Glastonbury Anthems: The Best Of Glastonbury 1994-2004

Elly Roberts reviews

Glastonbury Anthems: The Best Of Glastonbury 1994-2004Distributed by
EMI Records

• Cert:
• Cat.no: 5444009
• Running time: 130 minutes
• Year: 1994-2004
• Pressing: 2005
• Region(s): All, PAL
• Sound: Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: English
• Widescreen: 16:9
• Disc Format: DVD 9
• Price: £19.99
• Music: 10/10; DVD: 6/10
• Extras:Approx 40 minutes: A visit to the Glastonbury Greenfields, Glastonburyby Air, Interview with Michael & Jean Eavis in 1995, GlastonburyFayre: exclusive footage from the 1971 film, Photo Gallery

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Thirty thousand fans voted via a poll on the official festival site for this tracklisting:what an excellent choice they made.Twenty snippets from a decade of worldrenowned Glastonbury festival in Somerset between 1994 and 2004.

This fantastic none chronological running order of the best ofGlasto-Blasto featuring the cream of the ever evolving roster of British andAmerican artists. Since its beginnings in 1971, which you can experience onthe extras (Glastonbury Fayre) the event has embraced not only seminal rockacts, but has branched out into Dance,World Music, Jazz, Folk etc. It’s a shamethat some the lesser known acts such as Nitin Sawney don’t get a look-in asI can recall some great performances, especially a mesmerising jazzed-up AtThe River by Groove Armada.

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Fresh-faced Scottish combo Franz Ferdinand kick-off the proceedings withtheir riff-ladened Matinee from their award-winning album.

Travis, the band that opened the door for the mellow pop revival, display aband overtaken by Coldplay and Keane. Dance outfit Faithless raise theatmosphere, but they’re not as hot a band as you might think. Their repetitivebeats border on tedium.

Thankfully, the Manics are on top form with A Design For Life, arguably therock anthem of the 90s as James Dean Bradfield roars out each lyric.

Richard Hall aka Moby, the genre-bending maverick, delivers a neuvo-Gospelclassic – Why Does My Heart Feels So Bad, with huge backup singer DianeCharlemagne giving the best performance on the DVD. Robbie does his usualthing on Angels, but only serves to prove the song is mightier than thesinger. Elsewhere, dance band Basement Jaxx are always good value for money, asare hip-hop funk-blending Fun Lovin’ Criminals. It hits a low when Blurtrash-out a dire This Is a Low.

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Rock festivals need a big one, and THE festival song prize goes to TheLevellers for a blistering rendition of their debut single of 1991 – One Wayas the throng goes nuts. McCartney rounds it off with a stirring Hey Jude.

Extras are not spectacular by any means. There’s a 1995 interview with Mikeand Jean Eavis, the farmers who provide the land. The aerial footage serves nomore a purpose than showing the expansive site littered with tents andbodies. Archive footage from 1971 simply shows revellers in various states of‘happines’ – some in the nude during the post-hippy period.

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The full list of tracks included are :

1. Matinee – Franz Ferdinand (2004)
2. Driftwood – Travis (2000)
3. We Come 1 – Faithless (2002)
4. A Design For Life – Manic Street Preachers (1999)
5. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad – Moby (2000)
6. Angels – Robbie Williams (1998)
7. Pumping On Your Stereo – Supergrass (2003)
8. Shining Light – Ash (2002)
9. One Way – Levellers (1994)
10. Rocks – Primal Scream (2003)11. Connection – Elastica (1995)
12. Hey Boy Hey Girl – The Chemical Brothers (2000)
13. Good Luck – Basement Jaxx (2004)
14. Yellow – Coldplay (2002)
15. Scooby Snacks – Fun Lovin’Criminals (1999)
16. Breathe – Prodigy (1997)
17. This Is A Low – Blur (1994)
18. The Crawl – Placebo (1998)
19. Karma Police – Radiohead (1997)
20. Hey Jude – Paul McCartney (2004)

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