A LITTLE NONSENSE NOW AND THEN - BOXED SET

A part of me wants to give this 5 stars, merely for the fact that this band deserves more recognition then it has recieved. They have gone through so much as individuals and suffered as a group at the hands of Sony who gave them a contract and then failed to support the album 'As the World." Shattered dreams...

A Little Nonsense (Derived from Willie Wonka...) is a 3 CD collection of those works which are out of print or have been re-recorded by the band, because.... according to the liner notes, "they could."

Disc One is the first release titled "Echolyn." A strong debut, which contains many influences and promise of a band on the rise. Again, this album, on it's own, is no longer available and after a year and a half of searching, nearly impossible to get used. On Any Given Night is my favorite track here and Carpe Diem is one of their stronger tracks.

Disc Two contains the EP ... which was a follow up to Suffocating the Bloom (Arguably the best Echolyn release) and When the Sweet Turns to Sour (a rewording of the title of the Genesis classic; When the Sour Turns to Sweet, which is covered by Echolyn on the disc). The latter is an angry slap at Sony. WTSTTS contains The Currents of Me, one of Echolyn's best tracks and Live versions of A Little Nonsense and As the World.

Disc 3 is a wonderful mix of live in the studio recordings and an original 1989 track which was never before released, The Edge of Wonder. The Studio Live tracks of three Cowboy Poems Free tunes are fresh and more powerful then those on the original release. The band also re-recorded some of their more popular numbers in the same fashion with Ray Weston playing bass and simplifying Tom Hyatt's bass lines. The songs come off well, especially As the World, which I feel sounds better then the original. Jordan Perlson's addition on percussions also brings some needed spark to the bands flavor. Chris Buzby's Wurlitzer sounds bigger and more "in the groove."

The disc sells for around $33.00, which makes each disc an $11.00 investment. Not bad at all considering most of this music is OOP (out of print). It's cheaper than buying three single CD's and ....... it's Echolyn....

An extraordinary box set witnessing such a great season of progressive rock for Echolyn, in the vein of Gentle Giant and Yes at the beginning (but according to a fusion style of their own), passing through so many changes and different styles as well, finally completely modern and "diverse" in the following steps of their brilliant career...so all these features are contained within the present box, event though probably the Genesis cover of "When The Sweet Turns Sour" is not essential here, but nevermind!! The origin of the songs is well explained inside the booklet and the commentary by Ray Winston is very interesting after all! As a matter of fact the production is always good and the sound clear as well; then you can find also the rare material and three different versions concerning their live stuff recorded in the Studio at the time of "Cowboy Poems Free", which is not bad, despite my choices, which turn soon to "Suffocating the Bloom" and "As the world". Of course my first approach with this important band was in the nineties, but for me this US ensemble has been always exceptional during their important career and sometimes the music suspenseful too. So, even though not all the songs included here are completely essential, I think that it could be a good place for a new listener to start discovering (or rediscovering, in the role of an old fan) the most interesting and exciting progressive music in the USA, since the issue e.g. of Myrthrandir's "For you the old women" (regardless, even though in a different style, a few unforgettable US albums like for instance "Leftoverture" by Kansas, just to mention only one essential work...!!).

Choose Echolyn anyway!!

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

'A Little Nonsense Now and Then' is a compilation album by Echolyn, released in 2002. 'A Little Nonsense Now and Then' occupies three CDs and is about 170 minutes in duration. The whole album is divided into six chapters. The first chapter contains the debut self-titled Echolyn album. The second chapter contains the acoustic EP '...And Every Blossom' which was released mere months after their 1992 masterpiece, 'Suffocating the Bloom.' The third chapter contains the album 'When the Sweet Turns Sour,' which was released shortly after the Sony debacle. The fourth chapter contains a song from 1989 entitled "Edge of Wonder (Erad-Glitch)." The fifth chapter contains live performances of three songs from 'Cowboy Poems Free.' Finally, the sixth chapter contains new versions of old Echolyn songs that were recorded in 2000, presumably during the 'Cowboy Poems Free' sessions.

In terms of the original studio material found on this album, it's certainly not Echolyn at their most refined or mature. However, the '...And Every Blossom' EP is a highlight of the album for me. The acoustic element of the music shows a side of Echolyn we don't hear as often. The new versions of classic songs are fine, but my favorite is "Suffocating the Bloom 2000," which underwent a massive transformation. In conclusion, this album is an excellent addition to any Echolyn fan's collection, especially if you're a completionist.