AIR AGE ANTHOLOGY

There are quite a few Be Bop Deluxe compilations on the market but this is one of the best and, with a total of 39 tracks, probably the most complete. It has the best tracks from their 5 studio albums, plus some from the live album "Live in the Air Age". There are also a few non-album tracks such as "Speed of the Wind", some of which have since turned up on remasters. One could quibble about some of the selections - the live version of "Fair Exchange" instead of the studio one and there are better tracks than "New Mysteries" on Drastic Plastic - but on the whole this is a very comprehensive selection and a good introduction to this band who deserved to be bigger than they were. All their classics (all from the pen of their genius singer/guitarist Bill Nelson) are here - "Ships in the Night", "Sleep that Burns", "Blazing Apostles", "Life in the Air Age" and possibly the finest 2 minutes and 27 seconds to be found on a CD anywhere - "Maid In Heaven".

The accompanying booklet is quite good but I do find it annoying that there are no details as to which album each song comes from, however this is a good place to start for this excellent British band.