5 comments about Wipers Box Set.

1. Band leader and songwriter Greg Sage (guitar/vocals) formed this awesome punk trio in 1977. Included in this mini box set are the band's first three albums which are: "Is This Real?" (1980), "Youth Of America" (1981), and "Over The Edge" (1983). They have been remastered and sound better than ever! Plus there are a lot of bonus tracks that range from alternate takes of songs from the albums, a couple of unreleased songs, and alternate mixes. Also included is a pretty good booklet that features liner notes that explain the recording of the albums and band line-up, all written by Greg Sage himself!
   
   The three albums are all excellent and show the songwriting talent of Sage. This band became influential for the grunge movement too as Kurt Cobain from Nirvana covered the songs "D7" and "Return Of The Rat" from the debut album. However there's so much more to this band than those two songs. In this debut there is a nice ballance of pop infused punk with more dark sounding songs. Highlights? "Mystery", the title cut, "Tragedy", "Let's Go Away", "Telepathic Love" and "Wait One Minute"!
   For the second album, Sage got a little more experimental. The title track "Youth Of America" is more than ten minutes long with a phsychedelic middle section while the rest of the songs continue in the dark direction. Standout songs are "When It's Over", "Can This Be", and the album title cut. For the third album, Sage mixed the dark sounding songs with the pop direction more prominent on the first album and the outcome is a fantastic record all the way through! Favorites include "Doom Town", "So Young", "Generation Gap", "What Is", and the excellent "No One Wants An Alien"!
   
   Those are only some highlights though. I'll say this is the definitive way of acquiring these awesome albums by this sadly overlooked band called The Wipers.
   All three albums are underground punk classics to say the least!
   Thanks for taking the time to read!
   Later...



2. The Wipers had some really great tunes and were fronted by Greg Sage, a supremely prolifict song-writer who would often go against the grain of style present in the American underground of the late seventies and eighties. Long songs, solos, melody... Still, a lot of us would come to recognize the Wipers as cult heroes and their albums classics. If you're young, or from the east, then you've probably onyl heard the Wipers via Cobain's gushing in the early ninties and Nirvana's covers. Be sure to check out the source.
   
   My favorite song, bar none, is "Mystery." The song comes off the "Is This Real" album. There's also a demo version, which, to be honest, I prefer. You really get your money here; the first three albums plus the amount of songs availible to us back in the eighties is doubled for you here with the inclusion of unheard demos, live songs, and alternate versions. A valuable, inspiring, collection.



3. I got this cd for My grandson (off his birthday list) and he loved it!



4. every year brings not only great new music to the ears, but also great music that was somehow missed when first released. this set of 3 albums recorded between 1980 and 1982 (with plenty of bonus tracks thrown in) is a fantastic batch of punk/post-punk recordings. greg sage is such a talented guitarist i can't believe he flew under my radar for so long. quite a find, this. while i would not rate it quite as highly as i do husker du, it is pretty close; and i would say that all fans of husker du should have this. after 1st hearing this, i purchased a couple of other wipers cds and a solo greg sage effort, as well. everything is excellent. i highly recommend this to punk rockers, post-punk rockers, and all fans of rock and roll in general.



5. Like Syd Barrett, Greg Sage has been afflicted/blessed with a condition known as synthaesia, the ability to 'see' sounds and 'hear' color. One of the guys from Crackerbash said that the Wipers sound like Portland in the winter. Listen to 'youth of america' and you will know what months of rain and grey skies look/sound like...
   One more thing, that guy that said they had no songs is stupid, "Messanger", "Romeo" and "Window Shop.." are standouts among many...

5 comments about Perception.

1. If you are a Doors fan/lover, then this box set will easily satisfy you. I do prefer some of their other versions to some songs, but most everything else was right on. It was worth the price, and Amazon did a great job on the gift wrap. It was a memorable birthday present for my girlfriend, and even better for me since she moved in. Now we share this great Doors collection.



2. If you are a Doors' fan then this is a new way of listening to them. Out takes and new versions of old favorites.



3. The DVDs do have DVD-Audio (MLP) 24bit 96khz 5.1 tracks for every song.
   
   I couldn't find this info before ordering (Amazon is not very good at properly describing hi-res audio products).



4. if you own a high end audio system w a dvd-audio player this set is a must have for any doors fan.the 5.1 versions are smokin hot, the 1st album not so much probably due to the quality of the original tapes but by the time you get to break on through or wishful sinful you will be weak in the knees, la woman is the same release that was independant some years ago with the kickoff of the dvd-a medium. but the collection is well worth it if you are an audiophile, the other reviews that tell you to purchase the old packages obviously do not have dvd-a players



5. Without getting into all the technical points of this boxed set, this boxed set sounds awesome. Liner notes are outstanding. A must for the Doors fan. This is all you need!

