| CD Reviews Various Artistes:
Shapeshifters presents House Grooves Vol 2
By Phil Savva
You probably know Shapeshifters best from their recent smash hits Lola’s
Theme and Back To Basics.
But the talented British DJs were also among the best of last year’s
mixers — with residencies in London, Ibiza and festival appearances in eastern
Europe and Australia.
And here they are once again producing a hot collection of dancefloor
magic.
House Grooves Vol 2 takes some of the best House tunes around — whether
it be high-energy or more soulful and adds just that little occasional twist
with a Shapeshifters special remix.
The double CD collection features the likes of Lil’ Love with Little
Love, Sandy Rivera (I Can’t Stop), ATFC (Reach Out To Me) and a classic
remix of The Source & Candi Staton’s You Got The Love on CD1 while CD2 shapes
up with Martin Solveig’s Everybody, Frankie Knuckles’ I Had Enough and Shapeshifters’
very own Back To Basics (Nocturnal mix).
Various Artistes: Let It Grow
By Amanda Diamond
A London chef who moved to the country to rear his own animals and grow
his own vegetables is an unlikely inspiration for a compilation album.
But pigs and chickens, carrots and cabbage appear to have done just that
on new album Let it Grow.
Compiled by Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall following his successful television
programme River Cottage, Let it Grow is an eclectic collection of laid-back
songs.
Most of the tracks on the album were featured at some stage in the Channel
4 series and have been hand-picked by Hugh himself.
“It contains many acoustic tunes which I like to play as I potter around
the kitchen or the veg patch or when driving across the countryside just
watching the cows,” Hugh said.
Tracks such as Let it Grow by Eric Clapton and Wild Wood by Paul Weller
echo the back-to-nature theme reflected in the TV programme.
Other artists on the album include ELO, Snow Patrol, Travis and Nick
Drake.
Unlikely subject matter as it may seem Let it Grow is a quiet, sultry
album with a host of beautiful laid-back tunes perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
Various Artistes: The Album
By Grainne McLoughlin
There isn’t a dull moment with The Album as various artists serve up
an eclectic mix of rousing anthems.
It’s actually one of those compilations that’s a bit of a relief really.
It’s funky without being cliché, poppy without being cloying and credible
without being painfully hip.
A fine collection of the indie scene’s brightest artists, The Album is
a must for any CD rack.
From spiky guitar noise to electronica and tortured artists to anthemic
pop, the album delivers some hard-hitting songs.
Including tracks from Franz Ferdinand, Clor, Nancy Sinatra, The Killers,
Babyshambles and Coldplay, its quality certainly doesn’t run into question.
And it can’t go without mentioning The Album has tunes from Blur, Gorillaz,
Caesars, Morrissey and REM.
A fantastic album, which provides a great snapshot of where the music
industry’s at. Leaves you yearning for more — a recommended buy.
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