Reservoir Dogs - Various Artists

Year Released: 1992

Label: MCA

Year Bought: 2001

You know a film or TV soundtrack has done it's job when you can't hear the songs from it without thinking of a particular scene.

Reservoir Dogs delivered two such iconic moments, thanks to Quentin Tarantino's ear for matching the sublime with the ridiculous.

Is there anyone out there who doesn't wince a little when they hear 'Stuck In The Middle With You'?

Has there been a group of lads wearing suits since 1992 where one of them didn't start singing the opening bars of 'Little Green Bag'?

The rest of the songs on this compilation are pretty much all spot on. 'I Gotcha' by Joe Tex is a brilliant slice of soul, Blue Swede's cover of 'Hooked On A Feeling' sounds as bonkers today as it did when it was released in 1973, while 'Fool For Love' is a yee-haw country song.

Bedlam's cover of Steppenwolf's 'Magic Carpet Ride' isn't particularly one for me, but even so, it still sounds huge.

The soundtrack has clips from the film, with US comedian Steven Wright's laconic radio DJ getting an outing alongside dialogue, such as the famous 'Madonna Speech'.

The only issue is the soundtrack only has 8 songs on. I'd have loved more.

7/10

Comments

Eye To The Telescope – KT Tunstall

Year Released: 2004 Label: Relentless Year Bought: No Idea I'm not sure why I have this record. I have no record of buying it. I've never listened to it. But then I do own two Dido albums so it's not exactly out of character of me to have it. I've always thought KT Tunstall was a pretty cool person. She's clearly talented. But this album, I just can't really connect with it. There's some good tunes on here. 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' is great, as is 'Suddenly I See'. 'Another Place To Fall' hints at some darker tones, and 'Under The Weather' builds nicely. But overall it's just all a bit safe. I vaguely remember reading an interview with Tunstall a few years after this came out in which she said the original mix was a lot more rough and bluesy, but the label wanted it more polished. You can definitely hear how this album could have been scuffed up. 'Stopping The Love' is a good example of that. It's a mi...

Coming Up – Suede

Year Released: 1996 Label: Nude Year Bought: 2011 I know lots of people love this album, and it has got some great songs on it, but I just can't love it. It's too trebly, too thin, too cold. It kicks off with 'Trash', which is an absolutely brilliant tune with fantastic lyrics. Brett is at his absolute best here, with talk of "nowhere towns" and "cellophane sounds", and being the "litter on the breeze". I love it. But, alas we go from one of Suede's best songs to one of their worst. 'Filmstar' feels incredibly lazy. The riff is nothing, and as for the lyrics: Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car it looks so easy Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car tonight These are Noel Gallagher-on-an-incredibly-bad-day lyrics. I hate the riff, I hate the chorus, I hate the lyrics. I hate how shiny it is. It's lazy ... which is the title of the next song. This tune sees the first use on the album of the "here the...

Intimacy – Bloc Party

Year Released: 2008 Label: Wichita Year Bought: 2008 Bloc Party's first two albums were absolute mainstays of my uni years, but their third, 2008's 'Intimacy', didn't touch the sides. All I remember of this album is that they were trying to be nu-rave and the beginning bit of 'Mercury'. Listening to this album for the first time in 16 years, I can see why I didn't get on with it at the time. It's a dense, loud album, with hardly any room in the songs for air. The drums – and drum machines – are all very in-your-face so it is a struggle to really sit and actually listen to. The use of electronic drums is one of the main departures from Bloc Party's previous efforts, which for me is a real shame. One of the strengths of the group was that Matt Tong was a one-man drum machine, and using actual drum machines just feels like a step backwards. Opening song 'Ares' kicks things off with a searing guitar and huge drums that sound like something...

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