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Switchfoot
The Best Yet
Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 18 tracks: 76 minutes, 8 seconds
Street Date: November 4, 2008
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Every fan has their own idea of what "the best" of an artists' work really is. So when projects like
Switchfoot's The Best Yet hit shelves, almost every fan will wonder why some of their favorite songs
weren't included in the mix. But thanks to mp3 players and programs like iTunes, the need for "best of" compilations
has increasingly become less and less. In the end, the people who benefit most from collections like these are the
new listeners and not the longtime fans.
As someone who's listened to San Diego pop rock outfit Switchfoot since their humble debut in 1997, I find
The Best Yet to be a mixed bag. While the band has certainly earned a "hits" or
"best of" project, we've seen it handled a lot better in the past. However, for Switchfoot fans who've really
only come to learn about the group since they hit the mainstream with The Beautiful Letdown in
2003, this is a nice little summary of the past and present, with just a minute touch on the future.
Every track on The Best Yet is a good one, with each of the band's six records being represented here.
Some of their biggest hits show up in the first few tracks, including "Dare You To Move," "Meant To Live,"
"Stars," and more recent offerings like "Oh! Gravity" and the track the band wrote for the latest Narnia film,
"This Is Home." Switchfoot fans can't complain too much, though, being given a generous 18 tracks here, with further highlights including,
"Learning To Breathe," "Awakening," "This Is Your Life," "Company Car," "Lonely Nation," and "Concrete Girl." Although
the tracks are not presented in chronological order from 1997 to 2008, the listener can still get a feel for the growth and
changes in Switchfoot from their humble beginnings as a three piece until today as a quintet. Unfortunately, aside from the band's cut from
Prince Caspian, there's absolutely nothing new offered here. And while that's better than haphazardly tossing on
a disposable remix or two, with fans knowing a new studio album is planned for early 2009, it would have been nice for a
new song or two to find its way onto The Best Yet.
In 2007, Essential Records gave Atlanta rock band Third Day two CD/DVD compilation volumes to chronicle their successful
career, giving a good amount of time to each album release. While Switchfoot only have six studio albums to split between
two volumes like that, the band also has a wealth of b-sides and bonuses, as well as a couple Christmas songs, that easily could
have been worked into a two-volume release. Knowing Switchfoot's career and impact, a simple 18-song audio disc just doesn't
quite cut it. For the regular edition of The Best Yet, it's just not worth it for the fans to pick this up
if they already own all of their albums (and most have probably acquired "This Is Home" in some form or another already). And looking
over the track list, it seems baffling why songs like "Gone" or their first hit "Chem6A" are both completely absent here. It's
a treat to see "Concrete Girl" from their debut make the cut, but that album has a wealth of great songs to choose
from that it's unfortunate something like "Life And Love And Why" or "Might Have Ben Hur" or "Underwater" couldn't have made
it as well. Yet, the same can be said for their 1999 release New Way To Be Human, which only finds
"Company Car" and "Only Hope" included here.
Another strike against The Best Yet is its minimalistic packaging. The disc jacket is a simple
four-fold sleeve that lists the songs in a horizontal line over a collage
of small photos from the past eleven years. No lyrics are included, not even for "This Is Home," which hasn't
been released on a Switchfoot project before. I would have liked to at least have found lyrics included in a booklet form
with these photos spread out across a number of pages (with more photos) or even some reflections on the songs
from the band. With skimpy packaging, it makes a purchase like this even more unnecessary for the fans.
Each Switchfoot fan can pick apart what should be found on The Best Yet and what shouldn't, but all in all,
The Best Yet is a nice look into a great eleven years of music from one of the best pop rock acts today.
If you're feeling a little slighted by what the 18-song collection has to offer, the quintessential version of this release is its
CD/DVD Deluxe Edition. And perhaps, after a couple more studio releases, the band will receive the "best of" treatment they truly deserve.
- Review date: 10/26/08, written by John DiBiase of Jesusfreakhideout.com
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 Record Label: Credential Recordings / Columbia
Album length: 18 tracks: 76 minutes, 8 seconds
Street Date: November 4, 2008
Buy It: Musichristian.com
- Dare You To Move
- Meant To Live
- Stars
- Oh! Gravity
- This Is Home
- Learning To Breathe
- Awakening
- This Is Your Life
- On Fire
- Only Hope
- Dirty Second Hands
- Love is the Movement
- Company Car
- Lonely Nation
- The Shadow Proves the Sunshine
- Concrete Girl
- Twenty-Four
- The Beautiful Letdown
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