Exploring the amazing land of Britcomps

March 1, 2010

By Randy Otto

About a year ago I featured a very entertaining four-CD box set from the UK called 101 Housework Songs. Little did I realize then that I was opening a Pandora’s Box of wonderful musical treats. I have since discovered that nobody does compilation CDs (or “comps,” for short) like the Brits. You name it-musical genre, era, individual artists-chances are good there are comps available for them, often in huge quantity. After all, this is where the wildly successful NOW That’s What I Call Music! series got its start way back in 1984. The American version of the series launched in the ’90s and has reached a total of 32 volumes. However, the UK series is up to an astounding 74 volumes (plus spinoff collections like NOW That’s What I Call the ’00s, etc.)!

And therein lies the rub. With hundreds of these collections available from dozens of labels, which ones are surefire winners? To help you in your search (the best single source would be Amazon.co.uk), here’s a list of four labels releasing the most creative collections that are of consistently high quality, along with selected examples of each label’s offerings.

EMI/Virgin

They’re the home of the long-running NOW and “101 Songs” series, and also have access to the massive archives of EMI Records, though they license tracks from numerous other sources as well. In addition to titles previously reviewed, here are two more favorites:

The Cavern: The Most Famous Club in the World

Although these are not recordings made at the legendary Liverpool club, this three-CD set celebrates the club’s 50th anniversary, with tracks from everybody from Chuck Berry to Arctic Monkeys. It is also notable in that it may well be the only comp to include tracks from both the Rolling Stones (“It’s All Over Now”) and the Beatles (“Please Please Me”).

101 Dinner Party Songs

This just-released collection features many songs with food connections or will nicely complement any dinner party. It’s also amazing in the range of artists featured, from Frank Sinatra to Coldplay. Considering his disdain for Kenny G, it’s quite surprising to find a Richard Thompson track nestled alongside the mellow sax man’s “Songbird.”

Demon Music Group

This feisty label is the home of the 100 Hits and the newly-launched 100 Hits Legends series, where the focus is on one artist.

100 Hits-Movies

This five-CD set attracted me because it includes the hard-to-find Yello track “Oh Yeah” from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This is a great collection of songs featured in movies from the past few decades. The CD booklet also tells you the names of the movies where these songs were heard.

100 Hits Legends-Nat King Cole

This five-CD set not only showcases the legendary pop crooner, but also features a generous selection of his early jazz trio tracks. Unless you’re looking for “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer,” this set will not disappoint.

Union Square Music

Although a relative newcomer to the comps game, this label has made great strides with some of the most creative comps available.

The Ultimate Collection-Country

Although there are oodles of country comps available, this five-CD, 100-song anthology is arguably the most thoughtful set, containing tracks from legends like Hank Williams, Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline to contemporary stars such as the Mavericks, Gram Parsons, Steve Earle, and Alan Jackson.

The Ultimate Collection-50s Jukebox

Just like the country collection, this set has great breadth. Not only are there plenty of early rock classics (Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly), but many country (Johnny Cash, George Jones, Patsy Cline) and pop (Perry Como, Doris Day, Bobby Darin) standards. In other words, a complete 1950s jukebox.

Proper Music

Thanks to European copyright laws that expire after 50 years, there’s a proliferation of comps featuring tracks from the ’50s and before. This label has taken full advantage, creating generous blues, jazz, and pop anthologies, meticulously annotated and at surprisingly low cost.

In Perfect Harmony, Les Paul & Mary Ford

The late “Wizard of Waukesha” certainly gets his due in this four-CD collection, tracing his career from earliest sides to his “retirement” in the ’60s. All the great sides with Mary Ford are here, of course, as well as his solo and sideman work (particularly with Bing Crosby). This stuff still amazes, after all these years.

Roots of Led Zeppelin, Various Artists

This great set features three CDs packed with the original blues, country, and rock classics that were an undeniable influence on this band’s sound, along with a DVD featuring British and American music critics discussing the same.

As previously mentioned, a big reason these comps have been so popular is their low cost. The cost per song is usually lower than the price of downloading each individual song. But be forewarned: these comps are the musical version of Beanie Babies, if you get my drift.

