Don't Look Back In Anger: Rhino Releases The Brit Box

Disc One: Tom's notes: We were still on the musical fringes when most of this material was released, but do remember getting hugely excited about the entries here from The Cure ("Just Like Heaven"), Echo and the Bunnymen ("Lips Like Sugar"), The Sundays ("Here's Where The Story Ends"), and Happy Mondays ("Step On") on first listens in our middle and high school years. One can't underestimate the beguiling power of a foreign accent: by comparison, many Brits love Americana music for much the same reason. So it's easy to listen to both the obvious entries from The Stone Roses and The Charlatans and the more music critic-ish tunes from Felt and The Cocteau Twins and imagine the joy of the rock fan in discovering these new acts during their prime. Even obscurities like Trash Can Sinatras and The Mighty Lemon Drops make a case for being overlooked hitmakers here, which makes for a winning disc. There is both consistency and diversity here, and the lesser heard tracks play nicely in this context with their more popular neighbors.

Adi's notes: The first disc starts off with The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now," probably as ubiquitous a Brit Pop hit as you get in the U.S. - its inclusion is no surprise. But immediately following Morrissey's drawl, we get two under-appreciated acts from the era. Cocteau Twins, despite having a career that spanned close to 15 years and an abundance of ethereal dream-pop nuggets, are still far from a household name; while Felt surface here with "Primitive Painters" which appropriately features vocal assistance from Cocteau Twins' Elisabeth Fraser. The middle of disc one is when things really get going. If "How Soon Is Now" is a commonplace symbol of the era, The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" is arguably the most accessible anthem, still heard at '80s night at clubs and college parties. There is a double dose of (radio-ready) Scouse-powered classics with The La's "There She Goes" and Echo & The Bunnymen's "Lips Like Sugar", while The Stone Roses represent the Mancunian half along with Happy Mondays. Keeping each disc's write-up to a brief paragraph is nearly impossible when these astounding songs keep following one after another. The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Charlatans UK naturally make appearances in the box set as well, although we question the selection of "April Skies" and "The Only One I Know". We would have gone with "Head On" or "Just Like Honey" for the former, and "Can't Get Out Of Bed" from the latter. It's worth mentioning that The Primitives' "Crash" was our favorite of the songs we had not heard before. Finally, we can't end without mention of experimental noise pioneers Spacemen 3 who appear here with "Walkin' With Jesus." Phew, three more to go!

Disc Two: Tom's notes: A pause to profess ignorance here: we completely missed shoegaze the first time around. Aside from Ride and My Bloody Valentine, we'd heard few of these tunes on the front half of this disc. But this rather specific batch of tracks makes a compelling case for shoegaze's depth and sonic import - it's tough to find a bad song here. Especially enjoyable are Chapterhouse and The Catherine Wheel, both of which jump out of the speakers with powerful guitars and shimmering, taut melody lines. Disc Two's end is a little odd, though, with entries like Ned's Atomic Dustbin and an early tune from the Manics providing curiosities from a transitional era but not quite jiving with the sound of their surroundings. This was certainly the most educational disc of the set.

Adi's notes: Ride kick off disc two and we will admit needing to go back and check out their catalogue. My Bloody Valentine step in on cue with "Only Shallow", the opening number from their landmark disc Loveless. Kevin Shields unsuspectingly inspired a generation of guitarists with his feedback-drenched wall of sound, and fans recently got news that a new album is on the way. Lush continues with more dreamy shoegaze before Catherine Wheel's cameo with another questionable selection, "I Want To Touch You." While "Black Metallic" off their debut Ferment might have been the obvious pick, our choice would have been "Crank" or "Pain" off 1993's Chrome. We had a huge crush on Curve singer Toni Halliday during our adolescence but again, question the song choice - the title track from their debut Doppelgänger would be our pick. Chapterhouse's "Pearl" and Bleach's "Trip & Slide" were the best of the tracks that we had not heard before on this disc. Another underrated act, Glasgow's Teenage Fanclubwrap up the second disc with "Star Sign" off our favorite TF record, 1991's Bandwagonesque.

