The Greatest Hits, So Far

The Greatest Hits, So Far is a greatest hits album by English post-punk band Public Image Ltd, released in 1990 by record label Virgin. It compiles all of the band's singles from 1978 to 1990 and features a new track, "Don't Ask Me", which was released as a single, reaching number 22 the UK and number 2 on the US Modern Rock chart. "This Is Not a Love Song" is not represented in its original single form, but as the remake from This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get. The album's artwork is by notable New Zealand-born artist and musician Reg Mombassa.

The Greatest Hits, So Far
Greatest hits album by Public Image Ltd
Released	24 September 1990 (USA), 9 October 1990 (UK)
Recorded	1978–1990
Genre	Post-punk, alternative rock
Length	65:17
Label	Virgin
Producer	Dan Hersch
Public Image Ltd chronology
9 (1989) The Greatest Hits, So Far (1990) That What Is Not (1992)
Singles from The Greatest Hits, So Far
"Don't Ask Me" Released: 1990

Content

"I wanted 28 tracks", John Lydon told Select, "but you have to be reasonable, I suppose. Virgin only wanted eight – 'Ooh, that's all we can get on one album' – and I thought, 'Hold on, I've been on your label twelve years and you only want eight songs? Fuck off!' I refused to deal with them until they came round to my way of thinking. I relished the chance to see what things like 'Warrior' would sound like next to 'Death Disco' and 'Memories', to see if there was any vein running through them. And I was very pleased: there is. They sound like a solid piece of work. They could all have been done at the same time. All musically different, but the attitude is predominant. So I'm pleased with myself."[1]

Release

The Greatest Hits, So Far was released on 24 September 1990 by Virgin in the US[2] and 9 October in the UK.

The title suggests there would be more to come —and there was— but PIL released only one more studio album (1992's That What Is Not) before taking a twenty-year hiatus, after which they released two more studio albums (2012's This is PiL and 2015's What the world needs now). A more comprehensive PIL compilation, the four-disc Plastic Box, was released in 1999.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Q	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

"Side one provides a chilling testimony to the boy Lydon's vengeful slaying of his own two-chord punk-monster creation", noted Charlie Dick in Q. "The big commercial hits [...] take up side two while the second disc exorcises the older and wiser Antichrist's assault on stadium rock."[4]

Track listing

1. "Public Image" (from Public Image: First Issue)
2. "Death Disco" (7" mix of the track from Metal Box)
3. "Memories" (from Metal Box)
4. "Careering" (from Metal Box)
5. "Flowers of Romance" (from The Flowers of Romance)
6. "This Is Not a Love Song" (from This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get)
7. "Rise" (new remix of the track from Album)
8. "Home" (from Album)
9. "Seattle" (from Happy?)
10. "The Body" (extended version of the track from Happy?)
11. "Rules and Regulations" (from Happy?)
12. "Disappointed" (extended version of the track from 9)
13. "Warrior" (remixed version of the track from 9)
14. "Don't Ask Me" (new track, also released as a single)

References

1. "[John Lydon interview]". Select. December 1990.
2. Cocatalog.loc.uk United States Copyright Office website
3. Kellman, Andy. "The Greatest Hits, So Far – Public Image Ltd. AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
4. "[''The Greatest Hits, So Far'' review]". Q. November 1990.
5. Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Public Image Ltd.". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 662–63. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.