By revealing a snapshot of the creative process part-way through, the working mix included on IV's companion CD only adds to tone's grasp of their artistic achievement. [Nov 2014, p.106]

there are shivers galore on this box. [Jan 2020, p.96]

It's an album that at times sounds like it wants to smash your face to pieces, sometimes your heart. It's beautiful, horrible, bleak, spiteful, overwhelmed, overwhelming--a cry of panic ,despair, anxiety in the face of accelerating modernity. .... All three [previously unreleased tracks] are excellent in their way. [Aug 2017, p.100]

Ramones is pretty much perfect. [Sep 2016, p.102]

Revolver presents an accomplished, almost impenetrable sheen - which makes the archaeology provided by the outtakes and different mixes all the more involving. ... You can hear the pace of their lives and their ideas in this perfect encapsulation of The Beatles at their peak. [Dec 2022, p.96]

Whether you consider London Calling to be the last great rock album of the '70s or the first great rock album of the '80s, the extent to which it fully merits its cultural and aesthetic status is utterly beyond question. [Oct 2004, p.123]

All of the new mix’s strengths are writ large here. Ringo is restored. The voices feel ‘properly’ balanced and positioned. And in general, where there was whimsy (the bête noire of most Pepper agnostics) the power of solid drums and central voices irons it out. ... It’s an album--maybe the album.

Are these essentially live recordings of a visceral, in the moment experience? Of course they are. You can’t fake that vital spark. ... Live And Dangerous still stands as the band’s finest hour; the crystallisation of all that made them so irresistible, so brilliantly volatile. [Feb 2023, p.94]

It's the sound of a band at the absolute peak if its powers. [Jul 2015, p.100]

The seething, sweat-drenched yet shiny Doolittle is the complete package--and still a reason to believe. [Jan 2015, p.108]

Stasium's work put a spotlight beneath these 11 songs, brightening hidden corners until Bastards Of Young, Left Of The Dial and Kiss On The Bus sparkle like unworn jewels. [Nov 2023, p.103]

Collective, improvisational, Krautrock gigantism for inner space odysseys.

The Basement Tapes ignored every record-producing rule while remaining true to the muse. [Dec 2014, p.109]

The whole thing only underline what a ferocious rock band they had become. [Nov 2017, p.106]

The works-in-progress disc of this handsome reissue package gives an even starker impression of a man rummaging joyfully through the studio toy box, now slapping down an instinctively lively drum beat, now jumping on a synth he’s only just plugged in, and rolling with it.

Built on Phair's self-taught chording and a melodic sense of rich DIY potency, these compelling narratives blossom into a transfixing (and profane) particularity. [Jun 2018, p.102]

If you're the kind of listener who has come to associate outtakes from classic albums with meagre, dryly forensic spoils, prepare to be very pleasantly surprised by Disc 3.... Rumours reminds us why we should continue to indulge them. [Mar 2013, p.100]

Giles Martin hasn't dug up Abbey Road; but his subtle improvements have smoothed out the odd bump. [Nov 2019, p.103]

Sensitively remixed and remastered--like cleaning stained glass for brighter colours--and in combinations of formats, here's a masterpiece that lives up to its legend. [Oct 2018, p.106]

Much is familiar, via the archive releases VU and Another View. But with all traces of ’80s remixes removed, the performances now sound as they should--less like a rock band and more like The Velvet Underground. [Jan 2015, p.104]

Blue Lines still goes above and beyond. [Dec 2012, p.102]

Though there isn't a dud in Apple's back-catalogue, she has never sounded quite so liberated and artistically sure-footed as this. [Jul 2020, p.86]

[A] more light-hearted, and lightweight, fifth album. [Nov 2014, p.106]

There are many extras here to pique the completist's interest.... But the real punch rests in the unprecedented clarity of the remastered original tracks, and the audacious creativity and humour of the packaging. [Oct 2013, p.104]

You can file the seven bonus alternative mixes under "interesting" rather than "essential," but the sheer magnificence of the rest remains undiminished. [Apr 2015, p.108]

Even Russell's most intimate recordings could make him feel like a phantom; as details are filled in, the phantom expands. [Aug 2023, p.94]

There is a remarkable consistency about Smile's complex tapestry of delights. [Oct 2004, p.98]

Lynn's voice... is as strong as it was during her heyday, while her songwriting ability has only increased with age. [Jun 2004, p.98]

This album was Williams' breakthrough, with excellent songs.... A 20-track bonus CD offers a 14-song live set from that time and some very nice radio performances. [Mar 2014, p.105]

It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive collection from such an important group. [Dec 2016, p.98]

Both of these albums twisted machines to Radiohead's will, to their need to hear soulful songs singing in their wires. And they're resonating still. [Dec 2021, p.102]

The empathy between the four is palpable. [Jun 2003, p.113]

The gold standard rock double LP, Ladyland now boasts 12 solo demos, eight studio outtakes (notably the stunning Angel Caterina, alias 1983), plus a September '68 Hollywood Bowl show. [Dec 2018, p.104]

Rich in sonic detail à la ’90s Outkast, ’00s Roots and present day Flying Lotus (whose fluid bassist Thundercat performs another star turn), Lamar undercuts his densely layered messages with acerbic ruminations on his newfound celebrity status that may prove polarising, but are never less than enthralling.

