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South African Music Zine
edited by Sugar |
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Amuzine Contributors MUSIC ON-SITE-LOPEDIA, Looking for a CD? Can't name that song? Got a question? Ask Sugar! |
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James - The Best Of 
I always thought James was a particularly lousy name for a band when these smooth boys first appeared in the middle of the English music scene in the mid-Eighties (how many other bands can you think of that used a person's first name? see what I mean?). For this reason I avoided the early James albums like 'Hymns From A Village', Stripmine' and 'Stutter'. It was the massive chart success of their big live concert-closer 'Sit Down' that first really thrust them into the pop/rock spotlight. A song by a band exhorting their fans to sit down at the end of a live gig? Go figure; still, it prompted them to release their three excellent Nineties albums 'Laid', 'Seven' and last year's 'Whiplash'. 'Seven' was produced by Brian Eno placing James in such exalted company as Roxy Music, Talking Heads and U2. Eno then documented this recording process (and his impressions of James) in his published diary 'A Year With Swollen Appendices'. The bulk of the 18 tracks on this floral CD and cover are from these three albums. 'Come Home', the first song here was also their first single and the other early song, 'Hymn From A Village', closes the set. 'Sit Down' pops up in second position but the bad news is that it's the four minute studio version and not the 16 or so minute live at the G-Mex recording that appeared on the 'Sit Down' single. Thereafter, there's a solid body of good pop songs in the move-slowly-but-determinedly-towards-a-big-finish style of Simple Minds. Songs like 'Star', 'Laid', 'Seven', 'Ring The Bells', 'Tomorrow', 'Say Something' and 'Sometimes' (subtitled 'Lester Piggott' on the 'Laid' CD for some unknown reason). There are two new songs ('Destiny Calling' and 'Runaground') from the just finished album and if Bruce can include some totally new songs on his greatest hits collection, then why can't Tim Booth and his gang. Well, they can because James have managed to get this difficult "Best of " album off their chests and it comes jampacked with value for the old or new fan. It would even work well for someone who just feels like discovering a fine, new band with enough tunes to keep one smiling. Their name truly creates the image of a fey bunch of New Romantics with puffy shirts and bravado songs (well it does for me!), don't let it keep you from this first division band and compilation. Stephen "Sugar" Segerman.  |
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Lots of SA CDs to buy online at One World. There's also the Two Oceans Trading online shopping mall where you can purchase Springbok rugby merchandising, SA books, jewellery and CD-ROMs, amongst many other items. Any thoughts, requests, problems, complaints, praise or interesting and relevant SA music news, please email it immediately to: sugar@cd.co.za
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