Too musically gymnastic and adventurous for pop, too pop- smart to be full-blown proggers, It Bites tried to live simultaneously in both of those disparate worlds. Finding it mission: impossible, after seven years, a bunch of singles (only Calling All The Heroes penetrated the Top 50) and three diamond-studded yet strangely underappreciated studio albums, they called it quits in 1990.
As with any Best Of, Terms & Conditions apply: the compilers’ choice of what constitutes ‘best of’ is final, even if questionable. Of this 12-track choice, the compilers also reserve the right to include a full 10 tracks that appeared on EMI’s superior 16-track 2003 compilation (the other two being the cracking I Got You Eating Out Of My Hand and the studio version of the wonderfully overblown ballad You’ll Never Go To Heaven).
The marketing department also reserve the right to give this 2014 Best Of exactly the same title as that 2003 Best Of, regardless of any confusion this may cause. Given the two quite different audiences It Bites appeal to, plus the existence of the previous Best Of, it would seem to have made more sense to put out an album of the band’s best pop nibbles and another separate album of their best full-fat prog. But when did making sense ever bother people in record companies?
