Songwriter/ music journalists Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs founded Saint Etienne in the late 80s as an effort to integrate dance rhythms into British pop music in a way that had never been attempted. They were largely successful, at least in the UK, with their catchy tunes which both recalled 60's/ 70's pop with elements of the burgeoning electronica scene. Saint Etienne's debut Fox Base Alpha was their only release without Sarah Cracknell as a full-time vocalist, whose trademark vocals and highly stylized image would quickly come to define the band's persona. Fox Base Alpha sported the bands first breakthrough single, a cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart, with vocals by Moira Lambert. A less-stylized version of what would come, Nothing Can Stop Us became the seed for the successful formula that would follow.

He's On The Phone has always been my favorite Etienne track, and it acts as a nice center point to the disc's 18 tracks. Cracknell's voice riding about the thumping bassline and noodly keyboards verges on the elemental. Lyrically vapid as many pop songs can be- "She never meant to call, but she did anyway. And now he's trying to find the words to say..." - the tune is nevertheless one I dare you to dislike.

Cracknell's voice has always been as smooth and alluring as her smile, and she is undeniable on the 18 tracks here. There are no low points, only points of interest, daring diversions (check out the song structure of How We Used To Live). Their recent offerings Sounds Of Water and Finisterre show the band as strong as ever. Indeed, some of the more recent tracks like Lose That Girl, Finisterre and Sylvie are some of the band's finest moments. Sylvie is a great Abba by way of Ibiza power ballad. The abrupt tempo changes on Goodnight Jack and How We Used To Live found the band verging into an almost progressive sound, but this exploration never veered beyond these isolated instances. They were both tasty surprises nonetheless, that showcased another side of the band, and it's nice to see that they saw fit to include the tracks on their best of.

Most of the band's high points are hit on Travel Edition. The only notable omissions would be tracks like Join Our Club, You're In A Bad Way and the sublime Who Do You Think You Are, but really I can't tell you which tracks I would remove to make room for them. The collection also includes the breathy new track Fascination as well as the previously very-difficult-to-get Primrose Hill, an early instrumental track.

Listening to Travel Edition, it becomes clear how influential the band have been to pop, dance and Britpop music in the last 15 years. In the end, this is simply two bookish guys on keyboards writing catchy as hell candy pop for a voice as flawless as they come. With Travel Edition, Subpop have done an superb job distilling the best from Saint Etienne's illustrious career.