| The Very Best of Level 42 | ||||
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | October 1998 | |||
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| Length | 76:36 | |||
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| Level 42 chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Very Best of Level 42 | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The Very Best of Level 42 is a greatest hits album by English jazz-funk band Level 42. It features a chronological track listing of the band's hit single releases from 1981 to 1994.
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [2] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Running in the Family is the seventh studio album by British band Level 42, released in 1987. It features the UK hit singles: "Lessons in Love", "Running in the Family", "To Be with You Again", "It's Over" and "Children Say". All five singles peaked in the Top 10 in the Netherlands. "Lessons in Love" peaked at No. 1 in Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and Denmark. This was the last Level 42 album of the 1980s to feature brothers Phil (drums) and Rowland 'Boon' Gould (guitar) who had cited dissatisfaction with the musical direction of the band and exhaustion as departure reasons.
Level 42 is the debut album released in August 1981 by the British group Level 42.
World Machine is the sixth studio album by British pop group Level 42, released in 1985. It was the band's breakthrough album internationally and features one of their most successful singles, "Something About You".
Guaranteed is the ninth studio album by the British musical group Level 42, released in 1991, their first album of the 1990s. The album was released by RCA records and it was the first Level 42 studio album released by a label other than Polydor.
The Early Tapes , also known as Strategy, is the second album released, but first to be recorded, by English jazz-funk group Level 42. Originally recorded for Elite Records, the band subsequently signed to Polydor, who bought the masters from Elite and issued it in March 1982. It features Level 42's first two singles—"Love Meeting Love" and "(Flying on The) Wings of Love".
Standing in the Light is the fourth studio album released in 1983 by English jazz-funk band Level 42 on Polydor Records. The album peaked at No. 9, being the group's first top 10 showing in the UK Pop Albums Chart. Standing in the Light has also been certified Gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry
The Pursuit of Accidents is the third studio album released by the jazz/funk British musical group Level 42, in 1982. It was issued on CD in 1985. It was re-issued on CD in 2000 as part of a two disc set with the album "Standing In The Light", and again in 2007 as a stand-alone disc. The album reached #17 on the UK album charts.
True Colours is the fifth studio album by the English jazz-funk band Level 42, released on 5 October 1984 by Polydor Records. Beyond the band's native United Kingdom, the album was released in 10-plus other countries, including Japan, Germany and the United States of America. The album peaked at #14 in the UK Albums Chart.
Staring at the Sun is the eighth studio album by British jazz/funk band Level 42, released in 1988. The album includes the singles "Heaven in My Hands", "Take a Look" and "Tracie".
Level Best is a compilation album featuring the most successful singles by the English band Level 42. It was released at the end of 1989, marking a decade since the band's beginnings.
"Take a Look" is a single released in 1988 by English jazz-funk band Level 42 from the album Staring at the Sun. It reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" is a single released in 1983 by English jazz-funk band Level 42. It is one of the few songs by the group which featured Mike Lindup on lead vocals (although Mark King did contribute as lead vocalist on this track). After the success of "The Chinese Way", and of the album The Pursuit of Accidents, this song featured on the newly released Standing in the Light album. The first single from the album, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind", did not obtain the expected success for the recording and for the members of the band, leaving the whole expectation for the second single.
"Heaven in My Hands" is a song by English jazz-funk band Level 42.
A Physical Presence is a two-disc live album by English jazz-funk band Level 42, released in June 1985 and recorded in England during March of that year at the Coronet Woolwich, the Hexagon, Reading and Goldiggers, Chippenham, Wiltshire. This album is notable for being the first live album by Level 42, and for containing a previously unreleased song and a live recording of a non-LP track. "Love Games" is preceded by an extended bass intro, which contains also part of "Dune Tune". Also, the first track starts with a taped intro which quotes "Hot Water".
"Tracie" is a song by English jazz-funk band Level 42, written by Gary Husband and Mark King, and recounts King's times with his childhood sweetheart, Tracie Wilson. It appeared on the band's 1988 album Staring at the Sun, and features keyboardist Mike Lindup playing harmonica.
The Definitive Collection is a greatest hits album by English jazz-funk band Level 42, released in June 2006. The album peaked at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart.
Past Lives – The Best of the RCA Years is a compilation released in 2007 by English jazz-funk band Level 42. The compilation has the greatest songs of the period 1991–1996, in which the band was with the label RCA/BMG. All songs were released on the studio albums Guaranteed (1991) and Forever Now (1994).
"Take Care of Yourself" is a song by English jazz-funk band Level 42, released on the compilation album Level Best in 1989. It was the last song recorded with guitarist Alan Murphy, who died on October 19, 1989, three days after the single was issued. The music video is a retrospective of rock styles from the 1960s through to the '80s, and features state-of-the-art animation. In some ways it is reminiscent of the video "We Close Our Eyes" by Go West. Mike Lindup, Gary Husband and Mark King appear several times dressed as hippies, punks and heavy metal musicians. Murphy did not appear in this video, but does appear in a video alongside King, Lindup and Husband recorded for RTL Veronique a few days before his death.
"Weave Your Spell" is a single by English jazz-funk band Level 42, released in 1982.
