E-Mail This Article to a Friend Rock box The ridiculously comprehensive San Andreas soundtrack set BY MITCH KRPATA

A couple weeks ago, Rockstar Games released the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas official soundtrack, which was a two-disc collection sampling selections from the game's many radio stations (you can read my review here). Not satisfied with that, they've gone ahead and put together a complete soundtrack set that spans a ludicrous eight discs. And while the two-disc version was interesting, if flawed, the box set is a fantastic nostalgia collection.

The crucial problem with the two-disc soundtrack was that there was really no good way to sequence the songs. There were some head-scratching transitions (I'm still hung up on Faith No More segueing into Bel Biv Devoe), and the overall effect was of randomly spinning a radio dial. For the box set, each radio station's playlist has been given its own disc. As a result, it's easier to appreciate the myriad styles represented. No genre clangs off another anymore.

The real winner, in my view, is the Radio X disc. I'm a rock fan first and foremost, and with only a couple exceptions, I can't imagine early-90s rock represented much better. Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine both make appearances, sounding as urgent and vital as they ever did. (How such great artists could collaborate on something as limp as Audioslave, I'll never know.) The inclusion of Helmet's "Unsung," arguably one of the best radio singles of the past twenty years, is the best of a great bunch of songs. If there's one misstep, it comes when Danzig's "Mother" is followed up by "Personal Jesus." I love Depeche Mode as much as anyone, but their synth-pop doesn't fit on this disc (though if this serves to steer people away from Marilyn Manson's abortion of a cover, then so shines a good deed in a weary world). Nevertheless, the Radio X disc could only be improved if Nirvana was on it.

There are seven other discs, though, all maintaining a similar level of quality. The rap disc was actually over-represented on the two-disc release (half of its tracks appeared on the truncated version), but speaks to the excellence of artists chosen in each genre. This isn't Tone Loc and MC Hammer we're talking about here. Even if hip-hop isn't your bag, it's hard to dismiss rappers like Public Enemy and 2Pac.

That same principle is what makes the country disc, shockingly, one of the best in the collection. I've had my fill of top-40 country ("Shock'n Y'all" my ass), but the K-Rose playlist is full of authentic country artists who, as it turns out, were damn good. Legends like Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and Patsy Cline have cuts on the disc, and a duet with Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn is one of the finest moments of the entire set.

The "classic rock" disc, K-DST, is hit-or-miss. I use quotation marks because it doesn't strike me as true classic rock – that is, these aren't R&B-influenced garage bands from the 1960s. Instead, the people who put the disc together opted for beefed-up 1970s arena rock by artists like Kiss, Boston, and Eddie Money. There are some great tracks to be found, in particular "Free Bird" (don't make that face) and "Young Turks," which reminds the world that Rod Stewart did once serve a purpose. But K-DST loses major points by including America's "A Horse With No Name," quite possibly the worst song of all time.

Every disc includes radio tags and commercials from the game. These are full of double entendres and potty humor, and fail to add much. I guess as far as maintaining the conceit that these are real radio stations from the city of San Andreas, their presence is understandable, but the writing smacks of unwarranted self-congratulation. In the game, this stuff worked, but in real life it doesn't have legs. At least the ads appear after the music, and don't intrude upon the many pleasures this box offers.

The packaging is well done. Each disc comes in a DVD-sized case, and the cases are adorned in their own station's logo. The larger box has the same cover as the game. It looks good, and feels substantial in the hand. I find it odd that a collection of songs from a video game could come off like a prestige release, but this one does.

No such collection is perfect, and there's always an argument to make about song selection, but the San Andreas box is a surprise and a triumph. Like the two-disc soundtrack, this has something for everyone; unlike its counterpart, the box set has enough for everyone.