NOT the collection you've been waiting for!
583782
What DLC is included in the Mass Effect Trilogy?

"On Xbox 360, Bring Down the Sky and Pinnacle Station are not included with Mass Effect, however they are available as stand-alone downloads through Xbox LIVE. For Mass Effect 2, Cerberus Network will be included and Online Pass will be included for Mass Effect 3."

That basically says it all. - Forget about the DLC being on-disk, they don't even give you download codes.  The current MSRP ($60) is already more than the cost of the sum of the 3 games separately (shop around).  On top of that, to get all of the DLC, you'd need to pay an additional $65 through XBOX Live:

Bringing Down the Sky  400
Pinnacle Station  400
Shadow Broker  800
Kasumi  560
Arrival  560
Genesis  320
Overlord  560
Leviathan  800
From Ashes  800

Total  5200 points = $65

This 'Trilogy' isn't a definitive collection in any sense of the word.  This compilation is a blatant, lazy money grab.  Insulting.  Anti-consumer.  If they're this desperate to exploit their audience, they could at least put everything on-disk and charge $120. - At least then I'd respect them for being upfront about it - and I'd be able to have everything in one neat package.

I'll close by saying that this is all doubly infuriating because EA and Bioware have done this right in the past!  Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition, for example, was everything a Dragon Age fan could've hoped for in one beautiful package!

Note: This review is specifically for the 360 Trilogy SKU and is not meant to be a review of the individual games therein.  I'm reviewing the package.
3225493
I bought this CD because it contained a great collection of songs, many of which are hard to come by now from the original artists. But I was very dissapointed that several of the songs wound up on somebody's cutting board! Just to name 2 examples, "Valley Girl" and "Dancing in Heaven (Orbital B-bop)" both had their last verses removed. So buyer beware.
1784028
For a 3-disc anthology, this set has too many poor and odd choices. Yes, the obvious hits are all here, but this disc also has more than a bit of schlock; see the unnecessary covers of songs like "My Way" and "The Impossible Dream", or big band arrangements on weak tunes like "Learnin' the Blues". The other problem with this collection is that it doesn't flow at all, jumping around Glen's career from 60s to 70s and back again. A much, much better "Hits" collection to get is the 2-CD set called the "Capitol Years." No need to get this one unless you are a real completist, but then again the boxed set would cover more material and do a better job of quality material. This one is just plain strange.
756264
The moment I saw the track listing my heart sank. I was anxious with hope that there would be an unreleased Pennywise song on here. There isn't. I am sure that they have songs that are finished that could of been put on this disk. However they didn't do it. Agnostic Front wasn't unreleased either. However, I am happy to see that for the first time Epitaph HASN'T misrepresented them and showed everyone that how hardcore Agnostic Front really is. A new 98 mute song off of "After the Fall" is on here. However, you can get the MP3 on the Epitaph si+e so who cares? It's nice to see that the cool new band 1206 is on here. Pulley and Millencolin are cool. The NOFX and Rancid songs are both from "Split Series 3" I'm sure a lot of other people will be disappointed with that. The Bad Religion song is off of the album that just about every Epitaph fan has as well: "Process of Belief". However, you know what isn't on here? Ten Foot Pole and Dwarves. This is because Epitaph stupidly dropped them from the roster! Epitaph really should include overlooked lesser known bands that ARE on the roster: Vision, Dag Nasty, 59 Times the Pain etc. Because they have some pretty cool ones they choose not to include.
Ok, now I'll get to the point. If you are new to punk or new to Epitaph (g0d forbid) then by all means buy this after you have volume 4 and 5. If you aren't new you may want to think about whether buying this is really worth it. The lack of unreleased and songs is disappointing. Despite the fact, I am sure any die hard Epitaph fan (like me) will buy the CD for the che@p pr:ice and jam on to the current Epitaph roster.
1748096
This collection is a bit of a disappointment, first, because of the failure to include even the already published stereo versions of at least eight of the 22 tracks (not to mention the already published stereo pressing of the entire Christmas album), and second, because of the failure to include any of the late 60s/early 70s Spector work, e.g. with the Checkmates, Ltd, with Ronnie Spector ("Try Some, Buy Some"), and even with the Ronettes themselves ("You Came, You Saw, You Conquered").  Still, thanks to the solid mastering and the somewhat bizarre inclusion of the Phil Spector solo demo of "Spanish Harlem," this disc is, for collectors, worth the price. And if the rumor about EMI's acquisition of master tapes turns out to be accurate, one can only hope for future release of true stereo mixes of the classic Spector recordings, as well as possibly unreleased tracks (e.g., "Baby, Don't You Get Crazy" by the Checkmates).  Notwithstanding Spector's nostalgia about Gold Star and early 60s car radios, the stereo mixes make it far easier to appreciate his superb mastery of his medium -- and, let's face it, it's time to bag the "Back to Mono" mantra!
3374428
This is outrageous! There is nothing in this collection that haven't ever been previously released. Just some useless cardboard sleeves. It doesn't even include a booklet!!!

