One of the rare collections to include material from both of the band's peaks (their early artistic peak on and their later commercial zenith for ), deserves credit for its methodical, workmanlike approach to presenting the best-known songs from each of the band's major albums. It should also be faulted, however, for its odd overemphasis not only on 's commercial successes but on its frustratingly uneven mid-period from late 1970 through 1974. All of this comes at the expense of the fantastic, trailblazing pair of albums with which the band debuted -- 1969's and 1970's , which receive only three inclusions where six would have been fair and eight perfectly acceptable. Present and accounted for are 's two Top 20 hits, 1979's and 1989's (not coincidentally, two of their slickest productions), along with plenty of material from the albums those singles were taken from ( and , respectively). Certainly that's par for the course for a band whose finest single ( ) never even reached the charts, but it makes this compilation essential only for those who need to understand the vagaries of the charts and the commercial music industry. Unfortunately, 1998's falls prey to the same problems, leaving the curious to seek out either the early-period roundup or a latter-day hits compilation like . ~ John Bush