| CD REVIEW (This review has also been published at www.701.com) |
| THE BEST OF OCEAN COLOUR SCENE - OCEAN COLOUR SCENE |
| While I wasn't previously familiar with Ocean Colour Scene by name, I definitely remembering hearing the dramatic 'July' with that delicious bass line (Damon Minchella), pedal-heavy drums (Oscar Harrison) and scorching lead guitar (Steve Cradock). The collection of songs from the early '90s is definitely retrospective of the '60s and early '70s in nature, but simultaneously progressive. The opener, 'The Riverboat Song', their first hit, sounds amazingly like Captain Beyond circa "Myopic Void" (featuring Paul Weller, formerly with the Jam and the Style Council) not so much vocally, but in its progressive lead and bass guitar leanings and urgent drumwork. Speaking of Style Council, musical collaborators Mick Talbot and Steve White also contribute on 'Mechanical Wonder'. Other guests appearing on the CD are P.P. Arnold, Tony and Chris Griffiths, Edgar Jones and Rico Rodrigues. Other hard-rock tunes include 'You've Got It Bad' and 'Hundred Mile High City', the latter being the stand-out track on the CD, with a bass line sampled from 'Willie the Pimp' and the lead sounding very much like something influenced by Jeff Beck. One of the more laid-back tunes is 'Robin Hood', a favourite of their fans, recorded "live" at Royal Albert Hall in February 1997. I loved the analogy of stealing from past memories to regain a youthful perspective ("stealing from the backrooms of our mind, stealing from a time when we were five"). 'Better Day', which seems to be a rewrite of 'You Get Blown Away', another track on the CD, is reminiscent of Mott the Hoople in its rock anthem styling. 'Profit in Peace' is a perfect mantra for commercial airplay (not to mention very relevant in these times). It could be an 'Imagine' for the new millenium. Another engaging track is 'So Low', a country-rocker with psychedelic overtones recalling The Travelling Willburys. Simon "Foxy" Fowler's vocals uncannily evoke George Harrison here. All in all, this band appears to have been under-rated on a global basis, but perhaps the U.K. wants to keep them a closely-guarded secret! |
| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX PAGE, |
 |
 |
 |