A double CD of 22 tracks from any region is unlikely to be without its dodgy bits, and this collection is no exception. Still - all hail main motivator John Finn for making it happen.
Gorbachov kick off with the Madness-style romp ‘Beat Machine’, fuzz guitars running riot. Fire Garden’s ‘Just Because’ is a sturdy slab of jangly-guitar stadium rock that goes down easy, and Jimmy Cullen’s ‘For Your Smile’ is a classic meeting of indie and folk rock, with great vocals and a catchy melody. ITO sweeps along with a cheeky post-Britpop confidence, and the intriguing studio noodlings of Anacrusis on ‘Michael’ brings a welcome relief from guitar overload.
The irrepressible Darren Byrne starts CD2 with his ‘We Don’t Need No Psychoanalysing’, a snotty punk style performance that should bring the men in white coats around. On ‘Fun For Five Year Olds’, Bad Mothers Union unapologetically storm along with a beat that nails the track permanently in your brain, before Phonic Chimps pile in with ‘Follow Through’, saying it all magnificently in less than two minutes.
But, despite the musicianship and the enthusiasm, there’s little to stir the imagination in workmanlike tracks by Seraphim Downfall, My Corduroy, Morning Stardust or the dated Charlatans-ish Penfold DM. The absence of any contact info for the bands is a serious oversight too.
A mixed bag, then, but no less worthy for all that.