A LITTLE NONSENSE NOW AND THEN - BOXED SET

One of the greatest progressive rock bands to ever hail from U.S. soil, Echolyn is starting to finally get a LITTLE more of the recognition that they have so richly deserved over the past 30 years or so. This 3-cd box set of earlier and lesser-known songs and albums is an absolute must for any fan of their more recent albums. It's a great companion to their 2004 DVD "Stars and Gardens", both products providing a more personal glimpse into the lives and background of this unique group of musicians.

With this neatly-packaged set (it's sort of like a gate-fold cd, except that it folds out four ways - like a cross - and the dimensions are about an inch bigger in length in width), you get remastered versions of some out-of-print albums, plus some never-before released stuff "from the archives". Disc 1 contains their complete 1991 eponymous debut, which I think is absolutely fantastic! Really surprised me. Disc 2 contains both their 1993 EP "...and every blossom" (about 16 minutes of songs about Spring) plus their 1996 cd "When the Sweet Turns Sour" (54 minutes). Disc 3 is sort of a hodgepodge: a 1989 track called "The Edge of Wonder" (aka E-rad Glitch), three live versions of the Cowboy Poems Free songs "Texas Dust", "Brittany" and "Swingin' the Axe", plus year 2000 remixes of "Suffocating The Bloom", "As the World", "Carpe Diem" and "Shades". All no-nonsense shtuff! (Well, maybe a little nonsense. Now and then...)

The set also comes with a booklet that explains the origin of the songs included, with commentary by Ray Weston. Newcomers to Echolyn should seek out their more recent albums first. But seasoned veterans of the group should snatch this set up without delay.

4-1/2 stars