Part of the late 70s Manchester scene made popularly acceptable by the'24 Hour Party People' film, Ludus are now given the re-issuecompilation treatment. It's long overdue really, as the majority oftheir material was never given a full CD issue. With digitallyremastered material and over 70 minutes of music, this claims to be the'definitive Ludus compilation'. The truly inventive mix of free-jazz,feminist lyrics, experimentalism and playfulness is a littledisconcerting at first, but the sheer funkiness and playful energystick out a mile. The complex jazz structures and sax skronking add tothe fun, and to top it all, Linder Sterling's stunning, commandingvoice. All the tracks are propelled along with this weird awkwardenergy, jumping between ideas, catching you off guard. Some are justminute long blasts of sax and drums, some could have been pop classics,in the right hands. The only complaint is the decision to put on somelive recordings from a Hacienda performance when studio versions exist,but they are well-recorded and capture some of the audience's awe andnervous fright (Linder has been known to perform in clothes made out ofraw meat..) Most of the tracks, like the highlight 'I Can't Swim I HaveNightmares' have enough hooks and twists for a whole album, and jumparound from groove to groove so fast, that trying to dance to themwould be a safety hazard. Endlessly clever, funky, scary andindividual, this is one of the gems of the Manchester scene.Read More
