Best of Bodeans: Slash & Burn (CD - 2002)

Producers include: T-Bone Burnett, Jerry Harrison, Jim Scott, David Z, Greg Goldman.

Compilation producers: The BoDeans, John Waller.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Liner Note Author: Nick Johnstone.

Though they are best known to the general public for their 1996 smash hit "Closer to Free" (the theme to teen television drama PARTY OF FIVE), the Bodeans have been delivering their unique brand of rootsy Midwestern pop-rock since the early 1980s. THE BEST OF THE BODEANS: SLASH AND BURN is a good introduction to the group's soulful blend of Byrds-style jangle pop, roots rock à la The Band, and Stones-ey guitar rock. The compilation draws tracks from the band's entire recorded career, matching studio recordings with a liberal helping of music from 1995's live JOE DIRT CAR.

"It's so hard to write a simple song," Samuel Llanas sings on "Far Far Away From My Heart." Then how come the BoDeans always make it sound so easy? This compilation is loaded with them, and in fact the band probably would have been best served with a double-disc set, since some classic material, such as "Lookin' for Me Somewhere" off the group's Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams debut, goes missing. Additionally, latter material from the band is also AWOL; only the hit single "Closer to Free" made the cut from the influential roots rockers' return to form, Go Slow Down, and the heretofore swan song LP Blend is only represented by "Hey Pretty Girl." To fill out the disc, tracks from different eras were presented from the live Joe Dirt Car recordings, but half a dozen concert recordings -- more than a third of the disc -- hurt the disc since live material almost always pales in comparison to studio efforts. This disc is a great primer for newcomers who want to check out the BoDeans -- possibly those who have heard of the legacy but are unsure which disc to get -- and Nick Johnson's liner notes are the perfect blend of giddy fan and knowledgeable seer. But with such a reliance on live material that was already released and the lack of any heretofore unreleased rarities from the vaults, it's tough for longtime fans to find a reason to own Best of Bodeans: Slash & Burn. ~ Brian O'Neill minimize