2LP Black Vinyl, 2024 reissue
"An ocean of water has passed under the Zero 7 bridge since we originally issued this collection of music. In 2002, when this was first issued, they’d recently been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for their brilliant debut album, Simple Things, as well as being a nominee for Best Newcomer at the 2002 BRIT Awards. Their third album, The Garden, was nominated for a GRAMMY in 2007.
Since then, Zero 7 have become an active touring live band, made some incredible music and judiciously chosen remixes, like Terry Callier’s ‘Love Theme From Spartacus’. Their old RAK studios colleague Nigel Godrich once told them, “Your great records become the Sistine Chapels of music in a sea of affordable accommodation”. It’s fair to say they’ve got a few Sistines under their belt.
The selection is compilation perfection – and you seem to agree. Such is the desirability of the original vinyl edition, it’s now selling for over a ton. You can expect to find the Stylistics’ soul classic, ‘People Make The World Go Round’ and the rare groove bomb produced by Roy Ayers, ‘You Can’t Turn Me Away’ by Sylvia Striplin. Don Blackman’s ‘Holding You, Loving You’ is included. This tune was sampled by Slum Village on ‘Go Ladies’ who also make an appearance here with ‘Jealousy’, as does Herbert’s boompty-boomp rub of M. Gainsbourg’s ‘Bonnie & Clyde’.
All of this goodness for how much?! Bargain! Keep the rest of the money for a session in a floatation tank, just one of the better ways we can think of consuming this vinyl edition. As they say in football, “form is temporary, class is permanent”: Zero 7: class personified."