Hardcore Ufos [Box set, Limited Edition]

There are five CDs and one DVD in the box. The CDs include the greatest hits disc (also available separately), a CD of outtakes and obscurities available for the first time (these aren't even on Suitcase), a live CD, and GBV's first EP available for the very first time--it'd been out of print for years. There's an excellent photo and essay book as well, which gives colorful insight into the history, personnel, and personality of the band.

Rumor has it that Robert Pollard hand-picked the songs for the greatest hits disc. I can't quibble with his selections, for the most part, though I bet just about every hardcore fan wishes his or her favorite song made it (I was a little surprised to not find "Gold Star For Robot Boy" from Bee Thousand, "Red Men and Their Wives" from Under the Bushes, "Stabbing a Star" from Sunfish Holy Breakfast, "The Brides Have Hit Glass" from Isolation Drills, and "Useless Inventions" from Earthquake Glue in there somewhere). With so many great songs, it must have been torturous to pare the catalog down to the final 32.

I was super stoked to see "Back From Saturn X" on the B-sides disc.

The strongest offering by far is the live disc. This pastiche of songs--also hand-picked by Bob with some help--pulls together songs that flat-out rocked live along with a mix of mellow or more obscure songs. The sound quality of these is pretty phenomenal considering they were all yanked from amateur DATs and the like. I'd buy the whole box set again for this disc alone.

If you're new to GBV and you want to immediately take a deep dive, I recommend starting here or with the greatest hits CD by itself. If you like this band but have doubts about the box, nix them now and lay your money down: Hardcore UFOs does not disappoint.

Human Amusements At Hourly rates is the greatest hits CD. It has 32 songs, many of which are GBV's best songs. Of the 32 songs, there is only one I can't stand, "Drinker's Peace" from the wretched concept album "Same Place the Fly Got Smashed." Everything else on there is top notch. There are certainly dozens of other songs that could go on here, but a CD is only 80 minutes long. This is the CD you lend to your friends.

Demons & Painkillers is the B-sides and rarities CD. There are a lot of really good songs here as well as some truly awful ones. I can make a strong case for several of these songs belonging on the greatest hits CD (more on that later).

Delicious Pie & Thank You For Calling is the demos and outtakes CD. Eh. It is a mixed bag for me. I'd put it in the bottom 25% of the GBV releases I've come across. With so much else to choose from, I can't imagine listening to this all that often.

Live at the Wheelchair Races is the live CD. The setlist is very strong. I can even tolerate Drinker's Peace in this setting (even more reason not to have it on the greatest hits CD). The flow gets broken up a bit by changing time periods, but it really is not that bad. I will probably listen to this quite a lot.

Forever Since Breakfast is their first EP. It harks back to a time long ago when GBV were more interested in sounding like REM than The Who. There are good songs and bad songs here which shouldn't surprise anyone. If you liked Devil Between My Toes you will probably like this, and vice versa. Personally, I put half of the songs from the two releases onto my humongous GBV playlist on my MP3 player.

The DVD is great. I'm not much of a video watcher, but it is nice to have all of that stuff together on one disk (hint, hint).

The book has a lot of old pictures and a few fun anecdotes. Oh, and a description of where all of the tracks come from.

So, why 4 stars?
- I am very happy with the live CD and the DVD. Those two are 5*. The early EP gets 4 stars and I'm glad Bob decided to release it.

- The Greatest Hits CD covers too much ground. Their sound changed quite a lot in 17 years. I just don't think it sounds right to listen to all of it on one CD. Perhaps the single-CD issue sounds better with its non-chronological order. I was trying to think of a good stopping point and decided Mag Earwhig would be better.

- There are not enough alternative versions on the greatest hits CD. The two are nice, but why not have the alternate versions of Motor Away, My Valuable Hunting Knife, and Game of Pricks from the rarities CD on there as well? This would give me more reason to listen to it.

- I think it is a travesty not to have Postal Blowfish on the greatest hits CD. With the extra room on the greatest hits CD, I'd throw in a few more tracks from the rarities CD such as Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy and Dodging Invisible Rays.

- I'd pick the best of the outtakes and add them to the rarities CD. We know there are other outtakes and demos lying around. Since the outtakes and demos CD is mostly filler anyway, I don't think it really matters to me what else goes on there.

So, in summary, there is a lot to like about this box set, but there are enough frustrations for me to keep my rating at 4*. If you are a big GBV fan, you either have gotten this already or are wondering why you haven't gotten it yet. If not, there are plenty of other CDs for you to choose from as you continue your journey towards becoming a big GBV fan.