"C86" was originally a 22-track mail-order cassette compilation released in 1986 by the British music magazine NME. Curated by music journalist Neil Taylor, the tape was designed to showcase the vibrant, underground UK indie music scene of the mid-1980s. It featured pioneering tracks from bands like Primal Scream, The Wedding Present, and The Pastels. The compilation became so culturally significant that its name turned into a universal shorthand term for a distinct subgenre of independent music, characterized by jangly guitars, twee sensibilities, melodic lo-fi production, and a fiercely DIY aesthetic.
Decades later, independent label Cherry Red Records revitalized this musical landmark by releasing a definitive, expanded deluxe 3-CD box set. Also compiled by Neil Taylor, this reissue preserves the original 22-track cassette on the first disc while adding 50 bonus tracks across the remaining two discs, capturing contemporary cuts from influential peers like The Jesus and Mary Chain and Happy Mondays. Packaged with an extensive biographical booklet, Cherry Red's reissue transformed C86 from a nostalgic time capsule into an essential historical document, spawning an ongoing archival series that chronicles the evolution of British indie pop year by year.
The deluxe reissue of C86 is an extraordinary piece of musical archeology that elevates a historic cassette tape into an essential, definitive archive. Originally curated by NME in 1986, the compilation was a snapshot of a fleeting moment in the British underground, but it inadvertently birthed a genre. Cherry Red’s expanded three-CD box set handles this sacred indie text with immense reverence, presenting the original 22 tracks alongside 50 bonus cuts that flesh out the fertile mid-1980s guitar scene. The result is a treasure trove that perfectly captures the transitional energy between post-punk and the rise of alternative rock.
Musically, the compilation is a masterclass in the DIY aesthetic, defined by its charmingly amateurish lo-fi production, melodic jangle pop, and bittersweet twee sensibilities. Disc one remains a thrilling historical document, anchored by the iconic jangle of Primal Scream’s "Velocity Girl" and the frantic energy of The Wedding Present. While the original tape was occasionally critiqued for its insular, shambolic nature, the additional discs provide crucial context. By integrating more aggressive, feedback-drenched tracks from peers like The Jesus and Mary Chain and the groove-laden indie-dance of the Happy Mondays, the box set proves the scene was far more diverse and sonically adventurous than history suggests.
Where this reissue truly triumphs is in its packaging and historical curation. Compiled by original NME journalist Neil Taylor, the set features a gorgeous booklet packed with rare photographs, band biographies, and an exhaustive essay that chronicles the socio-economic backdrop of Thatcher-era Britain that fueled this creative explosion. For older listeners, it is a potent, nostalgic trip back to the days of fanzines and tape trading. For newer generations, it serves as an indispensable educational roadmap, illustrating exactly how this scrappy, jangly blueprint directly paved the way for the 1990s Britpop explosion.
If there is any flaw, it is that 72 tracks of hyper-kinetic, mid-80s indie pop can occasionally feel like a sensory overload when listened to in a single sitting. The relentless barrage of ringing Rickenbacker guitars and shambling rhythms can bleed together for the uninitiated. However, as an archival piece, its completeness is its greatest strength. Cherry Red has successfully rescued C86 from the realm of myth, delivering an expansive, beautifully realized monument to an era when independent music was genuinely independent, fiercely creative, and wonderfully unpolished.
Ripped to MP3
1. Primal Scream – Velocity Girl
2. The Mighty Lemon Drops – Happy Head
3. The Soup Dragons – Pleasantly Surprised
4. The Wolfhounds – Feeling So Strange Again
5. The Bodines – Therese
6. Mighty Mighty – Law
7. Stump – Buffalo
8. Bogshed – Run to the Platform
9. A Witness – Sharpened Sticks
10. The Pastels – Breaking Lines
11. Age of Chance – From Now On, This Is We
12. The Shop Assistants – It's Up to You
13. Close Lobsters – Firestation Towers
14. Miaow – Sport Most Royal
15. Half Man Half Biscuit – I Hate Nerys Hughes (From the Heart)
16. The Servants – Transparent
17. The MacKenzies – Big Jim (There's no pubs in Heaven)
18. Big Flame – New Year's Honours
19. We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It – Console Me
20. McCarthy – Celestial City
21. The Shrubs – Bullfighter's Bones
22. The Wedding Present – This Boy Can Wait (A Bit Longer!)
Yeah...the remaining 50 bonus tracks you can look up on the interweb yerselves
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