RAWK REVIEW

[Payne]

To celebrate eight years since his breakthrough album "A New Beginning", George Bush is releasing a compilation of his greatest hits and, according to unconfirmed reports is going to retire from performing after such a short (and spectacular!) career, intending to focus on other interests.

The tracklisting includes many of his most popular recordings, and several of his own favourites, with a bonus track, thrown in for good measure.

The first song, "Here by the Grace of Jeb", blazes in and immediately sets the tone for his unapologetic defiance of anything and everything that disagrees with him. A classic.

Next is the ever popular anthem "God talks to me", a deep and insightful caricature of the influence religion is exerting on government policy both home and abroad. The immortal line 'And if you ever step with me, count on my main man G-O-D, to come round ya' house and bust ya' teeth'. Powerful stuff.

Segueing straight into the melodic and soulful "Upside Down Stateside", referring both to the unfortunate run in that Bush had with the law early in his career, and to the distress signal an upside down flag represents. The lyrics, while not the most intellectually challenging, reflect a man who has often found himself facing criticism from his fanbase and from the mainstream.

The pounding bass line intro to the fourth track "Apple Rocked" signal the change of style he adopted for his second major release "And Out Come the Knives (A Rhapsody of Fear)" This ever popular rock track set the tone for many of his later works, and represented a high tide in his influence. Regardless of it's affect, the production values were often criticised, and his inability to play it live often frustrated.

The follow up release to "Apple Rocked" is next up, his controversial "You've Bin Gone", a tale of drugs, hatred, questionable liaisons and crime. It is believed that this song was written at a time when Bush began having health issues, and is a theme he revisits (with more controversial results) on his third album.

The last piece from "Out Come the Knives" is the slightly disappointing "PATRIOT", which promises much, but tends to irritate after a while. As this song was never released as a single, we can only assume this was chosen by Bush to be on the compilation. It always was something he very proud of, and was disappointed when the public didn't agree.

Opening the third phase is "Shock and Awe!" which, while it starts off very well, gets rather messy as soon as the intro is done. It was slated by critics at the time as being in-congruent to the rest of the album "Need No Resolutions", but had Bush insisted on its inclusion, supported, for the most part, only by his producers and by his sometime collaborator, Baby Blair. An interesting track, but perhaps an indicator that he was losing touch with his fanbase.

"John Who?" was (some say cynically) the first single released from "Need No Resolutions", an uninspired, but crowd pleasing, track that convinced his record company NOT to drop him at a time when his sales were low, and controversial incidents seemed to follow him everywhere.

The title track "Need No Resolutions" was a close collaboration with Blair, and while they said at the time that it's story of being victimised and attacked was true, much of this has since been refuted by others as being at best an exageration. At worst, an outright lie. To this day, Bush refuses to accept what is now almost universally thought to be the real truth.

The fourth and final album is the charting of the downward spiral of a man out of control. "Half Here, All Gone" describes the widespread discrediting of a once powerful artist within the industry, who became almost completely sidelined. Struggling to keep ahead of his rivals, Bush becomes more boisterous, when perhaps elegance was called for. It also contains a vicious attack on those who continue to pester him for apologies and retractions.

"Alone" is the touching bittersweet ballad that commemorates the loss of his closest friend Blair, who was dumped by his record label and unable to find any others willing to take him on. Increasingly isolated, Blair withdrew from public life and thus Bush lost a key ally.

The last track on the album is a bonus track entitled "Anyone But Him. Or Her. And Definitely NOT HIM" A somewhat sombre affair in places, but defiant to the end that only he is right. It ends on a high note by actually ending.

[Cain]

[Thurnez Isa]

fucking awesome...
printing now..

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

NICE.