You can buy the FULL collection of Queen's 70s albums for the same amount (and if you buy the Hollywood CDs, you'll get the pics of the singles in each booklet).

In the end, you'll be spending ninety bucks for some eye candy. Avoid this at all costs!
2762209
"STYLES WILL VARY" - a  LOT!  The sets that were sent are nothing like the cute collections shown.  Are these are the cars that didn't sell?  I will have to return them as they are not a good gift for a young boy.  How disappointing!
233931
Well,Curb strikes again! I see 3 discs of the same songs that were released in their previous greatest hits cds. Other than a so call 'Collecor's Edition' in the tin box, there are no other suprises. What happen to never been released songs from albums like 'This Is The Way That I Feel', 'Disco Train'. 'Donald Clark Osmond' and other songs from 'Winning Combination' and 'Goin' Coconuts'? I'm very weary about these recent release of Curb's cds trying to cash in more money from fans. Until i see something worth buying, I suggest fans buy this at their own risks but i don't recommend it at all unless you just want the tin box. ' Collector's Editon'? C'mon Curb, give me a break!
1225569
Many people who love Latin music and vintage Latin album graphics will snatch up this book.  Be forewarned that there are disappointments to be found inside.  The author/compiler seems to look down his nose at the garish, exotic, sexy and sensational album sleeves from the '40s and '50s that we gringos adore, choosing for the most part to showcase politically correct, bizarre abstract art creations from the 1970s.  No me gusta!  It's not that there are none of the earlier variety of album sleeve on display here, but there are not nearly enough.  What's worse, the author interprets "latin music" to mean Cuban, Brazilian and Puerto-Rican-derived product; if you're looking for reproductions of some great old ranchera, flamenco or merengue album sleeves, you're out of luck.  The richness and diversity of Latin music is missing from this book.  COCINANDO! is certainly a groundbreaking collection, but by no means is it definitive.  I hope someone follows up this incomplete history with another that presents the Golden Age of latin music from a more unbiased viewpoint.  I'd like to take the opportunity here to tout the collectability of vintage Mexican album sleeves; many of them are absolutely gorgeous, and they need to be recognized as the works of art that they are.
760782
I am a huge life long fan Mama Cass, but not of greatest hits collections and such. I'd much rather buy the albums in their original form. But as in the case of Cass, you cannot find those albums unless it is on vinyl so I settled with this CD and also the collection called "Dedicated To The One I Love". Stick with the latter, this one has the same songs with a few strange ones thrown in with the mix. Maybe this is why CD sales are dropping but vinyl records are making a small comeback?
4582079
So far, I have truly enjoyed only two of the collection!
Two were were not my cup of tea!  I hope the last four are good.
1509581
My first reaction upon hearing the new Sarah CD would be yet ANOTHER compilation of old tracks was anger. How many times does producer Frank Petersen think we will blindly buy anything Sarah releases? It seems every other year or so there is another mish-mash of songs in new packaging. But then I thought, "it's titled a singles collection... it wouldn't be so bad to get a CD that would include rare single versions and long deleted tracks, remastered".

Well, I was wrong. The paltry track listing omits all of her upbeat singles, focusing more on easy listening. And not ONE new track for our money's worth.

Where is Starship Troopers? Captain Nemo? Eden? The River Cried? Him? Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again? Harem? Free? Amigos Para Siempre? How Can Heaven Love me? The Second Element?

How can this be called a singles collection when half of them are missing, and non-single tracks ARE included?

