Rhino / Wea
2005
Better Than Ezra: Greatest Hits
About This Album
Better Than Ezra were one of a handful of bands that were caught between the chasm of legit post-Nirvana alt-rock and the legions of commercially minded post-grungers of the mid-'90s. Truth be told, they never seemed to fully belong to the indie-bred aesthetic of '90s alt-rock, not even in the way that the Gin Blossoms were a clear outgrowth of jangle pop -- they were just a guitar rock band who rode the post-grunge wave to the top of the modern rock charts in 1995 with "Good," and then had several other radio and MTV hits over the next five years, highlighted by "King of New Orleans," "In the Blood," "Rosealia," and "Desperately Wanting." One thing Ezra shared with most '90s bands was their keen sense of earnestness -- they really meant it, man, and that po-faced sincerity meant that their music could sometime seem generic, something that Elektra/Rhino's 2005 career overview, Greatest Hits, confirms. Apart from the aforementioned singles -- all available here in their radio-ready single versions, thankfully, which includes a handful of single remixes -- they didn't really craft memorable hooks, and whenever they did, their hooks were ingratiating, not immediate.
Track List (try tracks 1,8,12,14,15 and 16)

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