Hitting the high notes………though not high enough!, June 4, 2015

As I write this review, I’m listening to this very same CD – I find that doing so is highly inspirational. It seems to me that such an activity tends to put greater clarity and lucidity to one’s comments than would otherwise be the case. Well, how shall I put my most salient points across to you, as succinctly as possible? Let’s start with the title itself. This album is entitled “Greatest Hits – Deluxe Edition.” It is correct that there is enclosed a bonus CD of remixed songs and in that sense it has struck a true note in the title that is emblazoned on the cover.

What I object to in this entire compilation is certainly NOT the quality of Dido’s singing – let us make that very clear, from the very beginning. Dido’s rendition of each song is nothing short of impeccable – she hits all the high notes beautifully and her sultry and soulful voice adds to the pleasure of this heightened listening experience.The lyrics of each song are highly meaningful and Dido’s mellow singing voice tends to be extremely articulate and clear so that one need not strain one’s hearing trying to hear each word of any given item – it makes the whole audio experience extremely pleasurable, to say the least.

The objection that I wish to raise here is that the compilation seems to be put together rather hurriedly without any real, careful thought being placed on the items chosen to be viewed and listened to as “greatest hits.” I think that most people who have heard even a reasonable amount of Dido’s music will agree with me wholeheartedly on this point. What happens is that one picks up the CD cover hoping to see a certain favourite song and puts it down in disappointment when it features nowhere on this double CD compilation. How was that ever allowed to happen? This should honestly not be the case – but it tends to be an undeniable fact in this particular album. In short and in totality, this album hits all the high notes correctly but does not reach high enough to be a runaway hit.

As far as the value for money goes, this is a good purchase, on the whole. I doubt very much that you’ll regret buying it except for some small, unfortunate niggling doubts that linger at the back of one’s mind. So, go ahead by all means and buy it!