Tag Archives: box set

Fall Sound Archive Vol. 10: Middle Class Revolt

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In some ways, The Fall’s 1994 release, ‘Middle Class Revolt’ has spent most of its life living in the shadow of its immediate predecessor, ‘The Infotainment Scan’. With the help of a rather spirited cover of ‘Lost In Music’, ‘Infotainment’ found its way into the consciousness of the more casual listener and, as a whole, the album showcased a more commercial sounding Fall at somewhere near their best. In retrospect, ‘Middle Class Revolt’ has actually aged just as well, and a few of the record’s deeper cuts provide a really interesting listen.

The 2025 super deluxe release from Cherry Red Records, wisely, takes a tried and tested approach when it comes to re-presenting the album with a wealth of interesting period extras. Mirroring the ‘Infotainment’ box set, the vastly expanded ‘Revolt’ greets the fans as a six disc tome, with the original long player joined by a disc of studio based extras and a generous four disc helping of sounding live material drawn from different sources.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Feelin’ Alright?: Mod, Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972

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When it comes to curating a period specific, multi disc anthology – particularly covering the exciting, ever evolving sounds of the late 60s and early 70s – there are few that do the job anywhere near as well as Cherry Red Records and their family of associated labels. That said, it doesn’t initially feel as if ‘Feelin’ Alright?’ will be one of their better efforts. By kicking off with Deep Purple’s over-exposed ‘Hush’, reaching for Spencer Davis Group’s ‘I’m A Man’ in record time, presenting what feels like the hundredth compilation outing for Small Faces’ ‘Song of A Baker’, and having the first disc also play host to the titular track from Traffic – tracks that’ll need absolutely no introduction – there’s a strong feeling of deja vu.

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THE DONNAS – The Atlantic Years 2002-2005

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Very few people who heard The Donnas’ third album, ‘Get Skintight’, in the late 90s would’ve believed the band would have been snapped up by a major label, but that’s where Allison Robertson, Brett Anderson, Maya Ford and Torry Castellano (formerly Donnas R, A, F, and C) found themselves just three years and two albums later. Every Donnas album up to that point had showcased a stronger band with a bigger sound, but their ‘Spend The Night’ album (Atlantic Records, 2002) was streets ahead of anything they’d recorded before. Not just in terms of all round punch, but also songwriting chops, and it sort of goes without saying that a much bigger budget worked wonders for the girls’ trashy rock sound.

From there, it was onward and upward for a relatively short time, and The Donnas were praised by fans and critics alike, finally earning their place as the true successors to the pioneering Runaways.

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STATUS QUO – Quo…Live!

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Issued in 1977, Status Quo’s first official live album, ‘Quo…Live!’ has long been a favourite among fans. Completely without any overdubs – a rarity for a live album from the era – its raw and dirty sound captured The Frantic Four line up in the most natural way possible, and for years held its place as the definitive record of the ‘Blue For You’ tour. The much-missed Rick Parfitt shared the fans’ enthusiasm for this rough and ready recording, but Francis Rossi disagreed. Rossi has also thrown a spanner in the works regarding the official word that the original 2LP set was sourced from the best performances captured during a three night stint at the Glasgow Apollo in October ’76, claiming that when the time came for the track selection, they “just picked the first ones”. This statement has led to a little confusion over the years, as to whether he meant “first” as in “chose the performance from the 27th October in its entirety”, or “chose the first versions of each of the thirteen tracks [he and Rick] were played”.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Get Ready For The Countdown: Mod, Brit Soul, R&B & Freakbeat Nuggets

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When Cherry Red Records launched their Strawberry Records subsidiary in 2020, they knew they’d need something impressive to kick start what would technically be a successor to the excellent RPM label. Their inaugural release ‘Halcyon Days’ tapped into an accessible selection of mod and soul cuts, very much in the spirit of RPM’s ‘Looking Back’ series. Needless to say, fans of the style – and of that series of RPM box sets – were thrilled with the result. A second box of mod and soul cuts from Strawberry – 2021’s ‘I Love To See You Strut’ – was pretty much as solid, and at other times, the label’s well curated products – box sets celebrating “the music of Black Britain”, 60s and 70s club soul classics, and even dipping their toes into the world of psychedelic folk (normally the remit of sister label, Grapefruit) – have also been considered very welcome fare.

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