V/A: Friends (2LP, soundtrack) [REPRISE]

Why you'll love it

This 25th anniversary 2LP set from Reprise has an etched side D and an illustrated credits insert. Alongside the theme in both its TV and long versions, it gathers R.E.M., the Pretenders, Lou Reed and Hootie & the Blowfish.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 25th anniversary edition
• Etched side D
• Illustrated credits insert

About the album

Few TV themes get stuck in a whole generation's head quite like this one. The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You" opened every episode of Friends, and in 1995 Reprise built an album around it, gathering the alternative rock and singer-songwriter sounds of the moment. The show premiered in September 1994 and ran for ten seasons.

There's a strong Canadian thread running through it. Barenaked Ladies chip in "Shoe Box," k.d. lang brings "Sexuality," Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" arrives in a Traffic Jam Mix, and Hootie & the Blowfish's "I Go Blind" is a cover of a song by Vancouver's 54-40. R.E.M.'s "It's a Free World Baby," the Pretenders' "Angel of the Morning," Lou Reed, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Grant Lee Buffalo and two Paul Westerberg songs round it out. Paul Westerberg of the Replacements contributes "Sunshine" and "Stain Yer Blood." Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Good Intentions" and Grant Lee Buffalo's take on the Beach Boys' "In My Room" add a little jangle.

It's a time capsule of mid-90s radio, sequenced across four sides. Couch sold separately; we suspect you already have one.

Also at Kops: more Friends on vinyl · browse Soundtracks

Listen

On Reprise, a reissue of the 1995 soundtrack.