Reviews

Big Beach Boutique II

The first gig since Castlemorton to make front-page news, Fatboy Slim's massively over-attended 2002 beach-front hoedown was greeted as armaggedon by the Daily Mail but, as this film shows in fact consisted of a bald man in a Hawaiian shirt playing 19 records very loud. Watch 200,000 ecstatic bodies moving in unison to "Born Slippy", though, and you'll realise the Mail had a point. Goosebump-inducing. DVD EXTRAS: Interview with and full commentary by Norman Cook, choice of playing the tracks in your own order.

The Guru

Typically inane British comedy which reduces centuries of Asian culture to a Carry On joke. Jimi Mistry, not an actor you want to see doing the Macarena, is a bozo mistaken for an expert on all matters carnal. Spotting a chance to whip her kit off, Heather Graham, the 21st-century's Greta Scacchi, turns up as 'love' interest. Imagine, if you will, Bombay Dreams starring Robin Askwith.

24 Hour Party People

Madchester: The Movie, in which Michael Winterbottom proves his versatility knows no bounds. In lesser hands, the juiced-up story of Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays and self-styled pratgenius Tony Wilson could've been scrawny sit-com, but the pace (and the music) makes it zing. Steve Coogan's hilarious as the north-west's answer to Warhol, and it's the first film to feature a joke about the drug dealers of Rhyl.

Scout Niblett – I Conjure Series

Unorthodox mini-album from singer-songwriter

Miracle Mile – Alaska

Gentle melodic pop and weeping pedal steels from British singer-songwriter

Art Garfunkel – Everything Wants To Be Noticed

Great singer in need of decent songs

Little Feat

Old Feats don't fail to amuse and enthral with these lavish unreleased and live double sets

The Wild Thornberrys Movie – Jive

An animated kiddies' thing which, to my untrained eye, looks scarily like Rugrats, this is set in the African wilderness. And has elephants in it. So you don't need to trouble your inner genius to work out that Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Paul Simon will feature. "Father And Daughter" is the latter's first song for a film in 15 years, and he can still turn a lyric and craft a tune like an unlikely deft demi-god. He can even mumble "trust your intuition, it's just like goin'fishin'" and sound wry. It's no "Mrs Robinson" but it's warm as a puma's gums.

Various Artists – 16 Classiques De 1995 À 2002

Double CD of best tracks from celebrated Sourcelab compilations

Various Artists – Reggae Love Songs

Romantic tunes played a big part in British reggae charts in the late '70s and early '80s as a new generation of aspirational, British-born black kids abandoned roots reggae in favour of our first indigenous black pop style—lover's rock. Many of the tunes were nothing more than insipid cover versions of UK pop or US soul hits, but the movement yielded a clutch of genuinely moving songs such as Sharon Forrester's "Silly, Wasn't It?" (incidentally, Melody Maker's reggae single of 1974) and Janet Kay's 1979 Top 3 hit "Silly Games", both featured here. More recent
Advertisement

Editor's Picks

Advertisement