Search - Edwyn Collins :: Hellbent on Compromise

Fine Songs, Flat Production

Ellen Kelley | Shasta Lake, CA United States | 03/17/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Those who discovered Collins' music as a result of the hit "A Girl Like You" and enjoyed the disc containing it (Gorgeous George) will also find much to like here. The songwriting, vocals, and arrangements are all similar to those of its more famous successor. The opening track, "Means To An End", and the Van Morrison-like "Now That It's Love" are my personal favorites but there's plenty of other good stuff as well. What's not so good is the production. The crisp, 3-dimensional imaging on Collins' later, self-produced discs (Gorgeous George and I'm Not Following You) is absent here; sound sources remain in a flat plane between the two speakers. The quality isn't terrible or even truly bad -- it's pretty standard for a late 1980's recording -- but it is a bit of a comedown after hearing the newer discs. (Makes me envy the people who were onto Collins before "A Girl Like You" hit it big.) Still, the disc sounds fine in the car and on a boombox and I recommend it (almost) without reservation to anyone who likes "Gorgeous George" and would like to hear more."