Rhino's AP presents Industrial Strength Machine Music: The Framework of Industrial Rock 1978-1995 presents 16 tracks from the heyday of industrial, when the music was part of the underground and progressing at a rapid speed. Actually, the title is a bit misleading, since the disc doesn't contain all that much from the late '70s, or even the mid-'90s -- it concentrates on the salad days of the late '80s and early '90s, when the music ruled college airwaves. Any industrial fan or anyone that followed college radio during those days will recognize many of the names here -- Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Coil, Einsturzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy, Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel, Front 242, Clock DVA, Meat Beat Manifesto, Ministry, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, KMFDM, Revolting Cocks, Nine Inch Nails. Most of the groups are represented by their most familiar material and when they're not, such as the previously unreleased RevCo cover of "Physical" or the previously unreleased live version of NIN's "Gave Up," they're sops to collectors who already have all this material in their collection. Does that mean that Industrial Strength Machine Music is only for collectors. Hardly. As a matter of fact, there's probably enough rarities here to make it truly of interest to them, but for casual fans or neophytes, this is a good basic primer. Sure, it might have been nicer to have "Head Like a Hole" instead of "Gave Up," but that's only one minor flaw in an otherwise strong collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide