Beastie Boys: The Sounds Of Science (Grand Royal)
For most acts, anthologies like this are easy to compile. For the Beastie trio, though, tracing their progress from snotty hardcore brats to the assured thirty-somethings of today who spend their spare time organising Tibetan Freedom Concerts and selling fashionable street-wear was always going to be difficult to contain. Over two CDs, The Sounds Of Science simply gets with the good stuff, pulling from albums like Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication to show signs of the trio's increasing confidence with and fondness for funky breaks and dynamic beats. From Shake Your Rump and Fight For Your Right to Intergalatic and Body Movin', the action never stops.
Jim Carroll
Beck: Midnite Vultures (Geffen)
Though the Church Of Beck may be built on shifting sand, there's no denying the exuberance and inventiveness which encircles this new album, the "proper" follow-up to 1996's Odelay. Memphis horns blend with Mississippi banjo, hip-hop jumps around with p-funk and classic r&b, and electronic bleeps and buzzes keep things crackling and sparking. But hang on a minute: Mixed Bizness, Get Real Paid and Peaches & Cream are reminiscent of another diminutive genius, and suspicions are confirmed with the final track, Debra, a hilarious parody of a sex-obsessed dwarf. Truly, this boy must be the new Prince of Indie.
Kevin Courtney
Fun Lovin' Criminals: (DiFontaine/Chrysalis)
Whenever the FLC roll into town, they usually pop down to Eamonn Doran's and do a late-night "lounge" set for a select mob. Now, Huey Morgan and the gang have decided to put the whole thing down on CD and, in the cold light of day, it sounds very rough indeed. The trio mix "schmoove" (read soporific) versions of Scooby Snacks, Bombin' The L and Coney Island Girl with bluff versions of Climax Blues Band's Couldn't Get It Right, 10CC's I'm Not In Love and - get this - Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train. Huey and his Liverpool buddy, Ian McCulloch, do a duet on Frank Sinatra's The Summer Wind, while We Have All The Time In The World resembles a tropical bar band on a cruise ship - which is probably exactly the intention.
Kevin Courtney