The Further Adventures of Babes in Toyland

What looks at first glance like something of a career overview from middle America's most beloved all-girl punk band is actually both something more and something less -- an odds-and-ends collection of B-sides, live performances, and unreleased (some of them deservedly) songs and alternate versions. The heart of the program is a handful of songs recorded live during the 1993 Lollapalooza tour -- these include "Handsome & Gretel," "Spun," and the notorious "Bruise Violet" (widely interpreted as a nasty put-down of the band's former friend Courtney Love). One of the album's best tracks, a brutal and charmingly amateurish rendition of "Ripe," was recorded live in Holland three years earlier. For curiosity seekers, there are cover versions of "We Are Family" and the kitsch classic "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft," as well as a surprisingly straight-faced version of the disco classic "More, More, More," complete with horns. This is not a definitive Babes document, but fans will be sure to get a big kick out of it.