A four-disc box celebrating the band's 21st birthday, OCS21 is heavy on rarities -- BBC sessions, single versions, edits, live tracks, alternate takes, and demos -- the kinds of things that are full-blown collector bait. Anchoring these oddities are the staples -- album versions of "The Riverboat Song," "The Day We Caught the Train," "Hundred Mile High City" -- but don't think of this set as a way for a somewhat casual fan to get Ocean Colour Scene's 86 greatest songs in one fell swoop. This is a gift for the dedicated fans, the ones who have been with them since the beginning, and they'll find plenty of offbeat gems to cherish here.

The Ocean Colour Scene story should already be the stuff of legend; a rip-roaring, rock'n'folk odyssey set to a backdrop of 21 years of UK pop culture at its very best. In this 21 year existence Ocean Colour Scene have notched up nine albums, three of which went Top 5 - 1996's Moseley Shoals, 1997's Marchin' Already and 1999's One From The Modern - and a run of nine successive Top 20 hit singles commencing with 1996's The Riverboat Song. They supported Oasis at their massive Knebworth shows that same year, and two years later helmed the biggest arena tour of any UK band to date. Today they continue to headline venues as prestigious as London's Royal Albert Hall. Their achievements have truly been phenomenal. From their days as Breton-shirt wearing disciples of The Stone Roses to million selling Britpop superstars - 'Marchin' Already' bumped Oasis' 'What the Story Morning Glory' from the top spot in 1997 - to long-term touring allies with Paul Weller, their story is inseparable from the greats of modern British rock. To mark this 21 year anniversary Universal Music Catalogue release '21', a beautifully packaged 4CD boxed set featuring previously unreleased tracks and a brand new song entitled '21'.