C85/ Various - C85 / Various

UK three CD collection. Following the success of the compilation, The Sun Shines Here (which documented the roots of Indie Pop from 1980-84), the prequel to C86, C85 combines "name" bands with many obscurities making their debut on CD. Several acts on C85 would eventually feature on that NME's C86 collection: Primal Scream, The Wedding Present, the Mighty Lemon Drops, etc, who all had singles released in 1985. C85 bridges the gap between The Sun Shines Here and C86, opening with undoubtedly the most vital British breakthrough band of that year in The Jesus & Mary Chain and closing with the debut from a band who'd have to wait several years for their chance, The Stone Roses. Along the way, we hear many key records by the likes of post-Undertones band That Petrol Emotion, The Woodentops, James, Del Amitri, The Housemartins, and a then largely unknown Happy Mondays. Where discs one and two reflect the predominant indie pop sound with which C86 was most closely associated, disc 3 acknowledges the harder, more angular sounds of that era (encapsulated by the bands on the Ron Johnson label). Alongside band biographies for every track is an introductory essay by one-time NME scribe Neil Taylor, the original co-compiler of C86 and author of the book C86 And All That. In short, C85 is essential for any fan of 80s independent music.