In an era when box sets are so plentiful and are basically de rigueur for any major, and some not so major labels, it's virtually a wonder that a box set didn't appear until the 21st century. Things take as long as they must, evidently, and has done an outstanding job with this set. Consisting of three CDs and a DVD of a phenomenal live concert from 1978 (with and on the tour), this document considers every aspect of the band's career carefully and thoughtfully. It actually commences on disc one with some of 's and 's pre- ensembles, beginning with their joint membership in ' band during the era with composed it; he and both played on it. This short version of the tune was recorded by , but according to 's fantastic liner notes (there should be a Grammy nomination for these), never gave the intro for the tune, just the one-chord vamp; his own version is very different. Also here is 's from his record of the same name, along with an excerpt of with the band (from ). The reason? Both men embraced concepts and tropes that became part of the 's method of working. The actual tunes begin with from their debut album, and continue with four more from that album, including the full version of was a free and progressive band which took its composer's frameworks and built floating, drifting, melding, sparkings of ideas into them; members at this point also included bassist , percussionist , and drummer . The band's sound got bigger and stranger on the classic disc from 1971. was in transition and entered the drum chair as became the band's percussionist. There is one of two unreleased cuts from these years: a different version of with sparks aplenty. The real emergence of a new sound began in 1973 with the underrated and classic . While only is included to round out the first disc, it is a mighty one, clocking in at over 12 minutes and showcasing for the first time the kind of deep funky groove the band was capable of; the song included not only , but also electric bassist , who played English horn on on their previous album. This is the point where the bass-heavy groove began to dominate the band's sound, and rhythmic groove became the centerpiece not only for , but composition as well. Disc two kicks off with an unreleased live version of from 1974, with electric bassist ( had left by this point in time for a solo career) who'd also played on . made his first appearance with the band on and thereafter became a different unit. The music became more progressive, funky, and complex, where the groove was decorated with all kinds of syncopated keyboard and saxophone charts, and became the centerpiece of the band's sound, and its third composer. (His loss is clearly felt on , with replacing him.) This sound becomes paradoxically more and more idiosyncratic and complicated. All the predictable selections are here, from from the subsequent studio albums, by which time the trio of , , and was aided and abetted alternately by drummers , and percussionists , among others, and there are some live cuts from the album, including the stunning where played with the . There is also a remix of perhaps to illustrate how the band's sound has remained current after all this time. The DVD from the tour with is simply outstanding, whether watched or listened to, it is a document that fans and collectors live for; there have been some dodgy boots of the music out there, but nothing matches this sound quality. All assembled, this is a fitting box set that represents a seminal part of history. The only gripes are that some more of the unedited material from (the stuff that didn't make it to the flip of ) isn't here, since the album was never issued in the United States, and there isn't more unreleased material. But in sum, this is perhaps really a teaser to induce listeners to dig into the band's catalog. It serves not only as a fitting introduction to , but also as a definitive will and testament to a band that was both a critical and popular success for over a decade. ~ Thom Jurek