Those made of money who want to go ahead and take the plunge into full Chrome activity could do worse than to go straight to Chrome Box. The original release of the Box in 1982 served as both an overview of the classic Damon Edge/Helios Creed lineup and the inclusion of some extra goodies. Four previously released albums appeared in full -- Alien Soundtracks, Half Machine Lip Moves, Blood on the Moon, and the compilation No Humans Allowed. Also included were Chronicles and Chronicles, Vol. 2, containing what at the time was unreleased material from the band; those two collections were made available separately later. Many years later, after Chrome had been reactivated by Creed following Edge's untimely passing, the band's new label, Cleopatra, continued its own sporadic reissue program with a full reprint and remastering of the Chrome Box as a three-CD set. This version also has the advantage of including the three Chrome tracks from the Subterranean Modern compilation on Ralph Records from 1979. These include a rather devolved version of "(I Left My Heart) in San Francisco," which was specifically essayed by every other band on the original compilation as well. ~ Ned Raggett

Rovi