Sony/Crimson CRIMCD683.
Gold. That most lustrous of all precious metals. When you've run out of superlatives (and let's face it, we've already had The Best Of..., The Very Best Of..., etc) then start with 'gold'. It'll be platinum next... or diamond...
So what have we got here? All of Mott's hits and nearly all their b-sides, together with some choice album tracks. What's interesting here is that some of these tracks rarely make it to compilations like this. So far, so good.
For Ian's solo material the picture is slightly less rosy. Yes, it's got Once Bitten Twice Shy (which was his biggest UK hit) and choice album tracks from the period ('75 - '77, '83). Again... so far, so good. But Ian's solo career has been going for over 45 years on numerous labels so there's nothing here from Schizophrenic (1979) or his more recent purple patch (starting with 2001's Rant). So in that respect it's a flawed compilation.
The sleeve notes are (for once) good, having been written by Mott/Hunter biographer Campbell Devine and the sound quality is excellent.
All in all a decent enough compilation, but for a career-spanning retrospective the listener will need to look elsewhere.