IT’S arguable whether Katie Melua really needed to put out a greatest hits package of her music, given that almost every household in Britain must own at least one of her CDs by now!

But at least this collection from one of Britain’s most popular female singers does at least try to make the package more enticing. First of all, there’s not one but three new songs, as well as a bonus DVD featuring a live 90-minute show filmed in Rotterdam during Katie’s 2008 tour.

The concert footage offers a real treat for both fans who have seen her live, or still want to, while the new songs effectively demonstrate why Melua has been able to rise to the super-star status she currently enjoys.

Two Bare Feet, which has also been made available as a single, is an up-tempo, good-time pop song that’s built around some catchy brass and piano licks, and which is as easy to listen to as they come. The sceptics won’t be converted, but the fans will love it.

Toy Collection, meanwhile, was written by Katie for the MySpace film, Faintheart, and is another sweet composition (albeit, with a slightly melancholy undertow) that drops in some really nice flute late on.

And Somewhere In The Same Hotel is a slow, bluesy number that contains some terrific guitar and another sultry set of vocals. It underlines that Katie is more eclectic in style than some people give her credit for.

Prior to the final three new songs, all the expected favourites are present and correct, spanning all of Katie’s three albums so far – Call Off The Search, Piece By Piece and Pictures).

These include The Closest Thing To Crazy, Nine Million Bicycles and On The Road Again, as well as When You Taught Me How To Dance, from the soundtrack of the film Miss Potter, and her No.1 duet with Eva Cassidy, What A Wonderful World.

Fans, therefore, are justifiably in for a treat.

Download picks: Nine Million Bicycles, What A Wonderful World, Call Off The Search, Two Bare Feet, Toy Collection, Somewhere In The Same Hotel

Track listing:
Disc: 1

1. Closest Thing To Crazy
2. Nine Million Bicycles
3. What A Wonderful World
4. If You Were A Sailboat
5. Piece By Piece
6. Call Off The Search
7. On The Road Again
8. Mary Pickford
9. Spider’s Web
10. Thank You Stars
11. I Cried For You
12. Crawling Up A Hill
13. Tiger In the Night
14. When You Taught Me How To Dance
15. Two Bare Feet
16. Toy Collection
17. Somewhere In The Same Hotel

Disc: 2

1. A 90 minute DVD – The Arena Tour 2008, Live from Rotterdam
2. Behind The Screens – a short film about the preparation and design of the tour production

• Delicious
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• Stumbleupon