Recording information: Blackwing Studio, London (12/05/1987); Bren Centre, Irvine, CA (12/05/1987); Far Heath Studio, Northamptonshire (12/05/1987); Rockfield Studios (12/05/1987); Woodbine Studios, Leamington Spa (12/05/1987).
Photographers: Mitch Jenkins; Fin Costello; Jeff Katz.
Pitched somewhere between a lavish deluxe set and a budget box, this Love and Rockets release includes the band's first four studio albums -- Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven, Express, Earth Sun Moon, Love and Rockets -- in remastered editions and packed with bonus tracks, plus a fifth disc of rarities and live tracks. Although it may not be the type of package that fans think the trio deserves, there's little else to quibble about here. Every single track is in place, including both Canadian and U.S. mixes or edits of several early singles ("Ball of Confusion," "If There's a Heaven Above," "Haunted When the Minutes Drag") that divided fans, plus their alias single as the Bubblemen and six live tracks recorded in December 1987. The earlier editions of these albums had been showing their age (and lack of remastering) for many years, so it's a treat to have the seminal, underappreciated, prime-era work of Love and Rockets available in a pristine digital mastering. ~ John Bush
