The folks at Soundpeople who compiled this monster collection are probably the same sort who just can't help themselves trying one of everything at the pick'n'mix stall. Afterwards they sit there groaning in a post-gorge stupor saying "All those Cola-bottles and Chocolate Brazils... what was I thinking?" as a diabetic coma heads in their direction. To be fair it is blatantly obvious that the compilers of the 35 tracks on this 2 CD collection have nothing but noble intentions. Unfortunately, the overall effect is one of watering down rather than strengthening the flavours on offer. People are not going to think "Excellent there are 35 tracks here to get through" they're more likely to think "There are some good songs on here but can I be arsed to skip through the rest?"The 35 artistes on offer, line-up on the back cover design as 2 opposing football teams, so here then are the ones who made the first team selection. The Highs make a welcome impact with the opening foray of disk 1. "I waited" is a strong cello laden piece of swelling-pop-rock summoning resemblances to Elbow and Leeds stalwarts Four Day Hombre. Changing the tone are the excellent Laboratory Noise who sound like a cross between Ian Brown, British Sea Power and The Twang. It's atmospheric baggy if there is such a thing... well there is now. Snipereyes are a real find, with their retro John Lennon inspired tones and not unlike The Bees, this is great laidback stuff. Mark Morris, he formerly of The Bluetones, shows that his former beat-combo may have been tossed on the popularity scrapheap with the end of the brit-pop era but he still has an excellent ear for an Indie guitar pop tune. Micky P Kerr ends disc 1 with the lament "Dreamers Club" and shows how adept he is when he steers away from trying to make his audience laugh. Romping in to kick off disc 2 is the poptastic International Trust. Here with a rerun of their first single, as ever choc-full of melody, a corny sounding keyboard and tongue in cheek themes. Kockee offer a welcome dose of lo-fi hip-hop which is a welcome break from the "boys with guitars" theme that prevails over the main selection of bands included. Frankie Eisenhower provide some beaten up blues akin to the 22-20s and are perfectly accompanied by Bradford's The Touch whose excellent blues-rock sound makes a welcome appearance with "Madman on a Cliff". Leeds grandfathers of ignored excellence The Terminals positively gallop in with the rockabilly beats of "Black Lightening" while The Invention show some invention albeit to sit comfortably along other purveyors of the modern guitar vs disco beat angular sound. All in all this leaves the other 24 fighting for a place on the subs bench.
If Soundpeople had bitten the bullet and stood strong with a quality control system that was vicious rather than forgiving, then this would be a review imploring you to buy this record immediately. As it is, treat this as the investigative piece of research it is and be comforted that the inevitable argument about value for money will always go a long way.
