Customer Reviews

Side Trax

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Something must have gone horribly wrong in the remastering, as this disc sounds as soft and flat as the original Wax/Trax! discs (at least in the case of Pailhead and 1000 Homo DJs). It's a shame as the other Ministry/RevCo reissues are so "in your face". Perhaps a "WTF???" e-mail to Ryko is in order....

You've probably heard about the Side Trax reissue problem where the initial CD was mastered accidentally in mono (i.e. someone copied one channel over the other on every song somehow.) You've also heard how a corrected version of this CD was subsequently reissued.

I've tried to order the corrected CD from Rykodisc with no luck. Any queries to their website via email or other means have resulted in no response.

I come here, and I see Side Trax being offered digitally. I naively figured "Well, I'm guessing the digital version should reflect the most recent, corrected version of Side Trax, right?"

Wrong. Not only did I waste money on the defective first issue of this CD, I wasted more money on the STILL defective digital version of Side Trax. And still no response from Rykodisc on the matter.

If I could give negative stars to this release just on the topic on quality control, I would. This is really sad, especially considering this is the strongest material that Al Jourgensen and family have put together.

Don't buy from Rykodisc. Worst label service I've ever received (if no service can be counted as "worst"), and I've been an avid music collector for over 20 years.

Would love to purchase this album, but Ryko seems to have sent out the defective mono version of this release to all online music vendors, including Amazon and iTunes.

I give this two stars only relative to Ministy's other discography. Because compared to Psalm, The Mind is a Terrible Thing, Last Sucker, Rio Grande... this isn't quite up to those levels. But it a very cool collection of several Al/Minisrty side projects together on one CD. Minor Threat is one of my favorite bands so I was really looking forward to the Pailhead material with Ian MacKaye, and interestingly they ended up being my favorites on the disc. I think the HomoDJ stuff is "just OK" and the other highlight I'd say is the Sabbath cover, Supernaut. Overall Side Trax is something Ministry fans might find interesting, but it's a bit of a departure from Ministry's more-intense releases.

The problem here goes beyond just bad remastering. The first second or two of the first track, "Man Should Surrender", is actually CUT OFF!! This wouldn't matter so much if it were a song that fades in, but this song starts right on the beat. The original vinyl is the only way to hear this song begin on the first beat. The PAILHEAD cd that preceded this one made the same mistake with this same song, although not as much was cut off there as on SIDE TRAX. I bought this CD partly to correct that problem, but no such luck. At least the other Ministry reissue, EARLY TRAX, corrected this problem with the song, "Every Day Is Holloween". The begining of that song was butchered this same way on the TWELVE INCH SINGLES cd.

ok so i have a thing for bands that i love puting out older stuff, (back and forth, a go go, and so on)
but these tracks on here are just fun and great, it may not be the best music in the world but it sure is fun to tap fingers to, i give it 5 stars due to the fact that most of these songs i been wanting to hear and never was able to but now i can, and i think its just my lame fandom kicking in, if your not a fan of old minsitry or al's work do not get this, but if your a ministry fan this is for you.

i love this cd. best idea recorded to a digital disc. amazing. love it all!!!