Caught Beneath the Landslide

Overview

While working as a photographer for NME during the first half of the '90s, Kevin Cummins was charged with documenting the Brit-pop scene, and his images helped popularize a wide range of groups. His work was collected in the 2020 book While We Were Getting High: Brit-pop and the '90s, and Demon Records offered him the chance to curate a musical companion of sports with 2021's Caught Beneath the Landslide. While working on the book, a healthy Twitter debate erupted over who was Brit-pop and who wasn't -- with a few of the bands in question chiming in with their own thoughts -- and the results limited the scope of the inclusions. On this set, there are no such barriers and Cummins is free to select the bands who soundtracked his particular version of the era. Most of the big names like Blur, Oasis, and Suede are here, along with worthy contenders like Gene, Supergrass, and Cast, and loads of bands who were in the pages of NME every week (Shed Seven, the Bluetones, the Auteurs). Stretching the boundaries are bands who are decidedly not Brit-pop, like Radiohead, New Order, and the Fall, groups who were a little off the main pitch (Huggy Bear, Cornershop, Out of My Hair), and bands who weren't even British like the Cardigans. Cummins isn't interested in crafting a hits-first primer to Brit-pop. If he were trying to do that he wouldn't have picked B-sides, remixes, covers, and oddities instead of the classics to represent the groups. For example, in lieu of their classic "Common People," Pulp contribute an acoustic version of "Razzmatazz," the Manic Street Preachers offer a faithful rendition of Suede's "The Drowners," and Ash romp through ABBA's "Does Your Mother Know." It makes for a fun, somewhat off-kilter listen that's constantly surprising. It's also a very focused view of the era that lacks any contributions from the thriving electronic underground that included Warp-style IDM, drum'n'bass, and trip-hop and also misses out on Stereolab and their fellow avant-pop explorers. That being said, what is included is entertaining and often enlightening. Cummins makes sure to steer clear of the boys-only attitude that often pervaded the scene by making sure to include quite a few female-fronted bands that range from the spiky post-punk of Elastica to the big pop dramatics of Catatonia and the pure pop of Lush (whose Jarvis Cocker-featuring "Ciao" is a marquee Brit-pop moment). The set ultimately works as an insider's view of a moment in time he was lucky enough to experience first-hand. If the choices he makes are sometimes a little bewildering (like picking both Ride and the Boo Radleys' worst singles), overall the songs are highly listenable, and like any box set worth its salt, it provides avenues for further exploration. For example, anyone knocked out by the glam rock swagger of Heavy Stereo's "Sleep Freak" and the charming pop-lite of Salad's "I Want You" has some detective work in store. Caught Beneath the Landslide may not be the definitive Brit-pop set, but until that particular item comes along, this will do nicely. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	05/14/2021
Label:	Demon
UPC:	5014797904989
Rank:	130784

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duffy   Primary Artist
Jocasta   Primary Artist
Out of My Hair   Primary Artist
Powder   Primary Artist
Saint Etienne   Primary Artist
Fluffy   Primary Artist
Salad   Primary Artist
Longpigs   Primary Artist
Silver Sun   Primary Artist
The Boo Radleys   Primary Artist
The Cardigans   Primary Artist
Speedy   Primary Artist
Space   Primary Artist
Shed Seven   Primary Artist
Terrorvision   Primary Artist
Sleeper   Primary Artist
Reef   Primary Artist
Ocean Colour Scene   Primary Artist
60 Ft. Dolls   Primary Artist
These Animal Men   Primary Artist
Heavy Stereo   Primary Artist
The Fall   Primary Artist
Kenickie   Primary Artist
The Charlatans   Primary Artist
Babybird   Primary Artist
The Lightning Seeds   Primary Artist
Inspiral Carpets   Primary Artist
bis   Primary Artist
James   Primary Artist
Cornershop   Primary Artist
Electrafixion   Primary Artist
Portishead   Primary Artist
Pulp   Primary Artist
Radiohead   Primary Artist
New Order   Primary Artist
The Bluetones   Primary Artist
The Aloof   Primary Artist
Audioweb   Primary Artist
Super Furry Animals   Primary Artist
Northern Uproar   Primary Artist
Shampoo   Primary Artist
Catatonia   Primary Artist
Cast   Primary Artist
Lush   Primary Artist
Echobelly   Primary Artist
Dodgy   Primary Artist
Gene   Primary Artist
Dubstar   Primary Artist
Ride   Primary Artist
Marion   Primary Artist
The Wannadies   Primary Artist
S*M*A*S*H   Primary Artist
Me Me Me   Primary Artist
Plastic Fantastic   Primary Artist
Primal Scream   Primary Artist
Oasis   Primary Artist
Menswear   Primary Artist
Suede   Primary Artist
Ash   Primary Artist
Spacehog   Primary Artist
The Supernaturals   Primary Artist
The Auteurs   Primary Artist
Blur   Primary Artist
Kula Shaker   Primary Artist
Feeder   Primary Artist
Electronic   Primary Artist
Elastica   Primary Artist
Whipping Boy   Primary Artist
Huggy Bear   Primary Artist
Paul Weller   Primary Artist
Supergrass   Primary Artist
Manic Street Preachers   Primary Artist
Mark E. Smith   Featured Artist
Kevin Cummins   Compiled
Ben Stanley   Compiled
Michael Mulligan   Compiled

