Roots: The Best of Show of Hands

A previous best-of album, entitled Show of Hands, was released in 2000 by Track Records. This album was also a double album featuring recordings of 25 of their tracks recorded during a soundtrack in 1999, some previously released on Anglicana. Comparing Roots and Show of Hands, they feature almost entirely different songs than each other, and all different versions of those the same.

Some of the song were re-recorded for this album and a lot of the tracks were recorded live (see Inclusion section.) Despite being a best of album, some of the songs also segued into the next, ala Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. "Roots" is also represented in its mix form as seen its music video form. Of the duo's twelve studio albums at the time, all but their third Out for the Count were represented in some form.

Short Stories had its tracks picked by the duo whilst disc two Longdogs had its songs picked by the duo's forum Longdogs,[6] achieved by each of their albums (including live albums) where each of their studio and live albums bar Cold Cuts had a poll where the winner from each poll made it onto Longdogs.

• All of the band's studio albums prior to its release are represented in some form or another except for 1991's Out for the Count.
• Four tracks are re-recorded in the studio for the album. These are Cold Frontier's "Are We Alright", "Exile" (the only track from Show of Hands to be included although it was also rerecorded for Lie of the Land and a shorter version of "Tall Ships" is present on Show of Hands), "Santiago" (a live staple dating back to their days with Alianza) and "Crow on the Cradle".
• "Cousin Jack" from Dark Fields is represented in a previously unreleased live version, whilst "The Galway Farmer" from Beat about the Bush is recorded live from the Royal Albert Hall in 2001 (as documented on The Big Gig VHS), as air "Columbus", "You're Mine", "The Blind Fiddler", "The Setting/Mary from Dungloe" and "Be Lucky".
• "Tall Ships" is the full 22 minute version from Tall Ships as opposed to the much shorter version on Show of Hands.
• "Roots" is the shorter, re-arranged remixed version intercute with parts of their live performance at the 33rd Trowbridge Village Pump Festival rather than the album version from Witness.
• The 1993 EP Columbus is represented with its title track, although it is the released live version recorded live at Royal Albert Hall on 24 March 1996.
• "The Bristol Slaver" is mistakenly referred to as a song from Lie of the Land.