DEJA VOODOO: 25TH ANNIVERSARY

oOne of the vital pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of AE90s British rock music.o Pat Gilbert, Mojo magazine. While his own name has yet to grace an album front cover, for more than a twenty years Gem Archer has been a key contributor to some of the UKAEs highest profile guitar bands, beginning with Oasis in 2000, Beady Eye in 2009 and the touring version of Noel GallagherAEs High Flying Birds since 2015. Before all that there was Heavy Stereo, caught up in the mid ae90s music maelstrom where their only album aeDUjO VoodooAE took its place alongside Paul WellerAEs aeStanley RoadAE, The CharlatansAE aeTelling StoriesAE, Super Furry AnimalsAE aeFuzzy LogicAE, SupergrassAEs aeI Should CocoAE, The Boo RadleyAEs aeGiant StepsAE, RideAEs aeCarnival Of LightAE u and, of course, aeDefinitely MaybeAE and ae(WhatAEs The Story) Morning Glory'AE by Oasis. It is easy to understand why any album could get overlooked in such exalted company. aeDUjO VoodooAE and the four singles u aeSleep FreakAE, aeSmilerAE, aeChinese BurnAE and aeMouse In A HoleAE u all display GemAEs deeply held affection for old-school rockAEnAEroll values. In 1994/95, the outside world came into sync with his fondness for The Jam, Sly Stone, Hendrix, The Beatles, the Stones, The Small Faces, Motown, Stax, glam rock, punk rock and all other points on the compass of rockAEnAEroll cool, which coalesced into what became known as Britpop. And while those influences are in aeDUjO VoodooAE for all to hear, the album is far from derivative; this is a collection of well-constructed pop songs that still retain their swagger and zest. Unavailable since it was first released on Creation Records in 1996, this new 180g clear vinyl edition is a faithful recreation of the original 12-track LP.