SHAZAM

The German collection of Happy Mondays' Greatest Hits closely contends with 1995's excellent Loads, though the absence of a few classics, and the inclusion of a few inferior remixes, places it below its predecessor. While both of them include the half-dozen tracks that couldn't be left off a Mondays compilation -- "Step On," "24 Hour Party People," "Kinky Afro," "Hallelujah," "Loose Fit," "Bob's Yer Uncle" -- Greatest Hits presents a few songs in extended mixes that dilute the potency of the originals. One bonus to pique the interest of fans is a very rare B-side, a psychedelicized cover of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive." ~ John Bush, Rovi