Crystal Days: 1979-1999 [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Echo & The Bunnymen

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 17, 2001)
• Original Release Date: July 17, 2001
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00005LMXO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,021 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Though a much-ballyhooed phenomenon that influenced modern bands as diverse as Pavement, Hole, and Flaming Lips, Liverpool's Echo & the Bunnymen tellingly had their biggest American successes ("Lips Like Sugar" and a cover of the Doors' "People Are Strange") just as they were beginning to come apart at the seams. With frontman Ian McCulloch wailing his impressionistic/expressionistic lyrics (occasionally so obtuse it was hard to tell which adjective applied) over Will Sergeant's fevered, jaggedly hypnotic guitar lines like a shamanic voice in the wilderness, the Bunnymen didn't so much push rock's boundaries as redraw them entirely to their own grand specifications. Compiled with a fan's zeal and the frank circumspection of hindsight, this richly annotated (including running track-by-track commentary by McCulloch and Sergeant) four-disc set documents the Bunnymen from their awkwardly determined '79 tracks and singles through highlights from their '80s albums and a gratifying late '90s comeback. Sprinkled generously throughout are singles, B-sides, Peel Session outtakes, and live tracks that add insightful details to their compelling, if decidedly star-crossed tale. Disc four will be especially welcomed by the faithful, containing mostly live tracks from '83 to '87 and an unlikely, eclectic array of covers ranging from Dylan's "It's All Over Now" and the Stones' "Paint It Black" through the Doors, Lou Reed, and Television that suggest these were impossibly ambitious musicians who made their mark first and discovered their roots later. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
Echo & The Bunnymen - Crystal Days 1979-1999 collects 72 tracks, including 14 previously unreleased tracks and 23 cuts never before available on CD. This Rhino Records box set spans the whole of the Bunnymen's career, from their very first recording ('Monkeys') through selections from 1999's What Are You Going To Do With Your Life? The first three discs include all the classic singles and album tracks, as well as rare B-sides, outtakes, unreleased songs intended for a scrapped 1986 album and a pair of lost tunes rescued from the vaults of the BBC. Disc Four kicks off with a few more rarities and alternate takes before plunging into a 50-minute demonstration of the Bunnymen in peak live form, covering Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Jonathan Richman, Television, The Doors and the Velvet Underground in addition to searing versions of their own songs. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, the days!, July 19, 2001

By	Robert Westermeyer "R. Westermeyer, Ph.D." (Olivenhain, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An awesome package! When I first saw it set on the "New Releases" rack, I said to myself, "Oh, great. All the songs I already have packaged in a pretty book." Upon further inspection, I was amazed to find that there are nearly forty songs/versions I'd never heard. Peel Sessions! B-Sides! Live performances! Outtakes! Well worth the price. I'm listening to it right now, and I know that this is going to be my main spin for the rest of the summer. E&theBMen are so amazing, especially the early stuff. Saw them in 85, having only heard "Seven Seas". I was immediately hooked. Not too fond of the recent stuff. Thankfully, though, this package is bottom heavy, that is, most emphasis is on the early and mid period Echo. If you are an Echo fan, you must own this. If you are calculating its worth by counting the songs you already have, forget it. Even the album cuts have been re-mastered beautifully.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Buy It, July 2, 2002

By	Wallace V. French III (Boston MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A couple very good reviews on this box set already in here, but I thought I would throw my two cents in the ring. A great box set for the Echo fan. Cool pictures and a lot of unreleased stuff here. I bought this in Chicago at an in store appearance and the band said they were very proud of all this stuff and were amazed when they heard the final product because they used some high speed equipment to remaster these old recordings that were thought to be lost. I am amazed by these guys each time I hear this music. They have really grown musically, but retain that great sound they've always had. The new releases are just as good because they keep that same sound they've had since Urgh! A Music War. Good stuff here and well worth the price. Not easy to find in the stores anymore so you may need to order it online.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for the die-hard, July 22, 2001

By A Customer

If you're trying to decide whether to buy this, here's how it works. Do you already own Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, and Ocean Rain? If not, buy them. They are classics, and you can get the four of them together for less than the price of this set. If you love those four discs and want more, then buy this. It has good digital recordings of the original Bedbugs and Ballyhoo, Over Your Shoulder, and Angels and Devils, which are among their best songs and aren't otherwise available on disc. Plus the long version of Silver, and a few other goodies that have been out of print for years. There also are some good live numbers on disc four. The songs from the first four albums that appear here sound perhaps a little cleaner than on their original CDs, but if you are thinking of buying this set just to get upgraded sound on those numbers, I predict you will find the difference small for the price. Much of the rest of the stuff here is junk that's fun to have but not as much fun to listen to -- alternate takes or unreleased songs that were suppressed all these years for good reason. There also are a few tracks from the recent comeback albums, about which the less said the better.

Basically there is about one disc worth of stuff you will listen to a lot, and three discs worth of stuff that has some curiosity value but that you probably won't listen to very often (assuming you own the first four albums). All in all, not a great value but an absolutely necessary and delightful purchase for the big fan. The annotations inside are sometimes interesting but nothing reveletory.