Simply Red: Love And The Russian Winter (Warner)
`It is love who empties us of the spirit of estrangement." Says who? Agathon, 416 BC. And having glanced back over 2,000 years of history, as part of his research for this CD, Mick Hucknall obviously agrees. And, that, in essence, is the message of Love And The Russian Winter. From chirpy ditties like the top 10 hit, Ain't That A Lot Of Love, to More Than A Dream, where he actually sings such lines as "for those who are in love/I'm with you babies". In fact, as "up" and irresistible as this album is musically, too often its lyrics are a joke; Your Eyes even features a rhyme pattern that includes the words "now", "now" and "how" though, thankfully, it leaves out the "brown cow". But Hucknall sings so well you almost forgive him. Almost.
- Joe Jackson
Clinton: Disco And The Halfway To Discontent (Hut)
With the Cornershop effectively closed for business, this is what Tjinder and Ben did after Fatboy Slim gave Brimful Of Asha a good seeing to, introducing them, in the process, to the wonders of Top of the Pops. This is a much more low-key proposition altogether. Clinton specialise in half-cut funky takes with loops and weirdbeard beats to the fore. The first single, Buttoned Down Disco, is a case in point; a track brimming, you could say, with extra-terrestrial groove and panache. Sometimes their methods sound a mite contrived, even lazy, but when they get it just right, like with the swinging tablas on GT Road, you'll excuse them anything.
- Jim Carroll