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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive and much deserved, 11 Jul 2005
Interesting to note that all the rviews of this so far have come from people in Belfast - perhaps there's a reason why bassist Tim Brown has moved to Kilkeel!Anyway, from the indie underground to Number 1 in just five years - not bad work by the Boos, especially given their impressive sonic evolution between point A and point B. The entire technicolour journey is chronicled here in gloriously remastered detail. Disc 1 charts the Wirral band's rise from pedal happy Dinosaur Jr fans (this era culled from 1990's long out of print Ichabod & I LP and a slew of increasingly ambitious EPs for Action Records and Rough Trade) through their early Creation Records days as shoegazing troubadours (1991's Everything's Alright Forever and attendent EPs) to their arrival as full-blown-mind guitar pop geniuses with 1993's Giant Steps - a bona fide White Album for the early 90s indie set. On this sprawling double album, Boos songwriter Martin Carr finally blossomed, with proper widescreen production helping mini epics like the indie dub odyssey of Lazaurus come to life. There's a reason people are evangelical about this record. You'll have to hear it in full to understand why - preferably on double vinyl on a good stereo - but the tracks included here (the extended 12" version of Lazarus, Best Lose The Fear, I Hang Suspended, I've Lost The Reason, Wish I Was Skinny and Barney And Me) provide a mouth-watering taste of its genius. Disc 2 starts by covering the band's 15 minutes of mainstream fame. How many idiots loved the horn infused pop glory of Wake Up Boo! so much they went out and bought the album, only to flog it to Cash Converters a few months later? Tons, judging by the number of copies currently lurking in the racks of said establishments nationwide. Perhaps it was 1996's C'Mon Kids! that put the fairweathers off. Here the Boos deliberately kicked off the shackles of pop stardom in fine style, cranking the guitars and ignoring verse-chorus-verse structures in favour of some gloriously arty noise. The title track, What's In The Box?... and Ride The Tiger were a good as anything released pre Wake Up! but the public just weren't interested. Thus the band released 1998's Kingsize to precisely no fanfare, and to be honest even long-term fans had their doubts about it. Still the highlights here (particularly Blueroom in Archway) provide an enjoyable conclusion to a wonderful listening experience. In addition to the album tracks mentioned, Find The Way Out joins the dots between records with a selection of b-sides and non-album singles. The new artwork by longtime Boos sleeve designer Stephen Wood is lovely, and the liner notes are comprehensive, with Martin's explanations of the stories behind each song proving particularly enjoyable. Apparently, the band's last live performance was a sh*tty instore appearance to promote Kingsize. They split with little fanfare and are remembered by most as one-hit wonders. Frankly, as this collection proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, they deserved much better. Boo forever!
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