George Michael: Songs From The Last Century (AE/Virgin)
No, not a collection of Victorian music-hall ditties, but a very laid-back selection of pop tunes from what will soon be yester-century. You can rely on Georgie-boy to knock out a good cover version with his hands tied behind his back, but it's hard to see the point of this album, other than to provide some easy listening by the yule log, or get in a few more album sales before the next fiscal millennium. Closer study, however, might reveal some deeper motivation behind Mr Michael's choice of songs. Brother Can You Spare A Dime could be tackling the thorny issue of contractual wrangles, Roxanne may be railing against artistic prostitution, while The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face might well be a romantic reminiscence of that first fateful meeting in a Los Angeles loo.
- Kevin Courtney
Led Zeppelin: Early Days The Best Of Led Zeppelin Volume One (Atlantic)
OK, I love Led Zeppelin as much as any hairy-chested rock monster, but even this old Zep-head can see that this collection is little more than Remasters repackaged. You can pretty much guess what's on this first volume, which spans albums I, II, III and 4 Symbols. The track-listing was compiled by Jimmy Page, but any fan worth his salt could have cobbled together a C90 comprising the likes of Dazed And Confused, Communication Breakdown, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, When The Levee Breaks and - of course - Stair- way To Heaven. Since every self-respecting Zep-head will already own at least two versions of these tracks, this smacks of squeezing the Zep lemon till the last bit of cash rolls down into the Man's trouser pocket.
- Kevin Courtney
Metallica: (Vertigo)
This strange double opus of strings and gunge combines one of the hardest of hard rock bands with orchestral arrangements by composer Michael Kamen. Things get off to a good start with The Ecstasy of Gold from the film The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and on other Metallica classics such as the monster-mashing Master of Puppets, the orchestra gives the piece an extra surge of power - not that it needs it. Some tracks, however, just don't work: Fuel may be fast and furious, but The Memory Remains is not clever at all. New listeners would be better off with a classic album such as Ride the Lightning; still, give it a spin, turn the volume to 10, and you're in for a bizarre treat.
- Colm Banville
Cat Stevens: Remember (Island)
Will the world forgive Cat Stevens for publicly defending the fatwah taken out on Salmon Rushdie? That remains to be seen. But back before he became Yusuf Islam, a Muslim, he did release some of the most lyrical pop songs of the early 1970s. Some, such as Moonshadow, now sound unbearably twee, but few could find fault with sublime creations like Father and Son, Wild World and Hard Headed Woman. And before that, again, he created late 1960s rock classics Matthew and Son, Lady D'Arbanville and The First Cut Is The Deepest. It's too easy to forget Stevens once was a master craftsman when it came to finding the perfect balance between words, music, vocals and arrangements. A must for any true pop fan. But why no I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun?
- Joe Jackson