Complete Albums, Singles And BBC Collection

If you smile politely all your life no one will ever thank you for it.McCarthy were one of the vital indie groups of the eighties. I missed out on hearing their first singles when they came out, but remember first listening to tracks off I Am A Wallet on the John Peel Show and I was hooked.Jangly, edgy, political, dark, bright, essential. McCarthy had a point to make and they made it. "Charles Windsor, who's at the door? At such an hour, who's at the door? In the back of an old green cortina, you're on your way to the guillotine" No doubts about their political leanings then. In the age of the Yuppie, Thatcher and stock market boom and bust, McCarthy were on the ball. "I could see them, I saw how rich they all were. At the head of the gang were top civil servants and captains of industry with well-manicured hands and greasy smiles enticing the populace - Come buy our shares! Who will buy our shares!", they sing on The Procession of Popular Capitalism. And with titles like Monetaries, And Tomorrow the Stock Exchange Will be The World, you get a pretty clear picture of where they were coming from. If you want a snapshot of the political mood in Britain in the eighties and the anger that was stirred up, this really hits the nail on the head. A world where "They promised me paradise if I fell under their spell, glazed-eyed passive citizens suit them very well...oh, this is the well of loneliness, and oh, of broken promises, where you have decided nothing changes," they opined on The Well of Loneliness.And of course, if you still don't get it there's Red Sleeping Beauty, with it's shimmering guitars and pounding drums, driving the wondrous anthem on relentlessly. "While there's still a world to win, my red dream is everything!" They chose to wear their opinions proudly on their sleeve.The first disc covers the earlier mentioned "I Am A Wallet", largely short, jangly songs. Easy on the ear musically, sucks you in to get you by the throat with the lyrics. They progressed through the wonderfully tuneful This Nelson Rockerfeller and Should The Bible Be Banned singles. The latter a darkly humorous tale of a modern day Cain and Abel. "My father hated me, he always took my brother's side, for Christmas he would get a car and I'd be given 50p," the singer reflects as he wonders in jail whether his copycat killing of the Genesis story should mean the bible should be banned.The music got darker and longer on "The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth". While not my favourite of their three albums, there's still some great tunes here and a fantastic single in Keep an Open Mind or Else. The songs tend to be a little slower, but the political comment and social commentary is as present as ever in all the songs. Asking you to think, for example who's side are you on, in I'm Not A Patriot, But, with its lovely bouncy hook moving the song on.The gentle shift to what would become Stereolab is apparent in the groove of their final album "Banking, Violence and the Inner Life Today" It opens with Margaret Thatcher proclaiming "long live free enterprise" before the wailing organ and slow beat take you on through the mesmerising song. "Oh human life, we would like to value it, but if there's no profit in it, what's the point?". Who would have known that you would want to dance to a song called And Tomorrow the Stock Exchange Will Be the Human Race or Write To Your MP Today, but you will want to. The narrative again is the same, observing the arrogance of the bankers on The Drinking Song Of The Merchant Bankers. "Let us have a little drink, people like us cannot sink", they sing, as the bankers deny the chance of their wealth disappearing. Stock market crash anyone? And their final single, possibly their most dance oriented song, imploring, "when you want to get something done you must get a knife between your teeth."So as I say an essential listen and songs that force you to think. Their relevance is as important now as it was when they were written and it is fantastic that this collection is available. And with most of their output present and their Peel and other BBC sessions, this is heartily recommended. A joy to listen to, whether you agree with everything they say or not, at least they had something to say and weren't afraid to say it.

I've always loved McCarthy and their political jangle pop. Over recent years some of their music has been expensive and or impossible to find on cd with only crackly vinyl rips of some of the singles appearing online. Thankfully this has been righted with this career spanning boxset. Not only are the brilliant albums collected together here but the b-sides and rarities of the time as well, with an excellent Peel sessions cd to boot. I'm not entirely sure every single song they committed to tape is here (maybe someone can put me right if im wrong) but there's a lot here to enjoy. An essential purchase!

The music speaks for itself but the biggest surprise was the sound quality of the last LP. My vinyl copy of "Banking, Violence and the Inner life today" caused me to rate it as the worst of their 3 albums. I am now able to enjoy it and with hindsight it has become my favourite. A brilliant Father's Day present.

Maybe not as complete as some have sugguested, however my previous McCarthy listening experience involved catching it on the radio occasionally (thanks Gideon Coe), so having this all bundled together was pretty useful.

A superb collection by one of the most important bands of the time.. at a very good price.

Great compilation and with a very good price. Unfortunately, they don't incluce lyrics: a great pity talking about McCarthy

An essential collection of the excellent albums, singles, b-sides and rareities produced by a criminally underated band. A must buy.

Great, Cherry Red are really churnning out some good re-issues. Long may they do so.