Additional personnel: Fred Wreck (guitar); John Kirby (keyboards); Daniel Seeff (bass guitar); Tego Calderón.

Although Cypress Hill's heyday was in the early 1990s, the Los Angeles-based hip-hop act managed to have a surprisingly long-lived career in one form or another. (Nasal-voiced rapper B-Real is the group's only consistent member.) While these spliffheads are perhaps best known for initial hits like the street-tough "How I Could Just Kill a Man" and the wheezing, squealing anthem "Insane in the Brain," Cypress Hill also explored its Hispanic roots ("Latin Lingo") and ventured into nu-metal territory (the guitar-heavy "Rock Superstar").

In addition to the aforementioned tracks, this 2005 compilation also includes an energetic reggaeton version of "Latin Thugs" that, like the original, features an appearance by Puerto Rican star Tego Calderon. Though the collection could have benefited from a few rarities (particularly the group's JUDGMENT NIGHT soundtrack collaborations with Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth), GREATEST HITS FROM THE BONG is a commendable overview of this perennial hip-hop act.

The first proper "best-of" from Cypress Hill arrives nearly 15 years after their debut, a surprisingly long time considering how compilation-happy their parent label, Sony, has been. Whatever the reason for it, the wait for this comp was entirely worth it, since Greatest Hits from the Bong is filled with top-notch tracks and saves the consumer from having to purchase the group's disappointing albums -- Temples of Boom, IV -- while leaving enough of their classics -- Skull & Bones, Black Sunday, and their nearly perfect debut -- unheard until the decision is made to dig further. The mostly chronological layout may seem dry, but it displays the growth of the group and all the risk-taking and genre-blending that happened along the way. Raw gangsta tracks and hedonistic odes to pot smoking give way to reggae-influenced numbers, layered Clash samples, and more intricate smoking songs. Two new tracks toward the end -- the Ambrosia-sampling "The Only Way" and the tight and hardcore "EZ Come EZ Go" -- offer something new for the regulars and while "EZ" is very good, "Only Way" is a hooky triumph. Including the reggaeton remix of "Latin Thugs" with Tego Calderón is a very 2005 move, but it's a hot track and if there ever were a hip-hop act that seemed a natural for the reggaeton explosion, it's this Latin, reggae-loving crew. With a running time of less than 50 minutes and the lack of an essay or words from the band, Greatest Hits from the Bong isn't perfect, but being all killer and no filler, it's close enough. ~ David Jeffries minimize