THE INTERNATIONAL STORY

I think the band have released close to a dozen compilation albums with many being released the last few years.This particular one is highly thought of by fans as it spans their careers from 1972 to 1981 and is mostly live. I must admit the first disc is simply a killer 79 minutes of music. Only three tracks but it includes two classics in the 53 minute "Solar Music" suite along with an 18 minute track from their debut.These two are worth the price of admission. Unfortunately for me it's downhill from there. In fact because I own the debut which is a masterpiece in my opinion, and the classic "Solar Music Live" I already have the essentials making this double recording somewhat redundant. Over half of the second disc is taken from the eighties and to be honest while I like these songs they pale when compared to the first disc.

The first disc contains a psychedelic and jamming style of music that I love,while the second contains a lot of shorter vocal tracks and all of these(on disc two) would be considered "songs" as it were like on "Rockpommel's Land" that i'm not a big fan of. If your a major fan of this band then I would get this without hesitation, but i'm very content with the debut and "Solar Music Live" both of which I value highly. Both of these discs contain over 79 minutes of music each so yes it's packed full and we get a nice package with lots of pictures and info as well. For fans and more. 3.5 stars.