The Charlatans "Melting Pot" Where were you in '92? Chances are, if you were like me, and you hadnt yet heard the brilliance of the Orb's "u.f.orb"; you were locked out of your face at an indie disco, staring at your feet and shaking the dandruff out of y our long haired mop. And two tracks that stand out in my mind from that time are "Then", with its hammond-organ-esque keyboard riffs and chunky bassline, and "The Only One I Know" with its instant catchiness and upbeat tempo. These two tracks open this LP, which is a "best of.." the Charlatans from the last six or seven years they've been around. Normally a "best of" compilation spells the end of a band so it wouldnt surprise me if theres a press release or conference soon to announce the end.. It would be shame if they split up or finished. I've always been a peripheral fan of this lot, even if some of their material around the time of "The Charlatans" I personally found weaker than some of their earlier tunes, like the excellent "wierdo" (whic h is also featured). The Charlatans, like the Roses, also found a groove with their music, and worked with the Chemicals on the excellent "Patrol" (and later Tim Burgess collobarated with them on Exit Planet Dust). Their tunes are quite danceable.. although in the middle this LP loses my interest a bit. Stuff like "Cant Get Out of Bed", "Crashin In" and "Just Lookin'" never struck me as being classics, especially when you listen to the older tunes, or even the newer stuff like "North Country Boy", whic probably could have been a lager louts anthem for yobs north of Birmingham every where (or any other bunch of pissed lads, for that matter) if it was a bit faster, and "One To Another", which really is a classic tune. It stands out a mile on Tellin Stories and should have been absolutely massive... this collection, although running out of s team in places, isnt half bad at all and would be a nice addition to your racks if you hadnt ever bought any Charlatans releases, but knew some of their hits. At 17 tracks it is a bit stretched, and probably could have been edited down to 12 or 13. It sums up their career to date fairly accurately, above all else.