5 comments about Zaireeka.

1. Ok so it was late one night me and three friends are sitting around my house eating the things that make mario so "super", and we decided to pop in this album. I owned it for over a year before i felt the time was right to listin to it. We were not disappointed at all. Out of the four of us i am the only one who is a huge lips fan the others are either into goth-trance-hop, hard core ghetto rap, and the other is into a lot of alt. (but for some reason never got into the lips). Despite are varried musical tastes we all we simply astounded by what was happening to us. The best part of the album is it allows you to play around with the timing of the sounds and music. We got track one to sync perfectly and just let it play like that for the duration of the album. By the time we reached the last track things were so off from where they should have been (time wise) my one friend who was lying down next to disc one said "yo this dude is ranting about some kinda stuffed animal" and we were like "what the hell are you talking about?" next thing we knew disc 3 kicked in and just yelled "stuffed animal baby" at us and we just lost it. In the end one of us swore he was invisable, one of us was laughing so hard he was crying with mucus dripping from every facial orface, and the remainder of us were just lying there in the dark trying to figure out what just happened to our minds and how soon could we take that trip again. Seriously this album is a MUST BUY for any dirty hippes out there and i feel EVERYONE has something to gain by listing to this very special peice of music.



2. Te idea of playing a set of 4 disc, each one with different music arrangements on each track, sounded great; when i actually get the 4 cd's to play altoghether it did sound magnificent. Excellent result this musical experiment, the Flaming Lips are always trying to get the best sound quality on each record and I think this record sound evolve into the later 5.1 surround sound mixes for the Soft Buletin, yoshimi and at war. A masterpiece.



3. With the advent of consumer-friendly mixing/recording software, this album is more accessible than ever. Buy it and experiment with mixing/adding effects/etc; it's a great way to release the inner music producer in all of us.



4. It is great to finally own a copy of this 4-disc album by The Flaming Lips. As I'm sure you know, those avant-cooks intend for us to listen to all 4 discs simultaneously... that is, all together on four separate stereo systems, old boom boxes, car stereos... whatever you can find to make it work... synchronized by simply pressing all four play buttons at the same time (you may need to invite some friends over). What you get is, for lack of a better word, an experience. It's fun. You listen intently to what is happening spatially, quirks and clicks become things of wonder. Context becomes the proverbial elephant in the room. It makes you happy.
   
   That being said this is probably (pre-warner bros. aside) the band's least accessible album "musically," often seeming as though they assembled the album from what they swept up off the floor of their last recording session. But that's part of the beauty of the Flaming Lips; that knack about them, I guess... to take something crappy, out of tune, scratched, warped, and otherwise ordinary in their own rights and assemble them with such sincerity and understanding as to create a whole "something" greater than the sum of its parts. Somehow majestic in its banality... Well worth the investment... There is also an entertaining, unpretentious, and comprehensive documentary out on these guys that is definitely worth a watch titled, "Fearless Freaks." Have fun...



5. Luckily modern technology has come into play in order to listen to the CD the artist wanted you to...

5 comments about A Merciful Release.

1. Sorry, but three albums with a few singles tacked on the end (most of which any average Sisters fan already owns) does not warrant $50. (He could have at least thrown in the Sisterhood LP at that price.)
   
   Speaking as a diehard Mercy-head for two decades, and with all due respect, this is an insult! 15 years or so after the last studio recording and the only bone he can throw us is a box set of remasters??
   
   And then to have the NERVE to call it a "Merciful Release"?!
   
   HA!
   
   I understand we all have bills to pay, but come on. What the hell is Andy wasting his time and talent on??
   
   It's time to take the pink shirts back to the mall and get into the studio again...PLEASE and thank you.



2. The Sisters of Mercy, it doesn't get much better than this for me. They're one of those rare bands that I really did love all their albums, and here we have a set of their three main albums remastered, repackaged and laden with bonus tracks. If anyone deserved this treatment, it was The Sisters. First and Last and Always is notoriously known for having horrible mastering, and here you are treated to a much crisper version. Floodland and Vision Thing never really sounded bad in my opinion, but I can tell they have been remastered to a better state here. Add the multiple bonus tracks and you have an incredible set. If I wasn't an obsessive collector I would replace my old discs with this set, but I am, so own both still. This is a stellar box set very much worthy of purchase and not gratuitous in the least. A must have for not only Sisters fans but for anyone who likes rock music.



3. Box set collection of all three of The Sisters' albums, remastered and expanded in 2006. Not a shred of input from the band, but a decent record company product.
   
