Cabaret Voltaire - The Original Sound of Sheffield, Best of 83-87

Mostly got this cos I'm in love with "Sensoria". Mostly 12" mixes, which aren't that bad, as they retain the essence of the original singles. However, the indie-sounding early 80s singles aren't that good. Most of them are typical synth-pop given a leftfield harmony. The songs from "Micro Phonies" onwards are mainly okay, although none mesmerise as well as "Sensoria". The "Code" singles are mainly heavily remixed, which I don't mind, as I have the original album.

Gang of Four - Solid Gold/Another Day, Another Dollar

I mostly disliked this upon first listen. I mean, if you're gonna make the guitars so angular and jarring, you might as well have some dissonant enharmonic vocals. But most of the vocals sound like Gary Numan rejects, bar "Paralysed". At a lower volume, just before I slept, it makes more sense, with the atonal guitars upfront. The ending shards of guitar on "Cheeseburger" (studio version) are almost scary. Best song here - the live version of "What We All Want" - starts on a Bo Diddley riff, before erupting into Talking Heads meets Wire frenzy. I think without the Gang of Four, Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party would lack a career, though.

The Replacements - Don't Tell a Soul

The 'Mats shift gears and go slower on this. As such, the melodies are more fragile and more beautiful. I like this a lot. Almost on par with "Let It Be", it's probably their second best album, IMHO. Lotsa pretty midtempo rockers.

The Replacements - All Shook Down

Essentially Paul Westerberg's 1st solo album, this one is a distant cousin to his "14 songs". However, I find the songs here better-crafted and a bit better than "14 songs". Helped by the fact also that the bonus tracks are so raw and unpolished it makes my teeth rattle. The songs from "Don't Buy or Sell It - It's Crap" are also nicely-done. Two Thumbs Up!