Best Of

Despite great acclaim at the time The Czars remain one of Denver's best-kept secrets. Over the course of their career they couldn't quite turn critical salvos into commercial success. Then, when the band split up in 2004 after their fifth album - the presciently titled Goodbye - nothing was heard from any member for six years. So when John Grant reappeared in 2010 with his landmark solo debut Queen Of Denmark, some thought he was a new artist, without a back-story that stretches as far back as 1994 when the band originally formed.

The Best Of The Czars is made up predominantly from the run of three studio albums that Bella Union released between 2000 and 2004. Before… But Longer donates the first four songs, 2002's The Ugly People Vs The Beautiful People the next six, and Goodbye the next five. The final track is an exquisite reading of Tim Buckley's signature standard "Song To The Siren" taken from 2005's B-sides/covers compilation Sorry I Made You Cry.