Between 1971-72, the New World trio scored four UK hits of note, each of which distinguishes this (otherwise over-ambitious) collection. "Rose Garden" was a moderately successful pop rival to Lynn Anderson's contemporary country number; "Sister Jane" is a compulsory singalong; and "Kara Kara" is an irresistible slice of rhyming nonsense that should have been their biggest record ever. Instead, that honor went to "Tom Tom Turnaround," the smash hit version of a song that the early Sweet also recorded, and a recording that producer Mike Hurst later admitted he hated. "It was everything I disliked about pure pop, right down to the execrable talking bit." In fact, the only thing that salvaged it in his opinion was, it wasn't as bad as "Kara Kara."
The remainder of this collection trawls a career that, somewhat surprisingly, remained musically active until deep into 1973 -- and long after the record-buying public had forgotten the group. For the chance to relive those early hits, however, The Best Of New World is exactly what it says and, so long as you don't want to hear anything else that the band ever wrought, it's everything you could possibly need. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
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