Personnel: Sarah McLachlan (vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, classical guitar, piano); Pierre Marchand (guitars, organ, keyboards, glockenspiel, drum machine, percussion); David Sinclair (guitars, background vocals); Bill Dillon (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Stephen Nikleva, Michel Pepin (electric guitar); Darren Phillips (keyboards, drums); Vince Jones (keyboards); Jim Creeggan (upright bass); Daryl Exnicious, Dave Kershaw, Brian Minato (bass guitar); Matt Chamberlain (drums, percussion); Lou Shefano, Paul Brennan , Ronald Jones , Ashwin Sood (drums).
Additional personnel: Michael Chaves, Mark Jowett (guitars); Yves Desrosiers (electric guitar, lap steel guitar, bass instrument); Jorane (cello); Tony Levin (bass guitar); Camille Henderson (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Greg Reely.
Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig.
Arranger: Pierre Marchand.
Summing up the first 15 years of her recording career, CLOSER: THE BEST OF SARAH MCLACHLAN is a near perfect overview of the Canadian singer-songwriter. Over the course of 27 songs on two CDs, the anthology provides all McLachlan's best known songs and a number of more obscure fan favorites in neatly chronological order. Chronicling her rise from a Kate Bush-influenced singer-songwriter to the creator of the Lilith Fair generation to her more recent status as a much beloved and influential figure for a new generation of female singer-songwriters, CLOSER: THE BEST OF SARAH MCLACHLAN is hard to improve upon. The set includes all five of McLachlan's Billboard Top 40 hits, including the Top 5 smashes "Angel" and "Aida." There are also two new songs, "U Want Me 2" (available here in two different mixes) and "Don't Give Up On Us."
Professional Reviews
Blender (Magazine) (p.81) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The new 'Don't Give Up on Us,' a relationship-mender that's sleek on the outside, troubled on the inside, restores her awesomeness."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[McLachlan is] a traditional singer-songwriter who's not averse to adopting the occasional contemporary trapping."
