Believe it or not,
Savage Garden
only had two albums -- 1997's eponymous debut and 1999's follow-up,
Affirmation
-- which makes constructing a collection like 2006's
Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden
pretty easy. The duo had precisely six singles in the Billboard charts: their 1997 debut,
"I Want You,"
which went all the way to four; its disappointing follow-up,
"To the Moon & Back,"
which peaked at 24; then, two number one singles, in 1997's
"Truly Madly Deeply"
and 1999's
"I Knew I Loved You,"
which were followed by
"The Animal Song"
(top spot: 19) and 2000's
"Crash and Burn,"
which also topped out at 24. All six are here, along with non-U.S. singles like
"Affirmation,"
"The Animal Song,"
"Break Me Shake Me,"
and
"Hold Me,"
a couple of album tracks, a pair of solo tunes from singer/songwriter
Darren Hayes
, and five B-sides tacked onto the end of the compilation. And while there may be several different sources, ranging from hits to B-sides to solo sides, all of the music shares the same slick, pleasant vibe, so it holds together as well as any
album. In fact, it's better than any of their proper studio efforts, since it has nothing but the hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine