Westlife Greatest Hits Cd

[Arridano Tillo]

GreatestHits is the second greatest hits album release by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 18 November 2011 by RCA Records and Sony Music. Greatest Hits follows their previous compilation Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2002) and was their last before their split in the months following its release. The album is the group's first album not under Syco Music and not under the tutelage of Simon Cowell, having left Syco and Cowell in March 2011. The album contains 14 singles spanning throughout the band's career and 4 new songs produced by John Shanks. The standard edition of the album contains eighteen tracks; an expanded deluxe edition features a bonus disc and a DVD containing nearly all of the band's music videos up to that point. The album's lead single "Lighthouse" was released on 14 November 2011.

Greatest Hits received mixed reviews from music critics, with some reviewers praising the compilation's structure, while others disliked the group's musical style. The compilation reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart, and has sold more than 900,000 units being certified 3 Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry as of June 2024.[1] The album debuted at the No. 1 position on the Irish Albums Chart and performed moderately elsewhere.

On 5 September 2011, it was confirmed the album would be simply titled Greatest Hits.[2] On 12 October 2011, the group announced the track listing on their official website.[3] Amazon.co.uk and Play.com released editions that included free postcards and member signatures.[4] A limited-release signed edition sold out in less than 24 hours.[5]

There are four new tracks on the standard edition: "Beautiful World" (written by Feehily, Shanks and Ruth-Anne Cunningham), "Wide Open" and "Last Mile of the Way" (co-written by Byrne, Filan, Dimitri Ehrlich, Coyle Girelli) and the lead single "Lighthouse". The new tracks on the album were recorded from May - September 2011 with the band's Gravity producer Shanks and new producers Dan Radclyffe and Boxsta Martin. Bryne said that the new tracks took "four or five weeks" to record.[6] In 2014, Dimitri Ehrlich, co-writer of the song "Last Mile of the Way", posted a demo of the song on his SoundCloud account.[7]

The album photoshoot took place in South Africa starting on 17 September 2011, alongside the lead single music video shoot.[8][9] On 12 October 2011, the official site posted the album artwork.[3] Julia Simpson of Yahoo OMG! UK reported: "the artwork for their brand new album sees them striking one of their best model poses yet."[10]

Greatest Hits received mixed reviews from music critics. Critics that positively received the album praised the album's track listing and new songs, particularly "Beautiful World". Reviewers that criticized the album also noted the group's repetitive formula in their songs.

Only Westlife could stretch the definition of greatest hits to its full potential. For four years now the band has stolen the hearts of our nation's youth, clocking up a record-breaking eleven number 1 singles and 3 multi-million selling albums along the way. With recent single "Unbreakable" topping up this total, there seems no end in sight for the unprecedented success of these Irish boys.

Unbreakable (the album) is a chronological showcase of their career to date. From debut "Swear It Again" and the karaoke-favourite "Flying Without Wings" to the Cliff Richard cover and forthcoming single "Miss You Nights", the Westlife formula is blatant. They know how to ham it up for the ladies and are masters of the sentimental power ballad, smouldering sincerity and well-rehearsed harmonies.

Maybe it's just that they offer a change in tempo to the staple of the bands' fodder but Westlife sound at their best when they loosen their hips and rock out a bit. "World Of Our Own" is a stormer of a pop song and goes at least some way to excusing their more painful moments, such as "What Makes A Man" and the weedy "My Love".

"When You're Looking Like That" (despite sounding like the illegitimate child of A1 and Boyzone) gives fans the chance to stop sobbing into their Nicky pillows and tap their feet for a moment. Westlife however know their place in pop and the 6 new tracks featured here all show a lean further and further towards more grown up songs as their audience matures and the lure of the US market beckons.

Greatest Hits have a habit of being a final nail in the coffin for many a band before them (remember Steps and Five?), but there still seems to be enough steam in Westlife's engine to keep them going for a while yet.

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