A heck of a charmer from Haircut 100 – one of a handful of great UK albums from the early 80s that mixed post-punk energy with warmer touches from
jazz and Latin – all
in a blend that's completely wonderful overall! Haircut 100 were never trying to change the world – and they certainly never passed themselves off as a real
jazz combo – but they've got a great way of adding
in just the right touches on sax, congas, and even a bit of vibes – all to create a captivating setting alongside Britpop guitar lines and the great vocals of Nik Heyward. Nik's way more appealing here than on his later work – unabashedly groovy, on tunes that include the classic "Love Plus One", alongside "Snow Girl", "Lemon Firebrigade", "Favourite Shirts", "Milk Film", "Surprise Me Again", and "Fantastic Day". This 4CD package is totally great –
in a 7" square book, with a bonus 44 page booklet of notes and new interviews! CD2 features Pelican Plus – 15 more bonus tracks that include the non LP cuts "Skip Club" and "Ski Club Of Great
Britain" – plus all sorts of 12", 7" , and extended versions. CD3 features Junction Box – 11 more unfinished tracks, including some very cool instrumentals that really show the
jazzier side of the group. And CD4 features a 14 track live set, recorded at Hammersmith Odeon
in 1982!