Reviewed by Tony Cummings

If you consider the latest album by San Diego's finest a creative tour de force and a return to the epic peaks they once touched with 'The Beautiful Letdown' you might want to consider purchasing this edition of the album. For alongside the standard CD with its dazzling fusion of radio friendly hooks and massive, creatively inventive soundscapes, this version gives you a lot, and we mean a lot, more. So that hardcore Switchfoot fans can grasp how gems like "Mess Of Me", "Your Love Is A Song", "The Sound", "Free" and "Hello Hurricane" were changed and polished from the original demos, the group here bring you a CD of those demos that, along with the DVD of onstage performances will no doubt fascinate the Switchfoot specialist and in truth make for an absorbing musical examination. But the pride of place in this package has to be the 10 inch square coffee table book full of beautiful photography chronicling every aspect of the making of 'Hello Hurricane'. The cost of such a lavish edition will clearly discourage all but the most devoted of Switchfoot fans but no one can deny the quality and creative care which has gone into this package.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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