A great release gets a new sound and lots of outtakes.
934305
It's nice to hear all the short outtakes that were recorded by the band that day.  Still this is mainly for compeltists and not for the casual fan who can buy the original release for less.  The sound is good though and worth listening to, because this is the beach boys , one of the greatest musical groups in history and they knew their stuff.
1680443
This doesn't sound like a band who had been apart for over 25+ years. Rather, the Police are at the top of their game. The sound is excellent. It's great to hear the updated versions of these songs. Yes, some of the songs have been lowered a few keys, but they fit Sting's voice better than some of the original tunings (where he had to stretch a bit too much on some of the early Police tracks). You'll find a bit more of a jazzy element to the guitar and bass-work on these versions, but that works a lot better than the pseudo-punk sound they attempted in their early years. Honestly, for the pre-Synchronicity tracks (i.e before 1983), I prefer these live versions to the original studio arrangements.

I'd love to see these three do one last studio album together. While it's hard to top their classic works, each of them has grown musically over the last 25+ years. Those expanded chops are evident on this DVD/CD set...it would be awesome to see what they could do in developing new material. Sting has hit a bit of a dry patch creatively over the last decade, so maybe a new Police project could reinvigorate him. I know it's a long shot, but I'll keep my fingers crossed :)
1039570
Listen, this release is awesome, there are versions on here that have never been released on CD before.

"In a bid to offer existing fans something new compared to previously existing compilations the album included four never-before on CD versions of the bands tracks, including the original 7 version of "True Faith" and Shep Pettibone's 7 remix of "Bizarre Love Triangle". It also includes the shorter 4:24 edit of "The Perfect Kiss". All tracks were mastered from original source tapes by Frank Arkwright."

The sound quality is crisp, clean, nice bass, basically it is not brick walled and all the details are separate as it should be. It seems these days digital remastering is getting better and better in sound quality. People are finally learning how to do it right. Yay! All the Joy Division tracks sound great. And you can tell this is a new digital remaster. Better than even the most decent previous efforts on New Order and Joy Division re-releases and best of's.

Anyone ever wish that the Shep Pettibone 12" Remix of 'Bizarre Love Triangle' were also mixed in to a shorter 7" edit? Because that remix is damn long. Well, there actually was a 7" remix edit released back then. And it's here on CD for the first time. And it's not found on any other past New Order best of compilations. I always prefered Shep Pettibone's extended Remix of 'Bizarre Love Triangle' over the shorter original album version. I had no idea there was an edit of the Shep Pettibone 12" remix. I am so excited about this. It is far superior if you ask me, since the original version is missing some very important parts.

And how about 'True Faith'? Anyone ever feel that all the versions of that song were too long? I had always wished for a shorter edited version. Well it exists! It's here for the first time on CD. The 'True Faith' 7" Edit is basically a single version that was released back in the 80's, but it has never been released on CD ever, until now.

'The Perfect Kiss' is basically the single or album version, but this version included on here is an even shorter edit. I also had no idea this was ever released back in the day. AWESOME! It flows much better as a single version.

The remastering on this collection is the absolute best you will find anywhere up until now regarding New Order and Joy Division. The detail is meticulous, it's perfection. 'Blue Monday' finally get's the excellent remastering it always deserved. The remastering alone is worth the money, but the rare 7" versions are also a must have for collector's (most notably 'True Faith' 7" Edit and also 'Bizarre Love Triangle' Shep Pettibone 7" Remix Edit.)

I do not think 'Thieves Like Us' 7" edit version has been released on CD before, or at least on many past best of compilations. On here it is remastered so wonderfully. I think this 7" edit is only included on that dreadful sounding "Singles" collection from back in 2005. So the 'Thieves Like Us' single is also important.

Another worthy note is the 7" edit of 'Fine Time', which again I think was only included on the horribly remastered "Singles" CD from back in 2005. This new remaster sounds better than anything released up to this point by the band.

I think the most exciting track on here is the Remix Edit of "Bizarre Love Triangle", so awesome they released this. I also find the version of 'True Faith' on here to be exciting, because I have always felt certain New Order singles were way too long in length time. I prefer many of these 7" edits over the original album version's. Now if only there were a 7" edit of 'Blue Monday' that would be awesome. But of course I enjoy the original version of 'Blue Monday' just fine. It sounds great here. This release is worth it for the excellent digital remaster itself. This is a must have.

