With EC artwork, and a head crammed with memories, creating a Best Of can’t have been easy for Tony Lestat, but he’s ransacked the masters and put together a collection he can be proud of, and that you can be loud with. Wreckage never made do with a certain sound and a set way, an that breeds longevity.

It’s a riled beast of a record overall, sharp opening salvoes coming from different eras. ‘Like Wreckage’ is a skittery noise with deft touches, while ‘Burning Waters’ belts along on its scabby guitar, trailing vocal rubies in the dung. Well may he laugh at the start of ‘Bodycount Jive’, knowing the post-Crampsian glory that follows, and ‘Subway’s End’ is great punky fun, whereupon ‘Believe’ stands as imposingly great Goth activity, with an old voice, cool pace changes, and power.

Then some muddle. A cover of ‘Atmosphere’ is maybe too pleasant, but certainly assured, ‘Blue Monkey’ with slower vocals, and mayhem, is a rare form of Billion Dollar Rabies, and ‘Phoenix Rising’ with enough space for cool guitar gymnastics, mad speed bursts, has ace vocals and a sense of class, only for ‘Falling Mountains’ with the big voice dominating stillness, to start to build, when a braver course was to remain steady throughout.

‘Wait For The Blackout’ has a crap production, but at least he isn’t as vocally challenged as Vanian, yet ‘Blood Is The Life, a clumsily odd synth track wearing Arabian tights, sounding positively Damnedish! As well as all that you get three brisk highlights with ‘Devil’s Little Helper’, ‘Sister Night’ and ‘Kitten With A Whip’ that all tantalise and satisfy, so you can more than regard it as a success.

Lucky thirteen.

Tracks
Like Wreckage
Burning Waters
Subway’s End
Bodycount Jive
Believe
Atmosphere
Blue Monkey
Phoenix Rising
Falling Mountains
Devil’s Little Helper
Wait For The Blackout
Blood Is The Life
Sister Night
Kitten With A Whip

http://www.wreckageproductions.com

09/09/02