Greatest Hits (Shania Twain album)

Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by Canadian country-pop singer Shania Twain, released on November 8, 2004, by Mercury Nashville. The album contains seventeen of Twain's top ten hits, including all of her seven number one hits on the Hot Country Songs. Excluded from the track list is Twain's self-titled debut album, of which no songs were included. Some songs are included in their pop versions such as "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!".

Three new songs were recorded specifically for the compilation and were all released as singles: "Party for Two" (featuring either Mark McGrath or Billy Currington), "Don't!", and "I Ain't No Quitter". "Party for Two" went on to peak at number seven on the Hot Country Songs chart and peaked within the top ten in six other countries. "Don't!" was a moderate hit, peaking within the top twenty on the Adult Contemporary chart and the top 40 in the UK. "I Ain't No Quitter" was one of Twain's least successful singles, becoming her first since "God Bless the Child" to miss the top 40 at US country.

Greatest Hits was a commercial success; It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and at number one on the Top Country Albums chart with 530,000 copies sold, staying there for eleven consecutive weeks. The album was also the highest selling country album in the US for 2005, and was certified 4× platinum in the US and 3× platinum in the UK. Additionally, Greatest Hits was recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling greatest hits album by a female artist in the US. As of December 2019, the album has sold 4.4 million copies in the US.

Greatest Hits was released on vinyl for the first time on November 17, 2023. It is available in four versions: a standard black vinyl, and three limited editions vinyls: opaque blue, baby pink, and Coke bottle clear. The vinyl release contains two additional songs from Twain's studio albums released after Greatest Hits initial release: "Life's About to Get Good" from Twain's fifth studio album Now (2017) and "Giddy Up!" from her sixth studio album Queen of Me (2023).

Content
Greatest Hits goes chronologically in reverse; the opening track is "Forever and for Always" which is in its "red" (pop) version. Next is the European top ten hit "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" which is also included in the "red" version. "Up!" is the final song from Twain's 2002 album Up! included on the compilation; North American and Australian versions include the "green" (country) version while the European version includes it in its "red" version. "Ka-Ching!" was included exclusively in the European version of Greatest Hits due to its success there.

Country top ten hit "Come On Over", the title track from Twain's 1997 album of the same name follows. UK top three and country top five hit "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" is next; the European version uses the international mix while the North American and Australian version use the original country version. After is "That Don't Impress Me Much", which is notably included in its dance mix/pop version instead of the country version. "From This Moment On" is included in its solo version; the version included on Greatest Hits does include the initial featured artist Bryan White on background vocals. Next on the track list is Twain's seventh and most recent country number one "Honey, I'm Home". "You're Still the One" follows after; the version included is the country version without the intro on all editions. After is the UK top five and number six country hit "Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" which is included as the country version and not the dance mix which was released internationally. The final song from Come On Over to be included in Greatest Hits is "Love Gets Me Every Time", which was a five-week runner of the number one spot on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Country number one hit "No One Needs to Know" is the first song from Twain's sophomore album The Woman in Me to be included in the compilation. "You Win My Love" is next, with the radio edit being used instead of the album version. North American number one and Australian top five hit "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" follows after, also being included in its radio edit. The country power-ballad "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" is also included in its radio edit. After is "Any Man of Mine", which was Twain's first country number one hit. The final song that is included before the new recordings is Twain's breakout hit "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?", which was her first hit single, reaching number 11 on the country charts.

Notably absent from the track list is Twain's 1993 self-titled debut album, in which no songs were included. Other songs that were excluded from Greatest Hits include "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is", "God Bless the Child", "When", "Rock This Country!", "I'm Holdin' On to Love", "Thank You Baby!", "When You Kiss Me", "She's Not Just a Pretty Face", and "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing".

Three new songs were recorded for the compilation. The first of the new tracks is "Party for Two". Twain recorded it as a duet with Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath and country musician Billy Currington. The song is lyrically about Twain enticing a guy to come to a party, which he's at first hesitant but when Twain shows it's just for the two of them he decides to join. The pop mix featuring McGrath was released to pop, adult contemporary, and international markets; likewise, the country version featuring Currington was released to country radio. The country version was not included in the European version of Greatest Hits but was included as a b-side on the CD single of "Party for Two". The second song included on the compilation is the adult contemporary influenced country ballad "Don't!". "Don't!" lyrically involves Twain wishing a partner for forgiveness. The third and final song included on Greatest Hits is the pure-country "I Ain't No Quitter". The song lyrically speaks of Twain sticking with an overconfident and brassy man because she is not "a quitter".

In the 2023 reissue of Greatest Hits, two songs from Twain's later career were included. The first is "Life's About to Get Good", which was originally on her fifth studio album Now. The second song that was included in the reissue is "Giddy Up!", included on her sixth and most recent studio album Queen of Me.

