The Oasis reunion has obviously contributed to another wave of interest in the 1990s, a decade that is already as iconic in the arc of post-war pop culture as the 1960s – today, maybe even more so . These records – which are feats of enterprise as much as creativity – all contributed to the success of the decade and, in the process, helped define it. Some were part of the Britpop narrative, others occupying parallel tributaries that swelled into a pool as the century rushed to a close.
While they all occupy the same time capsule, they also broadly share the same geographic area, ie not the United States. By the Nineties , pop had become more compartmentalised than ever, and yet it retained a verve and a spirit that was forever British. Before there was Britpop, there was this, which bridged the gap between ironic parochialism and the Stone Roses.
So good it still feels like a “Best Of”. The album that invented trip-hop. Once described by The Quietus as introducing the “Margate out-of-season mien”.
Bull-Rush is a solid-gold classic, all traffic and hedgerows. Was Richard James really the techno Mozart? Suddenly, it seemed that, after a misguided debut – Leisure , 1991 – Damon Albarn discovered Ray Davies, and the world looked very British again. For the rest of the decade, British groups would sing in British accents, even if they weren’t strictly born with them.
Britpop was upon us. This was a fine Sergio Mendes pastiche although, in their previous incarna.