AMG Review of Collected: 1996-2005

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Wallflowers never quite were a singles band -- each of their albums had its own distinct flavor -- yet they had a tendency to distill the essence of their records on a handful of highlights. Apart from their 1996 breakthrough, Bringing Down the Horse, none of these were major hits, but Bringing Down the Horse had four blockbusters -- "6th Avenue Heartache," "One Headlight," "Three Marlenas," "The Difference" -- that provide a foundation for the band's first retrospective, Collected: 1996-2005. As the subtitle suggests, this collection writes their gangly 1992 debut out of the record, concentrating on the time when the Wallflowers were just about the only rock & roll journeymen in America, cranking out sturdy singer/songwriter-driven classic rock. Collected has all their charting singles save their cover of David Bowie's "Heroes," originally released on the soundtrack to 1998's Godzilla, and wisely cherrypicks from their other three albums, offering a good overview of the band's appealing, dependable rock & roll -- an overview that acts as a good introduction but will also satisfy the needs of most casual followers.