Marshall Crenshaw has made a lot of good records over the years, and he is still considered a vital artist by both fans and critics. But, he has never surpassed the glittering brilliance of his self-titled debut. From start to finish, that album just pops. "Someday Someway," ""Cynical Girl," "Brand New Lover" and all the rest were the result of several years work refining his craft, and any subsequent releases were inevitably going to suffer in comparison. Rhino Records' reissue of Marshall Crenshaw just makes it all the more tasty.

The follow-up, Field Day, is very good despite Steve Lillywhite's mushy overproduction; Crenshaw's fine third record, the T-Bone Burnett-helmed Downtown, is his darkest. (Unfortunately, it and several other albums are no longer available on CD.) His next several releases were simply OK, but Crenshaw's recent Razor & Tie albums (which include a live set and a collection of early demos) are better. Crenshaw's melodic style is highly distinctive, and his songs take the best qualities of early rock 'n' roll and renew them for our postmodern age. Rhino's This Is Easy: The Very Best Of Marshall Crenshaw is great, and it contains rare material. However, it should be viewed as a companion to the debut, not a replacement.