Martin Newell - The Wayward Genius of Martin Newell

Newell's catalog is so big that nothing less than a box set could serve as an adequate retrospective. This 21-song compilation, though, is pretty good, with 11 songs from his Cleaners From Venus days, three by his separate group project The Brotherhood Of Lizards, and seven solo cuts. Whatever the source, his songs are consistently pleasurable, melodic, and lyrically witty and insightful -- which is not the most common combination in pop music. And these songs are pop, of the very British variety, rather than singer/songwriter stuff, arty experimentation, or some such things. Read More