David Bowie: Bowie At The Beeb (BBC/EMI)
We've had The Beatles at the BBC and Led Zep's Beeb sessions, and now it's the turn of the Thin White Duke to get Auntie's archive treatment. Bowie At The Beeb is an orgiastic aural delight, a Best Of collection and intimate live session rolled into two CDs. Bowie's changing personae are traced through guest appearances with John Peel, Dave Lee Travis and Whispering Bob Harris; CD1 features such pre-Space Oddity gems as In The Heat Of The Morning and London Bye Ta Ta, prototype rock classics from The Man Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory, and a marvellous extended Peel session in which Bowie debuts his hot new guitarist, Mick Ronson. CD-2 charts Bowie's breakthrough period, when Ziggy Stardust ruled the world with songs like Five Years, Hang On To Yourself, Suffragette City and Rock 'n' Roll Suicide. As if that's not enough, the limited edition includes a live recording of Bowie's concert at the BBC Radio Theatre last June.
Kevin Courtney
Turn: Antisocial (Infectious)
These style-conscious rockers from Kells have been gathering a devoted following in the past couple of years, and - for the first few tracks at least - their debut album lives up to their formidable live reputation. Turn open their account with the double-whammy of Too Much Make-Up and Beretta, coming on like Nirvana's glam-rock alter-egos. Soon, however, the band settle into a more mid-tempo groove, mixing acoustic balladry with epic riffola on songs like These Three Words, Queen Of My Heart and Words. But though brain-shredding rock is somewhat scarce, there's no shortage of well-crafted, slightly twisted love songs. At times it sounds like Turn are trying to be Coldplay, but in the end they emerge as worthy carriers of Irish rock's Olympic torch.
Kevin Courtney
Leslie & Calm: Spider (ZGR)
Leslie Winer has the urban blues again, and we should all be grateful for that. A one-time William Burroughs sidekick, her Witch album from almost a decade ago was a troubled delight and a blueprint for what was to become the scene known as trip-hop (remember that?). While some may have caught her on collaborations with Wall Of Sound act Mekon earlier this year, this album is the first chance for many to get close to her smoke-stained, startling groove. Deep and dark and dense, Spider has dubbed hip-hop breaks, stoned lyrical spurts and languid beats a-plenty. Winer certainly hasn't lost her lyrical nous (check Remote Viewing, Tree and If), while the backing retains its timeless, spaceless drag. Uneasy music to keep you awake from dusk till dawn.
Jim Carroll