Various Artists: Lock, Stock . . . The TV Series (Virgin/ EMI)
Honest, guv, it's amazing the variety of goods you could find stashed away in some gangsters' musical archives. Take a butchers at this little lot, for instance. This made-for-CD compilation nicks tunes from the past five decades to create an authentic mix of musical styles. You've got yer vintage vinyl from the 1950s, such as Julie London's Sway or Jimmy McCracklin's The Walk, swinging 1960s rhythms from The Skatalites and Ike Turner, 70's soul from Barry White and George McRae, and your top-quality up-to-date stuff from Fun Lovin' Criminals, Supergrass and Stereo MC's. In fact, my son, I would go so far as to say that you won't find a more entertaining double-CD selection this side of Catford. Any arguments?
- Kevin Courtney
The Associates: (V2)
The suicide of Billy McKenzie in 1997 brought a sad end to an underachieving career. The Associates enjoyed a brief time in the sun some time in the early 1980s, when their New Romantic angst found a tiny window of fashionability. In the three years since McKenzie's death, he has become a style icon for fans of 1980s music, and this re-release is an attempt to recast McKenzie as synth-pop's answer to Brian Wilson. The Associates were essentially Alan Rankine on instruments, and McKenzie on overwrought, hammed-up falsetto; their biggest hits were Party Fears Two, Club Country and 18 Carat Love Affair. The sleeve notes proclaim this a near-masterpiece, but to my ears this sounds like a shrill, clanky, synthesized soap opera. It probably was a big influence on A-Ha, though.
- Kevin Courtney
KD Lang: Invincible Summer (Warner)
KD LANG's Ingenue remains one of the most sensual and sexual albums ever released. Specifically in terms of the pain of unrequited love, or love left hanging on a question mark. Tellingly enough, it was also KD Lang's finest album by far. Seven years later she has finally released a collection of songs to match that masterpiece; this time, one that focuses on sublime love, reciprocal love, summer love. In the sense suggested by her use of Camus's quote "in the depths of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer". If you're in love you will love more deeply through this album; if not, string-drenched joyful songs from the first, The Consequence of Falling, to the last, Only Love, will make you wish you were.
- Joe Jackson
Phoenix: (Source)
While the Heatwave single may have hinted at funky things to come, the young Phoenix scamps prefer to serve lazier, hazier fare for their debut. Just as fellow French fops Air used all manner of retro thinking to soundtrack The Virgin Suicides, Phoenix, too, want to go back to the future. Steely Dan ambience, smooth, jazz-lite licks and a unsubtle Southern Californian blur may sound like a dated brew - but stick with it, because the rewards are worth the perseverance. Sure, the irony meter is forever in red and the never-ending lushness does blunt after a while, but tracks such as Party Time and Honeymoon capture a whole new way of thinking about where dance music's brightest may head when they tire of the dance floor.
- Jim Carroll