The kids were united: all punks hated the police.

Mark E. Smith does what he wants.

Younger generations don’t always understand Bealtemania. But what about Hepstarsmania?

[xrr rating=3.5/5]The Fall’s 30 studio albums make up only about a third of the total releases from Mark E. Smith and whomever he has hired and fired since 1976, when he founded this ornery, restless art-punk/ post-punk outfit. The rest of the group’s complicated discography consists of compilations and live albums, many of dodgy quality and issued without Smith’s consent. …

[xrr rating=2.5/5]English poet Christopher Logue wrote screenplays for Ken Loach and Ken Russell and appeared as Cardinal Richelieu in the latter’s The Devils. Jazz singer Annie Ross was the driving force behind the vocal group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. The two are uneasily paired in a Cherry Red’s set that reissues an album of Ross’ jazz adaptations of Logue’s poetry. …

[xrr rating=4.25/5]When it was first issued as a cassette by British music paper NME, the C86 compilation presented such a succinct overview of mid-’80s UK indie that the cassette’s name quickly became shorthand for a generic designation of post-Smiths jangle pop. Opening with a spritely, 80-second b-side from Primal Scream before their electronica break-out, C86 showcased 22 artists, some like …

[xrr rating=3.75/5]Imagine yourself in a British dentist office or grocery store in 1959. This is the feeling invoked by Look for a Star, Cherry Red’s collection of early recordings by songwriter-producer Tony Hatch. Hatch went on to greater fame writing songs for Petula Clark (including her anthemic “Downtown”) and Scott Walker (“Joanna,” long before Bish Bosch). This early work, made …