The cliché regarding The Go-Betweens is that they never had the success they deserved. True, certainly – but in hindsight there were quite a few things working against them: two songwriters sometimes pulling in different directions, unsympathetic producers, clunky 80s production values that attempt to smoothe out the band’s quirkiness, multiple record labels, changing band lineups, arty and occasionally pretentious lyrics, the lack of a truly timeless single or album that would put them up there with REM or The Smiths… and so on.

And yet, despite all this their Quiet Heart compilation is as good as anyone’s Best Of – it’s absolutely stuffed with classic songs and is perhaps my favourite best of ever.

Here are their top five albums.

1. 16 Lovers Lane

1988

Containing Streets Of Your Town – arguably their finest single – 16 Lovers Lane is probably the most cohesive album the band made in their first phase. Largely acoustic with tasteful production, euphoric in mood and containing a really consistent batch of songs (including the wondrous Quiet Heart) – this is a great place to start. Of course, this being The Go-Betweens, things quickly fell apart on a personal level and on the eve of greater success the lineup disintegrated and never made another record together.

2 Tallulah

1987

On the songs alone, this may be their greatest album – but they had struggles over the production and even ditched their first producer, Craig Leon, for the thudding drum machine he introduced to Right Here and Cut It Out. And yet it’s still brilliant: Bye Bye Pride is another contender for their best single, The House That Jack Kerouac built shows the band at their arty best and elsewhere songs like Hope Then Strife, with it’s flamenco flourishes and soaring violin, are the band at their peak. Beware 80s LP pressings of this album – I’ve owned two UK pressings and both of them had issues with sibilance, the vocals distorting on several songs.

3 Liberty Belle

1986

Often cited by Robert Forster as one of his favourites, this is mid-80s Go-Betweens with a sympathetic producer and great songs like the classic Spring Rain and the arty, ponderous Twin Layers of Lightning. You can hear them finding their sound and evolving away from 80s post punk and new pop trends into something more timeless and songwriter-y. Many of their peers were on a similar trajectory, of course.

4 Oceans Apart

2005

The final album, and third record of phase two – when Robert Forster and Grant McLennan reformed the band without the others (rightly or wrongly). Yes, it’s a ‘mature’ album, made by two men now facing middle age, but like 16 Lovers Lane it sounds cohesive, tastefully produced and they’re starting to equal their 80s peak with great songs like Here Comes A City, Darlinghurst Nights and the anthemic Finding You. Forster and McLennan seemed to be on an upwards trajectory again. Continuing the band’s poor luck, however, the original CD was poorly mastered, being overly loud and distorted, and – sadly – McLennan died of a heart attack not long after its release, his lifestyle finally catching up with him.

5 The Friends of Rachel Worth

2000

The surprise comeback. Forster and McLennan reinvent the band as the lo-fi indie rock band they always could or should have been – and it really works. Produced in Portland with Sleater-Kinney’s Janet Weiss on drums and a sympathetic recording engineer, The Friends of Rachel Worth is lean, stripped back and revitalised. Forster said that the 90s would have suited the band far better than the 80s and he’s right: you could file this alongside albums by Cat Power or Pavement. 2003’s Bright Yellow Bright Orange continues in a similar vein and is just as strong, with slightly brighter production.