Here was an opportunity to explore what could be one of the greater musical artefacts of the 1980's or so I thought. Emerging from the smouldering ruin of post-punk, what made this lot matter back in the eighties was the fusion of Stewarts mechenical synthlines with the harsh humanity of Lennox's vocals. Unfortunately somewhere along the way Lennox's vocals came to dominate, and yer man picked up guitar.

By the time “Sweet Dreams” has swung around four tracks in, their load has effectively been shot. “Sweet Dreams” like a mutant spawned from the afterbirth of “Blue Monday,” remains no doubt one of the best pop songs ever, Sadly tracks like it and “Love Is A Stranger”, get lost amidst shlock like “Would I Lie To You” - imagine an early Rolling Stones song being force fed a reverb peddle. By the end of the album you have reached such a state of aural apathy due to this MOR drone you wish you hadn't even bothered. In parts this is haunted by a relentless cheesiness that leaves you feeling the Lighthouse Family had a word in Dave Stewarts ear as he beavered away on the production of later tracks, one even stooped as low as a xylophone for that “island feel”

This is an update on a previous greatest hits collection designed for the Xmas market, its a chance for airplay on the likes of the John Creedon show and VH1, a cash in on Lennox's performance at Live 8.. Worse again, it is one of those money grabbing exercises that comes bundled with two previously unreleased tracks making it perfect fodder for obsessives.

Labels: Music