Out Come the Freaks! an island Post Punk Anthology

by

Various Artists

Edit

Following hot on the heels of the wonderful 'Refugees :

A Charisma Records Anthology 1969-1978' comes yet another

good-enough-to-eat compilation, a veritable treasure trove

of Island Records' best and least known odd-ball releases.

To hear Peter Cook and Dudley Moore debate the correct

pronunciation of the word "comatose" is worth the price of

the album alone. Their account of Gina Lollobrigida's experience

of invasion by lobsters is as sinister as it is peerless.

There's a lot of good music here for your money as well!

I'd completely forgotten Betty Davis until the inclusion of

'Nasty Gal' (1975) in this collection. What a great voice!

Down-and-dirty as it comes. A ripe peach of a performance.

Plenty of classics too.

'Rock Lobster' from The B-52's 1979 eponymous debut album

reminds us what an all-night party on Mars might sound like.

John Cale's edgy reinvention of 'Heartbreak Hotel' from his

1975 album 'Slow Dazzle' still makes the fur stand up on my skin.

Grace Jones's sultry and funky 'Warm Leatherette' (1980) rubs

shoulders with the incomparable Marianne Faithfull's gritty

rendition of 'Broken English' from her 1979 album of the same name.

Remember The Buggles? Hmmm so do I! Well 'Video Killed The Radio Star'

is here too. A curious and enormously successful side-project from

serios musos Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley, it reached

Number 1 in the UK charts in 1979.

Pure joy with the inclusion of 'Genius Of Love' from the incandescently

wonderful Tom Tom Club (1981). "James Broooooown..." - you betcha !!

The dark side is amply represented by the likes of Nico, gothically

intoning the haunting 'It Has Not Taken Long' (Bjork owes her a not

inconsiderable debt) from her 1974 album 'The End'; the short and bitter

'Song Of The Whitewash' by Hanns Eisler is given a fine interpretation

by the extraordinary Dagmar Krause from her 1988 album of Eisler's songs

'Tank Battles' (A real must-have if you are unfamiliar with her work);

and Tricky, represented by the distrubing urban nightmare that is

'Black Steel' from his 1995 debut 'Maxinquaye' (an edgy highlight).

Remember Puressence? Surely a band worth exploring if you don't.

'I Suppose' from their first album (1996) is an absolute hoot!

So many good songs - so many great artists, some of whom may well not

have seen the light of day or had the opportunity to develop and refine

their music without Island's investment of both money and trust.

This Anthology is a worthy testament to their entrepreneurial philosophy.

Essential.