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BEASTIE BOYS Ill Communication
(reissue, 1994) UME 8/10
Still partying right, with grownup grooves The Beasties’ fourth album was the first since 1986’s debut Licensed To Ill to reach triple-platinum sales, and arguably remains their most varied and inventive release. The punk-rock roots box is ticked on the MTV-conquering “Sabotage”, but the thoughts of more mature players surface on the Buddhism philosophy of “Boddhisatva Vow”, while environmental issues are front and centre on “The Update”. At the time, the trio name-checked Miles Davis as an inspiration, most evident on the funk and jazz elements of “Root Down”, “Get It Together” and “Bobo On The Corner”, although these older, wiser heads still find ways to incorporate the adolescent rage of yore with style and a healthy dose of self-mockery.
Extras 8/10: Three-LP deluxe edition features an alternate version of the original album only briefly available in 2009, plus a disc boasting 12 additional B-sides, remixes and rare cuts, including a live version of Check Your Head album track “The Maestro”.
TERRY STAUNTON
STEVE BERESFORD & ANNE MARIE BERETTA Dancing The Line
(reissue, 1986)
NATO
7/10 This French fashion-inspired avant-pop curio couldn’t be more chic
Though best known as a stalwart of Britain’s free-improv and experimental music circles since the ’70s, Steve Beresford made many journeys in his career and this reissue highlights one of his most delightfully idiosyncratic sojourns. Inspired by the fashions of designer Anne Beretta and featuring contributions by Frank Chickens singer Kazuko Hohki and David Toop, Dancing The Line was originally recorded in France in 1985 with producer Jean Rochard and the music exudes both a pleasing delicacy
and a quintessentially Gallic form of cool. While the spare pairing of piano and horns in “Clins d’Oeil” and the playful wailing of “Snap” are more characteristic of Beresford’s other recordings, the peculiar intermingling of suave chanson and mutant disco on “Comfortable Gestures” and “Tendance” is the best reason for the album’s rediscovery. The stroppy synth-funk of “Altitude” and “Sand From A Desert” is equally arresting.
Extras 7/10:
Vinyl edition includes original gatefold artwork and new four-page insert.
JASON ANDERSON