The Sugarcubes were one of the great cult bands of collegiate rock, not only because they had a distinctive sound, but because they were so damn weird. They sounded like nothing else in the late '80s/early '90s or anything that came before, creating an unusual hybrid of pop, dance, and the avant-garde. So rabid was their cult that some critics said they could cross over into the mainstream, yet that never really happened, despite their strong English following. However, that notion gives the title to their best-of collection, The Great Crossover Potential. The 14-track compilation proves that they could never really have crossed over, mainly because their pop sense is quirky and they're often an acquired taste. Björk, of course, wound up being a pop star with equally ambitious music, and while her talent is apparent here, it's often submerged by Einar's excruciatingly ridiculous showboating. Einar was often overbearing on the Sugarcubes albums (particularly toward the end of their career), and it is true that he's less irritating here than on the proper records, but casual fans should be aware that The Great Crossover Potential is only slightly less uneven than the actual albums, with the exception of the remarkable debut, Life's Too Good. The collection, however, remains a nice way to round up the highlights, particularly those from Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! and Stick Around for Joy
Acting as a sampler for MTV's flagship alternative show, Never Mind the Mainstream... was the best compilation of '80s alternative music released in America at the time. Featuring powerhouse tracks by R.E.M., Joy Division, Depeche Mode, and the Violent Femmes, this album serves as the ultimate introduction to what was popular in the alternative underground at the time. Several good, underrated songs are stacked up next to the classics and do just fine on their own. New Order's "Perfect Kiss" stands surprisingly well between Joy Division's classic "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Depeche Mode's mega-hit "Personal Jesus." Hüsker Dü and the Jesus and Mary Chain contribute driving, powerful rock tracks; elsewhere, Ministry showcases their paranoid anger with the club hit "Stigmata.This is a fantastic album that serves as a wonderful sampler for these artists' talents.
Released in 1991, Rhino's MTV: Best of 120 Minutes is one of the last snapshots of college rock/alternative music just before grunge dominated, inflated, and ultimately burnt out the genre. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' version of "Higher Ground" is probably the album's hardest-rocking track -- though Sonic Youth's classic "Kool Thing" comes close -- making way for a brace of moody, quirky, but above all, poppy songs like Camper Van Beethoven's "Eye of Fatima, Pt. 1," They Might Be Giants' "Ana Ng," Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians' "Balloon Man," and World Party's "Put the Message in the Box." Alt radio staples of the era, such as the Stone Roses' "Fool's Gold," Sinéad O'Connor's "Mandinka," XTC's "Dear God," the Church's "Under the Milky Way Tonight," and Bob Mould's excellent "See a Little Light" retain their status as underground classics yet still sound fresh, aging far more gracefully than the grunge and nu-metal that supplanted them. Songs from Cocteau Twins, Julian Cope, Mission ,and Soul Asylum round out this engaging, somewhat nostalgic time capsule of a time when MTV not only played videos, but gave airtime to smart, left-of-center artists like these.
James became an institution on the British alternative music scene during the ’80s and ’90s thanks to their catchy songwriting and intelligent lyrics.
Early in their career, they were praised by the likes of Morrissey and even crashed the acid house-inspired “baggy” scene with the baggy-inspired Sit Down, a hit that helped catapult them to massive fame.
Buoyed by the success of that track, however, the band became more experimental and eclectic, changing their sound and creating a unique template for success in Tim Booth’s distinct vocal style and delivery – not to mention his physical prowess in live form.
Hits came in the form of the epic Sound, the euphoric Ring The Bells, the anthemic Tomorrow and Destiny Calling and the enchanting change of pace that marked the lush romanticism of Just Like Fred Astaire.
Unfortunately, the band decided to split as they seemed to be going from strength to strength, citing solo ambitions as the reason to part company. A farewell tour was memorably delivered but tinged with sadness at the loss of a band that was continually willing to push their sound forward and do something different on the mainstream indie scene.
That was 2001 and six years later they’ve decided to reform, hit the road and record some new material. But as a reminder of the story so far, they’ve put out another greatest hits compilation (to rival 1998’s Best Of) in the form of the double CD Fresh As A Daisy: The Singles.
