This isn't the first box set to anthologize This Mortal Coil, the dream pop act with a dynamic lineup directed by 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell. In 1993, 4AD released 1983-1991, which featured the three TMC albums: It'll End in Tears (1984), Filigree & Shadow (1986), and Blood (1991). A fourth disc compiled many of the original versions of songs that had been reinterpreted by the group. While this box, featuring remastered sound, doesn't contain the disc of originals, there's a fourth disc, titled Dust & Guitars, which gathers material from singles and adds a track from 4AD's Lonely Is an Eyesore. So, this marks the CD debut of a few tracks: the driving, attached covers of Modern English's "Sixteen Days" and "Gathering Dust," along with the reprise of the former (all featuring lead vocals from the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser), as well as "It'll End in Tears" (an instrumental written and performed by the Cocteaus' Simon Raymonde and Colourbox's Steven Young). There's a withdrawn Blood-era single intended for release in 1992, as well -- an Alison Limerick-fronted version of Neil Young's "We Never Danced" and its planned B-side, a Watts-Russell/John Fryer dub version of "Thaïs." The A-sides are either identical or slightly different from their album counterparts; the versions of "Come Here My Love" and "Drugs" have clean fade-outs. No expense was spared for the packaging. The box itself has a sturdy outer shell that houses an equally thick slide-out disc holder. The albums are packaged in gorgeous mini-LP replica sleeves -- all gatefolds, Dust & Guitars excepted -- with Japanese OBI strips and clear, re-sealable jackets. After he left 4AD, Watts-Russell developed an affinity for similarly packaged Japanese CD reissues -- not the cheapest habit, as reflected in the price of this box. It's a collector's item, no doubt, but it was put together with a great deal of care and spotlights three good-to-great albums from one of dream pop's premier groups.