The Beatles, The Doors, The Bee Gees, Curtis, Kris and Willie etc, are treated to a first-class passage to heaven thanks to Green’s matchless ability to inhabit his material. Buy it for yourself, soul brothers and sisters.

The Prisoners

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IN FROM THE COLD

BIG BEAT

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The Prisoners spearheaded an early ’80s Medway garage scene that spat in the eye of synth-pop ubiquity. Their fourth LP was released just as their parent label, Stiff, went bust in 1986. A souped-up basement sweat where Dexys’ Stax meets The Hives’ urgent swagger. The Charlatans, for one, were eternally indebted.

Hamell On Trial

MERCUROYALE: THE BEST OF THE MERCURY YEARS

EVANGELINE

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Hamell, with his stinging vocal attack, takes prisoners and then invites them to walk on scorched earth. He’s not all spleen; there are black comic moments here. If an anarcho-punk with a Bill Hicks sense of absurdity appeals then Ed’s waiting down a dark alley for you.

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals

NO BONES FOR THE DOGS

PRESSURE SOUNDS

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Combining heavy rhythms with a surprisingly light touch, the powerhouse production duo of Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson found success with Dennis Brown and Althea and Donna. No Bones…, though, draws on earlier dubs (’74-’79), with Culture’s classic “Two Sevens Clash” rhythms forming the backbone.

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STARS ON 33

FAT CITY

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Barrow’s Andy Turner rolls out his debut mix CD and, true to his production style, it’s full of chunky jazz-laced instrumentals. Despite an over-reliance on sister label Grand Central’s catalogue, it’s the washed-out psychedelia of “We All Together” and “King Biscuit” which prove the pick.

Stereo MCs

RETROACTIVE

ISLAND

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Retroactive traces Stereo MCs’ career from hip hop wannabes to crusty-edged funk apostles. “Lost In Music” is the key track, bridging the transition from their ill-advised early incarnation to the heyday of “Connected” and the triumph of their loose-limbed shuffle.