''The Definitive Anthology'' is the third

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album by Australian rock musician

Richard Clapton Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and " I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top& ...

. The album was released in October 1999 to coincide with his induction into the

ARIA Hall of Fame Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has inducted artists into its annual ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone ceremo ...

at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1999 The 13th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) was held on 12 October 1999 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Hosted by Paul McDermott and Bob Downe, and prese ...

. The album covers songs from his career in chronological order, including two new tracks. The album peaked at number 28 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. Talking about the track selection Clapton said "It was not a simple project, as there is so much music and culling it was painful at times. But it was a lot of fun. I looked back at my earlier songs when I was compiling this and I found that the naivete of some of them was really quite cute. I had a lot of fun with it."

Reception

Warner Music said "One of the beauties of the ''Richard Clapton Definitive Anthology'' is simply the timelessness of his songs. The music, the song structures, the imagery and that distinctive voice all combines to create a sense of warmth and knowing, but doesn't allow any song to be pigeon-holed into any particular time frame." Continuing to say "From the opening bar of track one, to the final moments of the album, this is an astonishing bed of work from a singer, performer and master songwriter- an artist who has been as much a part of the musical lives of hippies, surfers, inner city dwellers and corporate suits. There is no song that you will skip past and no song that is not familiar. It's actually amazing just how many times you'll find yourself singing along to songs that you didn't realise you knew. Such is the power and subtle skills of Richard's words and blissful waves of gentle rock."

Track listing

Charts

Certification

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Clapton - The Definitive Anthology Richard Clapton albums 1999 compilation albums Compilation albums by Australian artists