Stackridge
(Angel Air)
Few people, even diehard retro aficionados, remember an early ‘70s English band called Stackridge, and even fewer would likely say they cared even if they did. So leave it to one of Britain's most avid archival labels, Angel Air, to reintroduce the band for a current crop of Brit pop enthusiasts via an ongoing series of re-releases of the band's seminal albums. The latest of these come in the form of belated additions to the band's canon -- Anyone For Tennis? Sound & Vision , a greatest hits of sorts with accompanying DVD, and The Forbidden City , a recent reunion concert that transpired nearly 35 years after their initial incarnation went their merry ways. And while it may be too late for Stackridge to attain any modicum of the fame and fortune that eluded them in their prime, a case could be made that for a deserving ensemble such as this, any attempt - even three and a half decades on -- is still none too late.
Of course, one should expect there would be ample evidence as to why anyone other than their original diehard devotees should care about Stackridge resurfacing. So fortunately, these two double discs offer the uninitiated an enticing backwards glance of the group in all their glory via the cream of their catalogue. While Anyone For Tennis? offers a basic compilation/compendium (as well as a DVD of the aforementioned The Forbidden City performance), The Forbidden City proper may be the most impressive of the two due to the band's ability to effectively recreate their legacy live. Boasting the bulk of their staples - as well as a nod to the Korgis, the band's equally worthy offshoot -- it finds the band reclaiming their legacy with unflagging enthusiasm and meticulous musical precision.
That's no small feat at this point; given their giddy, unflappable and unfailingly cheery allegiance to basic pop precepts, Stackridge's sound requires a deft touch and a flexible stroke. Similar in stance to Paul McCartney, Squeeze or Madness, songs such as "Grooving Along the Highway on a Monday Morning Once," "Lummy Days," "Anyone for Tennis" and "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" (the latter a Korgis chestnut) are both arched and effusive, not to mention remarkably unselfconscious considering the wit and whimsy invested in these melodic ditties. So while Anyone for Tennis is fine for starters, it takes The Forbidden City to prove -- its intimidating title aside -- that catching up on guilty pleasures like these can be ever so liberating.
Standout tracks: "Grooving Along the Highway on a Monday Morning Once," "Lummy Days," "Anyone for Tennis" LEE ZIMMERMAN
