Absolutely awsome. That’s about all you can say about this flabbergasting set put out by Columbia in the early 90?s. The five stars above reflect the love and care that went into every aspect of this set, from the presentation with it’s frosted portrait of Sinatra on the cover, to the different CD sleeves and labels which really give a sense of history to the set – to the music itself, which is priceless. Although the price is awesome – a whopping $250, but in my estimation, it’s worth every penny. This is pop music history in the making, with Sinatra acting as pop music’s custodian, and the culmination of every songwriter’s dream. During his Columbia period, Sinatra chose and recorded masterworks of all the great songwriters of the era, from Rodgers & Hammerstein to Jimmy Mercer; from stage, screen and anywhere else he heard a great tune. Sinatra had great taste in music – and until his audience unaccountably began to shrink, he took great care in the songs he chose. Oh, make no mistake – there are some true stinkers here as well: novelty numbers that he tried when it seemed he could catch an audience’s ear no other way – I mean, you’ve got to hear the reprehensible “Mama Will Bark” to believe it – but the vast majority of music here is pure American gold – the finest songs by the finest songwriters, arranged and recorded with all the love and care that Columbia could muster. This ain’t just a box set, it’s pure music – period.

Ten years after the recordings of their celebrated debut album "Saviour", ANTIMATTER release "Alternative Matter," a retrospective of quite another kind. This is not a standard "best of" album, but rather a compilation of exclusively unreleased recordings and alternative versions from the archives of the band, compiled by ANTIMATTER mastermind Mick Moss with the utmost care and passion. "Alternative Matter" features demo and acoustic versions of well-known ANTIMATTER songs, live recordings, remixes, and also new recordings which have been conceived especially for this compilation. And in their entirety, all these songs tell a yet-unknown ANTIMATTER story. Both expansive in form and content, "Alternative Matter" will draw an impressive line under ANTIMATTER's first decade of existence!