   First and Last and Always differs most in the remastered form, resembling the original vinyl mix from 1985. If you have this version and the long-available 90s CD, you have two distinct mixes. This one seems less punchy than the old CD, and a few tracks have different intro and endings. All of the FALAA b-sides are featured, though the main treat is an unreleased early version of Some Kind of Stranger (sounding tortured and low budget, but a welcome bit).
   
   Floodland and Vision Thing don't sound astouningly different in this format, just a slight boost in the low end and a little bit more oomph. The only (new) gem off these is an extended mix of Neverland (no longer 'a fragment'). Otherwise, we get the b-sides from both and the few lives tracks from VT's singles.
   
   Each album has a nice digipac and none-too-offensive fawning essay in each, par for course on remasters where the band has no input. Whether the band ever releases anything again officialy (on its own) is questionable. If you have the old discs, this is 'almost necessary' given the dearth of anything new. Definitely a 'merciful release', the original FALAA mix alone has been sought after for ages.



4. To put it short and sweet, fellow Sisters fans everywhere can appreciate this compilation. Sure, it's just the three studio albums. However, the sound and overall production quality have been buffed. The album liner booklets contain a magazine article biography that is very interesting and insightful (chronicles the three studio recordings themselves, one at a time), and contained a few images of Eldritch and the band over the years that any fan can appreciate. The bonus tracks on each album also give a hesitant fan a reason to purchase. Of course, if you've already got all three albums (and the greatest hits and rare recording CDs) this may not be worth it. However, if you want the records updated and in the best quality (not just second-hand, back-shelf in hard-to-find shops) this is worth the money.



5. Back in the early nineties, The Sisters of Mercy released a neat collection of their early EPs called "Some Girls Wander By Mistake," a fastidious testament to sparse, electronic beginnings of this soon-to-be-huge masters of sprawling goth rock.
   
   The three full length albums that followed - all with entirely different lineups, exempting Eldritch - stamped a lasting impression in New Wave and the 80's alternative music in general.
   
   This collection takes those three albums and aside from some subtle sonic renovation, adds bonus tracks and various treasures that only the most hardcore SoM fans will recognize. Some of them, particularly the b-sides on 'First Last and Always," have never been 'officially' available on CD before now.

5 comments about Weird Tales of the Ramones.

1. Okay, am I the only one who thinks they paid too much for this?
   If they sold only the comic book for like $20 I would buy it.
   Personally if it had been me, I would have slipped RAW in this set for those of us who know what Youtube is instead of the stupid DVD.
   For compliations, I would recommend "Hey Ho, Let's Go, the Anthology." However, if possible,
   get
   "R.A.M.O.N.E.S" from the set off iTunes because (nothing against CJ) sounds much better with Joey singing.
   
   get comic book off ebay lol.



2. There's little doubt that if it were not for the Ramones, we'd probably be listening to a very different form of rock music today. The Ramones emerged in the mid-'70's with the force of an atomic-powered freight train; bringing with them short, simple songs that put loud guitars out front and a fast rhythm section to work. They took elements of Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and the Beach Boys and defined a new genre of music in their own fashion. Many will argue who was the first punk band, but no one will argue that the Ramones defined the term punk rock.
   This set is a 3 cd, 1 dvd compilation of many of the band's greatest pieces. From early tracks like "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" to some of the group's last offerings like "R.A.M.O.N.E.S.", this set provides more than enough material to keep ANY Ramones fan thoroughly satisfied. The dvd is a spectacular collection of the band's videos with interviews from a number of notable personalities tied to the band's long career.
   This set is highly worth getting if you are any kind of punk fan!



3. First off I will let it be known that I am not a die hard Ramones fan, but I am a die hard music fan. Anyone who loves different types of music would love this product. I am very happy with this. Of course if you already have every Ramones album then I would guess that this is not for you. If you are fairly new to the Ramones then this is a great collection to have.



4. Great value!! Fantastic product and super fast shipping from this merchant! Perfect condition! My husband LOVED this b-day gift!



5. Rhino puts out records no one else will, and though other people have put out great Ramones compilations before, not with 85 songs, comic books, CD glasses and a DVD. In other words, this is the best Ramones collection ever put together. And I can't agree with anyone who accused them of being greedy when they offer this much for the price of under 50 cents a song, with tons of freebies.
   
   Great song choice, great remastering. This was a work of love. Johnny made the choices, but Rhino didn't try to cut corners or run up the price. This is the ultimate Ramones collection, no holds barred.

5 comments about Peel Slowly and See.

1. Heroin, sadomasochism, paranoia, hangovers, seductive ladies and a big banana on the cover. The Velvet Underground was unique in 1967 -- even if it never made big sales -- and remains unique to this day, no matter how many bands are influenced by them. Not bad for an arty band with zero mainstream appeal!
   
