Roots 'n' Culture, Thirty Years Later

Side 2 of a mixtape recorded sometime around September 1995. 

 

Whereas yesterday's selection was a tape from my brother's former girlfriend, today's is a cassette that I made for a girlfriend that I lived with in the second half of the 1990s. 

 

1995 was the height of Britpop and the dance/indie crossover, both of which was reflected in the mightily impressive line-up for Bristol Sound City '95 running from 17th to 23rd April that year. 

 

Pulp! Radiohead! The Prodigy! Suede! Supergrass! Orbital! Sleeper! Gene! The Chemical Brothers! Teenage Fanclub! Skunk Anansie! The Orb! Elastica! The Bluetones! Utah Saints! Ash! dEUS! Dreadzone! Reef! Marion! and er, Menswe@r!

 

Not that I went to any of these gigs, or was paying that much attention, judging by my track listing over the two sides of C90. The only Sound City '95 act to make the cut was The Jesus & Mary Chain, and nearly half of Side 2 stuck in 1992, with only Björk and Gavin Friday representing releases in 1995.

For all that, I really like this compilation. Both sides kick off with an instrumental, Barry Adamson on Side 1 and the timeless (and beatless) Smokebelch II by The Sabres Of Paradise aka Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. 

A fair few cover versions on this side too, from The Fall, Björk and Vegas, the short-lived partnership of David A. Stewart and Terry Hall.

The LFO track first appeared on the book/CD series Volume Three in 1992, although I didn't get to hear it until I bought the two 2CD 'Best Of Volume' compilations that emerged in 1995. Slow Down Speedy appeared on the first, entitled Wasted, but both are worth tracking down.

And Julian Cope makes a brief cameo, right at the end of the selection, as only he can.

 

This particular love story didn't have a happy ending, but the music never let us down. 

 

1) Smokebelch II (Beatless Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise (1993)

2) Lost In Music (Single Version) (Cover of Sister Sledge): The Fall (1993)

3) Bonita Mañana (Gang Starr Vocal Mix): Espiritu (1994)

4) Deee-Lite Theme (Global Village Mix): Deee-Lite (1991)

5) Phorever People (D's Mellow Dub): The Shamen ft. Jhelisa Anderson (1992)

6) Honey Power (Single Version + Instrumental Coda): My Bloody Valentine (1991)

7) It's Oh So Quiet (Album Version) (Cover of Betty Hutton): Björk (1995)

8) Slow Down Speedy: LFO (1992)

9) Showgirl (Single Version): The Auteurs (1992)

10) Trance Of Hatred: Barry Adamson ft. Maria Zastrow (1992)

11) She (Disco Mix) (Cover of Charles Aznavour): Vegas (1992)

12) Angel (7" Edit): Gavin Friday (1995)

13) Cool Hand Flute (Original Mix): Fluke (1989)

14) Peggy Suicide is Missing...: Julian Cope (1992)

 

1989: Thumper / Cool Hand Flute EP: 13

1991: Power Of Love EP: 4

1991: Tremolo EP: 6 

1992: Jehovahkill: 14

1992: Phorever People EP: 5 

1992: She EP: 11

1992: Showgirl EP: 9

1992: Soul Murder: 10

1992: Volume Three: 8

1993: Sabresonic: 1

1993: Why Are People Grudgeful? EP: 2

1994: Bonita Mañana EP: 3 

1995: Angel EP: 12

1995: Post: 7

Side Two (46:39) (KF) (Mega)

 

And for those of you who weren't here 993 days ago when I posted Side 1, you can find it here.