Formed in Bristol in 1969, STACKRIDGE were one of the most unique British bands of the era. Possessing a gift for melody, musicianship and a fine sense of humour, their concerts were legendary. The band appeared at the very first Glastonbury festival and soon after signed to MCA Records. A succession of wonderful albums in the 1970s earned the band a loyal following but following line-up changes and the release of the album ‘Mr. Mick’ they disbanded.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise when in 1999 the album ‘Something for the Weekend’ was released. Sporadic reunions followed and a mini-album release via the Stackridge website, ‘Lemon’, also appeared, but in 2008 Stackridge returned with a masterpiece, the excellent album ‘A Victory for Common Sense’ (which featured original members James Warren, Andy Davis, Mutter Slater and Jim “Crun” Walter). Produced by Chris Hughes, the album received excellent critical reviews.

Stackridge continued to tour, but by 2015 both Mutter Slater and Crun Walter had departed. On 19th December 2015 Stackridge made their farewell performance at a concert in Bristol (for which they were joined by guest Mutter Slater), which was recorded and later released as the double album ‘The Final Bow’.

This collection gathers together the albums ‘Something for the Weekend’, the ‘Lemon’ mini- album, ‘A Victory for Common Sense’ and ‘The Final Bow: Bristol 2015’. It also features additional bonus tracks such as the 2006 re-recording of ‘Purple Spaceships Over Yatton’, ‘Seek and You Will Find’ and both songs from the rare ‘Dummies’ CD single.

And it also includes an illustrated color booklet with a brand new essay inside.

Disc One: Something for the Weekend (1999)
1. It’s a Fascinating World
2. Ruth, Did You Read My Mind
3. Something About the Beatles
4. Help Under Doors
5. The Vegan’s Hatred of Fish
6. Sliding Down the Razorblade of Love
7. The Youth of Today
8. Have Faith in Love
9. Five-Poster Bedlam
10. Wildebeeste
11. Grooving Along on the Highway on a Monday Morning Once
12. Someday They’ll Find Out
13. Drinking & Driving
14. It Must Be Time for Bed
15. The Final Bow [Bonus Track]
16. Big Baby [Bonus Track]
17. Charles Louis Dance [Bonus Track]
18. Wonderful Day [Bonus Track]
19. Bread & Water [Bonus Track]
20. Dirty Little Nightingale [Bonus Track]
21. First Name of Love [Bonus Track]
22. Beating a Path [Bonus Track]

Most fans of music throughout the years have sat through middle-aged reunion albums with their spirits steadily sinking, as turgid laments for the environment give way to bitter attacks on faithless ex-wives and ex-bandmembers, and current bandmembers relentlessly demonstrate their familiarity with the very latest synthesizers.

But 21 years after what everyone assumed to be their final album, Mr. Mick, Stackridge reconvened (albeit missing several key members, as usual) and delivered one of their finest albums, in my humble opinion. This time the band was under the direction of James Warren, who left in 1973 after The Man in the Bowler Hat to subsequently enjoy considerably greater commercial success as a member of the Korgis (briefly alongside his old Stackridge oppo Andy Davis).

And certainly there’s a degree of Korgis-style polish about many of the songs included here, while another key influence is openly acknowledged in the anthemic Something About the Beatles. Warren was always the band’s premier melodist, however, and though Something for the Weekend would have certainly benefited from the presence of key members Davis and Mutter Slater, it boasts a consistency that was all too lacking in the band’s last two (Warren-free) albums.

Disc Two: A Victory for Common Sense (1990)
1. Boots and Shoes
2. The Old Country
3. (Waiting for You and) England to Return
4. Red Squirrel
5. North St. Grande
6. Long Dark River
7. Lost and Found
8. Cheese and Ham
9. The Day the World Stopped Turning
10. Seek and You Will Find [Bonus Track]
11. Beside the Sea [Bonus Track]
12. Dummies [Bonus Track]
13. Purple Spaceships Over Yatton (2006 version) [Bonus Track]

On this album, well, simply put, this is where real English rock music resides. Stackridge may have begun with that late 60’s sensibility - the brilliant tatters of psychedelia and our native whimsicality fused with classical references á la Procol Harum and a healthy pinch of those Beatle lads - but they definitely carved out their own unusual space as they went.

Stackridge were well-known for their diversity of styles, sure, but here they can also be both delicate and they can be heavy - often in the same song - but what distinguishes them is a subtlety, a lightness of touch as well as those well-crafted lyrics that have a poetic quality and superb use of allusion.

Indeed, some of the most beautiful songs conceal a deeper, starker message, such as the brilliant Long Dark River and, in general, all their melodies hook the listener effortlessly here.

The third and fourth discs are their Final Bow in Bristol in 2015 and showcase and incredible band live, doing what they do best, and as loud and as proudly as possible.

To my mind, Stackridge were the curators of this strand of true English music and should be revered for their consistency and vision. A Victory for Common Sense is faithful to that diversity and eccentricity coupled with rock grooves and string arrangements that made this band unique in their earlier work, such as Lummy Days, The Road To Venezuela, Dora the Female Explorer, The Last Plimsoll and Fish In A Glass.

Disc Three: The Final Bow, Bristol 2015
1. Over the Horizon 2. The Road to Venezuela 3. The Last Plimsoll 4. Red Squirrel 5. Syracuse the Elephant 6. Fundamentally Yours 7. Highbury Incident 8. Teatime 9. God Speed the Plough 10. Long Dark River 11. Purple Spaceships Over Yatton

Disc Four: The Final Bow, Bristol 2015
1. All I Do is Dream of You 2. Fish in a Glass 3. Something About the Beatles 4. No Ones More Important Than the Earthworm 5. Lost and Found 6. Boots and Shoes 7. The Final Bow 8. Lummy Days 9. Slark 10. Dora the Female Explorer 11. Do the Stanley Aviator Brass

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