The audio companion to the Creation documentary of the same title, this two-disc set provides an adequate, though certainly neither ideal nor close to thorough, representation of Alan McGee's label, one of the most significant and successful imprints in independent music history. Fourteen acts appear more than once, so several are shut out, including
the Weather Prophets,
Adorable, and
My Bloody Valentine (whose exclusion is either fittingly perverse or the result of licensing issues). The selections are not sequenced chronologically, but the set covers all eras of Creation, with
Revolving Paint Dream's swirling neo-psych “Flowers in the Sky” (the label’s second release, issued in early 1984) and
Primal Scream's rapidly pummeling “Swastika Eyes” (1999) marking the early and late stages. The label’s triumphs and landmarks, such as
Primal Scream's “Loaded” and
Oasis' “Wonderwall,” are included alongside a mix of cult classics (
the Jesus and Mary Chain's “Upside Down”), U.K. Top 20 bubblers (
the House of Love's “Shine On”), and deep gems (
Slowdive’s uncharacteristically dubwise “Souvlaki Space Station”).