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Aimee Mann
The Ultimate Collection
Hip-O
Known almost as much for her well-publicized bouts with record labels who either wouldn¹t release her albums or wouldn¹t release her from their contracts -- and sometimes both -- as for her music, Aimee Mann has still amassed a substantial body of work since her early years as the voice behind Œtil tuesday¹s "Voices Carry." Even though this disc predominantly covers work from two post Œtil tuesday solo albums, along with a smattering of soundtrack tunes and her duo of best known tracks from that band, it¹s a relatively comprehensive and well-rounded portrait of the gifted singer/songwriter.
Unfortunately, licensing restrictions prevented music from Mann¹s work on the Magnolia soundtrack from being included. Hence, the magnificent "Save Me," which through its Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, is Mann¹s most popular tune, remains MIA from this otherwise thorough anthology. Interestingly, the magnificent "Wise Up," which played a central part in Magnolia, was also included on the Jerry Maguire soundtrack, which Hip-O could obtain the rights to, so thankfully it¹s here. It¹s also one of Mann¹s most heartfelt and sadly beautiful compositions. Otherwise, the disc features four tunes from her first solo album, 1993¹s Whatever, a whopping seven from the 1994 follow-up, I¹m With Stupid, and a smattering of rare tracks that originally appeared only on difficult to find promotional singles.
Of these, Mann¹s cover of Badfinger¹s "Baby Blue" and a live version of "The Other End (of the Telescope)," co-written with Elvis Costello but never released by Mann (it¹s on Costello¹s All This Useless Beauty release) are the most interesting, but everything here is a keeper. Boasting 20 cuts encompassing almost 76 minutes of music and a 16-page book with full song details and an incisive essay, there¹s not much more you can ask of this well-constructed anthology. Mann¹s work with Œtil tuesday is best appreciated on Sony¹s compilation of that band¹s work, Coming Up Close: A Retrospective, and even the few tracks that appear here with their new-wave '80s synths and production don¹t gel with the rest of this disc, which is far less forced, and considerably more organic.
Otherwise, Aimee Mann¹s sure sense of melody, touching and literate lyrics as well as unique edgy-honeyed voice, make her one of the most talented singer/songwriters of her generation. Look no further than this consistently enjoyable recap of her work through 1999 to hear why.
Hal Horowitz
