Spider appears to be suggesting that Powerman 5000 is now history, which is sad. Nevertheless, what made this band thrilling in the first place was the way it seemingly seamlessly mixed the powerful hip-hop rants of a Public Enemy, with an aggressive hard rock style. Its rap tendencies are exemplified best by the socio-political “Slumlord.” What begins as quiet and jazzy, with what sounds like Curtis Mayfield sub-surface music and a softly rapped vocal, eventually gets louder and prouder. It builds to a chorus of: “To the Lord/To the Lord/Pray to the Lord.” It’s also accompanied by alarming siren sounds. This track’s increasingly busy mix features scratching, as well as synth screeches and guitar wildness toward its end.

Many of these selections are performed lazily slow and funky, like the calm in the middle of this group’s storm. “City Of The Dead,” for instance, includes scratching and funky guitar and bass. Spider gives it an appropriate Gil Scott-Heron-like low vocal/rap. With his ominous lyrics, he sings about “walking the streets at night.” It’s all wrapped up with a Public Enemy-like chorus, which boldly bemoans a lifeless metropolis. “Boredwitcha,” (their/his spelling, not mine) with its chorus of “I ain’t mad/I’m just boredwitcha,” is another prime example of a plodding yet still likeable funky tune.

Elsewhere, “F.U.A.” (which stands for File Under Action, by the way), almost swings and includes a very punky and gruff Spider vocal. It is strikingly one of this collection’s rockier moments. Another rock entry, while we’re on that subject, is “Put The Hammer,” which begins with a bass-laden electric guitar intro, and is fronted by a guttural, screaming lead vocal.

The end of this disc captures a few of the group’s live performances. One of these is called “20 Miles To Texas, 25 To Hell,” which rolls to a lumbering rock groove and even has sports bongos in its mix. Along the way, there are also brief snippets called “B.S.,” which are nothing more than Spider talking (sometimes dirty) to his/their audiences at various tour stops.

When all is said and done, it’s hard to know how Powerman 5000 will ultimately be remembered. But this collection of mostly stray tracks nearly assures its legacy as a band quite difficult to ever forget.