One in a long line of excellent British rock 'n reel bands, the Oyster Band members have not always been at their best in the studio, where their chaotic energy is sometimes sacrificed in the interest of pretty arrangements and strict time. This odds-and-sods collection of live and studio recordings captures that energy better than most of their studio albums. "The Oxford Girl" is one of the more affecting Oyster originals, and there are some nicely chosen cover versions, including Phil Ochs's "Gonna Do What I Have to Do" and a hell-for-leather rendition of "I Fought the Law." Singer John Jones does a fine job on the a cappella "Coal Not Dole," and the band's live version of "New York Girls," a song they originally recorded on Ride, is so much better than the studio version that you'll never be able to hear the latter again without wincing, and the same is true of the gorgeous and angry "Too Late Now." The program winds up in an instrumental that lasts just over five minutes, recorded at the band's annual Christmas ceilidh (and for those dancing along at home, the back cover helpfully suggests the Cornish Six-Hand Reel). If you can only afford one Oyster Band album, this is the one to get.

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