Best Of Flying Pickets, The - Flying Pickets

Advantages: Some great songs
Disadvantages: Some weird stuff too !!

...I think Talking Heads' music varies from quite surreal, hippy-ish rubbish to completely wonderful, classic songs. This album is a compilation of fourteen tracks from 1977 to 1992 & I would say I usually prefer the older ones. Although I love their track Psycho killer, I actually prefer The Flying Pickets' version from some years ago ! I think Once In A Lifetime is my favourite track from this album. And She Was & Road To Nowhere are also good too & were both successful single releases for the group. Some of the tracks are ones I would fast forward over, but there are some classics in amongst them.... Read review

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Advantages: It's from the 80's; soulful in a white way
Disadvantages: Bit samey; quite dated

...on is one of comedic disbelief. **5. No Parlez** This should have been released as a single, it's brilliant. The song deals with a relationship breakdown and the role of a named third party in the divorce proceedings. It's a moody, slow burning cracker of a track and Paul's voice is at its best here, going from gravelly soul to confused falsetto in one fell sweep. Bloody great. **6. Love Of The Common People** Another cover! This time poor underappreciated reggae face Nicky Thomas is Paul's unwitting victim. The original was a cracker and Young does a half decent job on this tale of poverty at Christmas. Cleverly it was released for the Xmas market in 1983, but the British public couldn't handle the over sentimentality of the track and instead made The Flying Pickets' (acapella dustmen) versin of Only You number one instead. **7. Oh... Read review

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Advantages: Great tracks, memories, Paul Heaton's voice is stunning
Disadvantages: Too much religious stuff really

...a rare acapella hit. (The Flying Pickets had another.) This live version is slightly quicker than the single, but very recognizable. Again Heaton seems note perfect, while the backing vocals don't always sound to be on pitch. (I think it's Norman most of the time!) Tracks nine to eleven are from a John Peel session some two months later. This set features the huge hit Happy Hour as well as two new tracks to me - Heaven Help Us All and Pickin' The Blues, which is their version of the John Peel theme tune. Happy Hour is the acapella version, so it is slower than the single and you can make out almost all of the words! I really like this one, it's refreshing to hear something new from a song you know so well and have heard so many times. It's hard to believe this was in the charts twenty years ago. That makes me feel so old! Heaven Help Us All... Read review

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