More dreamy willowy pop of yesteryear from the vaults of Cherry Red. A more esoteric and better produced selection than the other compilation 'Our Brilliant Careers' which is shoddy in places. The juxtaposition of the three artists here seems coincidental, yet they successfully present different facets of the sound of the label during the early 80's.
Jane & Barton starts with the acapella 'It's A Fine Day' which was later turned into the Opus III dancefloor smash. The remix by A Guy Called Gerald here has a harder and less commercial sound. Quite good. Flute and percussion accompany Jane on 'I Want To Be With You' to nice pastoral effects a la Virginia Astley, although the latter would have never named one of her songs 'Ha Bloody Ha', which poses such thought-provoking questions as "Did you hear about the woman who died" or "What part of a vegetable can't you eat". Simple voice and piano arrangement on 'There Is A Man' and 'You Are Over There' makes ideal lazy afternoon listening, only to be rudely disturbed by Mr.Barton's grating screech on 'You Are Over There Part Two'.
Onto the marvellously named Grab Grab The Haddock, which included two of the three Marine Girls after Tracey Thorn went on to form Everything But The Girl. They pretty much carried on with the style of their previous band, only now augmented to a four-piece. Lightweight summery guitar pop, the stuff that Cherry Red is famous for.
In Embrace played moody melodic pop with guitar and synths. Although once described as 'introverted and emotionally unfathomable' the songs are actually quite classy and the sentiments deeply felt. 'The Darkest Horse' features a spine-tingling chord progression slightly reminiscent of the Cocteaus. They should have been big.
The CD ends with a bonus video of 'It's A Fine Day'. Hmm... now that's why she sounds so lonely..