The first-ever compilation of
Liz Phair's career, the 2014 budget-line set
Icon is fairly even-handed in how it balances her acclaimed '90s indie records with her poppier new millennial material. Three songs from
Exile in Guyville open up the set -- "F**k and Run," "Never Said," "Divorce Song" -- followed by the Buzz Clips "Supernova" and "Whip-Smart," along with "Polyester Bride," the only track from
whitechocolatespaceegg. Then come the songs from her crossover: "Extraordinary" and "Why Can't I?," before wrapping up with smoother, softer cuts from
Somebody's Miracle. This isn't necessarily
Phair's best -- plenty of great songs are missing -- but it does give an idea of the trajectory of her career and contains the songs most fairweather fans would know. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