Singles
"Party for Two" was released as the lead single from Greatest Hits, released on September 7, 2004, to country radio first. The single proved to be a hit for Twain and one of her last major hits. The song debuted at number 39 on the Hot Country Songs the week of September 18, 2004 and later reached its peak of number seven on December 25, 2004, marking Twain's 16th and final top ten hit on the chart. The song also reached number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It later led the single to reach number 58 on the mainline Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song also proved to be a success. It reached number eight and ten in Scotland and the UK, number six in Austria, number four in Denmark, and number two in Canada.

"Don't!" was released as the second single from the album on January 10, 2005. It proved to have moderate success on the charts. It peaked at number 24 on the country charts, her first since "Rock This Country!" to miss the top twenty; it however was a success in Canada, reaching number four on the Radio & Records Canada Country Top 30. It had some success on adult contemporary radio, reaching number 18. It was also her first single officially released in the United States to not chart on the Hot 100 since "I'm Holdin' On to Love (To Save My Life)", instead reaching number 22 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, effectively reaching number 122 if combining both of the charts. Internationally, it also wasn't as successful as "Party for Two". The song did enter the top 40 in Canada, Scotland, the UK, and Belgium but didn't have much staying power.

"I Ain't No Quitter" was released as the third and final single from the compilation, released on May 2, 2005. Despite positive reception, it was one of her least successful singles. Entering at number 55 on the Hot Country Songs on May 21, 2005, it only reached as high as number 45 and only spent eight weeks on the chart; it marks her second lowest peaking single on the country charts only above the number 48 peak of "God Bless the Child". It did however, reach number eight on the Radio & Records Canada Country Top 30 chart. It also reached number 22 on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Commercial performance
Greatest Hits debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 530,000 copies in its first week. The album was blocked from the number one spot by Eminem's Encore, which sold 710,000 copies in its debut week. The Guinness World Records recognizes Greatest Hits as the fastest-selling greatest hits album of all time by a female artist in the US. On the Top Country Albums chart, Greatest Hits immediately debuted at number one. Greatest Hits spent eleven non-consecutive weeks at number one and was the best selling country album of 2005. It has spent 256 weeks on the chart to date. Greatest Hits debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart on November 27, 2004, and spent five weeks at number one. It has charted for 115 weeks in the country.

Internationally, the compilation was a success. Greatest Hits debuted at its peak position of number six on the UK Albums Chart on November 20, 2004; it spent two non-consecutive weeks at its peak and spent 28 weeks on the chart. The album debuted at number three in both Germany and Austria while debuting at number four in Switzerland. The album also cracked the top ten in Australia, France, Ireland, and Scotland.

Music videos

 * 1) "Party for Two (featuring either Mark McGrath or Billy Currington)
 * 2) "Don't!"
 * 3) "I Ain't No Quitter"

Personnel

 * Bruce Bouton – pedal steel guitar
 * Larry Byrom – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar
 * Joe Chemay – bass guitar, fretless bass
 * B.J. Cole – dobro, pedal steel guitar
 * Billy Crain – slide guitar
 * Billy Currington – duet vocals on "Party for Two" (country version)
 * Diamond Duggal – percussion
 * Simon Duggal – percussion
 * Glen Duncan – fiddle
 * Stuart Duncan – fiddle
 * Larry Franklin – fiddle
 * Paul Franklin – pedabro, pedal steel guitar
 * Carl Gorodetzky – string contractor
 * Gavin Greenaway – string arrangements
 * Rob Hajacos – fiddle
 * David Hamilton – string arrangements, strings
 * Aubrey Haynie – fiddle
 * John Hobbs – organ, Wurlitzer
 * Dann Huff – six-string bass guitar, 12-string electric guitar, electric guitar, electric sitar, sound effects, talk box guitar, tic tac bass, wah-wah guitar
 * Ronn Huff – string arrangements
 * John Hughey – pedal steel guitar
 * David Hungate – bass guitar
 * The Irish Film Orchestra – strings
 * John Barlow Jarvis – piano, Wurlitzer
 * Nick Jeca – clapping
 * Robert John "Mutt" Lange – clapping, background vocals
 * Paul Leim – drums, percussion, door slam
 * Mark McGrath – duet vocals on "Party for Two" (pop version)
 * Terry McMillan – cowbell, harmonica, harp, stomping
 * Carl Marsh – string arrangements, strings
 * Brent Mason – electric guitar
 * Joey Miskulin – accordion
 * The Nashville String Machine – strings
 * Michael Omartian – piano
 * Matt Rollings – piano
 * Olle Romo – programming
 * Joe Spivey – fiddle
 * Aurther Stead – organ, piano, Wurlitzer
 * Michael Thompson – bouzouki, e-bow, electric guitar, slide guitar
 * Shania Twain – clapping, footsteps, lead vocals, background vocals
 * Biff Watson – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, nylon string guitar
 * John Willis – banjo, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, mandolin
 * Jonathan Yudkin – cello, fiddle, mandolin, violin