Album Description: It speaks for itself really - 2 CDs that contain 42 tracks released in 2002 & selected by the Rough Trade team as the best new offerings, all genre defying. Artists include The Be Good Tanyas, Melt Banana, Bis, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Tom Waits, The Breeders, Kimya Dawson, Baxter Dury, Polyphonic Spree, Joyzipper, Bright Eyes, Langley School's Music Project, Cabaret Voltaire, Mountain Goats, & many more. Not available outside the UK. Mute. 2003.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Another good one.
I'm glad Rough Trade are putting these compilaions out. There is a steady stream of Rough Trade Shops discs, this one is made up of songs Rough Trade thinks are the best releases from 2002. It's a mixed bag, as you might have predicted. Still, the good thing about this and other Rough Trade Shops compilations is that they seem to deliberately pick obscure tracks you are never likely to hear on your own.
Case in point is the remarkable song "Midas" by Rubicks. Rubicks is a bit of an unknown UK band who only put this song out on their own label on 7" only. Virtually nothing is known of this band but please try to imagine a merging of New Order (circa 1986)/Human League/Bj?rk and then you will have an idea why this song needs to be played over and over agian.
Other gems include: Tracy & The Plastics; The Breeders; Lord Kitchener; Akufen; Electric Six; Prefuse 73 etc.
I will say, though, that this compilation is inferior to the Rough Trade Shops "Post Punk Vol 01" released a year later. This set is missing the fantastic and informative liner notes and the neato packaging of the "Post Punk Vol 01" set. However, a similar criteria was used for the selection of songs that has led me on a quest to collect all the Rough Trade Shops compilations.
