Classic_Pop_Issue_30_July_2017

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COMPILATIONS

VARIOUS ARTISTS

DON LETTS PRESENTS

CULTURE CLASH RADIO

STATION 5

Subtitled A Selection Of Sounds Crossing

Time, Space & Genres, this collection was

inspired by legendary fi lm director, musician,

DJ and 1977 punk scenester Letts’ weekly

show on BBC 6 Music. It’s a bunch of

tunes that, says Letts: “Have touched my

head, my heart and my feet – and, most

importantly, have stood the test of time”.

This kaleidoscope of sounds and rhythms

certainly refl ects the diversity of his radio

show, with an array of genres represented

and covering all corners of the world. There’s

soul, reggae, dub, krautrock, blues and all

points in between, with artists ranging from

The Mamas & The Papas to The Moody Blues,

Bryan Ferry to Lewis Taylor, Nina Simone to

Holger Czukay, Baaba Maal to Whodini. PL

VARIOUS ARTISTS

12-INCH DANCE/80S REMIX

RHINO

This 3CD package assembles a series of

dance de/reconstructions of 80s classics.

Shep Pettibone is featured a couple of

times – for his remix of New Order’s Bizarre

Love Triangle and The Communards’ Never

Can Say Goodbye – but there is no Pet Shop

Boys. Many of the other big 80s names are

here: Duran Duran with the Night Version of

their Hungry Like The Wolf, Spandau Ballet’s

Chant No.1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On),

the Destruction Mix of Paul Hardcastle’s N-n-

n-n-No.1 smash 19 and the Extended Mix

of Bronski Beat’s Why. There are artists you

don’t associate with clubland – The Cars, Echo

& The Bunnymen, Fleetwood Mac, Howard

Jones – but their respective extended edits

and beat reconfi gurations makes them seem

like dancefl oor naturals. PL

VARIOUS ARTISTS

THE 70S LOVE ALBUM

DEMON

It might be somewhat adrift of Valentine’s

Day, nevertheless this collection comes just

in time for summer lovin’, as John Travolta

and Olivia Newton-John (shamefully not

featured) would have it. There are three CDs,

each chock-full of pop, disco and soul. CD1

is an R&B-fest, with healthy doses of Philly

soul (The O’Jays’ Love Train, Harold Melvin

and The Blue Notes’ If You Don’t Know Me

By Now, Billy Paul’s Me And Mrs Jones),

The Isley Brothers’ Summer Breeze Pt.1,

and assorted ballads from Deniece Williams

(Free) and Earth Wind & Fire (After The Love

Has Gone). CD2 features the likes of Hall &

Oates (She’s Gone), Leo Sayer (When I Need

You), and Sad Café (Every Day Hurts), and

Patti Smith (Because The Night). CD3 delves

further back (Andy Williams, Perry Como),

but still hits the heart-shaped target. PL

VARIOUS ARTISTS

ULTIMATE 90S ANTHEMS

ULTIMATE

It goes without saying that the Classic Pop

era didn’t end on 31 December 1989. This

compilation offers 5CDs worth of music

to the contrary. There are fabulous R&B

anthems (Montell Jordan’s This Is How We Do

It, Blackstreet’s No Diggity, Bobby Brown’s

Two Can Play That Game, Bell Biv Devoe’s

Poison, Shanice’s I Love Your Smile), dance

anthems (Ce Ce Peniston’s Finally, Snap!’s

Rhythm Is A Dancer), indie/baggy anthems

(The La’s’ There She Goes, Inspiral Carpets’

This Is How It Feels, The Farm’s All Together

Now, James’ Sit Down), Britpop anthems

(Shed 7’s Going For Gold, Stereophonics’ Just

Looking, Dodgy’s In A Room), and general

multi-purpose, uncategorisable anthems

(Semisonic’s Secret Smile, New Radicals’ You

Get What You Give). The 90s was a truly

anthemic decade. PL

VARIOUS ARTISTS

C88

CHERRY RED

This is the third in a series of

indie compilations from Cherry

Red, following on from 2016’s

C86, which expanded on the

notorious, era-defi ning C86

NME cassette, and 2016’s

C87. This 3CD boxset does

what its predecessors did:

focuses on the melodic guitar-

based outfi ts from its titular

year, the sort who worked to

a DIY budget and issued their

tunes on small labels with

handmade artwork and limited

hope of mainstream exposure.

By 1988, indie wasn’t the

only interesting music in town,

or certainly Brit-indie wasn’t.

There were the American likes

of Pixies and Throwing Muses

on 4AD, and the output of

labels such as Blast First and

SST. There were emerging

hip-hop colossi (Public Enemy,

NWA), Swiss techno renegades

Young Gods, Icelandic

mavericks Sugarcubes, and

so on. C88 imagines a world

where these groundbreaking

artists didn’t exist.

Taken on those terms, it’s

an intriguing artefact. Disc

1 includes bands new to this

compilation series, who would

actually manage to break out

of the indie ghetto: The Stone

Roses most notably, but also The

Mock Turtles and Pale Saints.

Then there are cult favourites

The Pooh Sticks (who attracted

a devoted following in the US),

Bridewell Taxis, the Morrissey-

sanctioned Bradford and

acclaimed Manchester band

King Of The Slums.

Meanwhile, Sarah Records –

adored by diehard cutie fans,

loathed for its supposed feyness

and mimsiness by others – is

represented by The Orchids,

Another Sunny Day, The Sea

Urchins and The Poppyheads.

CD2 features The House Of

Love, soon to sign to Creation,

The Vaselines (a favourite

of Kurt Cobain), “blonde”

bombshells The Darling Buds,

Kitchens Of Distinction and

The Heart Throbs from One

Little Indian, soon to be baggy

outliers Inspiral Carpets, and

The Shamen ahead of their

transformation from psych indie

kids to fully paid-up members of

the acid house squad.

Finally, on CD3 there are

the likes of The Revolving

Paint Dream, The Wake, The

Siddeleys, Would-Be-Goods,

The Caretaker Race, The Great

Leap Forward, East Village

The Corn Dollies and Bad

Dream Fancy Dress – bands

who would regularly fi ll the

“downpage” reviews sections of

the NME and Melody Maker’s

live pages but have since

disappeared from view. C88

tells you where they went, via

the 9,000-word sleevenote from

original C86 compiler, and

NME journalist, Neil Taylor.

Paul Lester

© Getty Images

The Stone

Roses feature in

the third Cherry

Red indie

compilation C88

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