Zen X Four (Live From KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas, Los Angeles/1995)

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Come 2005, the evidence showed that '90s rock radio darlings Bush had been put into carbon freeze -- the group hadn't released a new album since 2001's Golden State, while leader Gavin Rossdale had launched a new group, Institute. So the time would be right for a career-spanning "best of" set, correct? Not quite. You do get the group's hits on the 2005 double-disc Zen X Four, but only as videos on the set's DVD portion (which also includes some behind-the-scenes footage). The audio portion, on the other hand, collects live and acoustic versions of most of the group's best-known early tracks. However, since these are not the versions that ruled MTV during the mid- to late '90s, it cannot be considered a true set of hits. From the perspective of longtime fans looking for the uncommon, Zen X Four works much better. After all, several of the tracks are included more than once, and only hardcore fans will be interested in the "acoustic versions" (which aren't really acoustic -- the volume on their Marshall stacks is just lowered a bit). But one thing's for certain, Rossdale certainly has his Cobain-isms down pat on such tracks as "Everything Zen" and "Machinehead."

© Greg Prato /TiVo