One of the earliest English punk releases was the Boomtown Rats' "Looking Out For No. 1" (1976), a herky-jerky, ironic ode to the Me Decade. It set the tone for the Rats' odd career, which began with a spectacular bang but ended with a long, tedious whimper. Over the course of six albums, the Rats were changelings, morphing from a punk band with Springsteen tendencies into a musically ambitious pop group, then embracing world beat before finally retrenching, settling into dull mainstream rock. Leader Bob Geldof became a reluctant savior to the world's hungry masses, organizing Band Aid and participating in both Live Aid and the "Sun City" project. While this philanthropic work earned him a knighthood, Bob's subsequent solo work (despite highlights like "This Is The World Calling") has been decidedly less noble.

Fifteen years of highlights - both group and solo - are collected on Great Songs Of Indifference: The Best Of Bob Geldof And The Boomtown Rats (1997). It's a smart, concise document, though it leans too heavily on Geldof's solo material and is poorly annotated. A longer, more Rat-centric disc, Best Of The Boomtown Rats, was issued in Europe in 2004, its 20 tracks selected with input from the fans; while more expensive and harder to track down, it would seem to be worth the trouble.

Moving beyond the obvious, the Boomtown Rats' first three records - their self-titled debut (1976), Tonic For The Troops, (1978), and The Fine Art Of Surfacing (1979) - are essential. But, they're no longer in-print - domestically, at least - and it's sad to see this once significant group's catalog in such shambles. It bears noting, however, that the Rats' final three albums - Mondo Bongo (1980), V Deep (1982), and In The Long Grass (1985) - are confused and dispirited, bordering at times on plain bad. Released throughout Geldof's "Saint Bob" period, the group's focus (or lack thereof) was clearly on other things.

Nevertheless, when they were good, they were very, very good. Songs like "Rat Trap," "Someone's Looking at You," "I Don't Like Mondays," and "Mary Of The 4th Form" are indisputable - if largely forgotten - highlights of early punk. The story of Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats is also a cautionary tale of how good intentions can subvert great art. Anger - the fuel of punk - is best served hot, uncut by altruism or optimism.