Going for Gold (album)
| Going For Gold | ||||
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| Greatest hits album by Shed Seven | ||||
| Released | 31 May 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1994–1999 | |||
| Genre | Rock, Britpop | |||
| Length | 62:15 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Jessica Corcoran, Chris Sheldon, Stephen Street | |||
| Shed Seven chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Going For Gold | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| NME | (4/10) |
| Q |  |
| Select |   |
| The Guardian | |
Going For Gold is a singles compilation album by the British rock band Shed Seven, released in May 1999 via Polydor Records. The album features sleevenotes written by Mark Sutherland, the former editor of Melody Maker, who refers to the LP as the band's "Best of Album", whereas the album artwork itself carries the sub-title The Greatest Hits.
As well as compiling the band's singles from 1994 to 1998, Going For Gold featured newly recorded versions of two previous releases, "Dolphin" and "Ocean Pie", alongside brand new material in "Disco Down" and "High Hopes". "Disco Down" went on to become the last Banks-era hit for the band when issued as the album's lead single, two weeks prior to its release, whereas the follow-up single, "High Hopes", was never issued.
Like "Disco Down", the song was initially included in the album's track listing with the intention for it to be issued as a single, but was sidelined post-album release by the band's record label in favour of a proposed re-issue of their 1996 single, "Going For Gold". Following the band's refusal to comply, Shed Seven and Polydor Records parted company in late 1999, as "High Hopes" became the only track featured on the compilation which was not a 'hit' single, and Going For Gold became the band's final album release during their time with the label.
A limited edition 2-CD set was issued at the same time as the regular album and featured a bonus disc of four newly recorded session tracks – one song from each of their four studio albums to date (including Going For Gold itself) – two cover versions and a previously unreleased demo. To coincide with the release of the album, the band went on an 8-date 'Greatest Hits' tour of the UK, beginning at Bristol University on 12 May and ending in a hometown gig at York's Barbican Centre on 4 June.
Going For Gold received mixed reviews upon release. John Harris of Select felt that the album proved that the band have "always been blessed with the knack of creating admirably tidy, creditably catchy pop music" in his complimentary review, whilst Allmusic's Jason Damas labelled it "an excellent compilation of radio-ready rock & roll from one of the best singles bands of the 1990s". Howard Johnson of Q gave praise to the band's "epic sweep", but found fault with Witter's vocals, noting that;
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