Aqua are one of the classic definitions of a one-hit wonder, their single “Barbie Girl” sweeping the world and elsewhere in 1997, so the prospect of a 19-track
Greatest Hits may be a little bit daunting for those who didn’t realize they had a 2000 follow-up,
Aquarius, to their 1997 debut
Aquarium.
Greatest Hits naturally samples heavily from those two albums, adding three new songs -- “Back to the 80s,” “Lollipop (Candyman),” “Doctor Jones” -- which are included not just for the diehards but to signal that the band is on the comeback trail in 2009. As it turns out, there’s more trashy pop fun to
Aqua than just “Barbie Girl” -- perhaps not 19 tracks' worth for the average pop fan, but there are some good guilty pleasures, and the new songs hold their own with the older cuts.