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Reviews:
Art rock. How else to describe the Mekons? This ragtag band of trans-genred subversives commenced operations in the late '70s as punk provocateurs-tellingly, founding members Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh were art students-only to embrace everything from synth-rock to Celtic soul, ultimately transmogrifying into roots-rockin' twang-slingers well before the term "alt-country" was coined. Had the Mekons not been so willfully schizophrenic their commercial trajectory might've been different; the now-defunct Option magazine used to painstakingly detail the group's ongoing career misfortunes in its "Mekons Watch" column.Aside from several rarities collections, this 2-CD set is the first systematic overview of the Mekons' oeuvre to date. Arranged non-chronologically, it reaches all the way back to their '78 debut EP ("Never Been in a Riot" is a crude, snarky punk sendup) and is as current as this year's punk rock ("Work All Week," whose folky, faux-island arrangement is about as unpunk as you can get). In between, the group's stylistic bloody-mindedness is on full display: atmospheric dub ("One Horse Dub," 1990), psychedelic reggae ("Dancing in the Head," 2002), fiddle-driven country-rock ("Last Dance," 1985), even anthemic pop that, in a parallel universe, Madonna might've covered (1993's "Millionaire," lusciously cooed by resident diva Sally Timms). Granted, this all-over-the-map quality didn't do the Mekons any financial favors. But it did endear them to underground music aficionados everywhere. Not for nothing was one of their albums titled I (Heart) Mekons.