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Australian hit-makers The Easybeats featured here in this six CD collection including ALL their hits in over an incredible 130 tracks. The Complete Easybeats from the Australian-based Albert Productions -- the company to which the Easybeats were originally signed -- is what it says, all of the group's authorized masters and all but a tiny handful of known outtakes, from their first Australian Parlophone sides to their last post-"Friday on My Mind" follow-ups, assembled on six CDs in a slipcase. Each of the discs is identical in title, packaging, and song content to the individual Repertoire Records reissues of the group's catalog from the early '90s, and what's more, so far as this writer can tell, the discs use the same early-'90s masters that were the sources for the Repertoire CDs. Fortunately, those were of such high quality to begin with that they were still up to modern standards circa 2004; unfortunately, as most serious fans (at whom this release is obviously aimed) are likely to already own at least two or three of the six CDs in this box in their Repertoire editions, it is not as attractive a box as it might otherwise be -- the producers should have gone for 24-bit remastering on at least the original Australian LP material, which is exclusive to this and the Repertoire CDs. As it is, however, if all one owns is one of the ubiquitous best-of compilations on the band, then this is still a box to seriously consider -- the group's 1964-1966 Merseybeat-influenced sides from the first three discs have a special charm and energy all their own, while the Friday on My Mind and Shame Just Drained discs present the full range of their peak years; only the Vigil disc, covering the final phase of their history, is of dubious value. With a U.S. list price that breaks down to around seven and a half dollars a disc, this is a lot cheaper than the Repertoire discs ever went for, and is a handy way to get the group's entire history in one fell swoop. There will still be a few things to own, such as the Raven Records live disc and a DVD or two, but this set takes care of about 98 percent of everything of note the band ever did of note. ~ Bruce Eder