   Lou Reed tears through a variety of songs, ranging from gritty hard rock to strange ballads. The most memorable song here is undoubtedly slashing, exotic S/M ode "Venus in Furs" ("Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him/Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart"). Elsewhere, he dips into pure rock in the desperate "Run, Run, Run," but takes a softer turn with surreal junkie ballads and the eerie, soft "Sunday Morning."
   
   However, German ex-model Nico -- who departed the band in hazy circumstances after this album -- leads with her seductive monotone. She only had a handful of songs, but they remain some of the best: singsong "Femme Fatale," steady and slow "All Tomorrow's Parties," and the exquisite ballad "I'll Be Your Mirror."
   
   The Velvet Underground was probably the first real art band in rock history, formed at a time when megabands like the Rolling Stones were at their peak. But they couldn't have been more different from the heavily-publicized bands -- creepy, dark, and both beautiful and ugly. The Velvet Underground was the reverse of mainstream.
   
   The music isn't complex, but it is strangely compelling -- the wiggling guitar at the beginning of "Black Angel's Death Song," or the tambourines Nico played in her songs. Nowhere else could musical compositions like "Sunday Morning" -- the delicate tune reminiscent of a music box -- seem so haunting as they do here.
   
   The vocals are excellent, although listeners will probably like one or the other. Lou Reed's high thin voice is a sharp contrast to Nico's accented, husky croon. (Nico left the band after this album, which is a shame), but it's the writing that makes it stand out The songwriting is outstanding, and since the frank references to kinky sex and drugs are nowhere near as shocking now as they were then, the raw quality of the songs can shine.
   
   The sparse, slithering music and excellent singing add solidarity to the reputation of the Velvet Underground as a classic. Dark and brooding, debut album "Velvet Underground and Nico" is an exceptional album.



2. Hard to criticize the great music on this box set, but there are some missteps in the track listings and packaging. You would expect the demos, live tracks, & extras from the respective time periods to be at the end of the official releases, right? Not so. It's also disappointing that this isn't the box set that includes everything that is commercially available.
   
   On disc 1 there are demo versions exclusive to this release. We are all excited to hear new Velvet's material, but it's mostly Cale singing the same verse over and over accompanied by Reed on acoustic guitar. Interesting, but you won't be anxious to hear this more than a couple of times.
   
   On disc 2 there's the short version of All Tomorrow's Parties (Single Version) which is before The Velvet Underground & Nico. There is no reason for this to start the disc; it's the shorter, lesser version of the song. The huge bonus on this disc is the live track Melody Laughter, which is VU live w/Nico; wish there was more tracks like this on here.
   
   Disc 3 features demos and live tracks before the main release that is White Light/White Heat. Again, all of these tracks should be at the end of the official release. The live tracks Guess I'm Falling In Love and Booker T. are particularly noteworthy, but are awkward listens before the showcase release.
   
   Disc 4 has a live version of What Goes On and you get to hear the "closet" version 2 tracks later. A minor annoyance, but still. The live and bonus tracks on this are outstanding.
   
   Disc 5 I have little to complain about. Loaded precedes all of the great extras.
   
   On to the packaging. Comes in a great book shelf worthy cardboard case w/a vinyl peel off banana that encloses the discs themselves which are in plastic cases as opposed to the annoying cardboard digipacks that are customary these days. There is also the awesome 80 page booklet w/musings from the Velvets as reported by David Fricke. What is disappointing about the packaging is that the original LP covers are reduced to thumbnails on the back of the cds. These are replaced, on the front cd cover, by scans of the analog tape cases w/hand written notes; very cool, but not worthy enough to replace the original covers.
   
   In conclusion, lots to like here, but my big gripe is I wanted an all inclusive box set w/track listings that were suitable to my tastes.



3. Must have for all Lou Reed fans. The bonus tracks really throw it over the top.



4. Astonishing in its diversity, this influential album appeared like a supernova and endures as a classic because of the quality of the songs. With the exception of the discordant Black Angel's Death Song and to a lesser extent European Son, every song is underpinned by a lovely melody line.
   
   This is especially evident on the melancholic Sunday Morning, the resigned Femme Fatale and the wistful All Tomorrow's Parties, but by no means lacking on more confrontational tracks like Venus In Furs or Heroin. I'll Be Your Mirror has the same folky feel as Sunday Morning, while the roughness of Black Angel and European Son (the latter dedicated to poet Delmore Schwarts, one of Reed's heroes) has become more digestible as the mainstream has caught up with this pioneering work.
   
