Various

Gimme Skelter (2003)

Adam White

I reiterate a single point in all my compilation reviews. That point is that a
good compilation should play like any other full-length record. It should have
some coherence stylistically, musically or lyrically. It should flow well and
the songs should be arranged with just as much, if not more, care than a single
band's album. While it may be relatively easy and successful to promote
bands with low-priced label samplers, the glut of these on the market has soured
expectations that comps are anything more than disposable. Keep your finger on
the skip button. Find the bands you like. Get the comp the hell off your shelf
so make room for a real album.

Gimme Skelter proves the point that with some care and effort, compilations
can actually have substance. Iggy Pop MC's the record, opening with the
rather hilarious "New York City Is Beating Its Chest… Again"
and popping up throughout. Overall Skelter's a mix of US alt rock ("grunge"
if we have to call it that) and bands with a post-punk vibe (more than a few
from Buddyhead's LA scene). It's hard to argue choice unreleased
cuts from respectable groups like Mudhoney ("Hard-On For War") or
Wire ("Spent (Louder, Faster Mix)"). Primal Scream's live
recording of XTRMNTR track "Shoot Speed / Kill Light" sounds
fantastic and has boundless energy.

There's been a lot of talk about the Pinkerton-era Weezer track
"You Won't Get With Me Tonight," and it's deserved.
The song's a grower but definitely has that elusive spirit that later
Weezer records have been missing. Equally worthwhile are Cave-In's rocking
Antenna-demo "Harmless, Armless / Minus World" and Your Enemies
Friends urgent remix of "Back Of A Taxi." Even buzz band Yeah Yeah
Yeah's track "Shot Down" manages to cut through the silly
amounts of hype they've had lumped on them and fits in well

There's a denseness to this record. At times it seems to get lost in
the distorted drone of some of the moodier tracks, but the fuzzed out mix on
most of these songs works well. There's also a close balance between "art-for-art's-sake"
songs and more honest material on the record. For the most part the songs are
arranged so that the more hooky ones keep the momentum from ever seriously falling
off. I don't regularly listen to quite a few of the bands on here,
but Gimme Skelter's success as a compilation makes it so that
I'm not inclined to sit with my finger on the skip button (see, there's
that point again!).

This is a worth owning just to remind yourself what compilations sound like
when they're not put together like Sears catalogues.