Album Review: Adorable - Footnotes '92-'94 (Uncut)

3/5
Creation also-rans attempt to celebrate themselves

Too late for shoegazing, too early for ladrock, Coventry’s Adorable were victims of label boss Alan McGee’s and frontman Pete Fijalkowski’s overexcited gobs. The world wasn’t ready for Oasis / Embrace style self-aggrandisement so their arrogance alienated floppy-fringed indie kids, and their mildly stoned indie rock also lacked anthems like Chapterhouse’s ‘Pearl’ or Ride’s ‘Dreams Burn Down’. Early tunes ‘Sunshine Smile’, ‘Glorious’ and ‘Sistine Chapel Ceiling’ suggest greater things ahead, but sleevenotes reading like David Brent reminiscing about ‘The Free Love Highway’ are the highlight here: “Kevin Shields got one more phonecall than we ever got…”

Album Review: Adorable - Footnotes '92-'94 (Uncut)

Album Review: Cassius Clay - I Am The Greatest (Uncut)

4/5
The world’s finest boxer flexes his comic muscle

By 1962 Cassius Clay’s quickwitted charisma had made him a hero, inevitably attracting Columbia Records’ attention. Fortunately kindred spirit Sam Cooke was on hand to guide Clay through a spirited version of ‘Stand By Me’, sidestepping the era’s usually exploitative methods. It’s the rest of this spoken word album that packs a punch, though, Clay displaying magnificent timing with a series of knowingly arrogant poems and skits: “If Cassius says a cow can lay an egg, don’t ask how: grease that skillet!“ Shortly afterwards Clay became Muhammad Ali, Nation Of Islam member and conscientious objector. The record was pulled from stores.

Album Review: Cassius Clay - I Am The Greatest (Uncut)

Album review: Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles (Uncut)

3/5
Original poet material from the Essex streets

Fixing hip hop “as best (he) can”, Scroobius Pip’s Estuary English makes him the Southern Mike Skinner. Backed by Dan Le Sac’s Space Invaders-era Casios, Radiohead samples and a spluttering beatbox – the only thing that stutters here – the motormouth may look like a ranting pub bore from Little Britain, but here proves the common sense of ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ was no novelty. Dispensing with “artless lyrics” and “heartless gimmicks”, he addresses subjects as diverse as self-harm, religion and the magic of Tommy Cooper, making this an entertaining and enlightening debut.

Album review: Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles (Uncut)