The liner notes describe the music on this two-CD set as "The missing link between the Sex Pistols and Nirvana," and damn if they're not spot on the money. The Furs are finally getting their due credit for being among the first (behind the New York Dolls) to fuse the energy and ruthlessness of punk with the glam and wit of Bowie into the rough draft of today's guitar-loving "alternative rock."
This retrospective beats their previous greatest-hits collection, "All of This and Nothing," by a country mile. The album features a vastly superior track selection that really covers the evolution of the band in roughly chronological order, several choice live cuts and a few previously unreleased gems. The magic moments include Richard Butler's train-steam punctuation in "Sister Europe," the original (and grittier) "Pretty In Pink" and a live version of "Get a Room."
From the first, dense, atmospheric album to their surprisingly strong return-to-roots finale, both fans and newcomers will be stunned by the effect of all this concentrated brilliance. The Furs really were a band ahead of their time.
