Mark Oliver Everett (aka E) has always been a curiosity due to his ability to survive without any real place in musics inhospitable climate for an artist with such idiosyncrasies. Debuting in the late 90s alt-rock boom with their biggest hit to date, "Novocaine For the Soul, Eels or Everett and a revolving cast of musicians appeared almost out of thin air with novelty bankability. But under the surface of Everetts uncanny presentation, devoted fans quickly discovered songs that were beautiful and ugly, deeply pained and just outright nuts. These two collections gather the "essential and rare moments of the one-man bands ten-year recording output to an extent that becomes overwhelming towards the end. Meet the Eels covers the highlights of each of his six albums, acting like a singles collection that becomes less and less familiar as the CD runs on. Tracks like "Last Stop: This Town, "Mr. Es Beautiful Blues and "Hey Man (Now Youre Really Living) exemplify the potential for commercial success that Eels so often missed. And hey, as batty as it is, even the cover of Missys "Get UR Freak On is worth a few spins for its absolute lack of restraint. Useless Trinkets, on the other hand, is a generous three-disc set that gathers just about everything live and unreleased cuts, remixes, alternate versions and a couple of Christmas songs, including the great "Everythings Gonna Be Cool This Christmas for the obsessive Eels fan. There are a few standouts, like the soothingly string-laden "Taking A Bath in Rust, but an "excessive attic purge is the best way to describe this. Even with its 24-song body, Meet the Eels is an enjoyable comp, but Es at his best when you sit and listen to his work as a whole, especially 1998s heartbreaking opus Electro-Shock Blues.
(Geffen)Eels
Meet the Eels / Useless Trinkets
BY Cam LindsayPublished Jan 15, 2008