Customer Reviews

Anthology

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You can't fault the music on these cd's, the first disc are all 20 of their A-Sides. Not counting the acoustic version of "Circle (Outside Of A Circle)", or the Live versions of "July / I Am The News". The second disc is a run through of 20 B-Sides, with no overlap from 1997's B-Sides Seasides & Freerides. The third limited edition bonus disc is 36 minutes and 10 tracks of rarities and B-sides. There is also a nice booklet and slip-case, all together a great looking package.

So why no 5 stars... besides the fact that they just released a Very Best of 2 years ago, with most of the tracks from the first CD on it, it has to be the information in the booklet. There is no explanation of where any of the B-Sides come from or the rarities for that matter. Amazon's listing has better track information. And the other is the set really only has a couple of rarities. The B-Sides that are on the set are readily available from their most popular singles from 1995 on, only 4 are pre `92. I know it is not their best material, but it would be nice to have some songs that are hard to find. There is also nothing from their last album North Atlantic Drift.

Having whined for the last paragraph I can change my tune and say it is still Ocean Colour Scene. If you have only their full length CD's, a whole disc of great B-sides is a plus. And OSC almost always had great B-sides. "Robin Hood", "Song For The Front Row" and Buffalo Springfield's "On The Way Home" are just some of the highlights. If you know nothing about them they could fall in the same category as The Stereophonics, Oasis or Paul Weller.

While this anthology is a brilliant addition to any OCS fan's collection and an excellent introduction to new fans (even better than Songs for the Front Row, as it provides access to the band's often hard to find stellar b-sides), my complaint and withholding of one star is directed entirely at Amazon. The anthology is advertised in the write-up as including a third cd of bonus material, consisting of rare versions of songs and live performances. However, when I received my copy of the cd it excluded the bonus cd. I wrote to Amazon to complain, and after sending them my copy they sent me a new Anthology cd-- again without the bonus disc!! Clearly, it was a limited edition deal and Amazon cannot live up to delivering the goods. So, if you're looking for those cool rarities on the third cd, look elsewhere. If not, buy this for the amazing 40 songs that it does include.