And It's Good Vibes From Him - The Unheard Trip-Hop Classics of Ronnie Barker
Better known as one of Britain's finest comic actors and the larger half of the Two Ronnies, Ronnie Barker developed a fascination for the Bristol sound after he retired from showbusiness in 1988 and produced a large number of tracks in the basement studio of his Middlesex home. Finally released from archives of the Ronnie Barker Museum in New York, this double album brings together for the first time many of Barker's underground grooves. Despite the restrained and reflective laid-back beats drenched in layers of dreamy reverb, Barker's mischievous sense of humour still shines through in the lyrics and song titles. Track 5 - Whoopshead!, for instance, contains the line: "My pain bleeds mellow, My lips are wary, But Mary from the dairy knew a farmer who was hairy."
Rating: 2 out of pi
Kate Bush’s Greatest Hits - by Kate Bush by Girl Pie
Apparently Shropshire lovelies, Girl Pie, were about to record and release an album of Kate Bush cover versions last year, when lead singer Shirrin Fleen had a brainwave. “I listened to the demos of the songs we’d already recorded, then I went back and listened to Kate’s albums and there was simply no comparison. Kate’s own versions of her songs were just so much better than anything we could ever do. So we had a chat about it and decided to just release them in their original form…”
So was this a wise decision? We at Windypops answer with a resounding “YES!”. Man With the Child in His Eyes, Cloudbusting and Running Up that Hill are undoubted classics, although Fleen’s choice for the closing number, the obscure B-side Marlon’s Wicker Apostrophe had us all a bit puzzled.
Rating: 9/10
A Plethora of Eastenders Sneezes - Oxenclap Records
Exactly what it says in the title. Yet another compilation of soap opera bodily noises from the company which brought us A Compendium of Coronation Street Hiccups, Hollyoaks Snoring (Parts I and II) and Emmerdale Tummy Rumbles - Uncut
Poor. Only for the collector or "ironic" students. Although, the third track, a twelve second opus from Wendy Richards, was actually rather good. Download that one off the internet and forget the others.
Rating: 2/10
The Thompson - Closing the Gap
Some of our more ancient readers may well remember a band from the eighties called The Thompson Twins. They had a string of hits including Doctor Doctor, Too Shy Shy and The Lion Sleeps Tonight, but then mysteriously vanished from the charts. With this new release they are ready to take on the pop world once more, this time as a solo artist. Yes, you read that right! It seems in 1994 the three member of the Thompson Twins (Alanis Morrisette, Andy Partridge and Alan Alda) underwent groundbreaking surgery to turn them into a single being. “I simply reversed the operation I normally use to separate conjoined - or Siamese - twins,” reveals Dr Matthias Bedge, the surgeon responsible. “It was a piece of cake.”
So is the album any good? Unfortunately not, although the new single is great.
Rating: 3/1
Audiobook - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
written and read by Bevin Sofashirt
Despite the book not even having been finished, let alone published, amateur scribe Bevan Sofashirt has written, voiced and rushed out this audiobook version of the final instalment of the Harry Potter series in what must be one of the most blatant attempts to rip-off JK Rowling since the first Potter book was published in 1997. The prose is poor, the reading is frankly amateurish, but what Potter fan could resist the opportunity of find out what happens nearly a year early? And what an ending the saga has! According to Sofashirt, Hermione dies in childbirth after a brief but passionate affair with a magic frog; Ron is expelled from Hogwarts in his final year after being caught selling poppers to younger pupils, and Harry defeats Lord Voldermort in a brutal fistfight which is described in disturbing detail: "Bash! Bash! Bash! Harry biffed Voldermort right in the nose, sending blood and snot and some sort of grey-white gristly stuff flying against the wall of the classroom. Splat, it went. 'You fucking murdering cunt,' yelled Harry, wiping the blood from his knuckles. 'I'm going to kick your fucking head in!''
Rating: 0 out of 0