McFly have been at large in the pop scene for almost 10 years now and so it’s sure enough time for a whopping double disk greatest hits record. If, like me, you’ve been a fan of McFly ever since you can remember, you would have already heard each and every song on this compilation. The moment that made me fall for the four lads was when I saw them supporting their friends Busted back in 2004, a young, fresh boy band that have now developed to a worldwide status every boy band strives for. This is in fact not a review of how they have progressed or how good the new material is, it is a review of their longevity and their credibility as a band in order to warrant this colossal greatest hits record.
Disc One begins with a look towards the future of McFly with their latest single ‘Love Is Easy’. It’s simple and catchy and demonstrates McFly at their best. It is a progression yet it remains true to where they started. Simple pop music. The music video (see below) shows everything that McFly have been through over the past 10 years, the reality TV, the albums, it is a fun journey throughout these times. The first disc then goes on to highlight the best of their fifth studio album Above The Noise in the form of singles ‘Shine A Light’ and ‘Party Girl’. This album’s style was aided by co-writing with Taio Cruz. Memory Lane then goes back to Radio:Active; ‘Lies’ and ‘One For The Radio’ show how this fourth studio album brought out a darker side to McFly. Pop music with an extra bite and a dark undertone. They include ‘Transylvania’ on the album, one of my all time favourite McFly tracks, one in which Dougie gets the rare chance at vocals taking the spotlight away from Tom and Danny.
Disc One then takes the listener back to first three studio albums with smash hits such as ‘Star Girl’ and the one that started it all ‘Five Colours In Her Hair’. There are a few odd balls in the latter half of this disc such as their cover of Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, which surely doesn’t work in a ‘Best of’ compilation as it’s not they’re own song. And the, it pains me to say it, cringe-worthingly awful ‘Cherry Cola’. I could have chosen two perfect replacements from McFly’s back catalogue to go in their place. Luckily the credibility returns with the fantastic second single ‘Obviously’ and ‘Memory Lane’.
Moving on to Disc Two, the overall theme of this disc seems to be an odd one. It holds a whole host of cover versions, demos and b-sides that don’t really belong on their five studio albums. It begins with two cover songs. First, a version of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’; covered by many yet McFly seem to have a unique, personal twist on the hit. Then, to my surprise, their cover of The Kinks ‘Lola’ featuring Busted. It moves on to a very touching song that featured as a B-Side to their Comic Relief single ‘All About You’ back in 2008. It shows the slower and comforting side to McFly. Going along these lines they have included a special acoustic version of their fantastic track ‘POV’ from Radio:Active. It is amazing. I feel this song really highlights McFly’s songwriting abilities and their ability to perform tracks in various mediums. Throughout the rest of the disc there are three more covers including ‘She Loves You’ by The Beatles and ‘Mr Brightside’ by The Killers. There are some special 2003 demos included on the album for tracks such as ‘Memory Lane’ and ‘Obviously’. This will delight every McFly fan as we get to see how far they have come and also get to see the raw talent that started it all. Overall this is the perfect gift for a McFly fan and just in time for Christmas!
8/10
