Damien Rice is a phenomenon. The enigmatic singer-songwriter from Kildare is living proof that you can make it as an independent in the music business, having sold the best part of a million copies of his remarkable debut album O. All that promotional duty, however, has left him with precious little time to work on new material - which is presumably why he's decided to plug the gap with this eight-track collection of B-sides, demos and assorted rarities. It's hard to get too excited about this album, for the simple reason that there isn't a single new song here - instead we get alternate takes of old favourites such as 'Cannonball' and 'Volcano', which in some cases are not all that different from the versions on O. A worthwhile purchase for Rice fanatics - but most people will prefer to save their money for his next proper release.
