ROXY BY PROXY

Once upon a time, this album had something of a point to it: it's a sort of alternate take on Roxy and Elsewhere, assembled from different cuts from the same December 1973 residency at the Roxy which formed the "Roxy" part of that album (the "Elsewhere" bits having been recorded in 1974 at other venues). If you're super into that phase of the Mothers - and it's understandable why you would be, many people are - that might sound exciting to you, and in the mid-2010s this would have been a hot prospect to pick up.

However, in the intervening time the expansive Roxy Performances boxed set has come out, delivering the full content of all those Roxy shows plus more besides. If you are into the Roxy and Elsewhere era enough to be interested in this, then you're almost certainly keen on it enough to want that boxed set too - and once you have the box, this ends up being mildly redundant. Call it three stars: it's good stuff for sure, but better value and uncut shows await elsewhere for the buyer willing to save their pennies a bit more.