Various Artists ...

Various Artists

Various Artists – Beautiful: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot

Gord's substantial pot of gold gets prospected, Canadian-style

Various Artists – All Night Long: Classic ’80s Grooves

Late burst of speed from Motown in original album and/or 12-inch single form

Various Artists – The Songs Of Jimmy Webb, Tunesmith

Hefty selection of Webb songs, featuring R.E.M., Stevie Wonder, Scott Walker and Dusty Springfield

Various Artists – Alan Lomax: Popular Songbook

When Moby sampled Vera Ward Hall's "Trouble So Hard", he was merely the latest in a long line of musicians to use as a source the field recordings made in the Deep South between 1933 and 1959 by the folklorist Alan Lomax. The Popular Songbook collects together 22 such tracks and, perhaps to your surprise, you'll find you know almost every one of them—if not in these original versions then in covers by artists as diverse as Clapton, Miles Davis, Steve Miller, Dylan, Led Zep and The Grateful Dead. File alongside the Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music.

Various Artists – You Are Here

This timid compilation suffers from the eternal failing of dance's left field in mistaking an imitation of Eno, Reich etc for a genuine response. And where Herbert is a maverick provocateur, making music from McDonalds wrappers or lurching into revisionist big band music, his prodigies are more faint-hearted. The majority of cuts (including those from Herbert himself) are sleepy and heavy-lidded-boring, even. There's nothing wrong with this LP if you like smoochy post-dance or cocktail jazz, but it's hardly sensual or murderous.

Various Artists – Just Because I’m A Woman: The Songs Of Dolly Parton

All-female tribute to country's First Lady features her own reworking of title track

Various Artists – Under The Influence: Paul Weller

Modfather becomes third in celebrity compilation series

Various Artists – The Ultimate ’50s And ’60s Rockin’ Horror Disc

Blood-curdling rock'n'roll oddities

1989 box set rejigged again

Road To Nowhere

From art-damaged garage to cosmic avant jitterfunk; a box set containing 54 tracks and 13 videos charts the weird musical journey that took Talking Heads from CBGB's to MTV
Advertisement

Editor's Picks

Advertisement

PAgeskin