The Collection is the third of four compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s by the British alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band James

James (band)

James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...

. Released in 2004, almost three years after the band separated in December 2001, it contains an unusual mix of hit singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, key album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 tracks, B-sides

B-Sides

B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...

 and some rarer tracks, making the release useful for collectors. "So Long Marianne" (a cover of the Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

 song originally recorded for the 1991 tribute album I'm Your Fan) and "Confusion" (from the Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

Randall & Hopkirk is a British television series, produced by Working Title Films for BBC One. It is a remake of the 1960s television series Randall and Hopkirk and stars Vic Reeves as Hopkirk and Bob Mortimer as Randall, Emilia Fox as Jeannie, and Tom Baker as Wyvern.- Background :Two series...

soundtrack) appear here for the first time on any James release, "Once a Friend" for the first time on CD, "Lazy" for the first time on a UK release and "Coffee and Toast" for the first time as anything other than a download. The album was produced to provide a retrospective look at James' career; however, it was released with no marketing campaign and without any input from band members, generating little critical interest.

Track listing

1. "Sit Down
   Sit Down
   "Sit Down" is one of the most famous songs by James, released in 1989 by Rough Trade Records. In its seven-minute original form, the song only reached number 77 in the UK Singles Chart...
   
   "
2. "English Beefcake"
3. "Seven"
4. "Lazy"
5. "So Long Marianne"
6. "Getting Away With It All (All Messed Up)"
7. "Lost a Friend"
8. "Once a Friend"
9. "Coffee and Toast"
10. "Laid"
11. "Confusion"
12. "Heavens"
13. "She's a Star"
14. "Five-O"
15. "Out to Get You"
16. "I Know What I'm Here For"
17. "Lose Control (McGuire Mix)"
18. "Gold Mother (Warp Mix)"