Greatest Hits Vol. 16

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Greatest Hits Vol. 16 is a 2009 release by The Donnas on Purple Feather Records. It isn’t a straight greatest-hits collection or the sixteenth release in a series. Instead, it combines new material, B-sides, live tracks, unreleased songs, and updated versions of older songs to look back over the band’s career. The title’s “Vol. 16” refers to the band’s sixteenth year, since they formed in 1993.

Oldest material on the album includes “Teenage Rules” and “I Don’t Wanna Break Your Head,” outtakes from the 1997 sessions for their debut album. Darin Raffaelli, who helped launch their early work, shares writing credits on the second half of the album and sings lead on “I Wanna Be with a Girl Like You,” an alternate version of the early song “A Boy Like You.”

The release also features several re-recordings and remixes. “I Don’t Wanna Break Your Head” was recorded and produced by Robert Shimp and later remixed by Jay Ruston. An alternate version of “Hey I’m Gonna Be Your Girl” was produced by Shimp and remixed by Ruston, and the same team handled “I Wanna Be with a Girl Like You” and a remixed version of “Play My Game.” Two tracks from the Bitchin’ era, “We Own the Night” and “She’s Out of Control,” were recorded, mixed, and produced by Ruston at Clear Lake Audio during the Bitchin’ sessions.

The album also includes live versions of The Donnas’ two biggest hits, “Take It Off” and “Fall Behind Me.” For the new recordings, the band again worked at Clear Lake Audio with the same production team as Bitchin’. The new material includes two fresh songs, “Get Off” and “Perfect Stranger,” plus five updated takes on older songs: “High School Yum Yum” (their first single, 1995) and “I Don’t Want to Go to School” (from the Da Doo Ron Ron single, 1996). It also features updated versions of songs from their first three albums, re-recorded for this release: “Get Rid of That Girl” (The Donnas, 1997), “You Make Me Hot” (American Teenage Rock ’n’ Roll Machine, 1998), and “Get You Alone” (Get Skintight, 1999).

Critical reception was mixed. AllMusic gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a collection of odds and ends that can still work as an introduction to The Donnas. Robert Christgau gave it an honorable mention. Exclaim! offered a negative review, and PopMatters gave it 5 out of 10, noting both appealing moments and awkward choices, especially the re-recorded early songs now that the band members are adults.

Credits note that tracks 1–8 are written by The Donnas (Robertson, Anderson, Ford, Castellano), while tracks 9–16 credit Darin Raffaelli as well. Production includes work by Shimp and Ruston, with the band members themselves contributing to writing and performance.