Britpack, The (70's Innovators Of Pop) - Various Artists

Advantages: Lots of great songs from the eighties
Disadvantages: A few not so great

...I was in my local record store the other week browsing for ideas for mothers day for my wife from our two small children when my attention was caught by this particular offering. As most of you will be aware from my previous reviews, one of my great passions is eighties music and I couldn't resist buying this. Not for my wife I might add but for myself. So what was it that caught my attention? Well to be honest the graphics on the CD hardly grab your attention. Basically it consists of a dark blue cover with light blue lettering declaring that it is a Top of The Pops Album, with this letting enclosed to make it appear like a circle. The BBC logo is also detailed but this is hardly prominent either. In red lettering at the bottom of the circle the album stipulates the 80s, and provides details of a selection of artists... Read review

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Advantages: Well compiled collection
Disadvantages: Not all best tracks included

...be surprised to find Soul Limbo included as the bright opening track on disc 3, its high tempo Calypso/Jazz fusion having been heard on the Test Match credits for many a year. Any Soul compilation worth its salt has to include tracks by artist such as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave and Isaac Hayes and a Stax compilation is fortunate enough to be able to include tracks form these artist since they were all signed to the record label in the 60’s and early 70’s. We get the obvious standards such as ‘Dock Of The Bay’, ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ and ‘Mr Pitiful’ as well as my personal favourite ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ from Otis Redding choices that illustrate the depth and breath of style that he could achieve with his voice. I don’t think another soul artist has ever bettered the emotive plaintive qualities of his vocals. Sam and Dave’s... Read review

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Advantages: Great memories of an ace series
Disadvantages: Some of it is over-familiar

...time a British program had successfully integrated great music into a drama and created something more than just acting with background tunes. When you consider the origins of the show’s title, it’s a little less surprising, I guess. The piano opening to the Bowie classic ‘Life on Mars’ is the series’ main musical leitmotif and the lyric about a “lawman beating up the wrong guy… in the best-selling show” is the vocal equivalent. This was a TV series born in song. The soundtrack album does well to capture the joy and the melancholy of the 70s pop scene without overdosing on glitter, make-up and oversize spectacles. It’s the 70s, but it wasn’t always glam. Once you move on from the Sweet (check), Slade (check) and Showaddywaddy (mercifully, no), there is a wealth of tunes that suit the tone of the show, many of them appearing... Read review

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