AMG Review of Greatest Hits

Jason Birchmeier
All Music Guide

Gary Allan's Greatest Hits, released in 2007 by MCA Nashville, compiles 15 key songs from his back catalog. Most of the inclusions were bona fide hits, including a pair of number ones: "Tough Little Boys" and "Nothing on But the Radio." There are also two new songs, one of which, "A Feelin' Like That," was a number 17 chart hit at the time of the album's release. Greatest Hits thankfully includes only a song apiece from Allan's first two albums, Used Heart for Sale (1996) and It Would Be You (1998), which were released by Decca and are minor works in his discography. This leaves plenty of space on Greatest Hits for Allan's subsequent, notably better work for MCA: Smoke Rings in the Dark (1999), Alright Guy (2001), See If I Care (2003), and Tough All Over (2005). Each of these latter albums includes songs not included here that are worth hearing. Fans consequently will want to check out those MCA albums in full. As for casual fans who just want the radio hits without any filler, Greatest Hits has almost all of them and is an economical choice. Plus, it has "A Feelin' Like That," which can't be found elsewhere. Taken as a whole, Greatest Hits showcases Allan's accomplishments to date, which, with the exception of his early albums for Decca, are fairly impressive. He's carved out a respectable place for himself among contemporary country males.