If it hadn't been for Lippy McCulloch and his gang of big black overcoat-wearing henchman, not only would we not have
bands like Radiohead, Longpigs, Manics and any other band to pick up a guitar and actually think about it before strumming it,
but we would also have been denied some of the most stellar, shining music ever committed to record. "Don't Let It Get You Down",
the next roundhouse punch in the Bunnymen's majestic comeback fight, sounds so untouchable that it floats around you like a
narcotic, constantly flitting tantalisingly out of reach when you try and pin it down. So don't bother, don't analyse and don't ponder on
the fact it could have been lifted straight out of 1987 - just lay back and let it happen and above all, don't let it get you down.
B-sides are live tracks from Glasto this year - "Rescue" and "Altamont" on CD1, and another two on CD2. No trace of Mac
spouting forth all that nonsense about it being too muddy, though.
Rating: 10/10
The Rest
In a Big Mac-free week this would've got top spot, so it is no fault of the Phonics that they're second on the heap.
A slow, smouldering strummer that showcases Kelly's affecting and histrionic vocal chords, "Traffic" is your classic grower.
Perhaps a little too Big Epic Ballad by numbers (each verse introduces a new track to the mix until by the end you wouldn't be
surprised if the band's Uncle David turned up playing the spoons), the track is still mighty moving and the passion seeps out the
grooves like mustard out a hot dog. "Is anyone going anywhere?" ponder the vocals, and the song works so well that
you end up pondering too. Majestic.
"Tie Me Up Tie Me Down" sees the boys whip out their guitars and do their best Jam impressions (a compliment - I wish
Paul Weller would do the same). "Chris Chambers" (very Jam) is the second song in two weeks to mention Halloween
(see Ash last week) and is another smoulderer, most notable for Kelly's voice and what sounds like a clarinet in there somewhere.
More clarinets in rock now. The album version of "Traffic" closes the single, making it good value and good listening.
Yet to explode
fully onto the scene, the band are building up such a devoted fanbase (most of them frequenting the HeadBoard as we speak) that
it is only a matter of time before they take over the world and paint it black. My favourite colour.
Rating: 9/10
Another from the soundtrack of "A Life Less Ordinary" (which is apparently the best thing about it), Beck's "Deadweight" is new
material that is the closest thing to a straight song the wee chap's probably done since "Loser". A road movie of a track, this jazzed-up
funky little number is an "On The Road" for 90s beat kids, with its dust-strewn guitars and ping-pong beat. Although I've not seen the
vid, I just know it will feature the man walking around looking bewildered in cowboy boots and a stetson 26 times too big for him.
Crazy, man, crazy...
"Erase The Sun" is on the b, and is...erm...experimental, to be kind to it.
Rating: 8/10
Natalie Imbruglia (that must be an anagram of something) used to be Barbie McDingo in Neighbours (or something - don't ask
me. I mean, Neighbours?? Sweet Valley High, maybe, but Neighbours?). On the evidence of this, she is now Sheryl Crow. She does a
pretty good job of being Sheryl Crow too, with this big AOR "serious" thing that - if nothing else - is interesting due to the fact it now
shows soap stars don't bounce straight into the euro disco, instead they run after the alternative bandwagon desperately trying to get a ride
on the footplate. Natalie gets a couple of toes on, before her sensible grown-up shoes cause her to lose her grip.
"Contradictions", in a radical change of mood, sees Ms Imbruglia become Tori Amos reciting sixth form poetry, whilst "Diving In
The Deep End" is more of the same, with some ambient dolphin-friendly warblings in the background.
Ironically, I think the best thing that Natalie could do is ask a euro disco outfit to do a remix for her...
Rating: 6/10
Just what we need. Another Oasis. Oasis start releasing seven-minute "epics" like "Do You Know What I Mean". What do Embrace
do? Well, in a startling bout of originality, they release six-minute "epics" like "All You Good Good People". Spare us.
Hopefully, Oasis will jump off a cliff soon, and Embrace will be watching.
I'm not really going to bother with the b's, as they are as sparklingly fresh and innovative as those dried-up stains you see on the
pavements outside pubs on a Sunday morning. "You Don't Amount To Anything - This Time" is the best of a bad bunch though.
Rating: 2/10
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