BEST OF THE REST
Other reissues out this month.
Wire
10:20 PINK FLAG
A collection of strays from across the art-rock stalwarts’ career. Lost songs reassessed, reactivated, reborn. From kosmische soundscapes to post-punk intensity, Wire’s past still sounds like rock’s future. 8/10
Johnny Cash
The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991
MERCURY/UMC
By ‘86, Cash already sounded like he’d lived more life than most. Not as much as when he arrived with Rick Rubin, but enough to add weight to these seven albums of retreads and superstar hook-ups. 7/10
The Hu
The Gereg (Deluxe Edition)
ELEVEN SEVEN
The Mongolian rock sensations’ startling 2019 debut, expanded with six reinterprations: three collaborative (with Lzzy Hale, Papa Roach’s Jacoby and From Ashes To New) and three acoustic. 9/10
Anti-Pasti
CAPTAIN OI!
1980-83
Relive those golden days of hating Thatcher under a lop-sided, cidersodden mohican with this 44-track cornucopia of rudimentary riffing and rude ‘n’ mental ranting courtesy of Derby second-gen punks. 6/10
CPR
Reissues
BMG
Sumptuous harmonies, soul-balm lyrics, Steely Dan-level chops. This often overlooked pair (self-titled ‘98 debut, 2001’s Just Like Gravity) from David Crosby, Jeff Pevar and James Raymond ooze AOR class. 7/10
David Bowie
PARLOPHONE
Ouvrez Le Chien
1995 live set from Dallas sees an in-form Bowie freshening up rarely visited areas of his back catalogue while leaning heavily on Outside, his then current, critically undervalued album of Eno co-writes. 8/10
Gene
The Albums
DEMON
Gene? In essence, imagine Morrissey (with everything you ever disliked about Morrissey magically removed) fronting The Faces. A stretch, but worth the effort. Nine discs, CD or vinyl, all better than you think. 8/10
Fruupp
Made In Ireland
ESOTERIC
Intrinsically progressive, Belfast’s Fruupp gigged tirelessly, but their charm-packed intricacies earned more goodwill than sales. This ninetrack ‘best of’ ideally distils their punk-euthanased mid-70s heyday. 7/10
Jonathan Richman
ROUNDER
I, Jonathan
No one exemplifies the (largely) lost child-like innocence of rock’n’roll like Modern Lover-in-chief Jonathan Richman. Here, on sky-blue vinyl, he focuses his wide-eyed, three-chord attentions on That Summer
and only charms. 7/10
Molly Hatchet
ROCK CANDY
Molly Hatchet
Harder-edged than the Allmans and Skynyrd (but not by much), their ‘78 debut streamlined and de-Dandy-fied Black Oak’s beefy swagger, while laying down as good a definition of southern rock as anyone. 7/10
Various
Surrender To The Rhythm: The London Pub Rock Scene Of The Seventies
GRAPEFRUIT
A bizarre hotch-potch that persistently veers from its apparent intention, so Feelgoods, Kilburns and Brinsleys sit uncomfortably alongside Quo, SAHB, Lizzy and Mott. Entertaining, but not quite what’s promised. 6/10
In Flames
Clayman 20th Anniversary
NUCLEAR BLAST
The Gothenberg quintet’s fifth, 2000 album was pure melodic death ferocity. Remastered, it still is, but re-recording four tracks has only tamed them. Which rather blunts their point. 7/10
Feeling