The Cream of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel

Background

The compilation, originally released in 1999, followed from another Steve Harley EMI compilation More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley, which had been released in 1998. The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's artwork and design was handled by P. Linard Marketing & Advertising Ltd. The compilation later made an appearance in the official UK Budget Albums Chart during January 2006. It reached #21 on 14 January 2006, and lasted within the Top 50 for four weeks.

The album was released by EMI Gold on CD in the UK only. Later on 28 February 2003, the album was made available as an online digital MP3 download. On 7 July 2008, the album was re-issued by EMI Gold for release in the UK and Europe as The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. This release had the same track-listing, but new artwork, featuring a photograph of Harley in front of a red background.

Critical reception

Dave Thompson of AllMusic reviewed the compilation, writing: "This 16-song compilation brings together an unchallenging but almost uniformly excellent roundup of Steve Harley's 1970s output. It brushes all of the expected high points - U.K. hit singles include the breakthrough "Judy Teen" and "Mr. Soft," the edgy "Mr. Raffles," the less palatable "Love's a Prima Donna" and "Here Comes the Sun," and, because no Harley collection would be complete without it, the chart-topping "Make Me Smile." The real meat, however, lies among the excerpted album cuts, as the compilers treat all seven original Harley/Cockney Rebel LPs with more or less equal respect - many fans would have drawn a line after the first three. But "White White Dove," "Roll the Dice," and the like all deserve a fresh hearing, and "The Cream of" emerges with almost unruffled consistency, and an overall impact that is all the more satisfying for being so unexpected."