As its name suggests, this is all about the hits rather than the personal favourites and picks up the story of the whole career – from early take-notice offerings Folklore and If Things Were Perfect to the songs that defined their biggest successes.
What’s most striking about the songs (particularly during the second CD) is just how timeless many of them are. Whereas a lot of “baggy” tracks contain a retro glow that keeps them rooted in the era, a lot of James’ work seems to transcend such boundaries.
Sit Down does sound dated and was even rubbished by the band themselves as one of their least favourite recordings – but songs like Sound, Ring The Bells, Born of Frustration and the beautifully under-rated Say Something continue to sound as fresh and inspired as they were way back when…
And it’s only through listening to an extensive compilation such as this that you begin to realise how many hits James delivered, from the easy sing-along value of live favourites such as Destiny Calling, Laid and Come Home to the more thoughtful moments such as She’s A Star and Getting Away With It (All Messed Up).
Of the two new tracks, Who Are You? expertly combines the vocal theatrics of songs like Sound with an altogether grittier guitar sound to produce a song easily capable of appealing to both their existing following and the uninitiated, and Chameleon is a clever stop-start track that’s delivered with verve.
So, whether you’re intending to buy it as a reminder of memories old, or trying to discover what the fuss is all about, or even just playing catch up, Fresh As A Daisy (clever name) is well worth a place in anyone’s record collection.
When Karl Wallinger left the Waterboys in the mid-'80s to form World Party, it only took one song to convince fans that this was no one-off side project. That track, "Ship of Fools," and 12 others populate the band's first-ever "greatest-hits" compilation, the appropriately titled Best in Show. Wallinger, a devout "Beatlemaniac," never aped a move by the Fab Four without throwing more of himself into the mix, which makes World Party's sophomore effort, Goodbye Jumbo, such a joy. Represented here by no less than seven tracks, Jumbo riffed on the new beatnik vibe of the early '90s without ever resorting to the mildly disingenuous Lenny Kravitz version of the "new summer of love." World Party may have been part-Dylan, part-Donovan with a little bit of Wings-era McCartney thrown in for good measure, but Wallinger's socially conscious brand of mysticism felt firmly rooted in the prosperous Clinton era. Cuts like "Put the Message in the Box," "Way Down Now," and "Thank You World" grooved with an easy-enough vibe to lure AAA radio listeners, but connected on a deeper level with the college crowd. 1993's Bang!, 1997's Egyptology, and 2000's Dumbing Up deserve more than the one track apiece that appear here, but to be fair, Bang!'s "Is It Like Today?," one of the group's strongest moments, was the last real radio presence Wallinger and company enjoyed. Best in Show is nothing if not concise, and while longtime fans might lament the omission of songs like "All I Gave," "Vanity Fair," and "Kingdom Come," incoming ears will perk up and seek them out for themselves.
Using the psychedelicized prog-punk of Fuzzy Logic as a foundation, Super Furry Animals move even further into left field on their second album, Radiator. As before, the group displays a gift for catchy, deceptively complex melodic hooks, but now its songwriting and arrangements are mind-bogglingly intricate and eclectic. Songs boast intertwining melodies and countermelodies, with guitars and keyboards swirling around the vocals. Similarly, the production is dense and heavy with detail, borrowing heavily from prog rock and psychedelic pop, but pieced together with the invention of techno and played with the energy of punk. It's a heady, impressive kaleidoscope of sounds, but what gives Radiator its weight is the way the sonics complement the songwriting. SFA's songs are melodic, accessible, and utterly original -- melodically, they may borrow from '60s pop, but they rearrange the clichés in fresh ways. Also, Gruff Rhys has a fondness for revolutionary politics and the bizarre that helps give Radiator its intoxicating, otherworldly atmosphere, making it one of the few late-'90s albums that sounds inventive, vibrant, and utterly contemporary.
