The Best Of (James album)

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-james-mw0000383840|title=James - The Best of James Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}

| rev2 = Q

| rev2Score = {{Rating|5|5}}Q, April 1998

}}

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, describing it as "An imperfect collection of a frustratingly uneven band" and "a tantalizing missed opportunity", opining that the album's lack of chronological order made it "difficult to listen to [the] songs". Despite this, he went on to say that "no other James album accurately conveys [the band's] eclecticism or their musical strengths".

Awarding the album five out of five stars, Q magazine's John Aizlewood observed that "They're as stubborn (another admirable James trait) as disenfranchised mules; their audience is not growing (Whiplash sold 150,000) and they've influenced precisely nobody, but every track here – including new songs 'Runaground' and 'Destiny Calling, which unveil the mature James: "Tell us when our time is up/Show us how to die well/Show us how to let it all go" – bristles with inspiration."

Clash included "Destiny Calling" on their list of the top 10 best James songs.{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/secrets-i-cant-keep-james-their-10-best-songs/|title=Secrets I Can’t Keep: James – Their 10 Best Songs|work=Clash|author=Bowes, Richard|date=18 January 2024|access-date=29 January 2024|archive-date=18 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118230821/https://www.clashmusic.com/features/secrets-i-cant-keep-james-their-10-best-songs/|url-status=live}}

All tracks written by James, except where noted.

{{Track listing

|extra_column = Origin

| title1 = Come Home

| note1 = Flood mix; 1991 re-release

| writer1 =

| extra1 = Gold Mother

| length1 = 3:55

| title2 = Sit Down

| note2 = 1991 re-release

| writer2 = {{hlist|Tim Booth|Larry Gott|Jim Glennie|Gavan Whelan}}

| extra2 = Gold Mother

| length2 = 4:04

| title3 = She's a Star

| note3 =

| writer3 =

| extra3 = Whiplash

| length3 = 3:40

| title4 = Laid

| note4 =

| writer4 =

| extra4 = Laid

| length4 = 2:36

| title5 = Waltzing Along

| note5 = single version

| writer5 =

| extra5 = Whiplash

| length5 = 3:36

| title6 = Say Something

| note6 =

| writer6 =

| extra6 = Laid

| length6 = 3:25

| title7 = Born of Frustration

| note7 = Best-of Edit

| writer7 =

| extra7 = Seven

| length7 = 4:36

| title8 = Tomorrow

| note8 =

| writer8 = {{hlist|James|Brian Eno}}

| extra8 = Whiplash

| length8 = 3:41

| title9 = Destiny Calling

| note9 =

| writer9 =

| extra9 = previously unreleased

| length9 = 3:50

| title10 = Out to Get You

| note10 =

| writer10 =

| extra10 = Laid

| length10 = 4:26

| title11 = Runaground

| note11 =

| writer11 =

| extra11 = previously unreleased

| length11 = 4:09

| title12 = Lose Control

| note12 = 1991 re-release

| writer12 =

| extra12 = Gold Mother

| length12 = 3:55

| title13 = Sometimes

| note13 = Best-of Edit

| writer13 =

| extra13 = Laid

| length13 = 4:37

| title14 = How Was It for You

| note14 = Single Edit

| writer14 =

| extra14 = Gold Mother

| length14 = 2:57

| title15 = Seven

| note15 =

| writer15 =

| extra15 = Seven

| length15 = 3:19

| title16 = Sound

| note16 = Best-of Edit

| writer16 =

| extra16 = Seven

| length16 = 4:58

| title17 = Ring the Bells

| note17 =

| writer17 =

| extra17 = Seven

| length17 = 4:43

| title18 = Hymn from a Village

| note18 =

| writer18 = {{hlist|Booth|Gott|Glennie|Whelan}}

| extra18 = James II

| length18 = 2:52

}}

A limited edition version contains a second CD of live material, recorded at Whitfield St Studios in London on 21 January 1998:

1. "Runaground"
2. "Ring the Bells"
3. "Out to Get You"
4. "Johnny Yen"
5. "Lose Control"
6. "Laid"
7. "Sound"

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|artist=James|title=The Best of|relyear=1998|certyear=2017|id=1116-932-2|accessdate=17 January 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/19981202192448/http://www.polygram.com/mercury/artists/james/james_homepage.html Press release] at Mercury Records

{{James (band)}}

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Category:1998 greatest hits albums

Category:James (band) compilation albums

Category:Mercury Records compilation albums

Category:Fontana Records compilation albums