Working forward from the legendary
C86 tape, which they released as an expanded set, Cherry Red have been moving forward a year at a time with the worthy goal of documenting the guitar rock and pop scenes of the U.K.
C88 did a fine job of capturing the scene just before it began to splinter into many different directions like shoegaze, baggy, and dance;
C89 takes it one step closer and does an equally good job of making the scene come alive. The collection follows up with some of the bands that had shown up on past C80 collections (
the Pooh Sticks,
the Popguns,
the Stone Roses); drops in early songs by groups that made names for themselves soon (
the La's,
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine); and, as on
C88, showcases the cream of one of the best labels in the U.K. at the time, Sarah Records (with great songs by
Brighter,
the Orchids, and
Another Sunny Day). What makes this another great compilation isn't the big names or the known quantities; instead, it's the also-rans and nobodies that they dig up and shine a light on that make the set worth checking out. There are ripping noise pop gems from
Bobby Scarlet ("White Pearl") and
Strawberry Story ("Tell Me Now"), sweet jangling pop nuggets from Ammonite ("Days in the Sun") and Brian ("A Million Miles"), and groups that sound like refugees from
C86 like the Mayfields, along with twee groups like
How Many Beans Make Five, dramatic dreamers like
the Bardots, mod wannabes like
Jane Pow, and a whole lot of bands following the
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions playbook of literate songs with fancy chord changes sung by deep crooners. There are some hidden classics (listeners are sure to find a few of their own);
Jane from Occupied Europe's "Annabel Lee,"
the Prayers' grungy "Fingerdips,"
the Holidaymakers' majestic "Skyrider," and
Avo-8's romping "Big Car" all certainly qualify. The set hints at some of the big changes that were soon to come in the U.K. music scene with the inclusion of
the Telescopes' proto-shoegaze track "Nothing" and the Stone Roses' "Going Down," but most of the bands here are slightly backwards-looking if anything, still trying to perfect the fuzzy noise pop template or knock Mr. Cole down a peg or two, and that's fine. Not every year can be revolutionary, which isn't a problem as long as it's as easy as this to fill three discs with songs as strong as these. With only a handful of dogs mixed in,
C89 is another sterling set of great music, and Cherry Red deserve all the credit they can get for keeping the series going and digging so deep for the gems they uncovered.
