Elisa - Soundtrack 96-06: Greatest Hits (2007)

Elisa Toffoli has been a force in the Italian adult-alternative rock realm for quite a while now, beginning with her 1998 debut album, Pipes & Flowers, and continuing through 2004's Pearl Days. Some of her most famous songs, as well as four new ones, are included on the greatest-hits compilation Soundtrack '96-'06, tracing her history, although not chronologically, starting with her first singles -- "Sleeping in Your Hand" (found in remix form here), "A Feast for Me" and "Labyrinth" -- through tracks like "Swan," which was included on the 2005 soundtrack to the film Melissa P., "Stay," and her duet with Ligabue, "Gli Ostacoli del Cuore," also show up. Elisa writes most of her songs in English, reflected in the number of Italian-language tracks on the collection (six out of the seventeen, including the sweet "Almeno Tu Nell'Universo" and the fantastic "Luce (Tramonti a Nord Est)"), and all her big hits are here -- no B-sides or rarities to be seen -- which means that Soundtrack '96-'06 works best for non-Italian speakers wishing to introduce themselves to popular European artists, as well as for Italians unfamiliar with Elisa's body of work, rather than for longtime fans looking for something extra.