It's likely that a large portion of the audience
Del Amitri won with the lightly infectious, incessantly catchy "Roll to Me" thought of the Scottish group as a new band, not an outfit that had been recording for over a decade. That may be one of the reasons why
Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri was released in 1998, a mere three years after "Roll to Me" climbed into the Top Ten. (It could also be that the follow-up,
Some Other Sucker's Parade, stiffed on the charts.) In any case,
Hatful of Rain is an excellent overview of
Del Amitri's career, containing no less than 17 tracks, including all of their American and British hits. It may overlook their early independent singles, yet the consistency of their major-label work in the '80s and '90s gives the collection a sense of cohesion, even if it is sequenced out of chronological order. What matters is that
Hatful of Rain contains everything that a casual fan could want while reconfirming their stature as a solid singles band to their core constituents -- and that's everything a good greatest-hits album should do. [A&M released a limited edition with a seven-track bonus disc of previously unreleased live recordings titled "Live at Abbey Road."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine