A Sides Win: Best of Sloan 1992-2004
Sloan is God's gift to rock and roll. There. It's been said--for the one-millionth time. While fans uttered the phrases "critics' darlings," "under-appreciated," and "under-rated," the band spent their time circling the globe and racking up a string of singles. They've been rightfully compared to the who's-who of four-piece rock/pop bands (no need to go into that here).*  But it is, on the occasion of this 2005-released A-side retrospective, worth pointing out a few of the reasons for such comparisons. First and foremost is their catalog of recordings. Each album is dosed with tracks that run from horn-throwing monsters to easy-breezy rock-alongs. Each successive release one-upped the previous, either in terms of ability, maturity, or daring--never once alienating fans or looking back for past glory. All four voices fly in and out throughout; drum fills are pulled straight from the cocktail kit masters; tube-amp tones and guitar phrases could be the chapters in aHow to be in a Killer Band for Dummiesbook. On stage, the band is the equivalent of a Yukon fire drill with members swapping instruments, vocals, and rock moves, song-for-song with furious skill and fierce cool. They're everything we've been trained to love about rock all rolled up in a tour van.Highlights from this collection range from the ambitious undergrad stabs of "Underwhelmed" and the holy trinity of power-pop from 1997'sOne Chord to Another("The Good In Everyone," "Everything You've Done Wrong," "The Lines You Amend"), to the grown-up Sloan of "The Other Man" ("If I'm the other man, nature will abhor me") and "The Rest of My Life" ("Am I gonna be someone who has to take the rest of my life to settle down/What kind of fool doesn't think about it/You have to be a fool not to think about it.") The one thing you'll find yourself wishing for is a speedy arrival of the B-sides and rarities.The Bonus DVD version contains videos for all the songs and is the good value here. The videos accurately document the Sloan legacy and the song-by-song video commentary is fun for the superfans.--Peter Hilgendorf*(Beatles, Kinks, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Big Star, Kiss, Cheap Trick, the Clash, the Replacements, the Young Fresh Fellows and the Beach Boys--when Mike Love was out at the dry cleaners.)Recommended Sloan DiscographySmearedTwice RemovedOne Chord to AnotherBetween the BridgesPretty TogetherAction Pact