Ride Box Set

Consisting of three discs and a bulky booklet, Ride's history is broken down to an A-list (OX4: The Best of Ride), a collection of outtakes (Firing Blanks), and a disc that documents their 1992 Reading Festival appearance. It's true that they can't make everyone perfectly happy, but just who this box set is aiming to please is unclear. It can't be die-hard fans and it most certainly can't be newcomers. Most diehards won't want the best-of disc -- it's someone else's idea of Ride's best moments, not their own. Newcomers would hardly think to start with a set that's two-thirds unrepresentative. Besides, they can purchase the best-of disc separately, even though square one should truly be Nowhere. To be entirely pleased with the box, one must fall in some nebulous middle territory between committed and curious, a place that might not even exist. These problems aside, the overall presentation is striking. Patched together with involvement from the band and management, a great deal of care was put into the project to make it look and sound good. It's no cheap cash-in. The outtakes disc is fascinating, containing everything from decent outtakes (including early blast "I'm Fine Thanks" and a pair featuring lead vocals from Loz Colbert) to silly goofs (a twee stab at mimicking New Order and a Butthole Surfers-inspired yuletide chestnut). Adding some insult to injury, the liners mention a number of other recordings that haven't seen the light of day; combined with unincluded stray compilation tracks mentioned and not, the doors remain open for a full vault raid. Finally, the live disc rectifies the problem of having Live Light as the band's only commercial live document. It tops it, though only in sound quality. For all the package's noncommittal faults, it remains a sound investment.