Most greatest hits albums fail by trying to make a new book out of scattered chapters and losing continuity, but Donovan's was different. Unlike Dylan's dark introspection, Donovan was an unabashed flower-child optimist. His songs featured ethereal musical production more than Dylan's did at the time and a softness more reflective of a rural Scottish village than Greenwich Village. The compilation works because the emphasis is on greatest rather than on hits. If Horshack was Mick Jagger and Lou Reed's love child.
Hype works well for mainstream acts, but is a double-edged blade for indie bands.
This is the predicament The Strokes are currently in. Last week's release should silence all the naysayers, heretofore known as blasphemers, for the critics may be right about the salvation of rock 'n' roll. Joy to the world, The Strokes have come. It is eleven slabs of pure rock ecstasy clocking in at just over a half hour. The Strokes' music is at once agitative and soothing, simultaneously infused with spasm-inducing urgency and melodious resonance.