Enjoy These Fine Audio Products

Courtesy of our good friends Sal and Tony at NYCD, here's some interesting and alarming info on the weeks upcoming new releases.

GENESIS - "1976-1982 (BOX SET)." There is so much to love and hate about Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and the rest of this pretentious gang of Brits. Pros include "Selling England By The Pound," "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," Phil Collins' drumming, Peter Gabriel's reverse Mohawk, Tony Banks' impish grin, and "Paperlate." Cons: Phil Collins post-1982, Peter Gabriel's fascination with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mike Rutherford and his Mechanics, and Phil Collins post-1982 -- so horrendous we had to mention it twice. As for this box set, it's a brilliant idea. Take the five best post-Gabriel records, give them new stereo mixes, 5.1 Surround Sound, and rare videos, slap 'em in a box with a bonus disc of rarities, and Bob's yer uncle. But the British version, which is identical musically, presses the discs on the best audio format around, SACD Hybrids, while here in the States, we can only listen to our 5.1 Surround mixes on the DVD-Audios. That would be fine, if we could afford the British version, which is twice the price. But even if we could afford it, the DVDs wouldn't play unless you had an all-region player. Thanks, Rhino! For years we've been calling you the gold standard of reissue labels, but you blew it this time.


GUIDED BY VOICES - "LIVE FROM AUSTIN, TX." A 2004 set recorded for Austin City Limits on their farewell tour. GBV records are few and far between, so you should snap this up!

IAN HUNTER - "SHRUNKEN HEADS." The older this Hoople gets, the better he sounds. The followup to "Rant," one of the strongest records in Hunter's career, is just as strong. With lots of help from Jeff "Will Someone Hold My Hair Back?" Tweedy, "Shrunken Heads" sounds like Bob Dylan fronting "Exile"-era Stones. You can't get much better than that.

LINKIN PARK - "MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT." The press release we're reading claims that this is the most anticipated release of the year. It is? Wait, what year is this again?

VARIOUS ARTISTS - "A REGGAE TRIBUTE TO THE POLICE." This is probably as lame as you think it is. It's $11.98 in 49 states, but $250 in New York City.

There's more at the homepage so get over there and order up a storm.