Complete John's Children CD

A bit of a misnomer, this title, in that it's not a truly complete overview (though there could have been room for it -- it's 80 minutes over two discs, not the most efficient use of space). Actually, it's a double-disc re-release of the two 1997 collections of various tracks and rarities, Smashed Blocked! and Jagged Time Lapse, in one place. There's nothing more done to either the discs or the accompanying booklet beyond that, though the lack of any acknowledgement that this is the case makes this yet another repackaged potential rip-off to the unwary consumer (perhaps appropriate enough for something with Marc Bolan associations, alas). The ham-handedness can be seen in the liner notes, which reproduce the track-by-track comments for Jagged Time Lapse (under the heading "Disc Two") but don't get around to doing something similar for the Smashed Blocked! selections. These problems aside, it's still a good listen for those who don't have either of those compilations, and regardless of the lack of the Orgasm album, as it stands or without the fake crowd noise, for most this will be all the weird, quirky, and sometimes-thrilling John's Children they'll need. ~ Ned Raggett

John's Children: Marc Bolan.