Be sure to check out bayviewcompass.com for my online exclusive Now Hear These picks. This month I’m featuring great new local music from Chris DeMay and Juniper Tar, plus some great new Irish CDs out in time for St. Paddy’s Day, and a DVD featuring one of the greatest rock shows ever, available for the first time on home video.

NOW HEAR THESE!

Juniper Tar, The Howl Street EP
Chris Demay, Bigger Than Small

Local music releases are off to a running start for 2010, thanks to this pair of releases from one of Milwaukee’s great new bands, Juniper Tar.

Named after the Bay View studio where it was recorded, Howl Street picks up where their previous release, the idyllic To The Trees, left off. This four-song EP features more great Jason Mohr songs, and the sound is more polished than on To The Trees, which was recorded on location in a cabin upnorth. While it only hints at the power these guys can unleash onstage, it’s still a great follow-up to a really fine debut.

As if that weren’t enough, band member Chris Demay has released a solo CD, featuring bandmates from JT along with other local music luminaries (Check out the nifty steel guitar work here!). Bigger Than Small ably demonstrates that Mohr isn’t the only fine songwriter in the band. These Neil Young devotees wear their influences very well, indeed.

Taken together, these two EP’s add up to one solid album. The band’s CD is available at junipertar.com or cdbaby.com. The Demay disc is available at Rush Mor and Exclusive Co., or at bearriflerecords.com.

New Celtic Releases for St Patrick’s Day

Just like the annual blizzard of new Christmas CD’s in the fall, St Patrick’s Day brings a pot full of new releases from Celtic-related artists, and this year’s batch is a bumper crop indeed. Here’s a sampling of the most notable titles.

Various Artists. 100 Hits: Irish Party

Following up last year’s excellent 100 Hits: Halloween, Demon Music Group UK has this great 5-disc box guaranteed to liven up any St Pat’s soiree. The 4 CDs feature tracks from Irish music acts both contemporary (The Corrs, Ash, Hothouse Flowers, Divine Comedy) and traditional (Paddy Reilly, Christy Moore, Delores Keane). In fact, one CD is totally devoted to classic reels and jigs to get your ceili going strong. It’s topped off by a karaoke DVD filled with Irish sing-along favorites.

The Chieftains with Ry Cooder, San Patricio

It’s been awhile since we’ve had something new from the Chieftains, the world’s most recognized Celtic music group. St Patrick’s Day 2010 is cause for celebration with the release of San Patricio, on which the group is joined by ace guitarist and world music authority, Ry Cooder, who first worked with the Chieftains on 1995′s Long Black Veil. In addition, a host of Mexican music stars are on board as well. While it might appear a bit odd to see a mixing of Irish and Mexican musicians, it’s familiar turf for the Chieftains, whose mission is to show the pervasiveness of Celtic music in world culture. The title commemorates Irish immigrant conscripts who bolted the U.S. Army to fight on the Mexican side against the Yanks in the Mexican-American War in the 1800′s.

The album is also available in a deluxe edition with a bonus DVD that includes a “making of” documentary and 3 music videos. The Chieftains (without Cooder) appear at the Pabst Theatre on March 6.

Solas, Turning Tide

Second only to the Chieftains in worldwide stature is the Irish-American super group Solas, led by Irish native Seamus Egan. They’re back with this new album that includes, along with the usual helping of traditional tunes, great covers of Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad” and Richard Thompson’s “Poor Ditching Boy.”

Altan, 25th Anniversary Celebration

Yet another great Celtic band has a new CD. Altan celebrates a quarter-century of thrilling audiences worldwide with this collection of handpicked songs from their vast catalog. As an added touch, the group is joined by Ireland’s RTE Concert Orchestra to make this a truly special event.

Flogging Molly, Live at the Greek Theatre

Dropkick Murphys, Live on Lansdowne

Still need fuel for your St Pat’s Party? Then get your mitts on these hot new live releases from arguably the two greatest Irish punk bands ever. And for good measure, both include DVD’s of the full concerts. Play these, consume generous quantities of Guinness, and plentiful rowdiness is guaranteed.

