Various - Trance Europe Express 3 (T.E.E.)

The third in a line of innovative concepts from the Volume people. If you haven't yet discovered Trance Europe Express, it's an excellent guide to what's happening in ambient house, this new compilation boasting an encyclopaedic 25 tracks (across 2 discs) with a 194 page colour booklet! Innovative pieces come from a lot of the top names of the scene including Air Liquide, 808 State, Ultramarine, William Orbit, U-Ziq and Volume-favourites Sun Electric and not-so innovative tracks from Joey Beltram and The Grid, but then if you've got a good idea, milk it I say!.

'Kincajou' by Banco De Gaia is a very funky slice of rhythm that could be mixed into both an ambient set and a hardcore dance set to give everyone a breather. Currently some artists seem to concentrate too much on sounds and textures at the expense of melody and groove, so when Luke Slater comes in after Banco it begins to sound like filler. Luckily Pulse are then mixed in, 'Carino (Silencio)' is a bleep anthem highly befitting to the compilations title.

With so much music it's difficult to separate the wood from the trees, but disc two definitely works best for me. Biosphere never fail to impress and their 'The Third Planet' is a spaced-out space view of the planet in question (earth!) viewed from afar... The second disc ends with a unique piece by Emergency Broadcast Network - '3:78' - which sounds like a never-before-heard meeting of jungle betas and jazz samples and on page 188 of the booklet we find that they have a taste for military hardware and perform multimedia "press conferences" featuring painting, music and video!

In a fit of unbridled generosity 808 State who have offered a free copy of the package to the first person that writes to them (@ PO Box 808, Hook, Basingstoke, RG25 1UF) with the answer to this question: Ambient music - where will it all end?! (7)


This review also published in: On magazine

Sylvian | Fripp - Damage (Venture)

Last year David Sylvian and Robert Fripp released an album of awesome potential, which only really lifted off when they went on the road. Perfecting the tracks around Europe, they finished off with two dates at the Royal Albert Hall where this CD was recorded. Songwriting that took the duo off into new territory with Fripp's current anger and Sylvian coming into a more optimistic writing style lead to a show that sucked the audience into their world, purely with music.

With stick player Trey Gunn, a drummer and guitarist extraordinaire Michael Brook the band plough through the entire 'The First Day' album before arriving at a ten minute jam of 'Darshan'. Moods swing from track to track, 'Brightness Falls' (which is half Hendrix tribute, half chill out) moves seemlessly to an instant audience hit - 'Every Colour You Are' from the Rain Tree Crow album of 1993. Three other old favourites from Sylvian and Fripp's mid-80's collaboration for the Gone To Earth album are also given a fresh airing.

But it's the new music that was debuted at the concert that stands out. The first and last tracks of the CD - 'Damage' and 'The First Day' - are sublime 4-minute master pieces and certainly the best music from Sylvian and Fripp (both together and in their own right) that I've ever heard. They begin and end a page which, put with the limited edition 32 page booklet by Russell Mills, easily storms in as my favourite album of 1994. (9)


This review also published in: On

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Shoot! (ZTT)

Even more eagerly awaited than its audio counterpart, Shoot! contains eight videos, none of which have been commercially available before. More than five videos were made for 'Relax' and two are included here. The first is directed by Bernard Rose and was originally banned by both the BBC and MTV. More hilarious than shocking, the promo is set in some bizarre gay pleasuredome. A so-called live concert version is also included.

Godley & Creme's classic video for 'Two Tribes' of two world leaders enjoying a spot of fisticuffs looks more surreal than cutting edge ten years on, post-Perestroika. In true ZTT fashion this video (and its actors!) was even allocated a catalogue number, ZTIS 119. But collectors will be disappointed to find that ZTIS 200, the extended version with some innovative scratch video effects has been omitted. Godley & Creme also directed the 'Power Of Love' video and to tie in with its Christmas release recreated the Birth Of Christ. Thankfully the members of the band did not appear in the film which helped it look more blockbuster than school nativity!

The bands appearence in the other videos chart the rise and demise of the FGTH sensation. They play along with the grandiose storyboard for Bernard Rose's 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome' and after a year-long session of touring and recording actually perform on stage for 'Rage Hard' which has just as much energy as any of the non performence promos. By the time they appear on screen for 'Watching The Wildlife' (having left 'Warriors Of The Wasteland' to the animators) the band knew they would split up at the first available opportunity. And it shows, no-one except Holly (and perhaps Ped) deliver any passion on screen.

Strangely the one screen star to remain from these days is Paul Morley. He directed 'Watching The Wildlife' and the whole of 'Shoot!' is interspersed with interview excepts form his promo release 'The Frankie Video' which looks like a pilot for his 'The Thing Is...' TV show. Altogether a dazzling set of images, the Frankie videos still remain some of the most notorious examples of this genre of film making, packing an equal punch to the music they illustrate. As Holly Johnson once said: "It's not a very real world to live in, but it's a good laugh!".


This review also published in: Record Collector

Frankie Goes To Hollywood- Bang! (ZTT)

Ten years since Relax and five since the infamous split and court case, this Greatest Hits Of Frankie Goes To Hollywood really is long overdue. With the wealth of Frankie remixes from their year of notoriety still keeping them high in RC's collectability poll, their 10th Anniversary could mark the opening of the vaults at FGTHQ. But for now the powers-that-be appear to have taken the soft, or rather the broad appeal option. All the Frankie singles are on the album, from 'Relax' to 'Watching The Wildlife', but in standard 7" form. In fact the only non-standard mix included is the full length album version of 'The World Is My Oyster'/'Welcome To The Pleasuredome', which constituted all of Side 1 of FGTH's first album. Also included are a clutch of b-sides, namely cover versions of 'War', 'Ferry Cross The Mersey' and 'Born To Run'.

A lot has changed in music since Frankie first hit it big, so it will be interesting to see how this collection meets with contemporary ears. 'Two Tribes' stands out as bpm-wise it isn't that different from contemporary techno. 'Relax' would be a bit more difficult on the dancefloor nowadays, although the quality of overall production and arrangement values still shine through. The same goes for 'The Power Of Love', but 'Ferry...' and 'War' are rather more difficult to categorise, standing up now more as interesting curios rather than off-the-wall 'tributes', as they first appeared.

'Born To Run' however is a different matter. One of the first recordings to prove that the band could actually play their instruments, it shaped the direction of their second album 'Liverpool'. Given the relative commercial failure of this album compared to their debut 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome', it's a surprise to note that the tracks from 'Liverpool' have aged very little. 'Rage Hard', 'Watching The Wildlife' and 'Warriors Of The Wasteland' are 3 minute punches of rock pop that are only slightly less memorable than 'Relax' or 'Two Tribes' due to their lack of a forthright lyrical message.

The point of Liverpool is hammered home with the inclusion of 'For Heaven's Sake' but Frankie will be remembered for their more off-the-wall productions so the compilation aptly ends with the one minute long 'Bang'. This combination of the two very different sides of one of the most important bands in 80s pop should both stir the memories of those who experienced Frankie Goes To Hollywood the first time around and attract the new buyers of 90s pop.


This review also published in: Record Collector