The reunion that inspired this collection was of debatable wisdom--the title of the rather limp comeback single, "Tell Me When", couldn't help but prompt the response "About a decade ago, you daft old buggers"--but the collection itself is, almost by definition, unimpeachable. The Human League at their best performed that rarest of feats--defined a moment, and transcended it. Any reputation that can survive a shocker like "The Lebanon"--it of the oft-quoted, rarely bettered and, frankly, still hilarious "And where there used to be some shops / Is where the snipers sometimes hide" lyrical own goal is built on sturdy foundations indeed. The songs on Greatest Hits are, simply put, as good as pop gets: "Don't You Want Me", "Mirror Man", "Fascination" and, well, all of them, amount to the definitive exercise in storming the charts entirely on one's own terms. Before The Human League, bands were supposed to choose between being cool and being successful: the indie underachiever ethic was beginning to exert its clammy grip on the alternative sector. The Human League, like ABC at around the same time, were too smart to fall for any such nonsense--what was the point of pop if it wasn't popular? And this is why people still love the songs on this album and nobody talks all that much about The Close Lobsters. The history of popular music is a history of cheap, disposable pop music for kids triumphing over serious, intelligent rock music for grown-ups (The Jacksons' "I Want You Back" still fills dance floors; Genesis's "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" reliably empties rooms). The Human League joined the winning side, and taught it to play better than ever. --Andrew Mueller