NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Putting together a collection of Bush's greatest hits was relatively easy. Convincing frontman to do it was a bit harder.
鈥淚 never really wanted to do one because I always thought it was like a bit of a farewell, like a sayonara, a swan song," the lead singer and songwriter says. 鈥淎nd I couldn鈥檛 be more swimming against that tide. I鈥檓 enjoying the music and the band so much that it feels like we never stopped.鈥�
Rossdale relented and that's why we have 鈥淟oaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023,鈥� a 21-song set that includes such Bush classics as 鈥淢achinehead,鈥� 鈥淐omedown鈥� and
鈥淓very book, when you read it for a second time or a third time, you start seeing more details and start hearing it or reading in different ways. And so I hope it's a bit like that,鈥� says Rossdale.
The collection includes hits from each of the band鈥檚 nine studio albums, as well as a cover of the Beatles鈥� 鈥淐ome Together鈥� that the band often plays live and had a very limited release in 2012. 鈥淭hey have a real big future ahead if they stick at it,鈥� Rossdale jokes about the Fab Four.
It's an album that shows an evolution of sound from a band that was born during the heat of grunge but found its own musical way, from radio-friendly pop to heavy guitars to detuned, weirder stuff.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really easily accessible thing for people who are getting into Bush. There鈥檚 kind of the blueprint, so to speak,鈥� says Rossdale, who will hit the road with Bush on
鈥淚t just made me feel nostalgic to look at those song lists and think of all those journeys. Songs are just like snapshots of time in our life, in my life. And so just seeing all that come together, it made me think of my whole history.鈥�
Rossdale started the Grammy Award-nominated band outside London in 1992 with guitarist Nigel Pulsford, joined later by bassist Dave Parsons and drummer Robin Goodridge. The current lineup is Rossdale, Chris Traynor on guitar, Corey Britz on bass and Nik Hughes on drums.
Blessed with a heartthrob with high cheekbones as its lead singer, Bush's debut 鈥淪ixteen Stone鈥� dropped eight months after Nirvana's Kurt Cobain鈥檚 suicide in late 1994. The band went on to earn 23 Top 40 hit singles on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, six of them making it to No. 1.
鈥淟oaded鈥� 鈥� with underrated gems like "This Is War,鈥� 鈥淏ullet Holes鈥� and 鈥淭he Chemicals Between Us鈥� 鈥� reminds listeners that the band can veer from an U2-adjacent vibe to the metal-punk of Bring Me the Horizon.
鈥淚 always think there are too many songs in the world, but there鈥檚 never enough great songs. That鈥檚 always kind of the goal. I can鈥檛 always achieve that, and obviously people have varying opinions whether I鈥檝e ever achieved it, but that鈥檚 the goal,鈥� Rossdale says.
Rossdale's manager requested one new song for the album to try to sum up the collection, and the band responded with a thoughtful lookback with the line, 鈥淚 wish I knew myself better.鈥�
鈥淚t was a weird assignment because it was like trying to herd a rabble of spirited, rowdy dogs or something like that. How do you sum it up? These songs have really changed my life forever and given me a life,鈥� Rossdale says. 鈥滻t was fun to write a song that could straddle all the records and not be sort of an outlier."
Choosing the hits was easy, but the new one makes Rossdale a little nervous: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know if, ironically, that will be a hit. Could be the only non-hit on the greatest hits. You know, life can be cruel.鈥�
Rossdale says he relinquishes ownership of Bush's songs as soon as they enter the world, letting them change and drift as life moves on.
鈥淵ou have to realize that if I write a song, as soon as I鈥檝e written it and you hear it, it鈥檚 as much your song as mine,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f I want to sing I can be referencing but I can be referencing any particular struggles that have been going on that people are going through.鈥�
Rossdale has lately been more vocal about social issues, joining alongside such stars as Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel and Sheryl Crow.
鈥淥ne of the best things about getting older for me is you shed degrees of selfishness,鈥� says Rossdale. 鈥淚t just feels good to be to do something worthwhile and to be part of with a great bunch of musicians.鈥�
also sparked Rossdale to write with the lyrics: 鈥淕irls, you鈥檙e in control/Not the government/Not the government.鈥�
鈥淎t a certain point, enough is enough. If you don鈥檛 take responsibility for some things, to a certain extent, you can be complicit in things. Silence is being complicit.鈥�
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This story corrects the name of Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence.
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