It still vibrates with Warren Ellis's ominous, cosmic-radiation synthesizers and loops, but Ghosteen is less tightly coiled and knotted. ... Cave finds a way to reach out, and reach through. [Dec 2019, p.87]

Ultimately, The Band raised all stakes, and a half-century later, musicians are still striving for its excellence. [Jan 2020, p.90]

This 4-CD box is the monument to both the cult and the art. And it's great. [Oct 2009, p.117]

The live disc's souped-up version of Drive notwithstanding, what comes across is that AFTP is at heart a sublime collection of folks songs. ... A winning package. [Dec 2017, p.103]

Siamese Dream is full of bombastic romanticism and undiminished power. [Feb 2012, p.108]

The Who Sell Out still remains fresh 53 years after its original release, and is thus worthy of this lavish and careful archive treatment. [Jun 2021, p.97]

Even though it'll never be fully completed, Smile is a welcome time capsule from an unrepeatable moment in popular culture. [Dec 2011, p.106]

The recovering dope fiend's songs cut even closer to the heart. [Aug 2013, p.104]

If Guthrie sometimes plods wearily, betweenwhiles you get a hot stew of the laconic anger and irony that inspired the Seeger-Dylan-Springsteen-Bragg-and-beyond heritage. [Dec 2013, p.101]

Crafting a sound that incorporates stinky Funkadelic psych with Prince harmonics and Rick James' pimp disco, this is hip hop with the power to convert even the most reactionary nonbelievers. [Jan 2001, p.107]

A return to fundamentals closest in kin to Lamar’s 2012 debut, proving that, questionable sleeve design aside, he’s in imperious form.

The quantity and quality of the songs they have unearthed that didn't make it onto Deja Vu is pretty amazing. [Jun 2021, p.99]

It's more of what we know, which should suit Metallica heads just fine. [Dec 2017, p.105]

More evidence of the vast scope of his artistic vision. What’s extraordinary is how it continues to expand, containing multitudes no one else thought of.

Black Messiah is an exquisite realisation of what D’Angelo does best.

Finds her super-brassy, minimally-tooled groove machine in peak form. [Oct 2023, p.97]

Re-contextualises them as an act who wrecked glorious havoc on their unchanging musical parameters for decades. [Aug 2023, p.95]

Though true sub-notes of contemplation are hard to find in Noel’s initial tranche of songs, there’s vulnerability in his solo version of Half The World Away recorded live in a Tokyo hotel room on September 16, 1994, as Oasis madness spiralled in earnest. It’s this expanded edition’s one true unreleased gem. [Jun 2014, p.102]

A grand sweep of material that shows their evolutionary flights and remarkable consistency. [Jun 2017, p.98]

The jazz roots of George Clinton's Mothership, Ra's visionary music now sounds simultaneously joyous and bereft, a possible future now consigned to the past. [Feb 2017, p.107]

Gentlemen remains his [Dulli's] masterpiece. [Jan 2015, p.108]

Sixty-plus years later, E lives up to his legend, rooted in African-American rhythm & Blues and bursting with explicit erotic energy, controlling his nuclear-fuelled enthusiasm with the gravitational force of his magnificent voice. [Sep 2017, p.102]

It's a record full of fabulous intros. [Aug 2018, p.100]

In all, it's not only Johnson's sixth ace long-player in three years, but a heaven sent sanctuary from 2020's many brutal realities. [Jun 2020, p.90]

The seven-minute title track best reflects the fluid magic of the quartet as they travel from deep soul to deep space. [May 2024, p.89]

Skeleton Tree is an extraordinary piece of work, one that might impact upon you profoundly if you choose to bed-down in its dark corridors of hurt. [Nov 2016, p.84]

B-sides included here aren't without their charms but the album's genius clearly lay in distilling only the finest of Mould's new material into a powerful, singular statement. [Jul 2012, p.100]

Who's Next may not have been Pete Townshend's chose destination, but it encapsulates The Who better than anything before or since. It's the art=school provocateur, the bare-chested rock god and their virtuoso, brandy-soaked rhythm section at their peak. [Nov 2023, p.96]

On this recording--as well as his body of work--Trane proved that music is the superior language. And that there is only one John Coltrane. [Oct 2014, p.100]

