Orange Juice

... Coals to Newcastle Domino ****

With Scottish singer Edwyn Collins returning to the live music fray (following an almost fatal brain haemorrhage several years ago), it was only a matter of time before his old band, the underperforming but highly influential Orange Juice, would receive the box-set treatment. Here it is, a six-disc (plus DVD), all-encompassing treasure trove that chronologically places the band in context. There's a lot to cover, but there are charms aplenty, not least the band's innate melodic sensibilities, modelled as much on Buzzcocks and Velvet Underground as on Al Green and Chic. There is also Collins's sharp-witted skill as a lyricist, which elegantly blend turmoil with poise. We will never see their like again, these bold, bright, naive and slightly camp young men from Glasgow, but . . . Coals to Newcastleshowcases how, once upon a time, originality and vision stood for something. See dominorecordco.com

Download: What Presence?, I Can't Help Myself