What some of you negative reviewers are missing is that the sound quality on this release is different than past releases. I have to say, regarding the new track.... I like the last track. The unreleased 'Hellbent'. It sounds like a single from their last album. Really very quite good.
875723
The remastering  is excellent as everything seems  brighter and clearer.  In fact I can now here subtle sounds that I may have missed before.  The extra tracks are great to have on CD and in one location.  I can't wait for Roddy's new album.  I am just an average listener so I can't break down the technical aspects.  I can tell you the music is clearer than ever and a whole lot of fun to visit again.
3271688
This is an amazing sounding reissue with some bottom end and volume.
3353216
I guess at this point true ABBA fans should be getting used to the re-release of all that previously released material that has been slightly repackaged or tweaked to some degree or another by now. Universal Music has pretty much depleted their options on re-releasing ABBA music. Somehow they did manage to do a good job with this 2 CD set though and gave us a pretty good live recording without too much extra fiddling with the live sound but cleaned it up and enhanced it enough to make it a worthy addition to any ABBA fan's collection. I like the fact that there are no dead spot gaps between tracks that would disturb what seems to be a good flow of original concert material. i know there were some deletions but overall a must have for me. Thanks Universal Music for doing this right. You have not always done so in the past but this time you hit it pretty well.
2978117
Okay, to clear up a few points -- first, the title is awful; second, I never thought the original was bad to begin with (even Long and Winding Road); third, there are other "stripped" versions of these songs available on Anthology and Past Masters; fourth, the bonus disc is only worth listening to once or twice;....however, please, please, open your ears everyone to the extraordinary clarity of the sound emanating from your speakers.  The new running order provides a very cohesive and "organic" listen, one idea running nicely into the next, and when added to the remastered sound, this is a great release.  With the recent Dylan and Stones SACD remasters, one can only hope that the lovely sound on this CD will spur Paul and Ringo to sign off on SACD remastering of the whole catalog, including the original Let It Be, which I'll be happy to buy again.  Why moan about the fairly superfluous bonus disc when the CD only cost 12 bucks?  As far as the music, this release is full of various awesome Beatles' trademarks.  Listen to the great time change on "I Me Mine".  And though it seems de riguer to trash Long and Winding Road, listen to the way the tune modulates into the middle eight section, ..."Many times I've been alone..."  They were master tunesmiths.  And in my opinion, in this form, or the original, it's a great album.
1080057
This release was not what I expected from hearing the last two releases from them.  It does have about three cuts I like.
909937
this review is for the new esoteric 2011 release of "ear of beholder".  esoteric did another great job at remastering, and adding bonus material to this release.  ear... has so many different styles going on, it's really an eceletic mix.  the sound is so good, you can hear traffic driving by during some of the live recordings.  most of the recordings is lol on saxophone.  david bedford contributes to many of the songs also.  avant garde, to 40s vaudevillian tunes, this solo recording has quite a variety of styles.  what does add charm is of course the children added to a few songs.  it is funny to hear children sing the "mango walk" and the full version of "i am a walrus" by the beatles.  the bonus material are from two singles; the coxhill bedford duo doing an a&b side with "pretty little girl", from '71.  the other single is a mix of will dandy & the dandylettes doing "sonny boy/oh mein papa" as "a"side and "b" side is another coxhill bedford duo doing "mood" which is the best track of the bonus material.  aside from the bonus material, there are the original notes, plus current article written by sid smith, and an added Zig Zag magazine review from '71.  a very enjoyable release if you are into avant garde type of saxophone music.
2217124
I had the pleasure to see them on tour celebrating this release and was more than satisfied.  This mix truly is better than the previous ones and the extras are worthwhile as well.
2920591
I love this version of the song. It's better than the originally released album version. A lot of extras. You can tell they were really just jamming.
2422593
This is an interesting release; not as comprehensive as RANCHO TEXICANO or even GREATEST HITS, but it does offer a couple of curiosities that might make it worth your while.  Firstly, it features the (minor) hits "TV Dinners" and "Burger Man", which are on neither of the aforementioned compilations.  If you're a big enough fan of ZZ Top that you want ALL of their singles, but not a big enough fan to invest in all of their individual albums (which describes me to a "T"), then pairing this release with RANCHO TEXICANO is the golden ticket (or pair it with GREATEST HITS, if you gravitate only to their '80s sound)--just keep in mind, you'll be buying this for basically two tracks only, so look for a nice, low price.  Secondly, this release oddly has its audio tracks lifted (in high quality, mind you) from each song's respective video, so you get all of the lead-in dialogue and sound effects (lots of the ambient sound of "The Elimiator" car pulling in for its next adventure) along with the music proper.  Strange, but never irritating.  Lastly, please do not be concerned about the small blurb on the back of the packaging that says "Contains Live Recordings"; I have verified that each and every track is the original studio version (again, just with video dialogue and sound effect extensions added).
1814020
Fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this release. It continues the same style of big beats with rock guitars and tough samples that their previous album, "Tweekend", utilized, especially on tracks like Born Too Slow, with its quality rock vocals, and the satisfyingly crunchy Weapons of Mass Distortion. But tracks like Broken Glass, Acetone, and Wide Open also harken back to the smoother, more synthesizer-based sounds of their first full-length, "Vegas", and serve to balance this album better than its predecessor. There are also a few nicely-executed doses of hip-hop and soul flavor to round out the diversity of the sound.
I can't really justify giving this album 5 stars because it doesn't break much new ground, but rather fine-tunes an already successful formula. But if you enjoy big, driving electronica infused with rock sensibilities, it doesn't get much bigger or better than this.
972584
This album is a huge improvement. I mean it comes with videos and more extras than most hollywood dvd's. They have music videos and making of's. There are also 3 new wonderful tracks. This is a great gift for anyone who hasn't gotten the older version. Get this one it's much better.
229465
Some of the outtakes and early concerts that are great to listen too.
1573199
The remixing of the album is clearer and more stellar.
1784827
What can you say about this legendary debut album that hasn't been said before. This new "expanded/remastered" edition sounds fantastic. The extra songs are new revelations on the early CSN sound."Teach Your Children" was transformed by Stills from an
English folky tune to the countryfied hit we heard on DEJA VU.I found a few changes on this new CD. Dallas Taylor's picture has inexplicably been stripped out of the back cover. Taylor was such a big part of their early sound & it's kinda sad that he has been removed .Also,at the beginning of "49 Bye Byes" on the original album , David Crosby did his
best Robert Johnson "imitation" about inviting some babe into his kitchen. THAT intro has been removed. No big deal;doesn't affect the music but,if ain't broke,don't fix it. Highly recommended for the extra songs. A stone cold classic. The apex of Stephen Stills' career.