Ocean Colour Scene
was never a big concern in the U.S., although they were among the leading lights of British
trad rock
in the '90s -- the post-
Oasis
return to the real, memorably dubbed "Noel-rock" by the British press. So it's a little strange that their first hits collection,
Songs for the Front Row
, was initially released in the U.S., but that's the way these things go. In any case,
remains a pretty good overview of
OCS
's peak, skipping the first album entirely and offering a heavy dose of their best album,
Mosely Shoals
, balanced by a good dose of
Marchin' Already
and selections from their other two records, plus the brilliant B-side
"Huckleberry Grove."
This results in a good, accurate overview with no big songs missing, so on that level it's a good introduction, but if you really want to know why British audiences went crazy for this group, check out
Mosley Shoals
, which is the best
neo-classic rock
this side of
Lenny Kravitz
in the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine