No comments about Triple Dose of Punk.

1 comments about Greatest Cowboy Movie Never Made.

1. Some stats: 'Greatest Cowboy Movie Never Made' (2006) 4cd box (printed lyrics included) liner notes booklet has album x album commentary.
   
   CD#1 TT= 65:18 'The Monkey Puzzle' plus 5 bonus tracks
   
   CD#2 TT= 60:41 'Out Of The Jungle' plus 5 bonus tracks
   
   CD#3 TT= 37:50 'A Little Madness To Be Free' (no extras)
   
   CD#4 TT= 61:57 'A Gallon Of Rum Is A Harsh Mistress The Morning After- Live From Oz' (recorded in Sydney, 1981, unknown location)
   
   When you examine the post 1978 Saints you'll find that Chris Baily jumped around with different recording labels as he toured and gallavanted around Europe. As a result, there are more recordings with varying sound quality around, so to find this collection, remastered, is heavensent.
   
   The 1977-1978 Saints, 'All Times Through Paradise', 4cd box set (the early years) is the first.
   This follow-up (Greatest Cowboy Movie Never Made) to that super box is the second in line as the whole Saints catalog gets the remastering treatment.
   It will be up to the buyer wether the individual albums will suffice, or to spring for this set. Hardcore fans and completists' will most likely go for this format, and in my opinion it is the better way to go.
   All the remastered tracks sound terrific, and the different takes of several tracks (about 25%), while overtly repetitious to a Saints' novice, are actually quite interesting for the fan.
   The fourth cd is arguably the best recording I've ever heard of live Saints, absolute RAWK, with engaging banter between Baily and audience.It was recorded during 1981, supporting the release of 'The Monkey Puzzle' that same year. Recording is exceptionall clear.
   
   For the hardcore interested, overall there are:
   
   1) 4 variations of 'Simple Love'
   2) 3 variations of 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy'
   3) 3 variations of 'Miss Wonderful'
   4) 3 variations of 'Call It Mine'
   5) 2 variations on 9 trks
   6) 26 tracks represented once.
   
   The 2cd compiliation 'Big Hits From The Underground' and/or the 2cd compiliation 'DM Blues' can also compliment nicely if these boxes prove to excessive or pricey, and serve as a decent intro to the Saints ouevre.
   
   All in all, if you enjoy the post-punk Baily/Saints, and wanna hear 'em live also, THIS is the best all be told for the avid collector, and get ready for box number #3!
   For the 1977-78 punk-rock Saints, the 'All Times Through Paradise' box set has EVERYTHING.
   
   Minus 1/2-star for the brevity of cd#3...could'a added something!
   
   The pix featured for this box on amazon here is incorrect, box is all black with "The Saints" written across in white (not longbox). Four cds' come in cardboard sleeves of original pressing covers.Booklet packs alot of info(small print), pix, lyrics..., about 25 pages.

No comments about Ultimate Punk Box Set.

No comments about Punk Collection.

4 comments about You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory.

1. As far as a collection of discs go, for any budding Johnny Thunders fan, this is a great start. Beginning with the Heartbreakers' "LAMF Revisited", it may have been rehashed many times, but this mix is decent. As for the other disc go, two differing live show discs present two different sides to what Johnny Thunders was. The first, a more upbeat affair, brings the wilder, drug-driven side of Thunders to the fore, whereas the latter, a much more introspective look, still brings a tear to my eye with his cover of the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By", and perhaps captures Johnny's spirit more than anything else he recorded - even more than "You Can't Put Your Arm Around A Memory".



2. There are lots of Johnny Thunders / Heartbreakers live releases and this is a pretty good place to dive in if you are interested. Lots of very rocking good stuff here, the sound is great throughout and the performances are energetic.



3. This three CD set, priced nicely, contains four albums, all remastered. "LAMF Revisited," Johnny's high-end, punchy re-mix of the best ever rock and roll record; "DTK," the wonderfully representative live-in-1977-when-they-ruled recording; "Live at the Lyceum," which could be remastered on Mount Olympus and still be the stinkeroo it is; and "Line and Wasted--Unplugged," a swell acoustic set. If you are new to Thundersian muses give this a try. If you are a completest, it can't hurt to hear these remasterings.



4. just be aware it's NOT a JT career retrospective.

   Disc 1 is yet another remix of "LAMF".

   Disc 3 is "DTK- Live at the Speakeasy"; I know, at one point, you could get BOTH these titles on one CD

   Disc 2 is the Lyceum concert with some bonus tracks.

   So, it's a good basic "Heartbreakers" collection, but the Dolls and solo stuff isn't really represented.

   Great stuff, of course... but not what"Entertainment Weekly", for one, thought it was.

1 comments about The New Rose Story.

1. Some stats:
   
   CD#1= 79:07
   CD#2= 78:15
   CD#3= 76:23
   CD#4= 72:02
   
   Over the years several record companies (major and minor) have put out compiliations of the various artists under their label, and represent those artists accordingly in the box set tradition.
   
   THE NEW ROSE STORY is the compiliation of an obscure French Label whoose most prolific period is covered in this box set... 1980-2000.
   
   Represented is a large amount of music that could be called 'underground' music due to the fact that many here got their first taste of major exposure in Europe through this label; managed to influence alot of music in the States yet still maintained their "unknown" status outside of Europe.
   
   A quick glance of the track listing has artists from just about all genres of music. This speaks well of this collection specifically (lots of variety), and shows New Rose Records as adventurous music 'promoters', spearheading much of the music styles dominant in the 80's and 90's. Post-punk, new wave, singer/songwriter, psychobilly, rockabilly, obscuro,outlaw country,folk, D.I.Y., et al.
   
   What really works in this box concept is the fact that many of the music acts are represented in both group and single artist, where some of the solo artist recordings on the later cds are first represented as a group effort in the begining (the music is presented chronologically).
   
   So rather than this being just a disconnected bunch of styles, it has a certain consistancy, a "flow" if you will. Identifiable vocal,guitar and style nuances are intwined throughout, but never is the originality of each track compromised.
   
   Here are some names that resonate for me here in the States: Alex Chilton (Box Tops), Arthur Lee (Love), Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators), Giant Sand, Bo Diddley, Barrence Whitfield & the Savages, Jeffrey Lee Pierce (Gun Club), Brian James (the Damned), Lyres, Shoes (U.S.), Mike Wilhelm (sf's Charlatans), Chris Bailey (the Saints), Johnny Thunders, Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys)...this is only a very small sample of the diversity here, and this was a surprise for me...though this is a French Label most of the artists featured are from the USA or UK!
   
   This box includes extensive liner notes (large, cool booklet), complete New Rose singles/albums discogrophy for future explorations (you know who you are).
   
   BTW, the sound quality is pristine.

3 comments about Burning Ambitions: A History of Punk.

1. A good compilation, for the punk in your household.



2. A good compilation, for the punk in your household.



3. I thought that this was the best box set ever. If you are a Dead Kennedys fan I highly reccomend it.

No comments about Masters of Rock.

No comments about Paper Sleeve Box.

1 comments about Jar of Flies/Facelift/Dirt.

1. I ordered the CDs for my fiance and he loved them. The only thing wrong with the order was that all the CD cases were broken inside - the part that holds the CDs in the case, so I had to replace all three of them. Other than that, the CDs were brand new.