Released a year shy of their thirtieth anniversary, post grunge icons Bush are issuing their first career-spanning hits collection. 'Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994 - 2023', charts their journey from London's Shepherd's Bush to international acclaim.
Bush couldn't have landed at a better time. Bursting onto the music scene in 1994 with the mega selling 'Sixteen Stone', their edgy post grunge sound was perfect for the times. Coming in the year that Kurt Cobain passed, the band formed in Shepherd's Bush, London by singer guitarist Gavin Rossdale and guitarist Nigel Pulsford had a sound not far removed from Nirvana, and as a result, scored huge success, particularly in America.
Though they never topped that initial burst, they've come a long way since then, and 'Loaded' looks back over a career that has seen them sell over 24 million records, and achieve 1 billion streams.
Presented chronologically, 'Loaded' tells their story from gritty alt rock act to their more polished contemporary 2023 guise. Opening back where it started, with the sludgy guitars of 'Everything Zen' (also track one on 'Sixteen Stone'), it's a fantastic reminder of just how Bush seized the zeitgeist back in 1994. Signifying its significance, a further four tracks are lifted from the six-time platinum debut, including the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' aping 'Little Things', the hypnotic 'Comedown', the angsty 'Glycerine', and final single from the album 'Machinehead'.
Taking the Nirvana connection even further, album two, 'Razorblade Suitcase' was produced by Steve Albini, and served up more of the same. Proving almost as successful, it's represented by three tracks here. Lead single 'Swallowed' proved another another huge hit - even in the U.K. where it cracked the top ten - while the sludgy 'Greedy Fly' remains one of their most popular songs. There's also a trippy 'Stingray' remix of 'Mouth'.
With an evolving sound, 1999's 'The Science of Things' saw drum loops and electronic sounds employed to great effect, on singles 'The Chemicals Between Us', and mournsome ballad 'Letting the Cables Sleep', while 2001's 'Golden State' - represented here by singles 'The People That We Love' and the introspective 'Inflatable' - returned the band to a style more akin to their beginnings.
Splitting in 2002, they reformed in 2010 with a much more streamlined sound, as evidenced by propulsive 2011 single 'The Sound of Winter', and more so, 2014's 'The Only Way Out'. Shorn of their rougher edges with much less focus on Rossdale's Fender Jaguar, they've been occupying the same lane ever since.
Bringing things bang up to date, the band have recorded a brand new track in 'Nowhere to Go But Everywhere', which (aside from a cover of Beatles' classic 'Come Together') closes out the album. Harking back to their early sound, it brings things full circle on a career which will be three-decades in, come 2024.
Released on a stunning double LP set in clear vinyl with an accompanying booklet, it's a beautiful package. Eagle-eyed fans meanwhile will enjoy the detail in the booklet's back cover, which features the band's logos from the first and second albums, as well as the present day one.
Bush 'Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994 - 2023 is available now. Grab it here.
Though they never topped that initial burst, they've come a long way since then, and 'Loaded' looks back over a career that has seen them sell over 24 million records, and achieve 1 billion streams.
Presented chronologically, 'Loaded' tells their story from gritty alt rock act to their more polished contemporary 2023 guise. Opening back where it started, with the sludgy guitars of 'Everything Zen' (also track one on 'Sixteen Stone'), it's a fantastic reminder of just how Bush seized the zeitgeist back in 1994. Signifying its significance, a further four tracks are lifted from the six-time platinum debut, including the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' aping 'Little Things', the hypnotic 'Comedown', the angsty 'Glycerine', and final single from the album 'Machinehead'.
Taking the Nirvana connection even further, album two, 'Razorblade Suitcase' was produced by Steve Albini, and served up more of the same. Proving almost as successful, it's represented by three tracks here. Lead single 'Swallowed' proved another another huge hit - even in the U.K. where it cracked the top ten - while the sludgy 'Greedy Fly' remains one of their most popular songs. There's also a trippy 'Stingray' remix of 'Mouth'.
With an evolving sound, 1999's 'The Science of Things' saw drum loops and electronic sounds employed to great effect, on singles 'The Chemicals Between Us', and mournsome ballad 'Letting the Cables Sleep', while 2001's 'Golden State' - represented here by singles 'The People That We Love' and the introspective 'Inflatable' - returned the band to a style more akin to their beginnings.
Splitting in 2002, they reformed in 2010 with a much more streamlined sound, as evidenced by propulsive 2011 single 'The Sound of Winter', and more so, 2014's 'The Only Way Out'. Shorn of their rougher edges with much less focus on Rossdale's Fender Jaguar, they've been occupying the same lane ever since.
Bringing things bang up to date, the band have recorded a brand new track in 'Nowhere to Go But Everywhere', which (aside from a cover of Beatles' classic 'Come Together') closes out the album. Harking back to their early sound, it brings things full circle on a career which will be three-decades in, come 2024.
Released on a stunning double LP set in clear vinyl with an accompanying booklet, it's a beautiful package. Eagle-eyed fans meanwhile will enjoy the detail in the booklet's back cover, which features the band's logos from the first and second albums, as well as the present day one.
Bush 'Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994 - 2023 is available now. Grab it here.