The Boys

A two-on-one coupling of what have long ranked among the rarest of all Boys LPs, the two albums/23 tracks here were previously available only via a pair of long-deleted European compilations, the first serving up the original (scrapped) mix for the band's third (and best) album, To Hell With the Boys, the other ranging through the band's career in search of odd singles, outtakes, and anything else absent from other reissues and repackages. It is, by necessity, a somewhat scattershot collection, but the To Hell With the Boys material packs a swaggering charm and roughshod elegance that certainly provides a unique contrast to the somewhat produced sheen of the actual album. Whether the songs actually needed to sound quite so punky is, of course, a question that the band themselves answered when they ditched these mixes, but it's fun to hear their unique take on "Sabre Dance" bleeding out of distorted amps, while "Terminal Love," the Boys' paean to rock & roll's sainted dead, would sound great whatever you did to it. The remainder of the collection is not quite so informative -- the final days of the Boys were scarcely marked by either classic material nor undying commitment, and this particular directory of dying flourishes and last-gasp spasms is probably best left to the completist collector. Those first nine tracks, though, are eminently worth the cost of admission. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide