Ultimate Collection (CD - 2003)

This Australian import is the definitive Moving Pictures retrospective. It essentially is a repackaged version of the band's 1982 debut Days of Innocence, with the album's set list fleshed out with a few latter-day singles and album tracks. It even features the same cover art. "What About Me?," the band's crowning moment, is joined by other highlights like "Bustin' Loose," but quite a bit of the later material here hasn't dated well. It tends to fall into a no-man's land between Elton John-style songwriter workouts ("Back to the Blues and Booze") and tepid post-new wave pop experiments ("Spies"). Recommended for completists only. ~ Johnny Loftus minimize