December 08, 2005

AND so begins the summer of discontent for fans of new music.

Instead of the next big thing, the only thing ringing will be the cash registers as hundreds of thousands of greatest hits albums are snapped up to stuff Christmas stockings. Your dad still hasn't got a Queen compilation?

Excellent, because the 724th version of their Platinum Collection - shouldn't it be called the Titanium Collection by now - is out and a "must-have" for the father who already has every single song the band ever recorded plus bootlegs, remixes and live versions.

Mum so needs the four-CD box set of Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook because the individual CDs you gave her for each Mother's Day, birthday and Christmas for the past few years just don't make the grade anymore.

Baby sister will surely cry with joy when she opens Take That's Never Forget - The Ultimate Collection. So what if she wasn't even born when the gruesome fivesome that spawned Robbie Williams Solo Artist were at the top of the charts?

Maybe the Backstreet Boys' Greatest Hits Vol 1 (wait, there's more?) or N*SYNC Greatest Hits would be more to her liking.

As for your brother or boyfriend, Eminem's Curtain Call hit compilation is a sure bet. In fact, it is the only greatest hits package worth buying this Christmas because firstly, he has never released one before and secondly, it has three new tracks. Definitely value for money here.

For the next month, record labels and music retailers launch a full tilt marketing assault to wring every last cent out of catalogue albums including best-ofs and major artist albums.

Already 15 of the top 50 albums on the ARIA chart are greatest hits or covers albums, including Human Nature's Reach Out: The Motown Record (No 2) and The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (No 35).

In the couple of weeks before Christmas Day, expect that number to almost double.

There is no disputing the attractiveness of these releases as quick and easy stocking stuffers. But the problem is, that is all they are now.

Greatest hits collections used to be a symbol of a long and successful career, a gift to the loyal fans who bought the albums and put up with the filler songs which fell between the favourites.

In the past decade, they have become a money-making, contractual obligation which can be exercised whether the artist likes it or not.

It was no surprise Savage Garden's label wanted to immediately release a compilation to mark the end of the band, despite the fact the duo had only released two albums in their short and hugely successful career.

Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones had managed to stall them for several years, perhaps with the false hope they may get back together and write some new material.

Truly Madly Completely - The Best of Savage Garden was released a few weeks ago, has sold more than 35,000 copies and should end up platinum by the time the stores close on Christmas Eve.

"To be honest, the record company had been threatening to put out a 'best of' since the day after we broke up," Hayes said recently.

"We were, like, 'F... off, give us a break.' They could have done it at any point. John Woodruff (who signed them to a production deal in 1994) was amazing in putting them off, because when we did it, we wanted to make it an incredible package, and they respected that."

So while movie fans will enjoy the best movies of the year this summer and culture vultures can revel in the Sydney Festival, music fans looking for something new should switch onto iTunes because that's the only place you're going to find songs you haven't heard before in the next few weeks.

In fact, why not make up your own greatest hits compilations by downloading - legally, please - your favourite tunes from your most beloved artists.

Then the record companies could stop clogging Christmas with them and we wouldn't have to wait until mid-January for the new Strokes album.