The Very Best Things (CD)

Anyone wondering whether Richard Patrick should have departed Nine Inch Nails to form alterna-industrial frontrunners Filter can judge by this concise 12-track collection (they only released four records over VERY BEST's 13-year span). THINGS is unsurprisingly buoyed by the band's smash singles, "Hey Man Nice Shot" and "Take A Picture." But those disparate tracks, and their chronological sequencing, only highlight the unpredictable and underrated path Patrick walked as a songwriter. From his days as a post-Ministry, grunge-era fuzz-thrasher up through contemplative ballads and textured, melodic pop arrangements, Richard Patrick and Filter made their mark as one of industrial rock's biggest crossover innovators.