The Very Best of the Associates

While yet another Associates compilation verges on overkill, this two disc effort, as opposed to both Popera and Singles, keeps the focus almost exclusively on the original Billy Mackenzie/Alan Rankine dynamic, so if the title is a bit forced, it certainly has the greatest commercial successes. The first disc concentrates on the singles up through “18 Carat Love Affair” and their cover of “Love Hangover,” while the second disc compiles various rarities from other reissues, including their delightful cover of the Barry and Paul Ryan hit “Eloise.”