XXX - Thirty Years of Bellyaching, Rhino ***

For some, the trip from obscurity to fame to the commercial and creative doldrums is a long, strange one. Manchester’s Shaun Ryder is one such. From his time in Happy Mondays and Black Grape to, more recently, guesting with Gorillaz, Ryder has proven in equal measure that the drugs certainly don’t work and that, when he steps up to the mark, he’s one of the best chancer-lyricists around. There is also enough on this greatest hits collection to mark him out as one of rock’s great mavericks. Songs such as Wrote for Luck, Hallelujah (not the Leonard Cohen tune), Kinky Afro, Loose Fit, Reverend Black Grape and Kelly’s Heroes highlight Ryder as one of those singular blokes with the kind of ragged charm that, depending on mood, can be as endearing as it can be annoying. See rhino.co.uk

Download tracks:Wrote for Luck, Kinky Afro, Dare