Sixpence None the Richer - Collage: A Portrait of Their Best

A bit of background...

Quite a few fans have posted negative reviews of this compilation, and they're right. Although a number of Sixpence's stellar tracks made it onto the disc, it's mostly a tired collection of stuff-found-on-old-comps.

R.E.X. records, Sixpence's former label, kept the band in hellish limbo for three years after a nasty bankruptcy. Unable to escape their contract, but lacking the funds to produce or market a new CD, Sixpence languished for years between This Beautiful Mess and their self-titled release. Veteran artist Steve Taylor eventually bought their contract from REX's husk, fronted the money to record their self-titled release, and helped produce the CD.

Of course, REX still owns the rights to Sixpence's older songs -- and when they jumped into the national spotlight with Kiss Me, REX decided to cash in. A quick compilation of older (Owned-by-REX) songs was thrown together and marketed as 'Collage,' hoping to snag new fans looking for older material. They even misspelled the title of the band's earlier single, Angeltread, on the track listing. Sigh.

If you like Sixpence, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of This Beautiful Mess. Collage is nothing more than a sad attempt to cash in. January 11, 2003

Not a Pretty Picture

Like many, I bought the eponymous album for "Kiss Me". That album was very different to the taster track, yet well worth coming back to.

This, on the other hand, is dreadful. There are a few good songs in there, but in the context of the others there it is just tiring to listen to virtually anything. The recordings are not top notch, and the sound quality varies noticably between tracks. This is what mastering houses were made for.

Nothing sounds like "Kiss Me", and nothing matches the quality of the album it comes from.

Highlight: "Love Salvation and the Fear of Death (REMIX)"

Lowlight: The Album

DISSAPPOINTING. AVOID. November 24, 2000

Not For Me

This collection does not appeal to me. I don't like the shrill shrieking on some of the tunes. This is just not for me. August 24, 2000

Collage A Poor Sampling Of Indie Sixpence

It is much more advisable for new Sixpence listners to buy Sixpence's first two albums, THIS BEAUTIFUL MESS and THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOW than this hastily thrown together collection. Missing from this "portrait" are Sixpence classics like "Trust" and "Meaningless," a song the band still plays live at epic length. The artwork is second-rate and goes against the artistic nature of a band. Avoid COLLAGE unless you just can't afford both of Sixpence's early CD's. One positive thing I will mention about COLLAGE is that whoever selected the tracks for the album (and it was not the band) had the forsight to pick the best songs from the TICKETS FOR A PRAYER WHEEL EP It is still unforgivable that the same care was not taken in selecting LP tracks. It sounds as if the compilers of the album tried to find as many "Kiss Me" clones as they could in Sixpence's back catalog. July 19, 2000

Finally

Thank you Sixpence. Great music! Especially for my two daughters. It's good to know that good musicians with good hearts are on the air waves. Our culture needs more and more of you, and I will continue to pray for that. Well done! February 28, 2000

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