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Album: Shaun Ryder, XXX Thirty Years of Bellyaching (Rhino)

Andy Gill
Friday 10 December 2010 01:00 GMT
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It's taken a reality-TV show for Shaun Ryder to finally be cast in the best light – and not just in terms of his character.

This compilation puts the wayward icon of luvved-up Nineties Britain in context, drawing together the abbreviated highlights of his career, from Happy Mondays through Black Grape to collaborations with the diverse likes of Russell Watson and Gorillaz on "Barcelona" and "Dare" respectively. It confirms Ryder's status as potty-mouthed poet of the people, coiner of curious idiom ("twisting my melon", etc) and premier groove-rider of the "Madchester" baggy constituency, the man who forced indie-rock and dance music into bed together, then forced them to take shedloads of ecstasy to consummate the union. Judging by the enduring potency of these offspring, we couldn't have asked for a better matchmaker.

DOWNLOAD THIS Wrote For Luck; Kinky Afro; Reverend Black Grape; In The Name Of The Father; Dare

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