Tortoise - 'A Lazarus Taxon' (Thrill Jockey) Released 21/08/06

If post-rock's lure has dimmed since its 90's heyday amidst hordes of identikit troupes whose idea of experimentation is sticking doggedly with the tried and tested quiet/loud dynamics, this box set from the influential originators retains much of the genre's glow. Normally, encountering such a mammoth serving - 3 CDs and a DVD - of outtakes, rarities and other off-cuts not considered worthy of gracing the band's regular albums would be enough to fill listeners of less obsessive-completist persuasion with trepidation. In Tortoise's capable hands, however, this bulky, beautifully paced and packaged product turns out to be not just manna for fans but also the perfect vehicle for winning over sceptics, displaying as it does the entire awe-inspiring diversity of the five-piece's oeuvre.

Be it electro, dubwise echo chamber explorations, jazz-tinged improvisation, hip hop-inspired beats bombardments, lounge-ambient soundscapes, world music (check out 'Sexual For Elizabeth', the improbably brilliant sound of what could be Kraftwerk turning their robotic gaze on afrobeat), or simply the kind of vocals-dodging noodling that provided post-rock with its lexicon, it’s represented here in the most flattering ways possible. Every iota of the generously portioned running time is saturated with evidence of melodic prowess and the kind of open-minded experimental zeal that's catapulted Tortoise miles ahead of their peers, as proven by the band's penchant for remixing or, perhaps more accurately, the process of "versioning" familiar from dub reggae. Everyone from tesco-rock squads to meat and spuds riff merchants may by now feel obliged to subject their pallid produce to tweaking from top-ranking sound sculptors, but Tortoise got there first.

The results, such as those on 1995's long-unavailable 'Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters' LP, included here in its entirety with the addition of Mike Watt's hitherto unreleased bass odyssey take on 'Cornprone Brunch', range from the exhilarating (Nobukazu Takemura's seamless merger of the electronic and the organic on a titanic take on 'TNT') to the type of earbleed-inducing fare that puts the "mental" in experimental (Autechre's two raids on 'Four Day Interval', which not so much remix the track as send it rolling down a steep hill without break cables or a steering wheel). Pick of the whole 30-odd tracks bonanza, however, is 'Cliff Dweller Society', a hypnotic collage of loosely connected improvisatory snippets anchored by a mournfully majestic, horn-driven centrepiece that rivals Neil Young & Crazy Horse's incendiary 'Change Your Mind' in slowly escalating tension and breathtaking beauty alike. It goes on for a whopping 15 minutes, but feels more like five.

Another highlight of the set are the live performances caught on the DVD. Visually, footage of five casually attired chaps staring intently at their instruments, with only the odd smile and frequent instrument swaps breaking their immobility might not be the most enticing of prospects. Musically, however, these performances pretty much retire Tortoise's image as chin-stroking musos categorically opposed to breaking a sweat or exhibiting signs of excitement in their relentlessly high-brow output amidst krautrock-indebted, twin drum set-propelled grooves, agile atmospherics, frantically honking free jazz action and even the odd outbreak of undiluted (post-) rocking out. Anyone suspecting the quintet of lacking a sense of humour, meanwhile, is advised to tune into the curious clip of the band miming to 'Seneca' in gorilla masks on a bizarre boogaloo show on Chicago cable TV.