Volumes have already been written about the historical significance of the Jesus and Mary Chain. The group’s landmark debut, aptly titled Psychocandy, was the archetype for noise-pop, an album that transformed the use of distortion in indie rock with its screeching abrasion, yet managed to feature some of the catchiest melodies of the 80s. This unique blend of challenging noise and melodic pop was later adapted by hundreds of bands, with innovative groups such as My Bloody Valentine among the forerunners.
Unlike the majority of its followers, though, the Jesus and Mary Chain was primarily a singles band. However groundbreaking Psychocandy was, several not-so-great songs marred the album, undermining the band’s brilliance. The Jesus and Mary Chain’s formula was not infallible; past the album’s highlights, the overwhelming use of distortion occasionally grew tiring, to the point that it seemed the same song was being played on repeat.
While none of the group’s later work saw too great a departure from its original style, a look at only the bands’s singles reveals its repertoire to be more exciting than that of almost any other band within the same genre. 21 Singles presents the band at its absolute best, unhampered by repetition and unaffected by a lack of significant development because of the sheer genius of its best songs.
The collection, organized chronologically, begins with The Jesus and Mary Chain’s quintessential debut single, “Upside Down”. Like all of the group’s best songs, “Upside Down” has more energy than most other bands could ever hope to produce, with wailing feedback and thumping drums marvelously accompanying Reid’s triumphant vocals as he proclaims tough-guy phrases like “Feels like I’m going mad/ best friend I’ve ever had”.
Psychocandy’s singles continue in very much the same vein as “Upside Down”, especially with the brutal assault of “Never Understand”. “You Trip Me Up”, “Just Like Honey”, and “Some Candy Talking” are calmer, but use just as much distortion to hide their sweet pop nature. These first five songs are all classics, compared either to the rest of the collection or to virtually any other singles released during the mid-80s.
The Jesus and Mary Chain’s follow-up to Psychocandy, Darklands, is represented excellently by its three lively singles, “April Skies”, “Happy When It Rains”, and the title track. On these, the group stripped away excess feedback and allowed for a more conventional approach to rock’n’roll. The effect of these songs’ different treatment is equally powerful, although the weaker melodies prevent the singles from attaining the same heights of those from Psychocandy.
“Sidewalking” and “Blues from a Gun” are the compilation’s heaviest tracks, revealing for the first time a traditional hard rock side to the band. Here, Reid delivers some of his most convincing vocals. At least, one would think so before hearing “Head On”.
Easily the highlight of the band’s career, “Head On” characterizes most of what great indie rock is supposed to be, donating four minutes of complete bliss to the collection. Incredibly riveting, the song features an utterly inspiring chorus (“Makes you wanna feel/ makes you wanna try/ makes you wanna blow the stars from the sky”) delivered with all the band’s visceral emotion. The music perfectly suits the lyrics, with the same breadth of passion present in the guitars as in Reid’s vocals.
The four Honey’s Dead singles embrace much of the early 90s British music scene, using more danceable beats to good effect. The controversial “Reverence” (“I wanna die just like Jesus Christ”) juxtaposes hard-rock riffing with a drum machine to create a new sound for the band, a new way to boast both their power and their catchiness. The album’s other singles are very good as well, but unfortunately, after Honey’s Dead, there is a slight dip in quality.
Stoned and Dethroned gives us two of the band’s softer numbers, the very radio-friendly “Sometimes Always”, and the simple “Come On”. Munki, the band’s final album, re-introduces a sound that had been absent since Automatic with the hard-hitting “Cracking Up” and even adds to this style with “I Love Rock’N’Roll”, which, very surprisingly, features horns. It is clear by this point that the Reids have lost some of their ability to write exceptional melodies, but these singles are still pretty good.
Psychocandy may have been the Jesus and Mary Chain’s classic, but 21 Singles is undoubtedly the place to start with the band. As any singles compilation should, the collection highlights what made the Jesus and Mary Chain the fabulous band it was, capturing the best moments throughout its career without ever dwelling on them so that they become dull. In doing so, 21 Singles proves itself to be both the perfect introduction to the band and the group’s most listenable effort.