Ultimately, the official album remains the crucible of the artist who flourishes to this day. [Dec 2010, p.112]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is genuinely a great record. [Feb. 2011, p. 108]

The working drafts may have comprised a more direct, accessible album. But this monument to Clark's troubled masterpiece shows how deep and far he was willing to go to capture--and share--the salvation in a song. [Dec 2019, p.107]

This is as perfect as any album can be. [Mar 2022, p.98]

Onstage his confidence was sky-high, his command total, much as it was in the studio. [Dec 2016, p.105]

They approach the tradition with an awe and wonder that especially percolates into the instrumentals. ... Their most extreme statement yet. [Dec 2019, p.89]

[A] mini-masterpiece. [Jul 2017, p.105]

The fabulous final versions of these songs often haven't travelled far from their rougher cuts, possibly because Harvey's voice, matured into a sumptuous growl, anchors the mood in enough grandeur. [Nov 2020, p.94]

The wily creativity on display here is astonishing. [Jun 2004, p.114]

Painfully literal in its detailing of grief. [Jul 2017, p.91]

Once inside, you discover fresh wonders. [Dec 2016, p.104]

This 1981 release was the middle and probably the greatest of Grace Jones's Compass Point trio. [Jun 2014, p.106]

An album virtually bereft of fluff and filler. [Album Of The Month] [Oct 2001, p.104]

It's too taxing for the less intense of the band's admirers. [Nov 2004, p.127]

Vibrant, vividly colourful and high spirited. [Jan 2006, p.146]

The main attraction of this six-disc box set reissue is a new ground-up stereo mix of Imagine by Paul Hicks at Abbey Road. These new mixes are clearer and more controlled, though respectful (maybe overly so). [Nov 2018, p.103]

For diehards, these takes [on the second disc] have an attractive live-in-the-studio-run-through feel, complete with informal chat and occasional sloppy edges. [Feb 2012, p.108]

By the time the closing spiritual Requiem rolls around it's self-evident Russell is very much in a genre of one. [Nov 2023, p.86]

All this may seem so exhaustive as to verge on the absurd, but fear not. It is the most fascinating document imaginable. [Dec 2016, p.100]

It's the exclusives that made this a cornerstone of any grunge collection. [May 2017, p.106]

The songs, six previously unreleased, range from good to outstanding, the sound quality as clear and natural as if he were singing in the next room. [Oct 2009, p.115]

It's as if the quintet has not yet achieved lift-off velocity. As such, the most fascinating tracks here are the older standards. [Sep 2023, p.94]

It's a vivid glimpse of a phenomenon on the cusp of mega-fame. [Jan 2022, p.100]

Ambitious, complex, raging and poetic. a testament to the possibilities of thrash. [Dec 2018, p.103]

Restored to Johnson;s original running order, it closes with the dissociative dance of Giant, a final defiant gesture on a record that squares up to tomorrow and--against the odds--wins. [Aug 2014, p.102]

The sound of a band untethered, revelling in their resurrection. [Jan 2020, p.98]

[Teenage Kicks is] arguablt not even the best song on this compilation. Wednesday Week's gorgeous melody, You've Got My Number's killer riff and the haunting, fragile Julie Ocean are superb, while we can even forgive them for their Human League-baiting My Perfect Cousin. [Mar 2020, p.101]

Blur 21's extraordinary warts'n'all scope makes its subject's odyssey momentous and tangible. [Aug 2012, p.98]

Now restored to their original length, the Fillmore performances--characterised by lysergic avant-funk and tripped-out soundscapes--are incredibly powerful and a permanent reminder of Miles Davis's pathfinding genius. [Apr 2014, p.107]

The demos here colour in the blanks and the alternative mixes are like watching a favourite movie from a different camera angle. But Against The Odds reminds the listener that there were always two Blondies. [Sep 2022, p.98]

With its wealth of sonic adventure, its thoughtful merger of the personal and the political, and its four choice guest spots (Jack White; Kendrick Lamar; James Blake; Abel Makkonen Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd), Lemonade is a dazzling example of pooled talent coalescing around an iconic doyenne. There can be little doubt on whose head Prince’s crown should now sit.

What's really mind-blowing is the audio quality of that initial 60-year-old performance (and indeed, the box set in general), which is so lucid that it sounds as if Miles is in the room playing right next to you. [Aug 2015, p.106]

Ants... represents a substantial step forward for them. [Mar 2022, p.84]

All its [The Gouster] tracks have been released before, though it's interesting to hear them in their original sequence. And the most obscure songs certainly merit more exposure. [Nov 2016, p.104]

From the title's Depression-era jokes onwards, Cooder protests like it's 1939. [Oct 2011, p.96]