Though "She Don't Use Jelly" paved the way for their breakthrough,
the Flaming Lips never seemed like a singles band. With albums as complex and consistent as
The Soft Bulletin and
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, their music didn't feel like it could be reduced to a handful of standout songs. Nevertheless,
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 does an admirable job of boiling down their sprawling quarter-century stint on Warner Bros. into a slightly more manageable three-disc set remastered by the band and longtime collaborator
Dave Fridmann. Although missing the ebb and flow of their albums, the collection features
the Lips' most immediate songs from over the years, from
Hit to Death in the Future Head's "Talkin' 'Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants to Live Forever)" to
Yoshimi's "Do You Realize??" to
Oczy Mlody's "The Castle" (and, of course,
Transmissions from the Satellite Heart's "She Don't Use Jelly"). Along with gathering highlights from the band's major albums in a democratic fashion,
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 also nods to experiments like Zaireeka and
The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends. The album's third disc might be the most enticing for die-hard fans thanks to its mix of demos (including the previously unreleased 1991 demo "Zero to a Million"), songs from soundtracks, and hard-to-find releases. Released during a time when hits collections often seemed obsolete,
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 caters to all levels of
Flaming Lips fans and does it well. ~ Heather Phares