Reviews

Originally released in 1968 as Naked Under Leather, this infamous Marianne Faithfull fantasy is more legendary than it is actually any good. A bored small-town wife speeds off on her Harley Davidson to romp around with the Alain Delon of her imagination. An amusing piece of kitsch, bizarrely helmed by iconic cameraman Jack Cardiff. Had they spiked his tea?

Playful Northern fops take a great leap forward from 2002's A Word In Your Ear

David Byrne is best known for his work with Talking Heads, Eno, a smash hit last year with X-Press 2, and his label, Luaka Bop. It's less well-known that he co-wrote the score for The Last Emperor (despite the fact it won him an Oscar) and has worked with theatre experimentalist Robert Wilson.

Early recordings of recent Grammy-winner

Born in Miami but weaned on the mid-'60's coffee house scene around Boston, Smither remains a strangely undiscovered talent. The 11th album of his 33-year recording career is a masterclass in deftly-picked country blues guitar, drawing on Lightnin' Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt (a sunny-side-up cover of "Candy Man") alongside the more lugubrious Fred Neil. Smither's weathered old pipes are a joy as he tramples over melting chords like a bear with a migraine.

It's been a long crawl back to credibility for prog titans Yes, but things seem to be shifting in their favour of late. There's a new wave of young bands emerging, unafraid to wear their prog influences on their sleeves (The Mars Volta, Cave In, Beecher) and the old sods themselves are attracting 'celebrity' plaudits (The Flaming Lips, PiL's Keith Levene, Vincent Gallo). This is as it should be—contrary to post-punk dogma, Yes were never a joyless listen.

Best-of for Liverpool post-punks

Darkly bizarre Gallic cartoon is sophisticated delight

Comic book adaptation with Woo favourite Chow Yun-Fat as a kind of near-immortal arse-kicking Dalai Lama who's spent the last 60 years battling baddies for possession of the Scroll of the Ultimate. And now it's time to pass the baton to a younger chap. You could see it as a martial arts Raiders Of The Lost Ark, or a Crouching Tiger for nitwits. Or you could not see it at all. The choice is yours.

Rumour has it that the CIA funded Halas and Batchelor's 1954 cartoon adaptation of George Orwell's political barnyard allegory. But even though it's dated and stilted, it remains not only darkly savage anti-Stalinist satire but also a quite stunning piece of animation. Surely long overdue for a Babe-style remake?