Morcheeba: Part of the Process

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * *)

When they hit town to play a show a few months back, the English trio said this would be it for Morcheeba for a while.

After spending the latter part of the 90s delivering four albums which shifted from airy trip-hop to tranquil dance-pop, it's time to do something else other than trips to the bank to deposit the inevitably large proceeds of this, their greatest hits mop-up.

Because they were never particularly groundbreaking but a reliable and effortlessly tuneful singles outfit, a compilation of their hits and near-misses makes this 18-tracker effectively best album of their career.

They're all here, from the coastal meditations of The Sea and the similarly downbeat mix of guitars and turntables of the title track, to the exuberant pop goofiness of Rome Wasn't Built In A Day.

Add in their offbeat collaborations with Big Daddy Kane and Lambchop's Kurt Wagner and a couple of new tracks and Part of the Process feels like a big bottle of pop sunshine.

Label: Wea