No Dream (Best Of)

Personnel: Paul Cavanagh (guitar); Peter Baker (piano, organ, keyboards); Clive Thomas, Alan Wills (drums).
Despite the fact that some of the original band had continued doing music in a variety of guises, the Room's own profile and reputation had gone well underground over the years thanks to the collapse of the Red Rhino label. As a result, LTM's stepping up to release this overview of the group's work is another fine example of that label's ability to bring something worth attention back to a wider audience. From the perspective of nearly two decades on, No Dream, drawing on singles and demos and more besides, is a sometimes murky and sometimes flat-out enjoyable overview of a group that was definitely of its time but created music which stands time's test. Earlier tracks like "In Sickness and in Health" are definitely redolent of a Manchester post-punk sound -- on that track singer Dave Jackson actually sounds a bit like OMD's Andy McCluskey. But as time passed, the Room's work started to take on its own identity to rival the rich, passionate work of fellow Liverpudlians Icicle Works, especially with the excellent single "Things Have Learnt to Walk That Ought to Crawl," a hands-down brilliant effort that's like the sun breaking through clouds. From there the band's work shifts from monochrome to a broader palette, with standouts including the title track, taken from debut album Indoor Fireworks, "One Hundred Years" (nothing to do with the Cure song) and the spectacular "A Shirt of Fire." Longtime fans will enjoy the concluding four songs for the rarity factor alone, being demos from a planned but never recorded third album. As always with LTM, the sound and packaging are as worthy as the music itself -- in this case, the exhaustive biography comes courtesy of Jackson himself, giving a nice personal perspective on the group's successes and travails. ~ Ned Raggett