were the missing link between and . The Liverpool, England, scenesters captured the faux-science fiction vibe of the '80s with echo-laden anthems, chilly love songs, and a unique, post- fashion sense. For their tenth "greatest hits" package -- one was an album of remixes -- they offer their fans a vanity project. leader , who from the looks of the cover art had spent the last few years immersed in endless games of reruns, has re-recorded nine of the group's best-loved tracks for the deceptively titled . His reverence for the material is obvious, as nary a note nor drum fill has been altered from the originals, yet the limp production, flat, factory synth patches, and uninspired vocals make the whole endeavor an exercise in bowling-alley . Why bother? The prototypes were classic decade-rendered snapshots of forward-thinking that transcended much of the garbage being thrown back into the cupboards of the mid-'80s Top 40 charts, and to hear them reduced to what should have been a late-night project fueled by nostalgia and a few too many beers -- but was somehow green lit for release -- is insulting to the wild-eyed romanticism that was uncorked at their inception. The inclusion of five remixes (of the new versions) by a rotating cast of nobodies only adds length to this physical manifestation of the word "unnecessary." ~ James Christopher Monger