Bastardiser - Knut

Advantages: Just perfect
Disadvantages: There are none

...This album is an absolute must for anyone who enjoys electronic music- Jenkinson's technique and innovation are endlessly astonishing. Come on My Selector is the first track, a dizzy bastardised drill and bass workout which leaves you shivering and feeling weak at the knees. It is ridiculously fast, but Jenkinson somehow manages to keep it interpretable and semi-structured. The other tracks are also examples of his brilliant drum and bass, and are less jazz-infused than a lot of his other work. Journey To Reedham (7AM mix) and especially Port Rhombus are songs that will still sound fresh in a thousand years. Unlike so much electronic music, the individual elements such as the drums and the bass, etc. are inseparable, all glued together and mangled and reglued. And probably mangled again. It's just ridiculously good. Buy buy buy.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Beautiful eastern vibe
Disadvantages: No real standout track

...Your old band was among the first to bastardise the blues and turn it into something else. Your drummer died a particularly rock 'n' roll death by choking on his own vomit. So what now? Retire into relative obscurity and live out the rest of your days peacefully? Or team up with your old sparring partner and bash out some new tunes to take round the stadia of the world. Thankfully Messrs Page and Plant have opted for the latter. The master of the riff and his poet laureate are back. The Eastern mysticism that surrounded their first regrouped effort, No Quarter, is still present. Jimmy still makes use of his trademark altered tunings, but there are no Led Zep covers this time. We're treated to 12 new songs from a clearly revitalised pair. The riffs are still present (sometimes) and so is Plant's patented wail, do we really need anything... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Five Top 10 hits
Disadvantages: A shadow of their earlier triumphs

...irritating novelty story song "The Diary of Horace Wimp", a bastardised shadow of "Mr Blue Sky", and a succession of mushy ballads that might have been acceptable on a Wet Wet Wet album do not a great ELO record make. Thankfully it redeems itself towards the end with the lively "On the Run" and goes out on a note of triumph with the stomping, eternal live favourite "Don't Bring Me Down". But five of the nine songs came out as singles, two on a double A-side, and all made the Top 10. Unless you're an ELO completist, you don't need a 'greatest hits' or 'best of' and this as well.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful