In honor of The Mother Hips’ 20th anniversary, the band and its archivist poured over countless hours of old tapes to create this four-disc box set full of previously unreleased material. Days of Sun & Grass: Unreleased Outtakes, Demos, B-Sides and Live Cuts from Chico’s Very Own 1990-2001 is not the complete story of the Hips. Instead, it captures the spirit of the band’s definitive early days, roughly leading up to the two year hiatus that threatened to kill the group.

Laid out in chronological order – more or less – with 88 pages of liner notes, photos, press clips and more, the compilation begins in 1990 at Chico State University when Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar) and Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals) first met and established the bond that would become The Mother Hips. It then tracks the duo’s progression into a full-blown rock and roll band recording with Rick Rubin and touring with Johnny Cash through the late ‘90s, when they began to release their music independently, switched drummers and honed their song craft. And for the hardcore fans, there’s an entire disc dedicated to radio appearances that includes candid band interviews.

There’s a reason that the Hips have made it 20 years and there’s a reason that the next decade could be their best yet. Days of Sun & Grass is more than a celebration of the band’s youth – it helps answer the question of how The Mother Hips evolved into the preeminent, definitive California soul-rock band that we know today.