Side Trax [Original recording remastered]

Ministry | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0006213NK
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,462 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #64 in Music > Alternative Rock > Goth & Industrial > Industrial > Industrial Dance

Editorial Reviews

Nearly 80 minutes long, this value-packed CD takes all of the Ministry side projects and collects them in one place at last! Includes PAILHEAD - a collaboration with Ian MacKaye (from Fugazi and Minor Threat); 1000 HOMO DJ’s - a collaboration with Trent Reznor (NIN), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and others; PTP - a collaboration with Chris Connelly; ACID HORSE - a collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Is everybody deaf? There is a problem here..., October 13, 2004

By 

REX (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Side Trax (Audio CD)

Both Rykodisc and Al Jourgensen deserve accolades for finally compiling this material together onto one disc, and I must say I was greatly looking forward to hearing such classics as "No Name, No Slogan" and "Rubber Glove Seduction" in sparkling remastered glory. I have the other Ministry reissue disc and the RevCo releases as well, and while their quality varies considerably, all of them sound distinctively improved. Unfortunately, the reality with this compilation is that something must have gone horrible awry in the mastering -- perhaps somebody grabbed the wrong files -- for these tracks sound worse than the WaxTrax! originals by a long shot. In most cases, intricate details and stereo effects that panned back and forth are completely gone, and worst of all, the tracks sound flattened and lifeless. Instead of demonstrating the heart-pumping, fist-pounding, immaculately-produced anthems these tracks once were, Side Trax offers a bunch of monochromatic, monophonic replications that give the whole project an overwhelming feeling of "cash cow" with little attention paid to quality control. I have yet to figure out how I am the only one on earth who has yet noticed this flaw, but I may as well offer this up to those with discerning ears who were looking forward to hearing their old time WaxTrax! favorites in a new light. This, sadly, is not your opportunity.

EDITED TO ADD: As of March 2005, Rykodisc have corrected the error and re-pressed the CD with the proper stereo mastering. You can contact them and have your problematic copy replaced with very little hassle. The new mastering sounds good, if not necessarily better than the original EPs -- a testament to how ahead of their time they once were.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All you need now is RevCo's Beer's, Steers & Queers...LARD, May 13, 2005

By 

Patrick O. Curley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Side Trax (Audio CD)

This CD hasn't left my CD player since I got it...I'm from Chicago...and used to go to Wax Trax back in 89'...I remember hearing ACID HORSE'S "No Name No Slogan" for the first time there and asking Chris Connelly who sang it (most of Ministry was working at Wax Trax at one point or another)...for years I thought he said "Acid House"...Ah, the joke was on me...

The fact that this CD has all the releases from Pailhead, 1000 HOMO DJ's, PTP and Acid Horse is simply amazing...it flows like a great mix tape...all you need to get now is LARD: The Power of Lard and Revolting Cocks: Beers, Steers & Queers and your set.

Oh yeah...Pick up a copy of Ministry's Land of Rape and Honey while your at it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The other sides of a stunning band.., May 2, 2005

By 

Takis Tz. (InYourHead) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Side Trax (Audio CD)

First off, the copy i own isn't problematic as some reviewers here report about theirs which is a big relief indeed because who would want such an essential release marred by poor sound quality?
On to more important things then, as is the case with "Early trax", this compilation was also way overdue, and it's bells in the ears for those who appreciate high quality music of any kind.

Ministry's side projects were never the usual "lets experiment with some stuff noone wants to hear" affair that is often the case with other bands. Instead they were intriguing (and diverse even) musical side projects with always something extra to offer to the band's dedicated fans.

Sure, in most of these side projects, the song remains the same in a sense. It's industrial, industrial, industrial. That, with the exception of LARD possibly -which veers off to glam rock in certain instances- is a recipe that Ministry have become the true masters of, the measuring unit (or one of the main ones in any case) for others to count themselves up against.

Everyone will differ in favorites here naturally, but in my humble opinion the track that easily stands out is "Hey as****e" from 1000 Homo DJs. It's a track that is reminiscent in a way to a Bodycount track (remember them?), with the difference being that while the setting is similar it's much more sarcastic and caustic, and definetely more explosive and bombastic.

"Supernaut" (a perennial live concert Ministry classic) is also a show stealer as are "Dont stand in line" and "Man should surrender" from Pailhead.

But it's pointless to pick out things here. This is an essential release from one of the most influential and way ahead of its time bands. Ministry were on such a par with their side projects as well as when they were being the Ministry we know.

The fact that some of these tracks go back 10 years or longer and yet they are as relevant as it gets musically still today says it all.