A compilation consisting of songs from just two albums won't immediately appeal to most listeners, but
Reef were a surprisingly strong antidote to Britpop during the '90s. Composed of equal parts
Aerosmith and
AC/DC and
Alice in Chains, the band wrote excellent songs while singer
Gary Stringer shouted his lungs out with a moderate amount of subtlety.
Together, the Best of Reef features the best singles from both albums, "Good Feeling" and "Naked" from the debut Replenish, and "Place Your Hands" and "Come Back Brighter" from
Glow. The disc is filled out by a lot of non-LP tracks, including a cover of
Mickey Newbury's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." ~ John Bush