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NEW REISSUES / CATALOGUE ALBUMS
SWING OUT SISTER * The Essential (Salvo SALVOCD 069)
A reissue of their 1987 debut album, It's Better To Travel, has sold more than 15,000 copies in the last couple of years but it's something of a surprise to discover that there has been no Swing Out Sister compilation in print for at least a decade. Thankfully, Salvo correct this oversight with the release of this album, which includes all nine of their hit singles, and eight other wellloved recordings. Forming in 1985 with enigmatic lead singer Corinne Drewery at the helm, Swing Out Sister's eclectic amalgam of pop, soul and dance had a sophistication that belied their Manchester origins. They hit the ground running, scoring back-to-back Top 10 hits with the uplifting Breakout and the rather more pent-up but sumptuous Surrender. Although they were never again to reach these heights, their recordings - tight, intelligent and accessible tunes populated by sweeping strings, stirring synths and haunting horns - included similarly pleasing chart-riders like Twilight World, Fooled By A Smile and You On My Mind. All of the above were group compositions - but they also turned in some mean covers, including Am I The Same Girl (Dusty Springfield), La La Means I Love You (The Delfonics) and Antonio Carlos Jobim's jazzy samba-styled Waters Of March. The album also includes a 12 page booklet, with liner notes by Dylan Jones.
L.C. COOKE * The Complete SAR Records Recordings (Ace CDCHM 1412)
L.C. Cooke is the lesser known younger brother of Sam Cooke, who took a hands-on approach to his sibling's career, writing and producing much of the material he recorded. Plans were well advanced for L.C.'s debut album - on Sam's SAR label - when Sam died in 1964. The label was disbanded and the album was never released - until now. The Complete SAR Records Recordings opens with the 10 tracks originally intended for it, and then anthologises the rest of L.C.'s SAR recordings, only a handful of which have previously seen the light of day. For his album to spend 50 years in limbo must have been frustrating for L.C. - who never made it in a big way, and is now 80 years old - especially as...