The Chemical Brothers: Singles 93-03

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * *)

The Chemical Brothers spent the past decade taking it to the bridge — the one across the divide between dance and rock — with their bold beat science, their sense of the psychedelic and their frequent use of Britrock singers as guest vocalists.

Now that the duo of Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands seem to have peaked a few studio albums back, here's the 13-track collection (plus bonus disc of B-sides and live tracks) of the DJ-producers' boomtimes.

Working through the chronological A-sides, it is intriguing to hear the early leaps — from the basic Song to the Siren to their classic period (Leave Home, Private Psychedelic Reel, Setting Sun, Block Rockin' Beats).

But then it's on to a creative plateau which the two new tracks Get Yourself High and The Golden Path (featuring Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips singing an octave lower than usual) would seem to be extending. Still, this includes all the Chemical Brothers that anyone who wasn't paying attention at the time could ever want.

Label: Virgin