Bought for the hit single
When I purchased my IBM Thinkpad notebook PC many, many years ago, it had a sample A-V file which was the music video "Good Times". When I upgraded, I missed this song and ordered the CD which included it. I was pleasantly surprised to find gems such as track 11, "Like I Do Now". Most of the songs were more soulful (such as this one), instead of upbeat like the song I originally wanted, but it made for greast easy listening in the evening. Although not a chart-topper, it's a solid album.

Great for hardcore fans, bad as an overview
Presumably when you put together an "ultimate" collection, you want to gather at bare minimum every one of the band's singles since those are most likely to be the songs that the biggest percentage of the fanbase will know.

This collection is missing "Mama Help Me" from 2nd album "Ghost of a Dog". STRIKE ONE...

2nd single "Black and Blue" isn't here either. STRIKE TWO.

"Tomorrow Comes" was the single from Edie's 1st solo album "Picture Perfect Morning". STRIKE THREE...

Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians really were an album group more than a singles act, though, and that means aside from the handful of singles you'll want to use care in choosing the rest of the cuts to select their artistic, if not commercial, peaks. How is it that "Air of December" misses the cut from SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS...? "Nothing"? They chose "Woyaho" or "Stwisted" instead of "This Eye","Carmelito" or "10,000 Angels"from GHOST OF A DOG? And though it was wasted as a bonus cut on their debut, "I Do" is one of the band's most gorgeous moments.

For those reasons, I can't suggest this as an opener to casual fans or Edie newcowers...they're much better off purchasing SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS AT THE STARS(ASIN B000000OQW,the more accessible of the 2 band albums).

If, however, you already have the 1st 2 albums and want to fill in the gaps, this CD is perfect. This gets you out of needing to buy the NOBODY'S CHILD compilation (which is OK but not fantastic) to get "Big Day, Little Boat" or the BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY soundtrack for their cover of Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", as well as the rarity "Zillionaire" previously only found on Rob Wasserman's TRIOS CD (To be fair, that one's a little more worth your time, particularly if you're a Brian Wilson fan. He does a great song "Bells of Madness/Fantasy is Reality" on there with his daughters..) Also you'll be spared buying Chris Botti's FIRST WISH just to grab the song "Like I Do Now".

But the motherlode here for Edie connoisseurs are the last 7 tracks, consisting of four songs recorded by Edie's post Bohemians band The Slip, and 4 recordings made after she'd left the Geffen label ("A Little Time","Boys In The Band","Baby" and a duet with Carter Albrecht on "Vodka").

BOTTOM LINE:
If you only know "What I Am" and "Circle", buy SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS AT THE STARS. If you're a big Edie fan already, get this for the unreleased material and rarities.

You will ultimately want to own this
Had The Slip been able to get a decent record contract and be able to make the music they wanted, I can't even imagine how much more my life would be touched by their incredible talent and emotional insight. Unfortunately, I only have a few songs to fill the void I'm so desperately craving to fill, but had I not been able to attain them my music collection would not be full. This is an awesome collection, not for the already-released songs (which, by the way, are not the best of choices, methinks - where's "Love Like We Do"? Plus many, many others that could have enhanced the CD, but I guess since I wasn't the producer that wasn't up to me), but for the previously unreleased tracks. Invisible Man is just absolutely wonderful. The New Bohemians went to an entirely new level in this song, representing a definite growth. This CD also highlights Edie Brickell's eye to detail and the nuances that make her idiosyncratic music so very prosaically beautiful. It took me awhile to warm up to this CD but I finally "got it" and now I'm addicted to even the most outwardly skeletal songs like Zillionaire, which, upon subsequents listenings, reveals the depth that Edie never fails to deliver.

Edie shines
I bought this CD for the last half of the songs. Now I can burn a CD with all of my personal favorites on it. All I had to do was get this CD, each of Edie's prior CD's, and the Flashback soundtrack (for the coolest version of "Walk on the Wild Side" ever).

So, if you're looking to expand your Edie/NB collection, then this CD is a great investment. By itself, I think it leaves out a few essentials - like Carmelito and Nothing and... oh, there are many fantastic songs. Too many for one CD, I'm sure.

Of special note is the appearance by Jerry Garcia, may he RIP...

So, just go for it and add this one to your collection, you won't be sorry!

excellent
lovely, soul-stirring, and rocking sounds from a classic band that brought many elements together to great effect, indeed.