Following the departure of lead vocalist
Amaia Montero
from
La Oreja de Van Gogh
, the internationally popular Spanish pop/rock band released its first greatest-hits collection,
LOVG: Grandes Exitos
. During its 11 years together the band released four chart-topping albums --
Dile al Sol
(1998),
El Viaje de Copperpot
(2000),
Lo Que Te Conte Mientras Te Hacias la Dormida
(2003), and
Guapa
(2006) -- and a very long list of singles, 17 of which were chart-topping hits.
compiles 16 of these singles, drawing primarily from
(2000) and
(2003), the band's two best albums, for 11 of the 16 inclusions. Given the exceptionally high quality of material on
's full-length albums, which spawned as many as eight singles apiece, a lot of great songs were overlooked here out of necessity. Fans of the band's most recent album,
, may be particularly disappointed to note that only three of its songs were included, and the same goes for fans of the band's debut,
, which is only represented by two songs.
is nonetheless an accurate representation of
, including standout hits such as
"El 28,"
"Cuidate,"
"La Playa,"
"Puedes Contar Conmigo,"
"Rosas,"
and
"Muneca de Trapo."
While the band's albums are surely worthwhile listens in their own right, filled with songs nearly as appealing as those found here, anyone unfamiliar with
will find
an ideal introduction to one of the Spanish-language world's best pop/rock acts. [The CD/DVD edition adds the promotional videos for 15 of the 16 songs on the CD.] ~ Jason Birchmeier