Listen On is a valid "Best of" collection in the sense that it contains The Railway Children's biggest singles and compiles songs from different albums. If you only get one album from TRC, you should probably get this one. If you become a big fan of the band, however, this CD alone will not do them justice. One omission that's almost unforgiveable (and there seems to be a consensus on this) is "A Pleasure", a highly compelling song from the Recurrence album.
The track selection for Listen On is, more or less, hit or miss. "Hours Go By" and "After The Rain", for instance, don't exactly epitomize the band's best moments. There are some pleasant surprises, nonetheless, for both diehard and novice fans. Substandard mixing and obvious production flaws on b-sides "What She Wants" and "Give It Away" somehow add character to the tracks, while re-introducing the rawness that was somewhat lacking during the Native Place sessions when the band took a more commercial direction. Furthermore, the featured single version of "Something So Good" conveys more of the band's trademark raw emotion than the originally released album version.
Of course, the cult classic "Every Beat Of The Heart" is included on this collection. That's the song that introduced me to The Railway Children. Hopefully Listen On will further expand TRC's fan base and provide many more music fans with a pleasurable listening experience.
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