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Here, at last,
is a proper testament to the genius of New Order. Forget
the ill-advised 'Best Of' CD, this is such stuff as dreams
are made of. A 4 CD box set comprising of the Hits, the
Early Years, Remixes and brand new live material. The Hits
CD, picked by Mancunian broadcaster/journalist Miranda
Sawyer, features the obvious with a few surprises. It's
not all single releases, with album tracks 'Slow Jam' and
'Everyone Everywhere' ending the CD. Also, the rather rocking
'Brutal' is there, previously only on the soundtrack to
' the Beach'. There are some nice touches, like the original
version of 'Temptation', but no 'World In Motion', '60mph'
or 'World (Price of Love)'.
The second CD is entitled ' the Early Years' and is chosen
by the jounalists' journalist John McCready (guese which city
he lives in). This is where the secret gems known only to hardcore
fans lurk. Opening it up with the moody, almost classical 'Elegia'
from the 'Lowlife' album is a stroke of genius. This CD comprises
mainly of album tracks from 1980-1986. Essential tracks like
'Lonesome Tonight' and 'Dreams Never End' show what us trainspotters
have been privately enjoying for years. The Augustus Pablo-influenced
classic 'Your Silent Face' still ranks as one of their finest
and still a live favourite. However, I don't want to sound
like a nitpicker but putting a track from 2001's 'Get Ready'
album on a CD entitled ' the Early Years' is cheating. Even
if it is a damn fine track to end with.
The remix CD is chosen by Mike Pickering (Hacienda DJ, M People
bloke and, yes, dweller of a certain city). The CD explodes
into action with Koma & Bones giving a big bass-packed
breakbeat update to 'Confusion'. It's fantastic opener, done
with respect to the orignal and plenty of gusto. other highlights
include the Sabres Of Paradise reworking of 'Regret', the original
short version of 'Touched By the Hand Of God', Lee Coombs awesome
take on 'Crystal' and Robert Racic (no, sorry, I've never heard
of him either) doing wonderful things with 'Paradise'. None
of the tracks on here were on the 'Rest Of New Order' album
and the only sore point is Jam & Spoon's rather poor fiddle
with 'Blue Monday'.
It all ends with the live CD chosen by New Order (a Manchester
band, you know) with the asistance of Bobby Gillespie (can't
let a non-Mancunian work on this unsupervised). The faithful
will be pleased to hear that not only is all previously unreleased
(that applies to video & DVD as well), but it also happens
to be taken from a wide variety of sources from 1984 to 2002.
All your favourites like 'Procession', 'Elegia', ' the Perfect
Kiss', 'World', etc. It's great, although it's all been mixed
together to make it sound like one concert. It's a marvelous
collection and every self-respecting New Order fan will have
it on their Christmas wish list. It's time to start being nice
to your nearest & dearest.
Everybody knows Nico from her singing
on the classic first Velvet Underground album.
This is a collection compiled from that album,
her first two solo albums and a live album.
Obviously, the Velvet Underground tracks, 'Femme Fatal' and
'All Tomorrow's Parties' (presented in a rare single voice
version) are faultless. Her first solo album, 'Chelsea Girl'
written for her by Reed & Cale and Bob Dylan and these
tracks are used on this compilation. They're good but not
as good as her VU material. The production work is just not
as innovative and makes for poor comparison. However, the
next album ' the End' was produced by John Cale (who by that
point had also left the VU) and written by Nico herself.
This is where things get really interesting. Bringing in
Cale's classical and avant-garde background, these tracks
really make an impression. Dark, mournful yet beautiful,
they are the pinnacle of her career and contrast interestingly
with the earlier material on this album. The only real low
point is her cover of the Doors ' the End'. Trying to match
Jim Morrison's velvet purr was going a little too far. However,
this CD should definitely be snapped up by any Velvet fans
who have yet to check her solo career.
Right, this
is part of that series that used to be called 'Another Late
Night' where credible underground names mixes laid back albums
and chucked in an exclusive cover. Well, all still present
and correct, with the addition of a storey - read by Brian Blessed. Anyway,
back to the music. Nightmares On Wax aka DJ EASE aka George
Evelyn has whipped up a mellow little beauty. There's all
sorts here from Dusty Springfield's classic 'Spooky' (classic!)
to Mad Doctor X's underground London hip-hop vibes, via Bradford
dub genius the Rootsman. George shows his DJ background by blending them all
seamlessly for your enjoyment. It's every bit as chilled as a mix album by
a man who once released an album called 'Smokers Delight'
should be! Quality late night entertainment. |
