3.0 out of 5 stars
Good comp spoiled by poor mastering.., August 11, 2003
This review is from: Our Brilliant Careers: Cherry Red Rarities 1981-1983 (Audio CD)
..which isn't exactly surprising coming from Cherry Red, who has been making such blunders on previous releases by Alien Sex Fiend and Eyeless In Gaza to name but a few. Still a truly independent label without a functional QA department, it also boasts a rather impressive and intriguing archive collection of rare recordings.
Most people probably know Five Or Six through their off-key but charming opener 'Portrait' on 'Pillows and Prayers', and here we have 6 tracks from them, most of which have never been on CD. 'Another Reason' can be found on Disc 2 of P&P but here the sound is much improved. 'Think' and 'Theme' are instrumentals that will surprise a few.
Three early songs by Ben Watt actually did not fare too badly, even if they were described modestly by himself as 'dreary and tuneless'. 'Aubade' sounds like a brief sketch made by Harold Budd.
The first instance of unlistenability comes at Track 17 'Son Of God's Mate' by The Nightingales. Either the antique tape machine had gone haywire or somebody was manually turning the tape resulting in an annoying quavering especially towards the end. The total lack of high frequency did not help either. Joe Crow 'Absent Friends' was the original B-side to 'Compulsion'. Unfortunately the muffled quality of the mastering rendered it a rather soporific affair. The Monochrome Set is a very interesting band, but unfortunately again on 'The Bridge', the ridiculous speeding up/slowing down has it totally ruined.
The Simon & Garfunkel-like near-hit 'If She Doesn't Smile' by Fantastic Something also suffered from the same mishap, dropping a couple of keys by mid-track - stick to P&P Disc 2. Thankfully, the beautiful instrumental version 'The Thousand Guitars of St.Dominiques' is free of problems and ends up as the saving grace of the CD.
To conclude, there are about 3 tracks out of 22 which you would want to skip. So still a great buy, if you are into Cherry Red in the first place.
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