Give or take a track by The Smiths (and some anomalies like Laurie Anderson or David Bowie), the John-Peel-related compilations that came out in the wake of his death are pretty similar to this cassette from 1987 — which came out around the same time as the NME's country and bebop collections.
Of course there's masses of good stuff here. This cassette was probably the first time I heard Gang of Four, for instance — late to the party, again. But my streets-ahead favourite is Robert Wyatt's session version of I'm a Believer. It's quite different from the version he released as a single, because it's just him singing and accompanying himself on piano and organ, complete with the odd hesitation that manages to be extraordinarily affecting. Wonderful!
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Buy promo vinyl version from eil.com (subject to availability) |
Discogs entry for this album Wikipedia entry for Peel sessions Rate Your Music entry for this album |
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