   The voice of Nico, the archetypical Teutonic Blonde, adds a strange and eerie dimension to the album as a whole. These songs have often been covered; to name just a few of my favorite interpretations: Sunday Morning by OMD, Waiting For The Man by John Cale and Nico on various of their solo albums, Femme Fatale by Propaganda, All Tomorrow's Parties by June Tabor on Freedom and Rain, There She Goes Again by REM on Dead Letter Office.
   
   The legacy of the VU, and of this album in particular, may be observed in the beautiful sonic sojourns of bands like inter alia Mercury Rev, My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, and Swans. The "Banana" album remains a monument to the fierce spirit of rock 'n roll.



5. I regret that i got carried away by the recommendations given on my previous purchases as well as the other reviews on this compilation
   "Peel slowly and see" is definitely one of the worst in my collection.
   
   It sounded more like a jam session by a not so talented garage band! Do i say more.
   Can i have my money back or atleast exchange the same for some better music?

5 comments about Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys: The Golden Years of Western Swing.

1. IF SOMEBODY PUT TOGETHER THIS COMPILATION OF SONGS FOR A MASTER'S THESIS ON THE HISTORY OF WESTERN SWING MUSIC, THEY COULDN'T HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB THAN THIS. THIS IS A FOUR CD BOX SET WITH INFORMATIVE BOOKLETS IN EACH CD WITH LOTS OF PICTURES AND BIOGRAPHICAL INFO. ADMITTEDEDLY, THE EARLIEST STUFF DOESN'T QUITE "SWING" AS MUCH AS THE LATER RECORDINGS, BUT THE MUSIC IS STILL GREAT AND IT IS INTERESTING TO HEAR HOW THE MUSIC EVOLVES OVER TIME. A BARGAIN PRICE, I HAVE A FEW BOX SETS IN THIS SERIES (THE PROPPER LABEL) AND THEY ARE ALL FANTASTIC PRODUCTIONS AND VALUES. WHAT OFTEN GETS OVERLOOKED AS THAT WESTERN SWING IN MANY WAYS WAS A PRECURSOR TO ROCK AND ROLL, ALONG WITH R&B "JUMP BLUES" (AT LEAST TO MY EARS, ANYWAY).



2. Western swing fans will be dancing in the streets over this brilliant box set. It features 99 cuts dating from 1932 through the late 40's. They run chronologically and features all the great architects of western swing: Milton Brown & his musical Brownies, Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys, Light Crust Doughboys etc. Even if you're not a fan of country music, you may enjoy this one. It is genuine feel-good, stomping music with honkytonk pianos, fiddles, drums, guitars and even saxes. This is without a doubt the best buy for any fan of this genre. It is timeless fun! Crank it all the way up, pop open a cold one and all of sudden it's 1938 and you're in a Dallas honky tonk. By the way, the liner notes in the booklet are outstanding with dates, pixs, stories. Most interesting was that the Crystal Springs Ramblers from Ft. Worth were a favorite of Bonnie and Clyde's at a popular dance hall down there. Great job by Proper Records!



3. I read some of the other reviews and I can apperciate a lot what other folks are saying. I really agree with the one who said that todays Country Music makes them sick. What in the name of God does a naked Faith Hill rolling around a bed under the sheets singing some half baked so called Modern Country have to do with the music that I was raised on and grown to love. As the Great Bill Monroe stated "That junk ain't part of nothing",(I saw that on a FH video that was being played on cabel TV). What a moral let down, instead of appearing as one of our Country Stars she looks a lot more like a B-girl- that's where we are today. I said all that to say this: If you love WesternSwing like I do then you will love this set - it really has a lot of good stuff and takes you back to the days of Bob, Milton,Tommy,Leon, Spade and many other outstanding Western Swing artists. This set was a real welcome to my Swing Collection.
   Keep in mind that this music ain't for everybody.If you like spending time listening to the likes of a feuding Toby with the Dixie Chicks then this real Roots Music ain't for you. But if you would be willing to sell your top coon hound to get the money to get tickets to see "Asleep at the Wheel" then you might be a fan that can apperciate what was started by Bob & Milton way down in Texas back in the early 30's.
   While I type this review I'm listening to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys perform "Faded Love" on my computer so I'll cut it short. Buy this set - at this price you can't afford not too. While you are at it do what I did and get the "Proper Records - Bob Wills/Take Me Back To Tulsa" also - you will be Blessed !
   "ENJOY" Joe Kopeck / Parkville,MD.



4. This 4 volume box set by Proper is a fantastic overview of that great American musical art form Western Swing.
   It's not country, it's not cowboy, it's not swing, it's just great toe-tapping fun music!
   The songs in this album are presented in chronological order thus allowing the listener to experience the growth and progression of this great music.
   The songs are remastered originals and the sound quality is first rate.
   There's also a booklet containing liner notes about all the artists and a discography.
   I own several box sets by Proper and every single one is a bargain, well worth far more than the asking price.



