Leave Me Breathless: The Corrs’ 2001 Compilation Reissued with Christine McVie Tributes
Originally released in 2001, The Corrs’ first greatest-hits collection – The Best of The Corrs – became one of the most beloved and most successful releases in their catalogue. Tomorrow, Rhino is re-releasing the collection with three bonus tracks, all celebrating the late Christine McVie and extending The Corrs’ relationship with one of their favorite bands, Fleetwood Mac.
Siblings Jim Corr, Sharon Corr, Caroline Corr, and Andrea Corr of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland came together in the early 1990s, initially playing gigs at their aunt’s pub before landing a plum gig as performers in director Alan Parker’s Ireland-set musical film The Commitments. Before long, the Corrs were invited to appear at various high-profile sporting events (including the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia) and then to serve as Celine Dion’s support act for the chanteuse’s Falling Into You tour. Uber-producer David Foster took an interest in The Corrs, and the rest is history; they were signed to Atlantic and made their debut with Forgiven, Not Forgotten in 1995. Largely helmed by Foster, Forgiven blended traditional Irish sounds with a pop and rock sheen. The Corrs earned American fans when they appeared on an episode of the teen-themed drama Beverly Hills 90210 to perform the title track. Though the album failed to peak in the top half of the U.S. Billboard 200, it was eventually certified Gold in the U.S. and fared much better internationally, including in the U.K. where it reached No. 2 on the Albums Chart. In Ireland, it’s a 13x Platinum album.
1997’s Talk On Corners reunited the family band with Foster while bringing on other top-tier producers including Glen Ballard, Oliver Leiber (son of the famed Jerry Leiber), and the team of Billy Steinberg and Rick Nowels. The band teamed with a number of established hitmakers to write the LP’s material, too, including Carole Bayer Sager (the single “I Never Loved You Anyway,” “Don’t Say You Love Me”), Oliver Leiber and John Shanks (lead single “Only When I Sleep,” “Hopelessly Addicted”), Neil Giraldo, Steinberg, and Nowels (“Intimacy”). The Corrs contributed a cover of Stevie Nicks’ “Dreams” around this time for a Mac tribute album, and Mick Fleetwood returned the favor by joining The Corrs for a March 1998 concert in London. “Dreams” was added to certain pressings as a bonus track, and it reached No. 1 in the U.K. as a result. It reached No. 72 on the Billboard 200 and has since been certified Gold (as well as 9x Platinum in England and 20x in Ireland.)
In Blue, released in 2000, finally gave The Corrs their U.S. breakthrough. Lead single “Breathless,” co-written and produced by Mutt Lange (Shania Twain, Bryan Adams), made five Billboard charts including No. 34 on the Hot 100, No. 14 AC, and No. 7 on the Adult Top 40. A No. 1 in the U.K., it was an international success. Both “Breathless” and “Rebel Heart,” an instrumental, earned Grammy nominations for The Corrs. (The latter had been previously introduced on their live MTV Unplugged album.) Mitchell Froom (Los Lobos, Elvis Costello) contributed additional production to numerous tracks on In Blue, and it peaked at No. 1 in the U.K. and a more-than-respectable No. 21 in the United States.
The Best of The Corrs drew on all three studio albums plus MTV Unplugged and the Fleetwood Mac tribute album Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Rather than simply reprising all of the album versions, though, remixes and edits were included. Additionally, the compilation was bookended by two previously unreleased cuts (“Would You Be Happier” and “Make You Mine”). The 2024 edition adds three more, all composed by Christine McVie and recorded with her famous band: “Little Lies,” “Everywhere,” and “Songbird.” (Bonus tracks from various international editions of The Best of The Corrs do not appear here.) With sales of over 5 million units worldwide, The Best of The Corrs remains a potent distillation of the band’s early discography. The band’s seventh and most recent studio album, Jupiter Calling, was released in 2017.
Look for it tomorrow from Atlantic/Rhino at the links below! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
The Best of The Corrs (originally released as Lava/Atlantic/143 7567-93073-2, 2001 – reissued EastWest/Rhino, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
* new track
Disc 1
- Would You Be Happier?
- So Young (K-Klass Remix)
- Runaway
- Breathless
- Radio (Unplugged)
- What Can I Do (Tin Tin Out Remix)
- The Right Time
- I Never Loved You Anyway
- Irresistible
- Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Disc 2
- Lough Erin Shore (Unplugged)
- Only When I Sleep
- Love to Love You
- All the Love in the World (Pop Remix)
- Everybody Hurts (Unplugged)
- Give Me a Reason
- Dreams
- Make You Mine
- Little Lies *
- Everywhere *
- Songbird *
Disc 1, Track 1 and Disc 2, Track 8 released on original version of this compilation
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 2, 6 and 8 and Disc 2, Tracks 2 and 7 from Talk on Corners – Lava/Atlantic/143 7567-83051-2, 1997
- Disc 1, Track 2 from Lava/Atlantic/143 U.K. CD single AT0057CD1, 1998
- Disc 1, Track 6 from Lava/Atlantic/143 U.K. CD single AT0044CD, 1998
Disc 1, Tracks 3, 7 and 10 and Disc 2, Track 3 from Forgiven, Not Forgotten – Lava/Atlantic/143 7567-92612-2, 1995
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 4 and 9 and Disc 2, Tracks 4 and 6 from In Blue – Lava/Atlantic/143 7567-83352-2, 2000
- Disc 2, Track 4 from Lava/Atlantic/143 U.K. CD single 7567-85210-2, 2002
Disc 1, Track 5 and Disc 2, Tracks 1 and 5 from Unplugged – Lava/Atlantic/143 7567-80986-2, 1999
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This is a very bad reissue for a GH. It ignores 4 albums and many tracks included in the “Dreams: The Ultimate Collection” GH album. I can get this is a very successful collection, but why not making it a bit more comprehensive and adding all the singles ? It doesn’t make much sense and it looks like just a very lazy project. The Corrs discography deserves way better than this.