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The Greatest Hits of Orbital consists of selections of their work from between 1989 and 2002, although the earliest track is Chime, from 1990. There are 14 tracks on the album in total, and if truth be told, they’re of quite intermittent quality. Many of the tracks have been reworked for this collection, and it’s perhaps not to their best advantage.
Still, all the hits (such as there have been) are in place, including the aforementioned Chime, and the disappointing single version of The Box, which is outstanding in its original form on the album In Sides. There are others that I’d heard but not properly appreciated, such as Halcyon, the music to the opening of the movie Hackers, which was praised by
Part of the problem that Work faces is that the Hartnoll brothers have, during their career, revisited certain themes and melodies, which isn’t a problem (and is often an interesting thread) on a single album. However, on a collection of work spanning a relatively long time, can smack of a lack of inspiration, and makes the album as a whole sound a bit samey. In truth, it all kind of merges together.
That said, there are some tracks that really stand head and shoulders above the rest, and the previously-mentionedChime, The Box, and Halcyon are definitely in this category, as is the previously unreleased 2001 track Illuminate, which features
the piercing vocal of David Gray, and the penultimate track, Funny Break, also from 2001.
So, in conclusion, it’s a comprehensive collection of Orbital’s work, and is most probably best described as proof positive that Orbital are an albums, not a singles band. It’s good, and is probably a nice introduction to the band, but it’s not great.
7/10
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