5. My first exposure to Western swing was the first Asleep At The Wheel Bob Wills tribute CD, and I have been hooked ever since. However, up until I bought this collection, I have only heard Bob Wills. I was pleased to buy this in a local branch of Half Price Books. In addition to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, it also has selections from Milton Brown, Patsy Montana, the Light Crust Doughboys, Spade Cooley - just to name a few. This vibrant blend of cowboy/fiddle music and black blues/swing has yet to wander far from my CD player!

5 comments about The Aeroplane Flies High.

1. Smashing Pumpkins came during the grundge period but to label them in that genre is foolish. Corgan has love for many styles and this opal gives you a glimpse into his schizo persona... A MUST HAVE FOR PUMPKINHEADS!!! Each cd of a released track from mellon collie contains b-sides that follow (most of the time) the released single's theme. What he lacks in vocals- he makes up in melodies and fantastic guitar licks.



2. I love this boxset. True, its based around the singles released from the album, but at the same time its all the extra's that come with it that make it so much more of an experiance, the book art and the b sides make it a nice (and now quite rare treat) for many SP fans, before their sound became truley lob-sided sounds with machina and machina II... let us not forget the horribleattempt of Corgan's Mary Star of the Sea and Zeitgeist
   
   Get this if you a fan that discovered the true gem of their early 90's (and earlier) sound. it is a collectable and worth the pennies you spend on it.



3. Unlike Nirvana and Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins never had all the angst about success that the aforementioned bands had. Sure, they had angst. It was the mid 1990s and it was grunge. Most bands had angst. But Billy was smart enough to market it. For Billy, he wanted to be a rock star, and that's what he got to be.
   
   And not only that, he was the most prolific songwriter of the whole grunge movement. I have assembled my own Pumpkins' B-Side/Rarities CD-R collection, which is a full five 80 minute cds, comprised entirely of material that was released officially but never released on their six studio albums. This box set is a testament to his prolific writing. What's also a testament to Corgan is just how GOOD all these B-sides are. He's kinda like Dylan in that Corgan's outtakes, at least in this period, is just phenomenal.
   
   For their third album, MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS, the band turned in one of the most ambitious (and some say indulgent) albums rock ever saw. It was a double album with a two hour running time (long even for a double album), and Corgan and Company did everything from folk, dreamy pop, jazz, heavy medal, hard rock, and new wave. Listening to Corgan was somewhat akin to listening to an amalgamation of David Bowie, Husker Du, and a good number of 1970s rock bands. For my money, MELLON COLLIE is a flat-out masterpiece, easily the best album the band ever did, and on par with Soundgarden's BADMOTERFINGER, Alice in Chains' DIRT, Pearl Jam's TEN, Mudhoney's, and even the critical darling Nirvana's NEVERMIND. In my view, MELLON COLLIE really is my generation's version of Pink Floyd's THE WALL. It's that good.
   
   But here's the amazing thing. After the band released the double album in 1995, they released this box set just a little over a year from MELLON COLLIE. As good as MELLON COLLIE is, and even given its rather abnormal length, listening to this sounds like the band actually cut quite a bit of incredibly entertaining material here. In fact, they could have followed MELLON COLLIE up with a new album in 1996 or 1997, and it would have been just as big a hit as their magnum opus.
   
   But the band didn't do that. You see, Corgan, kinda like Ryan Adams (though that comparison may be a bit unfair to Corgan), is very much about the rock star image, and AEROPLANE FLIES HIGH is designed just as much for the retro throwback to 1960s and 1970s record releases and that era's rock culture as it is to release new material.
   
   Rather than assembling a second album (or, as I like to think of this box set, a third disc to MELLON COLLIE), Billy supplemented each of the five singles drawn from MC with 4 to 6 new songs, gave each disc its own kind of mini-album continuity, and released it in a rather cumbersome box set. All told, there's about one hundred and forty minutes of music here, longer than the original album, which is already something of a monstrosity when it comes to length.
   
   Each disc follows its own flow.
   
   Disc 1, the "Bullet with Butterfly" single, has the lead track, a great mellow acoustic number sung by James Iha and D'arcy and then several covers.
   
   Disc 2, the 1979 single, is the rock/pop EP, and has some of the best songs on the entire set.
   
   Disc 3, the "Zero" single, is the more hard rock and metal EP. The single has the only really bad song here, the twenty three minute "Pasticho Medley". Esentially, the song (if you can call it that) is a bunch of roughly edited snippits of all these unfinished songs and recordings the band made during the album sessions. In fact, the medley is rather jarring to listen too, as it feels like Corgan was going to make an epic instrumental of all his unreleased songs, but rather than write interconnecting instrumental parts and transitions, all this music just butts up against each other. I've listened to AEROPLANE for a long time, and I only made it thru "Medley" once. Trust me, life's to short to listen to it any more than that, and even once is questionable.
   