Various Artists, Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Various Artists, Sweetheart 2010

Hot on the heels of last month’s great One for My Baby collection, Starbucks’ music division strikes again with another pair of winners. The exquisitely packaged and annotated Mardi Gras is arguably the best single disc collection of New Orleans music ever. Louis Armstrong, Dr. John, Dixie Cups, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Smiley Lewis, Irma Thomas. Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Neville Brothers…16 absolutely classic tracks to help keep the celebration rolling…at least until the next Bastille Days festival in July.

Sweetheart continues Starbucks’ annual tradition of issuing collections of exclusive tracks from acts covering their favorite romantic songs. This year’s class includes Spoon, Yo La Tengo, the Avett Brothers, and Angelique Kidjo, covering songs by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, the Zombies…even ZZ Top!

Available for a limited time at Starbucks outlets, or go to starbucks.com/entertainment.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Special Guests, Preservation

Released on Fat Tuesday, this exceptional collection featuring the venerable New Orleans jazz band not only celebrates Crescent City music but is a fundraiser for Preservation’s music outreach program to ensure future generations carry on that great musical tradition. Among the highlights in an album filled with standout tracks are Paolo Nutini’s “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” Tom Waits’ “Tootie Ma Was A Big Fine Thing,” Merle Haggard’s “Basin Street Blues,” Richie Havens’ “Trouble In Mind,” Ani DiFranco’s “Freight Train,” Steve Earle’s “‘Tain’t Nobody’s Business,” and Blind Boys of Alabama’s “There Is A Light.” In all, there’s 19 tracks (25 on the Deluxe Edition), and you can count on this one making my Nifty Fifty for 2010.

Various Artists, The TAMI Show Collector’s Edition DVD

Quentin Tarantino has called it “the greatest rock and roll concert film ever made.” Ace producer Rick Rubin calls James Brown’s performance in it “the greatest rock performance ever committed to film.” Yet very few have ever seen this movie, taped at the First Annual Teen Age Music International Show (forever known as The TAMI Show) in Santa Monica, CA, in October 1964. This is a marvelous snapshot of a watershed moment in pop culture history, where the British Invasion collided head-on with Motown, Surf Music, Full Tilt R&B, and classic Rock & Roll. You know you’re in for something special when the show opens with a battle of the bands between rock godfather Chuck Berry and the latest sensations from the UK, Gerry & the Pacemakers. Just a listing of the show’s lineup is enough to make one’s jaw drop: the Beach Boys (seen for the first time since the film’s original release, and man, they’re rockin’!), Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Lesley Gore, Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas and appearing during their first US tour, the Rolling Stones.

Jan & Dean were the show emcees, and the house band was Phil Spector’s legendary Wrecking Crew. My personal memory of seeing this show was at the Oriental Theatre back in the early 80′s, back when it was still a single-screen venue. The print was grainy and the sound was muffled, but there was no denying the electricity flowing throughout the show. Although I haven’t seen it since, I had been fervently hoping for the day this show would be available on home video to enjoy again and again.

The DVD doesn’t reach stores until March 23rd, but Chicago rock critic Jim DeRogatis, co-host of RadioMilwaukee’s Sound Opinions, has seen an advance copy of the DVD and told me that it was everything I hoped for, and “it was worth the wait.” The quality of sound and picture (made with an early form of high def called Electronovision) is superb, and the direction and camera work from Steve Binder (who would also direct Elvis Presley’s legendary1968 comeback special) has truly never looked better. As a bonus feature, you get Binder’s personal recollections of the show as a commentary track.

And if you don’t believe me, go to Amazon.com, look up this DVD and check out the raves in the customer feedback section. Several are personal recollections of attending the show in person or seeing the film in its original 1964 incarnation, and are quite touching.

If for nothing else, get this for the James Brown performance with the aptly named Famous Flames, and imagine Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones waiting in the wings to follow that!

Juniper Tar, The Howl Street EP

Chris Demay, Bigger Than Small