Its fair to say The Killers have had a fairly successful time in the ten years since their first UK shows some ten years or so ago.
Its almost surreal to see the evolution. Way back in September 2003, The Killers were a small band of Las Vegas indie rockers with a handful of tunes, some dreams and aspirations as they landed in England for their first ever shows.
Now, in 2013, they are a stadium-straddling band armed to the teeth with hits. Their return to these shores included a 13 date sell-out UK tour, all sort of headline festival shows and, biggest of all, a sell-out show to over 70,000 at Wembley Stadium.
Yet things did seem easier back in those heady days when Mr. Brightside was the anthem for those in the know rather than the stadium indie crowd. The band are going back on hiatus, with two members clearly tired after the Battle Born World Tour, which has taken the band to length and breadth of the globe several times over.
The band's hiatus was confirmed by Brandon Flowers himself, with the singer announcing he will spend 2014 recording his second solo record - the follow up to 2010's Flamingo.
Its as yet unknown if drummer Ronnie Vannucci will follow up with his own second solo LP, but its likely that these, a live DVD and the memories will tie people over until The Killers' fifth album appears, most likely in 2016.
The Killers have also decided a way to tie things over is to do a greatest hits compilation.
Its debatable how necessary it is - most fans will still have copies of their albums, and all the tunes on here.
For a newcomer, on the other hand, its certainly one hell of a way to introduce yourself. Track One is Mr. Brightside, which remains as pure a pop-rock earworm as it did when it first appeared way back in the 2000s.
Still the hits fall like confetti. Somebody Told Me, Smile Like You Mean It and All These Things That I've Done are delightful confections from Hot Fuss, and then it gives way to the power of Sam's Town-era hits like When You Were Young.
The first real sign of anything resembling a drop is when The Way It Was appears - a reasonable song on record not quite as good as the live version, or as some of its compatriots on the album. But even before then there's the stone-cold brilliance of songs like Human, Spaceman and Runaways to keep things rocking.
But its not the inclusion of this that's the problem, and nor is it the inclusion of two brand new songs that aren't quite the tone-cold knockouts at the front of the disc.
Shot at the Night is certainly a powerful song after repeat listens. It benefits as much from its power hook of a chorus, built up on synthesisers and spindly guitars, but at first the cut doesn't measure up.
The song is produced by M83's Anthony Gonzalez, and there are certainly elements of the M83 mega-hit Midnight City lurking in this song. But it is lacking a certain... something.
Meanwhile, Just Another Girl - the final tune on the normal edition, although three extra songs lurk on a special edition - is a puzzle. An interesting puzzle at that one, mind.
The song is a strangely calibrated tune that crosses various lines between country, rock and pop and its certainly a nice cocktail musically. But lyrically, it really does not go anywhere beyond a full-on straight-up tale, and it doesn't feel quite right.
Anyway, the new ones are decent enough, if not quite the A-list tunes.
But that's not the problem with Direct Hits. The main problem is quite simply the question: "Is it strictly necessary?"
If you have the albums already, you can just download the new songs and have this record already.
Its an impressive documentation of a career that has proceeded at electric pace, but as a necessary must-own for Killers fans, maybe not so much.
Personally, bring on the Battle Born Tour DVD instead.
3.5/5
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