One record at a time: 248. Level 42 - Level Best

This singles compilation served as an introduction to Level 42 for many people back in the late eighties and, judging by the number of my school friends who bought it, it sold in droves.

Most of the more immediate and pop orientated tracks are included here and the more casual fan will be left satisfied by the likes of "Something About You", "Running in the Family" and "Lessons In Love". There's also one new song "Take Care Of Yourself" that was released as a single in an attempt to draw attention, but it can't be considered amongst the band's best and I doubt it did much to drive sales.

For many years I only owned "Level Best" on CD but in 2018 I added this copy of the original UK LP to my collection. Aside from the medium, the principal difference between this and the CD is that the tracks "Micro Kid", "Take A Look", "To Be With You Again" and "The Chant Has Begun" are all absent. I can forgive the omission of "The Chant Has Begun" and even "Take a Look", but to ignore the wonderful "To Be With You Again" is criminal. Whilst a bit superficial, this is a good collection that is still capable of drawing in the uninitiated. 4/5

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