Dizzy Heights

Personnel: Ian Broudie (guitar); Clive Layton (piano, Hammond B-3); Simon Rogers (keyboards, programming); Martyn Campbell (bass, background vocals); Chris Sharrock (drums); Terry Hall, Angie Pollack, Carl Brown, Paul Roberts (background vocals).
Producers: Dave Bascombe, Ian Broudie, Simon Rogers.
This album is one of those pop records that has something memorable in every track. Ian Broudie has the combined talent of pop eccentrics such as Andy Partridge and Paddy McAloon. However, the feeling is that the last two write great songs for themselves, whereas Broudie writes for a pop audience, with elements of Beach Boys, Beatles and late 60s summer fun songs mastered by writers like John Carter. It would be the ultimate treat to be able to read the lyrics supplied, but the typographic designer decided to make this just impossible. Fortunately, while we curse the CD sleeve, we still have our ears.
For the follow-up to the Lightning Seeds' successful comeback Jollification, Ian Broudie essentially stuck to the same formula as before, turning out a series of sunny, jangly songs occasionally underpinned by rolling trip-hop beats. Although Dizzy Heights isn't as consistent as its predecessor, it does offer a number of terrific moments, keeping Broudie's reputation as a pop craftsman intact. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine