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Various - Glastonbury Anthems: Best of Glasto 1994-2004 (EMI)
UK release date: 21 March 2005
Various - Glastonbury Anthems: The Best of Glastonbury 1994-2004

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track listing

Franz Ferdinand - Matinee
Travis - Driftwood
Faithless - We Come 1
Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life
Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
Robbie Williams - Angels
Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo
Ash - Shining Light
Levellers - One Way
Primal Scream - Rocks
Elastica - Connection
The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl
Basement Jaxx - Good Luck
Coldplay - Yellow
Fun Lovin' Criminals - Scooby Snacks
The Prodigy - Breathe
Blur - This Is A Low
Placebo - The Crawl
Radiohead - Karma Police
Paul McCartney - Hey Jude


The Glastonbury Festival is so iconic that a couple of hours of music simply does not suffice. The wealth of talent that annually graces Worthy Farm is here represented with just a couple of songs from the last 10 years, and that does not cut it.

But no multimedia device could ever deliver the mud, heat and exultation that 150,000 people swell with under the pyramid stage. But although it's not a copmrehensive catalogue by any means, as far as delivering the Glastonbury flavour is concerned this DVD goes at least some way to delivering.

Not only does it supply expertly shot footage of some truly unforgettable performances, we are also transported around the Greenfields site from the favourable climate of our living rooms, and hear from hero Michael Eavis about the noble causes he is still helping massively, all thanks to one small idea he and his late wife Jean had back in the '60s.

Concentrating on the last 10 years of the Festival, in which television was able to infiltrate and raise the profile of Glastonbury still further, this collection largely focuses on the tracks that make everybody scream when they hear the intro. There is, and never will be anything like the sound of Hey Jude's joyous outro filling the air, and with one of the largest crowds Paul McCartney has ever played to, yelling the "na na nas" back at him, it never sounded better. Those last few bars epitomise Glastonbury's magic - and even the founding father of The Beatles is overawed by the reception he receives.

Faithless front man Maxi Jazz adds his own delight at being part of this grand old festival, exclaiming: "If I live to be a million and do a million more gigs, I will never forget that" at the climax of a thumping rendition of We Come 1.

An eclectic mix of rock, indie and pop is rather overshadowed by the sheer energy of the dance numbers to be found here, none more so than Prodigy's Breathe, against which a slow and plodding Placebo track, whilst being brilliant, is never going to stand out as a festival highlight.

Kudos to those who put together a track list of ranging styles to satisfy everyone, inevitably it does mean that you will skip one track or another though. Personally I have always reserved Pumping on Your Stereo as a song I would play to ruin my best friend's wedding, and if Angels is the best song of the last 20 years, Tony Blair may as well crucify our culture immediately.

There are also questionable omissions as far as Anthems are concerned. The last 10 years have seen knockout performances from the likes of Portishead, Pulp, Beck, REM, Johnny Cash, and David Bowie, the songs of whom will be remembered for generations - unlike Scooby Snacks.

But of course Glasto is not all about the music. That is the icing on the cake as far as Eavis is concerned. A five minute film taking in the extent of the site's activities, from spiritual healing to weapon making, reveals more about the point of this event than any headline set ever could. Some stunning aerial shots of the festival in full flow, plus quirky footage from the hippy-fuelled Glastonbury of 1971, completes the whistle-stop guide to the Glastonbury experience, and it all seems very appealing. Nice also to see John Peel expressing his views on a musical pilgrimage that will not be the same without him.

If, like me, you have never been to Glastonbury, this DVD indicates forcefully that there is more to be experienced at this year's event than Kylie's outfits. If you have been, then it may represent the memory of an unforgettable occasion, to be viewed again, and again, and again.

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