Reviews

Hip hop heavyweight turns stand-up beat poet

Satisfactory comeback album from '80s hit-makers

A best-of from the prankster rapper, with every track reinvented and re-recorded

Mode mainmen square up in solo showdown

In most cultures, seven is a magic number. Not in rock'n'roll, where to sustain any degree of originality beyond album three or four is about as rare as a sober Shane MacGowan.

Classic youth cult soundtracks to ITV's Sounds Of Underground London series

Reissue of four classic albums coincides with founder member Bargeld's decision to quit Nick Cave's Bad Seeds

Bluegrass anthology compiled by Grammy-winner Colin Escott, the brains behind BBC2's history of country music, The Lost Highway

Devastating teenage-abuse-hell drama from director of Together

A massive worldwide hit, Nia Vardalos' no-budget romp must be something special, right? Well, nope. Inoffensive as it undoubtedly is, it appears to the un-Greek eye to latch 99 per cent of its gags onto national stereotypes. The better scenes, lampooning office hierarchies, are like a good episode of Friends. The rest is Victoria Wood at her most tired. Granny'll love it on telly at Christmas.