Collections, compilations, best-ofs, greatest hits, etc. Note that some of these (Collections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) are of doubtful, kiosk-like provenance, where all of the money goes to some muscled nubbin-knob in a track suit and none goes to Boris. (As opposed to the legit albums, where only part of the money goes to some muscled, track-suited nubbin-knob.) Except for Elizaveta, Milady of Infinite of Acquisition, the Bodhisattvas generally disdain collections as the sort of ticky-tacky icons and scapulars intended for the tourist trade: "Go Thou to the Sacred Source!" say we. However, for the financially timid Initiate offering his or her very first tithe, they offer a legitimate starting point, and if you're going to have only one Akvarium album in your possession (A GRAVE ERROR) you could do worse than one of these.
Ooh-la-la. Zis is zee French Collection, released orignally only Zere. Tracks are all "New Akvarium," drawn primarily from Russian Album, Kostroma, mon amour and Ramses IV, with a cognac-snifter's worth of Vertinskii covers thrown in to boot. Maik sez "Vive la France! Beantown, mon amour!" and declares it the best of the available "collection" albums. "Magnifique! Auguste!" seconds Elizaveta, buttering her croissant...
A "best-of" cd. Pick up a pile of them to give away as gifts for friends back home when you travel to Russia. Perhaps a more humane proselytizing tool than Acoustics for people who wont have an opportunity to buy scads of Akvarium—no mortal can listen to this disc and not think Akvarium is brilliant.
Part of the "Legends of Russian Rock" series." Whoever's picking the best obviously aren't Gurus, but for all that, the collection's not half bad. This series is also a good development if only because one of the series' marketing gimmick tie-ins is notebooks for schoolchildren (see Wish List) featuring bands that appear in the series. This is a good trend, of course, because it means that there may be advanced youngsters doodling on Art's "Dyk yoly paly" t-shirt, or drawing "Taboo" hair on Boris when they're bored in class. If these notebooks didn't exist, they'd be on our wish list. Everyone shout, "More Akvarium stuff geared toward the youth!"
Still more selected songs from Original Akvarium albums, including: Blue Album, Triangle, Electricity, Taboo, Acoustics, Radio Africa, and Equinox.
Gigundo, 3 disc collection of 56 songs that spans nearly 25 years of Akvariumana.
Selected songs from early Akvarium albums: Triangle, Acoustics, Electricity, Taboo, Silver Day, December's Children, and Ten Arrows.
Yup. You guessed it. Yet another friggin' complilation. Songs chosen from Radio Africa, Blue Album, Electricity, Taboo, Acoustics, Equinox, Radio Silence, and Favorite Songs of Ramses IV.