Last Band Standing

The prime of the Ides of March has seen reissue before, notably on Rhino Handmade's 2003 double-disc set Friendly Strangers: The Warner Bros. Recordings, but their self-released Last Band Standing goes one better by including those early-'70s albums in their entirety, a sampling of their early pre-fame singles, and some recordings the reunited band made in the new millennium. The box generally proceeds in chronological order, but things are shook up just enough to force attention on the latter-day recordings, which aren't half bad. That's not enough to convince owners of Friendly Strangers or the Collectors' Choice reissues to swap out their existing discs for this box, but for serious fans of the Ides of March or their leader Jim Peterik, this is an exhaustive, generous set that will serve their every need.