Five Years of THE WIRE

Two new soundtrack collections from HBO's great series "The Wire," now in its fifth year and still unbelievable. "...and all the pieces matter" includes four versions of the opening credits song "Way Down in the Hole," including Tom Waits'; unfortunately, the Season 5 rendition by Steve Earle is absent. I prefer the companion volume, "Beyond Hamsterdam: Baltimore Tracks from The Wire." Among the highlights is Ogun featuring Phathead, "What You Know About Baltimore." This track appears on both CDs, as do eight of the other Baltimore tracks, though in shorter versions.