Greatest Hitz (Limp Bizkit album)

Production and content

Greatest Hitz was announced for release as early as 2001. While recording the albums Results May Vary and The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), the band continued to work on the compilation. A companion DVD, Greatest Videoz, was also released.

Greatest Hitz contains material from the band's albums Three Dollar Bill, Yall$, Significant Other, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water and Results May Vary, as well as new songs, including "Home Sweet Home/Bittersweet Symphony", a mashup of "Home Sweet Home" by Mötley Crüe and "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve.

Music and lyrics

The music of Greatest Hitz has predominately been described as nu metal and is noted for "kinetic, frenzied energy". On this compilation, DJ Lethal functions as a sound designer for the band, shaping their sound. According to Lethal, "I try and bring new sounds, not just the regular chirping scratching sounds. [...] It's all different stuff that you haven't heard before. I'm trying to be like another guitar player."

Wes Borland's guitar playing on this compilation is experimental and nontraditional, and is noted for creative use of six and seven-string guitars. The songs from Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ feature him playing without a guitar pick, performing with two hands, one playing melodic notes, and the other playing chord progressions. His guitar playing on this album also makes use of octave shapes, and choppy, eighth-note rhythms, sometimes accompanied by muting his strings with his left hand, creating a percussive sound. Borland's guitar playing also has unevenly accented syncopated sixteenth notes to create a disorienting effect, and hypnotic, droning licks.

Durst's lyrics are often profane, scatological or angry. Much of Durst's lyrical inspiration came from growing up and his personal life. His breakup with his girlfriend inspired the Significant Other songs "Nookie" and "Re-Arranged".

Reception

Greatest Hitz peaked at number 47 on the Billboard 200. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said, "None of [Greatest Hitz] has aged well -- as a matter of fact, it's aged incredibly quickly, sounding older than alt-rock hits from the mid-'90s -- but that's almost beside the point, because this does its job well, and listeners who want to have some Limp Bizkit in their collection will find this to provide them with more of what they want than any other Bizkit dizc." In The Essential Rock Discography, Martin Charles Strong gave the compilation a 7 out of 10 rating.As of 2012 the album has sold over 3,500,000 copies worldwide, of which 750,000 for the U.S.

Personnel

Tracks 1–11

Tracks 12–17