Danielson

Let’s face it: for fanatics, greatest hits comps are a bit of a rip. Most often you get a pile of tracks you already own, one or two crappy new ones and some slick, updated liner notes, all of which you can easily live without. Thank God, then, that Danielson’s new retrospective, Trying Hartz, is different. The double-disc, 28-track collection chronicles the first decade of Daniel Smith’s off-kilter, way-left-of-centre song craft and does so in a way that should please newbies and hardcores alike. For the new kids on the ol’ chopping block there is a choice selection of Famile classics handpicked by Smith himself. For the old-schoolers, they get a hefty load of rare and previously unreleased material, most of it live but with a few studio gems as well (most notably a wild cat-enhanced rework of "Animal in Every Corner” by Kramer). Trying Hartz still best serves as a compact guide to Danielson, offering an excellent entry point into Smith’s wild world of wonder.