The Able Tasmans - Songs from the Departure Lounge

I'm not normally one to go and buy compilation CDs, preferring to buy original albums. I can see possible and obvious criticisms for such an approach to which I'd reply that the approach works if you buy music from artists who are actually artists and not from the current pop idols of the time. Filler tracks come from albums that have been made with the goal of selling lots of units, with more influence exerted by a marketing department than the current sensation that they are pushing. Such music is perfectly suited to iTunes music store for both the fact that such artists can only produce one sell-able single at a time and the fact that it's just as disposable as computer data is often regarded. Not to mention that most popular music I'm thinking of here is pure crap...
I digress. The Able Tasmans' Songs from the Departure Lounge is a "best of" compilation that I bought for 2 reasons: One is that it's really hard to find actual albums of theirs these days so finding anything was a score (unless you visit iTunes I have noticed, but I have quite distaste for actually paying for music in a compressed and lossy format - if they ever offer a lossless and DRM-free format with their new "LP" category I may re-evaluate my position), and two, I didn't do my research prior to wandering into Real Groovy on impulse one day on the way home from class. Compilation CDs I thought are the domain of bands who had moderate commercial success, and while Able Tasmans certainly deserved great success they existed before NZonAir and when there was a lot more cultural cringe in regards to NZ music and NZ produced film/television. Unless you were Split Enz or Th' Dudes.
I'm not expert on their music or the history of the band, but they formed in 1984 and broke up in 1996. My memories are from their very last years hearing songs of theirs on bFM. Like so many NZ bands, they can be described at times as having a jangly Dunedin-like Flying Nun sound. It's almost becoming a meaningless description with how often it's used yet it's quite a recognisable sound. Assuming that the tracks are in some sort of rough chronological order (I cannot enough information, though I could visit iTunes iSuppose....) the recording of the earlier tracks also gives away that sound. To me it simply sounds like low budget mastering and bad microphone placement and possibly a studio with not enough sound dampening, but the Dunedin sound is still endearing. However what makes the Able Tasmans really stand out is their keyboard and synth work. Especially in later tracks where I assume the recording equipment was better. I could be completely wrong with those assumptions, but it often seems that perhaps a lot of albums from the 80s and even 90s are mastered for vinyl and something is lost that is not able to be regained when digitally remastered. Yet even earlier music does not suffer this.
The music is very catchy and I've had songs like "Hold Me 1" on repeat in my head for weeks. Normally this would be torturous, especially as it's usually terrible music that one doesn't even like that gets stuck in one's head (and wondering "how is it that I even know this song?") but Able Tasman's music is simply beautiful. Hold Me 1 starts off with a piano the gradually gets more complex and then the rest of the band kick in with a certain dramatic and urgent nature, which is an example of what I love about the band. They sound like a classically trained rockband, their music sounds skilful and more complex than an average band yet they still play accessible music.
As we move further into the album I start to hear tracks that I recognise from when I discovered them like "The Shape of Dolls". The later tracks seem more punchy and louder (I hope I just didn't actually advocate compression - not the data mp3 kind, duh). However there is one glaring omission. I cannot tell you the name of it as I don't remember, and information on the internet is sparse. It seems utterly ridiculous and as one youTube comment said when I went looking for anything I could find of theirs, "bordering on criminal" that this band is so lost in time and has not been re-released.
The album is a great collection of work and certainly deserving of addition to anyone's collection who enjoys good, stimulating contemporary music. However with one omission that I remember and an uneasy feeling that there was more music of the Able Tasmans that I listened to on bFM (surely one of their main outlets, especially as one of the band members, Graeme Humphreys aka Graeme Hill was the morning host for several years, now on Radio Live on the weekends apparently) that did not make it onto the album, I'm not so sure how much of a best of it really is. Despite that it is certainly a worthy album to listen to.
Some tracks I have found on youTube that are also on the album:
Sour Queen, That's Why,  Angry Martyr.