Pitchfork

Everyone's got a different opinion as to when Bowie was at his peak. Some say his early '70s work-- The Man Who Sold The World, Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane-- are his best works. The rest of us are sticking with late '70s Bowie-- Station To Station, Low, Heroes, and Lodger.

Best of 1974-1979 brings together 14 brilliant tracks from this period, along with two mediocre tracks, and two embarrassingly bad ones. "Hey now," some of you say. "What did Bowie do during that period that could ever be classified as 'embarrassingly bad?'" Well, how about "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)," the disco nightmare sequel to the brilliant Ziggy Stardust number? And how about his live (and only) version of the '60s blues classic (turned disco smash for Amii Stewart) "Knock On Wood?" Well, yeah. Every artist has some duds in their repertoire (though, I've gotta say, those two seemed preventable via the use of a little something I like to call "common sense").

Regardless, how many artists' greatest hits collections can you name that present 14 awesome tracks culled from just five years of their career? Aside from Bowie, there aren't many. And Best of 1974-1979 does an excellent job of putting the truly amazing songs alongside the unforgettable hit singles.

Here's the thing, though: I can't really imagine a use for this record. As with most "best of" albums, if you're a fan, you've already got this stuff; if you're looking for an introduction into this period of Bowie's career, any four of the aforementioned classics are far superior, if only because this record's got a severe lack of continuity; if you want all the songs you already know and love in one place, you're going to be much better off spending a few minutes on a mix tape. But it's out there if you want it.