The Very Best of Kirby: 52 Hit Tracks (KIRBY04-2)
 

The following is resurrected from a thread I created back in October 2004. Some changes have been made.

This is an album featuring 52 tracks from a total of 12 different Kirby games (actually, 11 + SSBM) on a single disc.

Tracklist available at Chudah's Corner:
http://chudahs-corner.com/soundtrack...alog=KIRBY04-2

First made aware to me by the great #gamemp3s release a while back, I was astounded when I saw that this album was actually available, and for sale right at CocoeBiz.com. Needless to say, I obtained my copy. It's a shame that nobody has picked one up since then; I thought these would be flying off the shelf.

GOOD:

• It contains many of the best and most classic Kirby tracks.
• While the track lengths vary (some have a second loop whereas others don't, depending on the length of a verse and the song structure), I never had any problems with this, and found it well managed for a 52-track disc.
• Lots of music spanning a great variety of titles.
• Sound production/mastering/whatever is excellent.

BAD:

• It's missing several of my favorite Kirby tracks.
• Track order is somewhat arbitrary (though I personally observe some patterns in it that seem logical).
• A few songs on this album are questionable choices for a "Very Best" album.
• A couple too many Air Ride tracks, even though I personally enjoy them all.

CONCLUSION:
This album is not a be-all end-all compilation of Kirby music, and in all honesty, it would be impossible to do so on a single disc. There are several hours worth of great Kirby music that just can't all be boiled down to a perfect package. Regardless of any shortcomings, this album is still excellent. I can listen to the whole thing over and over and enjoy pretty much every track. While whether it's "the very best" is subjective, it's easy to see this selection still kicks ass. At the value of the music itself, this could easily be one of this years' finest soundtrack releases.

If you haven't heard Kirby music before, this is an excellent way to jump right in. If you have heard Kirby before, chances are you liked it, and should give this album a listen. If you're a Kirby fan, buy this album; it's the ultimate collector item and it sounds terrific.

NOTE: This album is no longer available for sale. :-/