Reviews of the latest music releases (From News Shopper)

Records from Barenaked Ladies, Tim Buckley and Chris de Burgh reviewed

4:25pm Monday 21st November 2011 in Music By Kevin Bryan

Kevin Bryan reviews the latest music releases.

Barenaked Ladies: Hits From Yesterday and the Day Before ****

THIS uplifting Rhino anthology celebrates more than two decades' worth of mildly eccentric hit-making from the Canadian alternative rockers.

The band's early output is well represented by gems such as The Old Apartment, If I Had $1,000,000 and a live version of their perennial crowd pleaser, Brian Wilson, and the material that they released on their own indie label after their departure from Reprise Records in 2003 also repays closer investigation, including the memorable theme for the highly regarded television series, Big Bang Theory.

Out now (Rhino 8122-79757-3: £4.99)

Tim Buckley: Starsailor - The Anthology ****

THIS fascinating 2-CD set explores the dazzlingly eclectic vinyl output of the late Tim Buckley, whose unique voice was sadly silenced by his untimely death in 1974 at the age of just 28.

This inveterate musical explorer could certainly never have been accused of predictability during his all too brief recording career, which found him making a rapid progression from the wistful folksy sound of the haunting Morning Glory and Song Slowly Song to the audacious avant-garde approach which would come to dominate later albums such as Lorca and Starsailor.

Out now (Music Club Deluxe MCDLX 523: £3.99)

Chris de Burgh: Footsteps 2 ***

READERS with very long memories may recall there was a time in the mid-70s when Chris de Burgh was viewed by many pundits as an imaginative, if at times overly sentimental, singer-songwriter.

The tumultuous worldwide success enjoyed by the soporfic The Lady in Red put an end to all that however, and this notoriously thin-skinned character can't have been too impressed by many of the critical reactions to his work which have come his way since then.

This patchy offering is unlikely to win too many new converts over to his cause either, boasting a few mildly engaging self-penned songs alongside covers of everything from Let It Be and Lady Madonna to the Doobie Brothers' Long Train Running, the latter seeming particularly unsuited to de Burgh's lugubrious performing style.

Out now (DMGTV 044: £8.99)

Ian Watt: Invocacion-Impressions of Spain ***

YOUTHFUL guitarist Ian Watt may have spent his formative years in Scotland's somewhat less than sultry north-east, but he obviously feels a natural affinity for the musical culture of the sun drenched Iberian peninsula, and this recital finds him tackling works by leading Spanish composers such as Tarrega, Rodrigo and Albeniz.

THE latter never actually penned any works for the guitar, but many of his piano pieces were subsequently transcribed for the instrument, including Chants d'Espagne, the evocative five-part suite which emerges as the highlight of this fine new Nimbus CD.

Out now (Nimbus NI 6172: £13.31)

Magazine: No Thyself ****

NO THYSELF finds one of Britain's finest post punk outfits back to something approaching their brilliant best as they unveil their first new studio album since 1981's rather lacklustre Magic, Murder and the Weather.

The band whose seminal late 70s recordings made such a profound impact on performers such as Morrissey, U2 and Radiohead have lost little of their perverse and sinister edge in the interim, and creative driving force Howard Devoto excels himself here with Physics and the self-deprecating Hello Mister Curtis, with keyboard ace Dave Formula also in commanding form throughout this typically thought provoking set.

Out now (Wired Sound WIRED 19C: £8.99)