ROCK

XTC: "Fossil Fuel - The XTC Singles 1977-92"

Virgin 7423 8 41983 2 9 (118 mins) Dial atrack code: 1201

This is a burning chunk of bliss, a 31 track collection of the finest moments of one of England's greatest bands. OK, The Damned, The Pistols and The Jam were the real punk icons of the time, but for this spotty, flopfringed pop fan, Andy Partridge's lot had the kick of irony and the clout of cleverness. Early bleep plink and thunk anthems like Science Friction and This Is Pop meant more to me than Anarchy In The UK or Going Underground, while the strident Life Begins At The Hop was my soundtrack to many wide eyed nights out with the New Wave crowd. Making Plans For Nigel and Senses Working Overtime are almost too familiar to be fresh, but Generals And Majors, Towers Of London and Respectable Street deserve equal Classic Hit status, while Dear God, The Mayor Of Simpleton and The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead are superb samples of late period XTC. This ecstatic two CD set will keep my senses working overtime.

The Rolling Stones:"Rock'N'Roll Circus"

Abkco 1268-2 (59 mins)

Dial-a-track code: 1311

The Beatles had their Magical Mystery Tour, but The Stones had their Rock'N'Roll Circus. This is the soundtrack to a 1968 BBC-TV special which was never broadcast, a colourful extravaganza organised by Their Satanic Majesties, and featuring such distinguished guests as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, The Who and Marianne Faithtull. Mick Jagger plays the Ringmaster, introducing the show to a marching band backing of Entry Of The Gladiators. Warm up slots by Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal and Marianne Faithfull set the scene for the appearance of The Dirty Mac, comprising John Lennon, Erie Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell. This "great lost Supergroup" performs The Beatles Yer Blues, before Yoko Ono comes along and reduces everything to a woeful wail, sounding like The Great Gig In The Sky gone wrong. Our sensibilities are saved by the appearance of the evening's star attraction, and John Lennon's introduction of The Rolling Stones is a study in brevity: "And now...!" The Stones do Jumping Jack Flash, Parachute Woman, No Expectations, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Sympathy For The Devil and Salt Of The Earth, sounding so good, you'd love to have the video and see them in all their acrobatic, animal glory. The band, however, were said to be unhappy with their own performance, and this may have been the reason the show was never broadcast. Never mind the quality, though, feel the sense of history.

Simply Red: "Greatest Hits"

FastWest 0630-16552-2 (63 mins) Dial-A-Track Code: 1421

Simply Red hold back the years with this retrospective collection, which traces the band's smooth, seemingly effortless career as Britain biggest white soul export. Mick Hucknall is the blue eyed, red haired Soul Boy, and his voice is at the heart of songs like P's Only Love, If You Don't Know Me By Now and Something Got Me Started. Mick's musical accomplices put some robust body on Money's Too Tight To Mention, The Right Thing', and A New Flame, while The Fugees put some street cool into the cover of current hit, Angel, originally recorded by Aretha Franklin.

Ween:"12 Golden Country Greats"

Flying Nun Records FNCD386 (33 mins)

Dial-A-Track Code: 1531

Hold - I said, hold on a cottonpickin' minute here. What the dagnabbin' heck is goin' on round here? Have America's kings of lo fi geek rock gone completely loco? Nosireebob, Dean and Gene Ween have really gone and made a country album, going to great lengths to make it sound authentic, then gleefully kicking it to the ground with songs like Piss Up A Rope and Help ft Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain, just for the hell of it. The duo have left their comic strewn bedroom and scoured the prairies for top session musicians to make songs like I'm Holding You, Powder Blue and I Don't Wanna Leave You On The Farm sound like the real McCoy. In fact, this parody is so perfect, you know that, underneath it all, Ween jes' love that good ol' country music.