Sigur Ros [1999] Agaetis Byrjun

[01] Intro
[02] Svefn-g-Englar
[03] Staralfur
[04] Flugufrelsarinn
[05] Ny Batteri
[06] Hjartad Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm)
[07] Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa
[08] Olsen Olsen
[09] Agaetis Byrjun
[10] Avalon


amg: Two years passed since Sigur Rós' debut. By this time, the band recruited in a new keyboardist by the name of Kjartan Sveinsson and it seems to have done nothing but take the band to an even higher state of self-awareness. Even on aesthetic matters, Sigur Rós entitle their sophomore effort not in a manner to play up the irony of high expectations (à la the Stone Roses' Second Coming), but in a modest realization. This second album — Ágætis Byrjun — translates roughly to Good Start. So as talented as Von might have been, this time out is probably even more worthy of dramatic debut expectations. Indeed, Ágætis Byrjun pulls no punches from the start. After an introduction just this side of one of the aforementioned Stone Roses' backward beauties, the album pumps in the morning mist with "Sven-G-Englar" — a song of such accomplished gorgeousness that one wonders why such a tiny country as Iceland can musically outperform entire continents in just a few short minutes. The rest of this full-length follows such similar quality. Extremely deep strings underpin falsetto wails from the mournfully epic ("Viðar Vel Tl Loftárasa") to the unreservedly cinematic ("Avalon"). One will constantly be waiting to hear what fascinating turns such complex musicianship will take at a moment's notice. At its best, the album seems to accomplish everything lagging post-shoegazers like Spiritualized or Chapterhouse once promised. However, at its worst, the album sometimes slides into an almost overkill of sonic structures. Take "Hjartað Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm)," for instance: there are so many layers of heavy strings, dense atmospherics, and fading vocals that it becomes an ineffectual mess of styles over style. As expected, though, the band's keen sense of Sturm und Drang is mostly contained within an elegant scope of melodies for the remainder of this follow-up. Rarely has a sophomore effort sounded this thick and surprising. Which means that "Good Start" might as well become of the most charming understatements to come out of a band in years.
(amg 9/10)

Sham 69 [1998] The Punk Singles Collection 1977-1980

[01] I Don't Wanna
[02] Ulster
[03] Red London
[04] What Have We Got
[05] Borstal Breakout
[06] Hey Little Rich Boy
[07] Angels With Dirty Faces
[08] The Cockney Kids Are Innocent
[09] If The Kids Are United
[10] Sunday Morning Nightmare
[11] Hurry Up Harry
[12] No Entry
[13] Questions And Answers
[14] I Gotta Survive
[15] With A Little Help From My Friends
[16] Hersham Boys
[17] You're A Better Man Than I
[18] Give A Dog A Bone
[19] Tell The Children
[20] Jack
[21] Unite And Win
[22] I'm A Man



amg: Since loudmouth Jimmy Pursey's group broke up after four years and four albums, here is the deluge list of retrospective Sham 69 product, including best-ofs, demos, and live outings, starting the year they split: The First, the Best & the Last (1980), Angels with Dirty Faces: The Best Of (1986), Live and Loud!! (1987), Live and Loud!!, Vol. 2 (1988), Sham's Last Stand (1989), Live at the Roxy (1990), Rare and Unreleased (1991), Kings & Queens (1997), and now The Punk Singles Collection (1998). Nine LPs! Overkill, anybody? Still, if you missed the above, let alone those four LPs reissued on CD by Dojo in 1996, you can't find a better place to peruse the godfathers of Oi! than this. It's a chronological collection of the 22 A- and B-sides from their ten U.K. singles (five straight of which were Top 20 hits there, proof of their massive following!). As usual, the original absolutely beats the movement it spawned, as the everybody-sing-along choruses of "Hurry Up Harry," "Questions and Answers," "Give a Dog a Bone," and "If the Kids Are United" belong in any non-snobbish punk fan's collection. In fact, since the two previous best-ofs are both long out of print vinyl, this CD is the jumping-on point for new kids on the Sham army block. Or, for those who wish to see what greatly inspired Minor Threat and the whole of the famous 1979-1983 D.C. Dischord scene, this is the place.
(amg 9/10)

Sinead O'Connor [1997] So Far...The Best Of

[01] Nothing Compares 2 U
[02] Mandinka
[03] The Emperor's New Clothes
[04] The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance
[05] Fire On Babylon
[06] Troy
[07] I Am Stretched On Your Grave
[08] Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home
[09] John I Love You
[10] Empire - Bomb The Bass
[11] I Want Your (Hands On Me)
[12] Heroine (Theme From Captive)
[13] Don't Cry For Me Argentina
[14] You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart
[15] Just Like U Said It Would B



amg: So Far...The Best of Sinéad O'Connor is a missed opportunity, failing to deliver a comprehensive overview of the first part of O'Connor's career, or an adequate hits collection. Part of the problem is the fact that O'Connor is an album artist that happens to deliver great singles as well, which means there will be essential tracks missing from a collection, even if it relies solely on the singles. So Far decides to circumvent this problem by combining album tracks with singles, but that doesn't work, since it gives the patchy Universal Mother preference over the excellent The Lion and the Cobra and omits such singles as "Three Babies." Things are further muddled by the inclusion of the non-LP rarities "Heroine," "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart," and "Empire." All three songs are worthy, but they would make more sense on a rarities collection, which could also feature B-sides and non-LP singles like "Silent Night" and "My Special Child," which have never appeared on an album. Their inclusion was designed to convince hardcore fans into buying this album, but they make the collection less appealing to casual fans. In a way, that's not a bad thing, since So Far doesn't provide a good introduction to O'Connor, even if it does contain such essential songs as "Mandinka," "Troy," "Nothing Compares 2 U," "I Want Your (Hands on Me)," "I Am Stretched on Your Grave," and "The Emperor's New Clothes." However, those moments of brilliance sound awkward when put in a collection as poorly conceived as this. Only extremely casual fans, those that just want the hits on one disc, need this, since most listeners with a passing interest in O'Connor are much better served by the original albums.
(amg 6/10)