Disc Three: Tom's notes: The Oasis/Blur/Pulp centerpiece here summons great memories, but the sequencing is a little odd. The Blur track "Tracy Jacks" wasn't really a hit, so it pales when counterpunched with "Common People" and "Live Forever" by the other 'greatest bands of the era'. This seems rather unfair given Blur's consistency over time compared to the others - they should've used "Parklife" (see the attached video.) There are also some strange omissions - Paul Weller was hugely present as the "Modfather" during this era, but he's nowhere to be found, as aren't both popular acts like Black Grape and later Britpop entrants like Travis, Space, or Embrace on Disc 4. It also seems a bit weird to include New Order's "Regret" here; it's a great song, but it would've been more appropriate to use one of their '80s tracks on Disc One. They certainly weren't a part of the thematic scene depicted here. That said, we're thrilled to see influential yet outsider bands like Saint Etienne and Stereolab (both of which influenced countless later electropop acts), as they show off the diversity of what England sounded like in the mid-90's. And there are some real obscurities here from Nick Heyward and Superstar that likely barely (or never) played on an American commercial radio station.

Adi's notes: Suede are a good example of a band that was huge in the U.K. but never gained much American popularity, a trend commonplace until the surge of indie-rock in the late '90s. They kick off disc 3 with 1993's "Metal Mickey," a record somewhat responsible for reinvigorating the Britrock scene in the '90s along with other, better known releases such as Definitely Maybe (Oasis) and Park Life (Blur). Swervedriver falls under the same under-appreciated moniker, although they did sign briefly with Geffen Records. "Duel" from 1993's Mezcal Head remains Swervedriver's most visible song, and its selection here is justified. And it rocks! Recently, Swerverdriver announced plans for a reunion tour in 2008. Scots Superstar surprise here with the relatively unheard of "Barfly." Another stellar Manchester act, James, appear with pub anthem "Laid," which both beat out "Sit Down" and "Born Of Frustration" for inclusion here and provided us with the infamous lyric "...she only comes when she's on top..." Supergrass is one of the few bands that deserve two songs on this compilation - their cheeky, youthful lyrics, and no-frills pop melodies may well have inspired the current crop of Britrockers like Kaiser Chiefs. John Power re-appears here with his post-La's project Cast, who are largely remembered for the sunny optimism of "Alright," a song that could shine through the rainiest of Liverpool days. Elastica, who were fortunate enough to be swept into the mid '90s modern rock radio explosion in the U.S. make their presence felt late in the disc with "Stutter" (thankfully), not "Connection."

Disc Four: Tom's notes: This material is both the most familiar to us (due to our residence in the UK from 1998-2000) and the least good overall. There are still solid tracks from Placebo, Cornershop, and The Divine Comedy in play. Unfortunately, other acts such as Catatonia aren't aging well, and things like Kula Shakur and Ocean Colour Scene weren't much good to begin with. We get the sense that the 'hodgepodge' assembly here is intentional, reflecting a scene that was getting stale from recycled ideas and 3rd-tier acts getting record deals from execs afraid of missing the next big thing. It's surprising that Rhino chose to omit the late '90s UK push for electronic music: thus, hitmakers of the day like The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, and Fatboy Slim are missing - making this disc not very reflective of London radio during the era. There are some very positive notes amongst the lesser-known bands: The Bluetones, Babybird, and Ash deliver smashing singles, but other songs simply fall flat. While we admire Rhino's artistic intention, it might have been better to use 1996 (not 1999) as a cutoff date and devote more space to the other three more coherent 'themes' in the set. In fact, other fans of the genre have already posted revisions to the set (complete with MP3s) since its release last week!

Adi's notes: Wacky Welsh act Super Furry Animals are our favorites in this set. They land on Disc 4 with the delightful "Something 4 The Weekend." Arguably the biggest non-Blur/Oasis Brit Pop hit in the U.S. in the '90s was The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony," but Rhino goes with "Lucky Man" here, which seems curious. Spiritualized, founded by Jason Pierce (formerly of Spacemen 3) surface with "Ladies And Gentleman We Are Floating In Space," from their 1997 full-length that even caught the eye and ear of one Thom Yorke. Speaking of which, where the heck are Radiohead on this 4-CD set? Ash and Cornershop are two other acts worthy of note on the final disc. Both have had successful careers, the occasional radio hit, and packs of loyal fans. Sleeper are a totally forgotten act, largely for good reason, but make a cameo with "Sale Of The Century" (what happened to "Lie Detector"?) and Louise Wener deserves a special mention for occupying many a guy's mind in our college days. Marion was the surprise here to us with the explosive ringer "Sleep."

As a whole, this set is a treasure for anyone into this genre. We've been playing it in the car for weeks, recalling the days of lukewarm pints, pub grub, Cool Brittania, and the feeling of being a part of a musical movement. While we're certainly fans of American indie music today, it's hard to listen to The Brit Box and not feel that technology sometimes robs us of the sense of community that came from quality radio, record shops, and word of mouth back in the day. Maybe we're just being nostalgic, and that's definitely maybe the point.

Note: This review was co-authored by Tom Thornton and Adi Anand.