If you subscribe to the belief that
the Buzzcocks were a great singles band above and beyond all else (and there are plenty of folks willing to agree with that), then by all logic
Inventory should be the ultimate
Buzzcocks collection -- a box set that collects 14 CD singles, each replicating one of the 7"s that the band released between 1977 and 1981. Each disc comes in an individual jacket that reproduces the artwork from the single's original sleeve, with the 14 discs gathered together in a handsome flip-top box. As a concept and a collectable object,
Inventory is brilliant, and it goes without saying that the music is splendid, but as a practical listening experience it's just a bit lacking. The novelty of having to change discs every five or ten minutes wears off pretty fast, and given how well
the Buzzcocks' single tracks have been anthologized in the past, there's little here that isn't already quite familiar to the vast majority of fans. While it's nice to see
Spiral Scratch included as part of the pantheon and this material has been treated with much obvious care,
Inventory is more for collectors than for actual listeners, since all of this material could easily fit onto two CDs, which would better lend themselves to regular rotation in your player -- perhaps EMI should consider a reissue in a more portable format.