The Idle Race - The Best Of The Idle Race (Featuring Jeff Lynne) (1990)

See for Miles' 1990 compilation The Best of Idle Race contains a generous 25 tracks -- just over half of what the Idle Race recorded. This means that it does have the great majority of the best material the band recorded, and it would satisfy everyone outside of the rabid collectors who need anything. The catch is, if you're into the Idle Race, you need everything, so this collection is essentially a stopgap until you can track down (or afford) EMI's 1996 complete collection, Back to the Story. Even then, this may be a little more listenable, since it boils the group's interesting but erratic career to its very best -- which is obscure British psych at its best (in other words, it's for the collectors who will seek it out, not anyone else).