Scott 4: Works Project LP (Folk Archive/V2)
This London three-piece made a fine impression with last year's debut, Recorded In State, drawing comparisons with fellow Brit country-rockers, Gomez. Led by Scott Blixen and named after a Scott Walker record, Scott 4 have established a unique identity with this second album, an inventive mix of country, bluegrass and Krautrock. The 15 tracks here glide expertly between the Deutsche-electronica of We're Not Robots and Scott 4 Travel On Electric Trains, and the warm, fur-lined folkrock of Hallo Doctor and Applied For Release. When the disparate elements come crashing together, as on Catas- trophe, Troubles 1-2-3 and Das Junior, the album exudes a palpable sense of musical adventure. The perfect soundtrack for riding your pick-up truck down the Autobahn.
By Kevin Courtney
The Beta Band: The Beta Band (Regal)
With their three EPs getting the music press in a lather, The Beta Band have decided to cool the critics' ardour by denouncing their own debut album on the eve of its release. As an attention-grabber, this act of public self-criticism has worked wonders, prompting reviewers to declare it a masterpiece - but though The Beta Band is not the pile of poo which the band claim it is, neither is it a brightly-glistening rock'n'roll diamond. Still, there's plenty of joy to be found in this flawed collection of weirdcore tunes, most notably the opiated progrock of It's Not Too Beautiful, the wiry starkness of Simple Boy and the spiritualised swirl of The Cow's Wrong, while the tongue-in-cheek opening track, The Beta Band Rap, brings us up to speed with the band's fortunes thus far.
By Kevin Courtney
Dean Martin: The Very Best of Dean Martin (EMI)
This CD should come free with every bottle of wine bought for any end-of-century party. Dino, vino and That's Amore: what more-eh could you ask for? Plenty, I guess. And it's all here. Because this is the first compilation to pull together the best of Dean Martin's work both on the Capitol label during the 1950s and with Reprise in the 1960s. And so, drunk or sober, you can now ease your way from delights like Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu) to Little Ol' Wine Drinker Me. There's even a genuine tearjerker in Return To Me. And as the album ends with Everybody Loves Somebody, you'll still send everybody home blissed - and, well, what word rhymes with "blissed"? Happy New Year.
By Joe Jackson