Technical Credits

Syd Barrett   Composer
Candida Doyle   Composer
Grant McLennan   Composer
Tony Grantham   Composer
Paul Page   Composer
Stephen Hague   Composer
Stephen Morris   Composer
Andrew Innes   Composer
Martin Blunt   Composer
Martin Merchant   Composer
Alex James   Composer
Guto Pryce   Composer
Steve Queralt   Composer
Dafydd Ieuan   Composer
Bernard Butler   Composer
Bernard Edwards   Composer
Bobby Gillespie   Composer
Ian McCulloch   Composer
Bobby Robinson   Composer
James Edwards   Composer
Colin Greenwood   Composer
Jagz Kooner   Composer
Crispin Hunt   Composer
Jimmy Webb   Composer
Benny Andersson   Composer
Crispin Mills   Composer
Dominic Greensmith   Composer
Gem Archer   Composer
Sean McCann   Composer
Jon Slade   Composer
Phil Cunningham   Composer
Nick Banks   Composer
Steve Mackey   Composer
Simon Fowler   Composer
Steve Hillier   Composer
Kevin Cummins   Liner Notes,Photography
Jack Bessant   Composer
Adam Devlin   Composer
Alan Leach   Composer
Eds Chesters   Composer
Jaime Harding   Composer
Ed O'Brien   Composer
Russell Senior   Composer
Gary Numan   Composer
Francis Griffiths   Composer
Cerys Matthews   Composer
Johnny Marr   Composer
Cian Ciaran   Composer
Debbie Harry   Composer
Bjoern Ulvaeus   Composer
Huw Bunford   Composer
Oscar Harrison   Composer
Luke Haines   Composer
Peter Hook   Composer
Paul Winter-Hart   Composer
Robin File   Composer
James Broad   Composer
Taka Hirose   Composer
Leon Meya   Composer
Paul Banks   Composer
Paul Turner   Composer
Mark Morriss   Composer
Phil Selway   Composer
Royston Langdon   Composer
Jimmy Destri   Composer
Karl Bartos   Composer
Noel Gallagher   Composer
Nile Rodgers   Composer
John Power   Composer
Miki Berenyi   Composer
Mickey Newbury   Composer
Gillian Gilbert   Composer
Gruff Rhys   Composer
Thom Yorke   Composer
Tim Burgess   Composer
Tjinder Singh   Composer
Brett Anderson   Composer
Ralf Huetter   Composer
Richard Parfitt   Composer
Andy Bell   Composer
Phil Kinrade   Audio Master
James Lawrence Gott   Composer
James Patrick Glennie   Composer
Timothy Booth   Composer
Dave Akerman   Producer
Glen Johansson   Composer
Amanda Mackinnon   Composer
Chris Rowley   Composer
Mike Storey   Design
Thomas Scott   Composer
Walter Kennedy   Composer
Nigel Clark   Composer
Richard James Witter   Composer
Martyn Walsh   Composer
Damon Albarn   Composer
Will Sergeant   Composer
Dave Rowntree   Composer
Grant Nicholas   Composer
Stephen Jones   Composer
Stephen Duffy   Composer
Steve Cradock   Composer
Sonya Madan   Composer
Steve Mason   Composer
Bernard Sumner   Composer
Damon Minchella   Composer
Stuart Miller   Composer
Graham Coxon   Composer
Jarvis Cocker   Composer
Jon Brookes   Composer
Jonny Greenwood   Composer
Andrew Parle   Composer
Paul Weller   Composer
Jay Darlington   Composer
Mark Collins   Composer
Simon White   Composer
Tom Gladwin   Composer
Chris Gentry   Composer
Scott Morriss   Composer
Karen Hill   Composer
Matt James   Composer
Richard Thair   Composer
Marie du Santiago   Composer
Clint Boon   Composer
Niki Elliot   Composer
Myles McDonnell   Composer
Amanda Rootes   Composer
Jo Johnson   Composer
Ben Stanley   Project Manager
Steven James   Composer
Andrew Miller   Composer
Mark Roberts   Composer
Matt Everitt   Composer
Michael Wainwright   Composer
Steven Clark   Composer
Michael Mulligan   Project Manager
John Clark   Composer
Ricardo Barrow   Composer
Simon Eugene   Composer
Charles Bloor   Composer
Conrad Toop   Composer
Shadrick Toop   Composer
Jenny Stone   Composer
Jonathon Golds   Composer
Robert Young   Composer
Justine Frischmann   Composer
Martin Carr   Composer
Ed Borrie   Composer
Colm Hassett   Composer
Rob Collins   Composer
Emil Schult   Composer
Robert Maxfield   Composer
Philip Watson   Composer
Bob Stanley   Composer
Pete Wiggs   Composer
Mark Thomas   Composer
Stuart Black   Composer
Martin Rossiter   Composer
Kenwyn House   Composer
Richard Sutcliffe   Composer
Kevin Miles   Composer
Craig Gill   Composer
Jon Lee   Composer
Justin Welch   Composer
Johnny Dean   Composer
Dean Thatcher   Composer
Mathew Priest   Composer
Alonza Bevan   Composer
Fearghal McKee   Composer
Graham Lambert   Composer
Tom Hingley   Composer
Mark Gardener   Composer
Phil Lynott   Composer
Robert Forster   Composer
Gary Stringer   Composer
Gary Burns   Composer
Lauren Laverne   Composer
Loz Colbert   Composer
Tim Arnold   Composer
Kenneth McAlpine   Composer
James McColl   Composer
Alan Tilston   Composer