Search - Soul Coughing :: Lust in Phaze: The Best of Soul Coughing

The 5% nation of Never Enough

J. Wolfson | New York, NY | 04/10/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Soul Coughing was a fantastic band. I was lucky enough to see them live twice, and both experiences were unique and exhilarating. When I heard of this compilation, my ears pricked up, but the tracklisting left me a bit disappointed. What's good about it is that it divides the honest, heartfelt and poppy side of SC with the wacky, rap-spoken-poetry cartoony side relatively equally. What isn't good is that, given that the demographic for this CD is hard-core fans, I would have appreciated a more expansive retrospective. If you're aiming a release at die hard fans of a defunct band, how about 2 discs, huh?My main complaint of this disc comes near the end, encompassing the "El Oso" and B-Side selections. "St. Louise" is possibly the weakest song on "El Oso", and compared with the sexy groove of "Fully Retractable" and the frantic "Blame" and "Monster Man", the choice is quite a head-scratcher. The B-Sides, mostly available on other recordings, are spectacularly disappointing. The X-Files inspired "Unmarked Helicopters" remains available on the soundtrack for that show, which I already own (remember, die hard fans). The last two tracks, a remix of a song already found on the disc and a live track, are great but awfully lonely considering the fact that they are two of only four extra tracks. Rhino Records could have taken a hint from Smashing Pumpkins, releasing a limited edition 2 disc set full of extras and whatnot, but this one disc release is likely all we'll hear from Soul Coughing from now on. For a band as capable and with such a wide variety of sounds as Soul Coughing, more could have only been better. If there is an expanded version released someday, you can count on that last star being filled with yellow pixels, too.To be fair, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the explanations of each song, written by lyricist Mike Doughty, and discussing the track selection and sequence while I listened was fun, too. The liner notes mention Doughty's battle with substance addiction numerous times, and I'd like to point out that it's going to be very hard kicking Soul Coughing. Another disc would have been a nice methadone stopgap, though."

The creme de la creme.

dextron | Madison, WI United States | 03/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A Soul Coughing retrospective that includes some unreleased tracks, as well as tracks heard on other compilations (Unmarked Helicopters, for one). Mike Doughty includes excellent liner notes in the form of track-by-track "behind the song" type stories. It's so good to hear some of the best SC work on one disc... a definite must-have for all Soul Coughing fans, as well as a good intro for all of those who are unfamiliar with their work."

A SuperSpecialCompilation

Jeffrey K.C. Fecke | Lakeville, MN USA | 05/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, it would be nice to see a 2-disc set, but when a band only releases three albums, you take what you can get. The selections on the album are the ones I'd make (though I'd trade "Down to This" for "Janine", I don't think I'm in the majority), and M. Doughty's liner notes are worth the price of the album as it stands. Yeah, die-hards probably have heard all of this before...but it's still worth investing in."