Greatest Hits... So Far!!! By Pink

When a greatest hits album is released by a still-active musician, it almost comes across as a bit of a retirement announcement. When an artist gets to the point where they have enough chart toppers to fill an album on their own, it usually means that they're at the end of their career and just about ready to either pack it in, or make a living as basically their own cover band, playing their top hits at city festivals and big pub venues to cash in on their once-exciting career. (Need proof? Take a look at Chuck Berry and pretty much any group that was big in the eighties. Pink is a very different story.

The album title, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!, sums it up. Funky diva, Pink, still hotter than hot, is not ready to start slowing down, and were sure theres plenty more exciting stuff to come. This greatest hits album is just a marker along the way, a recap of the story so far (in case you missed it!).

Greatest Hits... So Far!!! By Pink is sort of a declaration of exactly the same liveliness and youthful energy that Pink is known for. She's very much of her time. While only time will tell if her songs have any real lasting power, the message this album seems to put forth is that, for now, who cares? She's hot right now and fans cant get enough of her.

Now, obviously, greatest hits albums are for a certain type of listener: not the complet-ist, not the hardcore fan, but the listener who wants to keep those catchy top 40 tunes at hand to pop into the CD player whenever they want.

In that sense, the hardest of hardcore Pink fans will already own nearly everything on this album and they're more concerned with the new songs on here: Raise Your Glass and F***in' Perfect, so let's cover those right up front.

You've heard Raise Your Glass on the radio, and anyone who digs Pink can tell you that it has everything that makes her so likable: pop-punk stylings, a catchy hook and a message that resonates well with young listeners.

F'n Perfect, on the other hand, is surprisingly edgy when compared with a lot of her work. Where Pink typically plays it relatively safe, providing something that's just punk enough to be played on the radio, F'n Perfect is something a lot of fans have been wanting to see from her: a song that's more from the heart and less radio safe.

The acoustic backing provides a nice compliment to her voice and makes you wish she'd release more music along the lines of this track, even as the glossy production seems to contradict the spirit of the song.

The positive response to the track also seems to suggest that Pink might do well to try venturing further outside of the radio-safe punk sound and maybe craft an album that really is as dirty, raw and grungy as she plays at being. Her hardcore fans would almost definitely be behind such a move, and purist punk fans would probably welcome a new face on the scene.

The track listings, as far as the "Greatest Hits" part goes are pretty much perfect. If you want to listen to some Pink now and then, but you don't feel like owning her whole discography, this album will give you exactly what you need. From the playfully evocative U + Ur Hand to the floor-filling Get This Party Started, the album serves as a more or less perfect portrait of Pink as an artist.