This is one of the cassettes I rediscovered last month, on the shelf next to Strum and Drum. I say "rediscovered" yet I have no recollection of owning, let alone listening to, it.
For a cassette that's over 20 years old, the sound is remarkably good — better than I can ever remember hearing from a tape. The one revelation is the first track, a subtly remixed version of what I always used to argue (because John Peel did too) was Simple Minds's finest four minutes, The American. It's from the Theme series of CD EPs, which I didn't know about, and it's now seven minutes — but it still doesn't outstay its welcome.
I was reminded by this review a few days ago that it's now 20 years since Massive Attack's Blue Lines. Side Two of the cassette is a compilation of stuff from the AVL label, which goes to show that in the shadows behind that achievement there was an awful lot of third-rate dross trying to hoe the same row.
The back of the cassette says "Given away free with the November issue of Select — the music magazine of the '90s". True to their brand identity, Select followed Underground into oblivion by folding as the year 2000 arrived. As for their contributors, pah! "Currently residing in the where-are-they-now file," as Chumbawamba would put it.
| Buy via eBay (before 15:43 BST tomorrow) |
Discogs entry for this album Wikipedia entry for Select magazine Rate Your Music entry for this album |
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