Critics Roundup 1989

Phew, what a year! Well happening gigs, groovy LPs (not many Irish ones though) and fab singles (the majority of which were Irish) kept us company through the long hot summer and beyond.

LP of the year was, without any doubt, De la Soul’s ‘3 Feet High And Rising’ which brought rap into the Daisy Age. Rolling about in the ‘Nearly’ enclosure were the debut albums from Soul 11 Soul, The Stone Roses and The Four Of Us and quite splendid collections from the Cowboy Junkies, Happy Mondays, The Wedding Present, Coldcut, Tackhead, David Byrne and Les Negreses Vertes.

In the singles department, it was the year of the Irish. Into Paradise and Power Of Dreams made Setanta the happening label. Danceline’s continuous output produced many gems, The Little Fish and b-side of the Outpatients single standing high. Mother gave us the Dixons ‘I Have Fun’ (the song of the summer) and The Slowest Clock returned with the ‘2 Car Garage’ EP and knocked us apart with crucial guitars. Giant made their big entrance and The Real Wild West got around to releasing a single ‘Hellderado’, proving that rock’n’roll with a trumpet is a cool commodity. The Fat Lady Sings ‘Arclight’ is not only a highlight of this year but also a song of the decade. Away from home, The Sundays, Inspiral Carpets and D-Mob produced singles I can still hum and remember.