There Is Nothing/Live Ethereal Cereal

This two-fer reissues a pair of Ozric Tentacles albums that were originally released only on cassette. The albums have undergone remastering for these releases, and sound quite good, with vastly improved dynamic and frequency range (though the low end on both could stand a little bit of improvement). Since these sets are legacy Ozrics, the sound is not quite as fully fleshed out as on the post-cassette releases, but the playing is still good — including everything from Hawkwind-like space rock efforts to fusion-laced reggae (or perhaps reggae-laced fusion). The notion of handling these early releases as double CDs is a good one, providing fans with an inexpensive way to fill in the early ends of their collections. The CD package sports both shiny new art and the original cassette covers. ~ Steven E. McDonald, Rovi