Young Marble Giants'
Colossal Youth is a collection of sparse, evocative tunes emphasizing Alison Statton's floating vocals and minimal guitar/organ/bass/drum machine arrangements. Comparable to little else from its time or since, this is rock music at its most austere. The original album had 15 songs; subsequent CD editions added a few more. But the 2007 edition on Domino is the one to buy, pushing the total to 46 tracks, with additions from the Testcard EP, the 1979 "Final Day" single, the Salad Days album, a compilation cut, and a 1980 session for
John Peel -- everything they ever did, in fact. [Domino also issued a 41-track, alternate playlist version in 2007.] ~ Richie Unterberger