'Best Of' Doves To Leave Nest

For the past three decades, Manchester has brought us scores of great bands. Now, I must admit, last decade's output wasn't quite like the '80s and '90s, but Doves were one of Manchester's real bright spots in the '00s. Man, it's hard to believe 10 years have passed since Doves dazzled us with the debut 'Lost Souls.' Since then, we've had one other stellar album and a couple of other solid ones. So, what's next? A compilation, of course. Heavenly Recordings releases 'The Places Between' on May 5. If you are new to Doves, you may want to stick with the single disc version. It has 15 songs picked and sequenced by the band, and I have to say they did a pretty good job. One thing that bugs me is they included a new single. Ooh, I hate when bands put new music on a best of.

For you die-hard fans, there is a multi-disc version that includes the disc I just mentioned, plus an impressive 19-song second disc of rarities, B-sides and alternate versions and, finally, a DVD of 13 music videos. My two favorite songs made the cut on the first disc, and I would like to share one of those songs with you now. "Sea Song" was a pretty big hit in the UK, but it wasn't even released as a single on this side of the pond. What a pity. If you were curious about which record I was referring to when I used the word "stellar," just go get "The Last Broadcast." I love this band's first two albums. I use the word "essential" quite a bit on this blog. Sorry, I'm going to use it again for "Lost Souls" and "The Last Broadcast."

Doves - Sea Song (mp3)

Tracklist
Disc 1
1. There Goes The Fear
2. Black and White Town
3. Snowden
4. Here It Comes
5. Words
6. Kingdom Of Rust
7. Sea Song
8. Pounding
9. 10:03
10. Catch The Sun
11. Jetstream
12. The Man Who Told Everything (Summer Version)
13. Andalucia
14. Caught By The River
15. The Cedar Room

Disc 2
1. Blue Water
2. Eleven Miles Out
3. Rise
4. Darker
5. Push Me On
6. Willow's Song (Bury Version)
7. Valley
8. Northenden
9. M62 Song
10. Drifter
11. Friday's Dust (Capitol Tower Session)
12. Almost Forgot Myself (Demo)
13. Your Shadow Lay Across My Life
14. The Last Son
15. The Sulphur Man
16. At The Tower (Instrumental Edit)
17. Reprise
18. Ambition
19. Firesuite (Noise Version)

Disc 3 (DVD)
1. The Cedar Room
2. Sea Song
3. Here It Comes
4. Catch The Sun
5. Man Who Told Everything
6. There Goes The Fear
7. Pounding
8. Caught By The River
9. Black and White Town (directors Cut)
10. Snowden (Live Edit)
11. Sky Starts falling
12. Kingdom Of Rust
13. Winter Hill