With their 20th anniversary fast approaching in 2008, and their original line-up very much alive and functioning, it’s a surprise that it’s taken Rhino this long to make Mark Chadwick’s agit-prop crusties’ back catalogue available again. The jewel in the crown is Levelling The Land, their careerdefining 1991 release, which is now a double-disc thanks to five bonus tracks plus a 12-song Live At Glastonbury set from 1992. The latter, more than any of their studio efforts, gives a true taste of the band whose politically fuelled lyrics, folk-tinged music and couldn’t-give-a-damn attitude illuminated so many post-Thatcher festival stages through the 90s.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Levellers (1993), Zeitgeist (’95) and Mouth To Mouth (’97) reached Numbers 2, 1 and 5 in the national charts respectively, a fact rarely recognised by the critics. The potential market for these is enormous. Remastered, expanded with B-sides from their singles and with new packaging and sleevenotes, these will do well at mid-price. Hello Pig is an acquired taste, even among diehards, but start from the top and you can’t really go wrong.