Shame on you Frank and Sarah... this is a rip-off.
377369
I have been an enthusiastic fan of Buffy Sainte-Marie's for upwards of thirty years, yet this collection (along with Vol. 2 of "The Best ...") just doesn't do it for me.
Everything the more enthusiastic  reviewers say about Buffy I heartily agree with.  Her unique voice.  The  themes from political to personal.  The musicianship.  And I have no  complaint with the selection of songs.
Yet I find these "Best  of" collections ultimately disappointing.  Perhaps it's only because I  became accustomed to listening to the whole, individual albums on vinyl,  each with its own very individual style, but it really jars my senses to  hear a simple folk song with minimal instrumentation (such as Cripple  Creek) followed by a lushly orchestrated country son (I'm Gonna be a  Country Girl Again) then by electronica (The Vampire).  I was quite  disappointed when I made the switch to CD and found these were about the  only Buffy available.
If you are new to Buffy, one of these collections  would make a good introduction, but by all means get some of the individual  albums as well -- the songs sound much better when not torn out of context.  Or simply start out with an individual album or two.
2539432
As another poster has stated, the stories in this collection are less short story and more sample chapters. Many lack any real world building and you are left feeling like a lot of the story has yet to happen. Think about only being given the prologue of a longer novel...without the rest of the novel.

If you are interested in any of the other works written by these authors, take a glance through here but if you want a true short story, pass.
1295621
If you've been wondering what the difference was between this set and the Prestige set, allow me to uncloud some mysteries.  The 4 big differences are studio/live material, sidemen, sequenceing/variety, and packaging.

  First of all, you can think of the 3 extra discs that the Prestige set has as basically live/festival performances.  Which is a real shame because Steeplechase recorded Dexter's club shows and such to a degree that many critics felt he was over-recorded, and Steeplechase was flooding the market.  They must have a good 2 dozen or so of his live albums for sale on their site.  I just wish we could have had a taste of that here.

  Secondly, there are no other horns present on these sessions.  Just Dexter and variations on the p-b-d format.  Too bad, because guys like Jackie McLean, Ben Webster, Johnny Griffin, etc. were living in Denmark and Europe at the time.  McLean, for example shows up on quite a few of Dexter's live recordings.  I've gotta believe he could have made it in the studio for a session.  The Prestige set has all sorts of horns: Gene Ammons, Freddie Hubbard, James Moody...

  Thirdly, the variety/sequence of the material is frankly quite wearing.  This is a set that's hard to listen to for extended periods because you get at least two takes of a tune, but frequently three in a row.  I counted 39 tunes out of 72 tracks.  One is a spoken introduction, so 32 repeated tracks?  That should tell you what you're in for.  I counted 20 alts. out of 88 for the Prestige set, but they're never anywhere near each other so you hardly notice.

  Finally, the packaging was a big disappointment for the Steeplechase box.  Prestige puts two discs into a slim pop-out case, so the 6 cases and the booklet slide into a sturdy cardboard box.  Nothing to show off, but if you've had to get a disc out of their 16 disc Coltrane set(after you've figured out where to put it), you know that this is a nice compromise.  Let's just say the Danish think a bit differently.  It sits not even half as tall in the cardboard pop-top because there are no protective plastic cases.  That's right, a $120 set of cds comes across the Atlantic in loose paper sleeves!!  How is this supposed to last?  The only way I can figure not to scuff the discs is to bend the snot out of the paper, so either way something's gonna give.  Disc 3 is skipping as I write this...I think these discs are really sensitive to fingerprints.  But getting them out of the paper cleanly?

  The bottom line is that this is really aimed at collectors - not the casual fan.  Steeplechase knows that for $120, Americans are going to have a hard time beating it by just tracking down the albums they want.  They have us and they know it.  My advice: get this if you can't live without it.  But if you're deciding between these two, jump on the Prestige set. And by the way, if you're looking at this because it promises Dexter on soprano, he plays it on one track: "In A Sentimental Mood".
3688201
I was initially excited to discover the collection and didn't see how such a broad-based compilation could go wrong.  I'm an avid reader of post-apocalyptic fiction, science fiction and futurism, so I'm no slouch, but this turned out to be quite different from what I was hoping for.

While a few of the pieces are good reads, so many of them are abstract, esoteric, or even reminiscent of the scribblings from slightly disturbed angst-ridden teenage diaries.  There's no good "meat" here, no concrete scenarios, suspense or drama to drive fear into your heart and make your mind race. The circumstances under which "apocalypse" occurs are rarely even revealed.  Even the subject matter is open to interpretation - "apocalypse" is made to mean many things, not simply the end of the world.  Which it does, of course, but that's not what I was hungry for when I picked up this book.  The book description should have done a better job of managing those expectations.

Perhaps if you are looking for a broad literary "treatment" of the subject, that kind of interpretation will appeal to you (or if you enjoy the just plain bizarre) then this collection is for you.  It was not for me.
1158309
This is not a favorite collection for me. It feels less enthusiastic and the collection is not inspiring for me.