Get On with It: The Best of Cracker

[CD & DVD]

(Virgin)

First Appeared in The Music Box, April 2006, Volume 13, #4

Written by John Metzger

What are fans to think of the fact that Cracker re-recorded many of its best-known songs for a collection titled Greatest Hits Redux and saw fit to release the set on the same day that Virgin Records issued Get On with It, its own overview of the band�s career? On Ain�t Gonna Suck Itself, the final track from its 2003 endeavor Countrysides, the group had outlined its contentious separation from the company, yet a sticker that is affixed to Get On with It�s outer wrapper as well as a comment that is tucked inside producer Don Smith�s liner notes indicate that Cracker fully cooperated with its former label�s efforts to create the retrospective package. Naturally, the ensemble�s loyal followers are crying foul, and there undoubtedly is some bad blood between the two entities. Given Cracker also is putting the finishing touches upon a new studio outing that is due later this year, however, the whole shebang reeks of a mutually beneficial publicity stunt that, drawn from the same blend of irony and irreverence that fueled its early work, is designed to raise the collective�s profile among its casual fans.

Presenting 15 songs in chronological order, Get On with It touches upon most of the important moments from Cracker�s catalogue by juxtaposing its charting singles with well-selected, deeper cuts. Granted, it skips the band�s 1992 hit Happy Birthday to Me, but that likely was a wise decision, considering that the song became unbearably irritating within five minutes of its release. Besides, its jabs at smug, self-centeredness are better covered by the opening lines to Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now): "I don�t know what the world may need/But I�m sure as hell that it starts with me/And that�s a wisdom I�ve laughed at."

As Get On with It progresses, however, it becomes increasingly apparent that Cracker didn�t alter its approach dramatically from one album to the next. In essence, the band rummaged around the classic rock radio dial in an inspired, if unoriginal fashion, largely displacing the eccentric eclecticism of David Lowery�s previous outfit Camper Van Beethoven with an tight-knit stream of well-constructed, retro-minded melodies. The country-infused bounce of Lonesome Johnny Blues, for example, is culled directly from Creedence Clearwater Revival�s playbook; I Hate My Generation crosses the southern-fried rock of Tom Petty with the punk-imbued fury of The Clash; Mr. Wrong is nothing more than a mishmash of Bob Dylan�s (When I Paint My) Masterpiece and Jefferson Airplane�s Song for All Seasons; Get Off This is a slice of funky-glam befitting of Mott the Hoople; and, of course, nearly everything on the endeavor is kissed with the gritty R&B flavor of the Rolling Stones. Though later tracks, such as The World Is Mine and Shine, suggest that Cracker may have run out of steam, the group�s early fare remains a representative sample of the love songs for disaffected youth that pervaded the �90s.

While Get On with It does an admirable job of providing an overview of Cracker�s career, the separately issued DVD that shares its title is merely serviceable, making the band�s beef with Virgin Records far more justifiable. Although the set combines a nine-song, 40-minute concert that was recorded in Denver in 1993 with four promotional videos and a performance of Get Off This from MTV�s 120 Minutes, it barely pushes past the one-hour mark. In addition, its compilers truly missed the boat by not remixing the material for 5.1 channel surround sound, and as a result, the collection feels haphazardly thrown together. Even more problematic, however, are the live selections, which, other than being slightly more aggressive and ragged, remain frustratingly faithful to their studio counterparts. In other words, nothing on the DVD incarnation of Get On with It is essential, and the outing largely seems geared towards Cracker�s diehard fans, all of whom are likely to side with the group and to avoid purchasing the endeavor.

Get On with It: The Best of Cracker (CD) �

Get On with It: The Best of Cracker (DVD) �

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright � 2006 The Music Box