Reviews

17-track retrospective proves mildly addictive

Remastered replicas of original five self-released LPs plus a sixth of previously unavailable material

The Beatles, The Doors, The Bee Gees, Curtis, Kris and Willie etc, are treated to a first-class passage to heaven thanks to Green's matchless ability to inhabit his material. Buy it for yourself, soul brothers and sisters. The Prisoners IN FROM THE COLD BIG BEAT The Prisoners spearheaded an early '80s Medway garage scene that spat in the eye of synth-pop ubiquity. Their fourth LP was released just as their parent label, Stiff, went bust in 1986.

US TV soundtracker (3rd Rock From The Sun), producer (Ween) and Alex Chilton collaborator makes sunny Scotpop with Norman Blake and co

Italian lo-fi indie label collates impressive covers album

The producers of 8 Mile expect it to do for hip hop what The Blackboard Jungle did for rock'n'roll and Saturday Night Fever did for disco. As Eminem is already far and away the biggest-selling recording star in America, you kind of wonder where there is left for him to cross over to. Nevertheless, word is the movie's a highly successful Rocky-type dream-fulfilment tale of poor-kid-becomes-rap-star. The soundtrack, however, isn't some nightmare hybrid of "Eye Of The Tiger" and "Stayin' Alive".

First and Third world meetings in music

James Bond returns in an unconvincing digital makeover

Tim Burton's splendid tribute to hapless director Wood, whose incompetence has become part of movie legend. Johnny Depp as Wood looks entirely fetching in a variety of angora sweaters, and there's terrific support from Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, Bill Murray and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Unconventional, witty rom-com chooses its inspirations carefully in Woody Allen and Seinfeld. Jessica's a New York singleton who can't find Mr Right, and so decides to give Ms Right a fling. But she doesn't quite know how to go about this trendy Sapphic stuff, and whenever the film veers on cheese it snaps back sharply. Surprisingly wry.