John Peel: A Tribute

Wasn't really impressed

I spent many a night listening to John Peel while writing in my London apartment. There wasn't much else in London to listen too. So with interest I purchased the tribute to the great man. His relentless pushing of the Cocteau twins is there as well as John's all time favourite, Teenage Kicks. Inspired choices were Dust my Blues (so representative of the eclectic side of John). The whole of the middle of side one is marred by an over-representation of material mainstream hippy, yes John nodded his head to it, not to this extent.What made this a dissapointment was choosing hits such as Song 2 from Blur, and How Soon is Now from the Smiths, both acknowledged classics. Only I feel John would have flipped over the side and said, lets listen to this.Farewell John, many will miss you, perhaps this album is a reflection of your choices, fantastic hits in a sea of duds.

A word of warning to those who think this album is chock full o' historic Peel Sessions live tracks: it's not. Instead, it's a compilation of album cuts.It's all rather disappointing even though the sales proceeds are going to charity. The BBC has so many great Peel Sessions in its vaults, it's a pity this collection didn't use any of them. I suppose there must have been licensing issues with the bands or record labels.Yes, this is a very interesting and eclectic mix of bands. But don't shell out the big import price expecting to get live versions of the songs.

A nice tribute to a legendary DJ

There are at least two double albums of "Peel" selections ( the other I know of is John Peel “ Right time , wrong speed “ , also on the Warner label)I am fascinated by some of the reviewers who say that the selections are "Not Peel enough" meaning that their favourite obscure band was not featured in this selection. I doubt that even 5 double CD's would cover all of the bands who he "promoted" by simply playing on his programmesJohn Ravonscroft Peel ( Wargrave of the Marshes) was in a unique position where , unlike many other DJ's (who plugged the "known bands" in the charts) was allowed to select music he liked , possibly music he expected you to like ( or at least to listen to) thereby giving air time to many unknowns who went onto greatness , cult status ( or who sank - thankfully - into obscurity). We gained exposure to some new musical options - to accept or reject as we liked.The 2 CD's here give examples of 40 bands ranging from Lonnie Donnegan (1956) to Belle and Sebastian (and includes the Peel favourite Teenage Kicks –The Undertones ). ( The other double CD " Right time , wrong speed - covers 1977-87)So , for those who already listened to Peel's offerings and made their choices - a chance to revisit some other bandsThose like me ( a child of the 60's) - a chance to explore some new bands ( before they became famous) and perhaps to select some to explore further ( At least to check out in the "All Music Guide to Rock" or even “The Rough Guide to Rock” for discussions of individual albums or selections )You can read the detailed track listings on the Amazon website . . As said before - some made it to the dizzy heights - others didn't - but they all were Peel's musical children in a way.

BRILLIANT selection of tracks , missed at the time of release , I was searching the Amazon Site and this came up as an option!Second hand, but we'll packaged goods as described and Delivered before anticipated this little gem is a masterpiece of a playlist from the days when you could switch on the radio and be sure that (very sadly missed but brilliant) John Peel would have discovered a wonderful new sound to delight your ears .VERY HAPPY WITH THIS ONE !

I liked it all. I have it to add to my collection of music played by John Peel.

Arrived safely thanks.

there,s a baby in the house!!