   Disc 4, the "Tonight, Tonight" single, focuses more on the ballad, dreamy pop sound, and has one of their all-time definitive songs ("Rotten Apples").
   
   Disc 5, the "Thirty Three" single, is the most wide ranging in sound, featuring winding guitar epics to rather experimental cover choices.
   
   Now, lets look at THE AEROPLANE FLIES HIGH had the band chose to release this as a regular album. First off, dispense with the already released songs. That knocks out about twenty minutes. Then knock off the utterly disposable "Pasticho Medley". That's roughly forty five minutes gone. Then delete all the covers. After this musical exorcism, you're left with roughly seventy five to eighty minutes of original music. And it's some of the best music of the Pumpkin's career.
   
   You don't get better music in the grunge genre than "Set the Rays to Jerry", "Ugly", "Pennies", "Believe", "God", "Medallia of the Grey Skies", and the rest. I fully believe had they released the music in a more user-friendly format, the resulting album would be as highly regarded as SIAMESE DREAM and MELLON COLLIE, and as it is, of all their B-sides AEROPLANE sounds most like MELLON COLLIE, enough to be a third disc of that album. While I've never been a fan of the title cut (gets a little monotous for my taste, and strangely enough they cut almost a minute off it on ROTTEN APPLES), "The Aeroplane Flies High" certainly does have an epic guitar feel to it, and would have fit in well with MELLON COLLIE.
   
   And of course, we have one of the Pumpkin's best songs, the aforementioned "Rotten Apples". The song's so good they even named their greatest hits package. It's one of my top five favorite songs of not only the Smashing Pumpkins catalogue but the whole grunge scene indeed. What the hell Corgan was thinking (for you know he is the band, as evidenced by ZIETGIST) when he cut the song from MELLON COLLIE I'll never know.
   
   As evidenced by how popular the band was in 1996, when Virgin Records released the set it sold tremendously well. A limited edition release, the box reached #42 on the Billboard charts, and sold 300,000 units (1.5 million discs in all), generating a platinum disc for the band. Originally intended to be limited to 200,000 copies, Virgin Records produced more after the original run sold out due to overwhelming and unexpected demand
   
   Overall, the set has some of the Pumpkin's best songs here, and this is the closest thing we have to the great lost Pumpkins album. Well, this, and the Reel Time demos they cut before GISH.
   
   EDITION NOTIES: This set is now unfortunately out of print, and has been since 1996. You'll have to buy it used or ebay it.
   
   *For the smart consumer, you should know this box set curiously omits one officially released recording from the MELLON COLLIE era. This is the instrumental "Infinite Sadness", available now on their Rarities/B-Sides digital downloads. The song was originally released on the vastly reconfigured MELLON COLLIE vinyl album, which also included the "Tonight, Tonight" reprise found here.



4. Contrary to another review on this page, if you are a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, you are going to love this set. Although I am quite a big Pumpkins fan, I think even non-hardcore fans will like it. Wheather you like the sorrowful splendor of Adore, the more up-beat feeling of Siamese Dream, or just the pure beauty of Mellon Collie, you're going to love this set because it has it all. There's even a bit of almost heavy metal-ness in the song 'Pastichio Medley' which is just 25 minutes of guitar riffs piled into one track. I know how bad that sounds now, but think of it like this: the riffs are like those catchy openings of songs like 'Today', 'Thirty-Three', and 'Here Is No Why', and they sound surprisingly good end-to-end.
   
   The tracks on this set still have that famous Smashing Pumpkins feel to them; I don't find them any less enjoyable than the songs on Mellon Collie or Adore. In fact, a lot of my favorite songs are on here. There's such a great variety: there are beautiful covers songs of The Carrs and The Cure, songs featuring mainly D'arcy and James on vocals, angry songs, sad songs, happy songs....oh, I could go on and on. I have to point out that D'arcy's voice is absolutely amazing on 'Dreaming', as is James's on 'The Boy'. Listen to the samples; I think you'll like what you hear.
   
   And then there's the cost factor. I actually bought mine here on Amazon for $40. It was not new, but was still in mint condition. Listen to the song samples, and if you like them and you can find it for a reasonable price, just go for it. Believe me, you will not regret it. This is truely a beautiful piece of art that I am very passionate about, and I hope you fall in love with it as much as I have.



5. Smashing Pumpkins......enough said!! NOW BUY EVERYTHING SMASHING PUMPKINS!!! you will NOT regret it!

5 comments about I Wanna Go Backwards.

