Review: "Never Enough - The Best of Jesus Jones" by Jesus Jones

Well, here it is. After five years in the wilderness (most of them without a record contract), the Jones boys have returned (sort of) with a greatest hits compilation to support their recent tour of the UK and the US. This album contains the best bits gleaned from the four EMI albums they recorded between 1989 (Liquidizer) and 1997 (Already) and contains some real classics.

Aside from the singles, a few albums tracks have sneaked into the mix (personally selected by lead singer and songwriter Mike Edwards) as well as the obligatory new track ("Come On Home") to ensure that the album is bought by those fans who already have all the albums. Darn their dastardly tactics. Still, if you have got the albums already, there's always the second disc to listen to. This contains a collection of mixes and alternate versions of the singles, mixed by the likes of the Prodigy and Aphex Twin (both supplying versions of "Zeroes and Ones" from 1993's Perverse). However it's the first three tracks that get the attention. "Info Sicko", "Enough - Never Enough" and "Beat it Down" are all rougher versions of "Info Freako", "Never Enough" and "Bring it on Down" and show what the band were like when they first started - all thrashing guitars, raw samples and attitude, but with a great ear for production and a tune.

Jesus Jones probably got recognized with the release of their second album, Doubt (1991) and the slew of chart singles that came from it. Starting with their first top 20 hit, "Real Real Real" (a song which was actually a piss-take - but nobody noticed) and continuing through their biggest hit to date, "International Bright Young Thing" (also my own favorite) and "Who? Where? Why?" the band established themselves both at home and abroad.

Apart from the singles, some of the choices Edwards has made for the track listing come as a bit of surprise. Instead of using the original version of "Move Mountains", Liquidizer's opening track, Edwards has chosen a remix by Ben Chapman, which is a lot more dance orientated and loses some of the passion and originality of the album version. Again, with "International Bright Young Thing" and "Who? Where? Why?", the remixed single versions have been selected. I feel that once again, the album versions are better, but less familiar to casual fans. Of particular interest is the inclusion of "Blissed" (Doubt) and "Idiot Stare" (Perverse) both brilliant album tracks that have appeared on my own car-tape compilation. "Blissed" is a chilled pulsing ode to doing nothing: "If the sun shines today, I think I'll stay in anyway", while "Idiot Stare" is a twisting, frenetic anger-ballad: 'I don't know if I care, / I can't feel, I can't speak, I can't think, / Caught in an Idiot Stare."

Already, the much underrated fourth album supplies three tracks, the excellent but unpopular single "Chemical #1" and the album tracks "The Next Big Thing" and "They're Out There", which are OK, but there are better tracks on the album. The new single, "Come On Home" is classic Jesus Jones - samples, harmonies and a bit of thrash thrown in for good measure.

All in all, this is an excellent testament to Jesus Jones' work, which has survived longer and with more stamina than some of their contemporaries (such as EMF or Ned's Atomic Dustbin). I would have liked to have seen more rare tracks and B-sides on the second CD, such as "Broken Bones" (from the US version of Liquidizer) or "Maryland" (the B-side to "International Bright Young Thing") or even their version of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" from the NME Ruby Trax album. Where the band go from here is anyone's guess. A free download of their single "In the Face of All of This" from their US-only album London is available from the official website (www.jesusjones.com) so you can judge for yourself!