The Singles is the first greatest hits album by English electronic music duoBasement Jaxx, released on 21 March 2005 via XL. The album contains two new songs, "Oh My Gosh" and "U Don't Know Me", which were both released as singles. "Do Your Thing" was previously included in the 2001 Rooty album, but with the release of this compilation album, the single was re-released in the UK after the two aforementioned singles. Later editions of The Singles, included the "JaxxHouz" radio edit of "U Don't Know Me", in place of the original album version. A special edition of the release included a second disc of previously unreleased material.
Background and release
Talking about the compilation, Buxton told Canadian music magazineThe Record: "Oh My Gosh" was the first single from the album. Released simultaneously with the album was The Videos, a video album containing the group's music videos, several live tracks, and four extra video clips.
Critical reception
Andy Kellman from AllMusic gave the album a very positive review, calling it "a timely and nearly faultless stop-gap compilation." PopMatters ranked the album 19th-best reissues of 2005.
On 6 June 2005, it was announced last-minute that the duo would replace Kylie Minogue as headliners for the 2005 Glastonbury Festival, due to Minogue being diagnosed with breast cancer. According to The Guardian, the reactions to this news were "muted". Basement Jaxx' headlining was said to be a departure from the usual rock bands that used to headline the festival, as was Minogue's planned appearance. While performing onstage, Scottish musician Bobby Gillespie called the band "Cocksuckers – no offence to cocksuckers," before slating everyone from Minogue to the crowd itself and eventually getting booed off stage. Basement Jaxx's vocalist Vula Malinga recalls: "I remember us girls were like 'WHAT? Shut Up! Come on let's take him! Warrrgh', but the guys were just like 'Everyone's entitled to their opinion.' In the end I think the crowd spoke for itself." Despite heavy rainfall during the year's festival, the duo's performance was well received. They also included a carnival version of Motörhead's "Ace of Spades" in their set.
Track listing
Charts
Certifications
''The Videos''
The Videos is a DVD by Basement Jaxx containing all official music videos, several live tracks, and four extra video clips. It was released at the same time as The Singles.
