All The Very Best Of…

The last word is, in the opinion of this reviewer, simply the best radio show in Ireland. Sure, Eamon Dunphy's impassioned stewardship lies at its centre, but the antics of Navn Man and The Drunken Politican are frequently fall-about funny. Following on from 1998's sucessful 'debut album' Never Mind The Bollocks . . .Here's Navan Man' comes this 2-CD collection of 'Greatest Hits'. It's every bit as good as regular fans of the duo would expect.

There are 51 sketches here, and for every time that the material lapses into empty juvenilia ('Gay Orangeman', 'Martin Spa'), there are many more occasions when it hits its target. A few people in RTE and the corridors of political power will wince at the effectiveness with which their pomposity is punctured and (while not wanting to attribute over-pretentious motivations to the twosome) there are also serious points potently made about subjects as diverse as tampon ads, nuclear strikes and the Diana industry.

Irreverent, inventive and very, very funny - even Mr D would be impressed. And the 'Helicopter' sketch, which features our airborne heroes pursuing 'Jonathan Full-of-It Boreman' with a machine gun, is worth the price of the album on it's own. Spot On? Certainly. Bother? None.