Ruby Trax: The NME's Roaring 40

 

Looking at Richie's excellent Culture Deluxe site and seeing some excellent withering comments with regards the latest 40 Years of Radio 1 album with contemporary artists covering one song from each year.

 

It reminded me of this old album that I have just dug out of a shoebox of old CD's that I rarely ever play.

 

I remember buying this 3CD compilation in a sale for £4.99. A fate that surely waits the forthcoming Radio 1 album.......

 

Anyway, here is a review & tracklisting of the album compiled & released to "celebrate" 40 Years of the NME back in Nov 1992.

 

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf700/f730/f73068a2u80.jpg

 

Review by Dean Carlson (AMG)

 

In the throb and throng of British indie, the single consistent thread — apart from the brawls, name-drops, cat-calls, band-history revisionism, only-cry-when-others-can-watch sensitivity, and the stunning knack to claim your music is either "better than the Beatles at the height of orgasm while the deity of Vishnu looks on and invites you to experience periodic annihilation" or "s'alright, I suppose" — is the cover track. Doesn't matter if you're headlining Wembley or playing the toilet circuit, you're not a true indie band until you release that ubiquitous interpretation of some rusted-out song of old. So where does one start in this massive, 40-strong compilation of bad guitar pop, shambolic experimentation, homage, and insult?

 

How about in heart of the matter — the second disc has the best treats anyway. With a reviled yet strangely delightful take on "Maggie May," Blur once again demonstrates their guttural gifts for pop and, not to be outdone, Kingmaker gets sent out on a rail unleashing the same Buzzcocks spunk that Supergrass would get lauded for years later. Okay, so the disc also doesn't have Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine's finest hour. Or Marc Almond's. But EMF's "Shaddup You Face" is a gawdawful two-minute caterwauling piece of trash that's even more shambolic than the Fall. Fantastic, in other words. And even an early-blooming Suede slithers through "Brass in Pocket" with a gentle, spectacular grace.

 

Mind you, the first disc is arguably the worst: Teenage Fanclub only shows their precarious plagiarist side on "Mr. Tambourine Man" and the Mission all but butcher Blondie's randy "Atomic." Only St. Etienne and Welfare Heroine walk away with any sort of dignity in the matter (the latter condensing Peter Sarstedt's overblown "Where Do You Go to My Lovely?" into an unguarded lament that would make Tyler Durden cry). With such an expansive compilation, there will invariably be c**p, but this is a bit much.

 

Ah, but lo — the last chapter is somewhere in between the above two discs, showing just how uneven (Elektric Music, Tin Machine) and worth-the-voyage (Cud, Sinéad O'Connor, Manic Street Preachers) spotty compilations like this can be. Albeit with Bob Geldolf doing the unpardonable sin of destroying the urge to ever hear the Kinks again by covering "Sunny Afternoon" with about as much compassion as watching linoleum curl. But that's what you get with British indie: self-importance, foolishness, and often an unspoken instinct to completely riddle music standards with brilliance. Perhaps some traditions aren't so dangerous after all.

 

Tracks

Title / Performer / Time

 

1 Coz I Luv You Wonderstuff 3:26

2 When Will I See You Again? Billy Bragg 2:59

3 Little Red Rooster Jesus & Mary Chain 3:24

4 Atomic Mission 5:11

5 Everything I Do (I Do It for You) Fatima Mansions 6:26

6 Stranger in Paradise Saint Etienne 3:25

7 Cumberland Gap Wedding Present 1:30

8 (If Paradise Is) Half as Nice Aztec Camera & Andy Fairweather-Low 5:22

9 Show You the Way to Go Dannii Minogue 4:40

10 Where Do You Go to My Lovely? Welfare Heroine 5:20

11 Bad Moon Rising Blue Aeroplanes 5:21

12 Apache Senseless Things 2:41

13 Mr Tambourine Man Teenage Fanclub 2:11

14 Another Brick in the Wall Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine 3:49

15 Maggie May Blur 4:08

16 Ashes to Ashes Tears for Fears 4:32

17 Rock Your Baby House of Love 2:31

18 I'm a Believer Frank and Walters 2:42

19 Shaddap Your Face EMF 1:56

20 Brass in Pocket Suede 3:42

21 Ring My Bell Tori Amos 4:35

22 Lady Madonna Kingmaker 2:04

23 Like a Prayer Marc Almond 6:10

24 Don't You Want Me? Farm 4:09

25 I've Never Been to Me Ned’s Atomic Dustbin 5:28

26 My Sweet Lord Boy George 3:27

27 Voodoo Chile Jesus Jones 5:15

28 Sunny Afternoon Bob Geldof 3:49

29 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Johnny Mar, Billy Duffy 4:50

30 Down Down Cud 3:20

31 The Legend of Xanadu Fall 3:28

32 Secret Love Sinead OConnor 2:53

33 A World Without Love World Party 3:10

34 Tainted Love Inspiral Carpets 4:24

35 Baby Come Back Elektric Music 4:01

36 The Model Ride 3:39

37 Vienna Vic Reeves 3:21

38 Go Now Tin Machine 4:30

39 I Feel Love Curve 4:25

40 Suicide Is Painless (Theme from M*A*S*H) Manic Street Preachers 3:40

 

 

Does anyone else remember or own this album?

nope.... but theres some interesting covers there, are any on youtube?

I've been a proud owner of this album for fifteen years. Good review and he makes some good points but to not mention the genius of Vic Reeves' take on 'Vienna' is just bizarre.

 

Cheers for your nice comment about Culturedeluxe by the way!

 

Oh, also when was that review written as it references Supergrass who didn't show up till 1994?

Edited September 27, 200717 yr by richie

The best track on this is the masterful reinvention of Everything I Do by the Fatima Mansions - one of the best covers ever.

Yep, and certainly considering the original.

 

Other favourites from this CD for me are Ride going surprisingly electric for The Model, The Fall's version of the Legend of Xanadu, Suede (when they were good) hamming up Brass in Pocket, the Senseless Things heavy reworking of Apache and story behind The Wonder Stuff's Coz I Luv You (one of them members faxed his uncle who was in Wizzard for the lyrics - ah the days of 'old' technology)

Here are a few of the highlights that I can find (on Youtube) from this album:

 

Suede - Brass In Pocket (The Word live)

 

Manic Street Preachers - Suicide Is Painless (Theme From M.A.S.H.)

 

Boy George - My Sweet Lord

 

 

& a couple of the lowlights....

 

The Farm - Don't You Want Me?

 

Dannii Minogue - Show You The Way To Go

Heh heh, both the lowlights were actual singles too!

Ruby Trax: The NME's Roaring 40

 

But EMF's "Shaddup You Face" is a gawdawful two-minute caterwauling piece of trash that's even more shambolic than the Fall.

 

this might be more intersting than another borefest by beyonce and shakira :lol:

 

or james 'not sex machine man or dead man but i wish he was' morrison pointlessly doing paul young