1. This is an amazing collection of songs.
   
   The man never stops writing.
   
   The demos alone are worth it.



2. If you love Robyn Hitchcock as much as I do, then this box is an absolute necessity.



3. This collection may be slightly incomplete, but I think some of the (very few) missing tracks in question will pop up on later releases in the reissue series. The only other problem I have with this nearly flawless set is the tracklisting on Trains. I prefer the Rhino version, but all of the good tracks are still on the disc as bonus songs. This set is a must for new fans and long-time fanatics alike. I can't wait to go backwards again with the Egyptians set coming out this spring.



4. This 5CD set should contain everything associated with Hitchcock's Black Snake Diamond Role, I Often Dream of Trains, and Eye. It should be a one-stop shop for those fans who are looking to upgarde or gather all stray tracks. But: beware that the horn mix of "The Man Who Invented Himself" is absent from Black Snake or the bonus discs. The horn mix was the sole version of the song included on various official editions of Black Snake. While the "zinc pear" mix (included here) is also esstential, the horn mix is the version that many fans know and love. It should--without question--be included as a bonus track. Also missing: "Mellow Together," which was included on several official editions of I Often Dream of Trains. Without these two familiar, historic tracks, the set has no value for long-time fans. New fans should be aware that, while they will be getting a ton of great tunes on I Wanna Go Backwards, they are getting an incomplete history.



5. Robyn Hitchcock may be a bizarre songwriter but he sure can get to the heart of what makes us human. His influences include Syd Barrett, John Lennon coupled with his own unique surreal songwriting sensibilities to provide us with a unique perspective on life, love and, of course, death.
   
   This collection features his albums "Black Snake Diamond Role"(1984), "I Often Dream of Trains"(1981), "Eye"(1990)and features a compilation that collects rare singles, b-sides, demos, live tracks some of which have appeared on "You and Oblivion" and "Invisible Hitchcock" among other compilations/albums. Featuring some different bonus tracks. If you have the previous Rhino reissues do you need this? While it's not probably essential, it is nice to have. The bonus tracks are resequenced to different albums from the previous ones and there are some new rarities that show up as well.
   
   Each CD in this box set replicates the original sleeve artwork gatefold sleeve (I don't seem to remember all of these being in gatefolds to begin with)with lyrics (and in some cases notes on the original release)in one section and the CD in the other. Unfortunately, they have no inner plastic sleeve to protect them from scratching but otherwise the artwork and materials are top notch.
   
   Sound quality is extremely good as well. I couldn't find any remastering credits for the albums except for "Britain" and can only assume that Donal Whelan and Charlie Francis did the whole set. This is a terrific choice for fans of Hitchcock, Barrett and late 60's fans of Lennon (as well as fans of The Soft Boys). Since some of Hitchcock's original CD releases didn't always have the best mastering (for example my Glass Fish release of "Invisible Hitchcock" has never sounded all that great to me), fans will appreciate the remastering here.

5 comments about I Want My 80's Box.

1. The 1980's really was the golden age of music videos. It was so much different then. Most teens didn't own that many albums. Albums were expensive if you were a kid living at home with your parents, and no one could download songs from the internet. Most kids watched MTV all day. These songs represent a more peaceful time to me. Ronald Reagan was President, and the Cold War between America and the former Soviet Union was coming to an end. Most of these are love songs. All of them were hits during the 80's. I always assumed that many American singers were influenced by punk rock. Punk-rock bands were popular in Britain. There were a lot of popular British singers during the 1980's. I do wish Phil Collins had been part of this collection. I would trade "Luka" for one of his songs any day of the week. I like all of the songs in this box set except for that one.



2. This boxed set has all of your favorites from the 80s. I bought it for my sister for Christmas and we listened to it over and over again on New Year's Eve and beyond. Every song brought back a memory from the "old days" and made us smile. What a great way to start the new year!



3. GREAT CD, a must have if you are into the 80's music.



4. I luuuuv some of these songs, but some of them suck. hoever, if u like these songs u should totally get it!



5. I mix 80s dance music and the number of times when mixing that I find myself reaching for either this compilation or its companion, "Hit Me With Your 80s Box," is extraordinary. These are two outstanding collections. They are pricey, but worth every penny. For many people, owning these two will be all the 80s music you'll ever need.
   
   Fidelity is outstanding, the tracks are well organized more or less chronologically, and the sequences in which tracks are placed is excellent. The "box" itself in which the 3 CDs come is sturdy, it is easily folded out in part or in whole to access any of the CDs quickly and easily (unlike many multi-CD offerings). Liner notes are extensive and interesting.
   
   This offering is a class act all the way. Highly, highly recommended. 7 stars.