Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

To celebrate a remarkable four decades of existence, long-running UK Christian independent label Plankton Records have released a two disc anthology of output from acts that have featured on its roster over the years. Originally issued half a lifetime ago in 1998, the first volume goes back to where it all began 20 years earlier with a couple of shaky attempts at Christian rock from founding partner Simon Law's group Sea Stone before various bands and solo acts pop up to briefly say hello in refreshingly eclectic fashion. Evidently keen to sound as mainstream as possible whilst still referencing something of the Christian faith, many of the cuts here reflect musical trends that have gone before with mid-'80s tracks like Solid Air's "Promises Promises" sounding delightfully like something the Jam would have put out in the late '70s whilst a live-at-the-BBC version of "Walk On The Water" by Out Of Darkness has Hendrix written all over it. Elsewhere, Pete Ward's "Shameful Secret" reflects the indie trends of the day and is typical of the raw quality that Plankton has always been able to unearth in their artists. It's not all solid gold though with the simply dreadful "Jesus Is Ace" - a misfiring attempt at satire courtesy of Marc Catley - and the cheesy "Come And Talk About Jesus" by the Newshounds sounding out of place when positioned next to higher quality acts like the heavily featured Fresh Claim who incidentally provide a fifth of the material on this entire compilation. The second chapter continues to highlight Plankton's diversity with the likes of Intransit, Ben Okafor and Liz Clarke touching upon new romantic, reggae and folk trends in that order whilst more recent acts like the brass-laden Darn Funk Orchestra and covers band Echo evidence the fact that Plankton - largely thanks to its longstanding partner and driving force Keith Dixon - are still striving to push forward musically and punch above its weight after all this time. Fittingly, Plankton founder Simon Law closes proceedings with a brand new recording called "The Haven" to bring this plucky little label's first four decades full circle. Well done Plankton and all the grassroots musicians who've helped build their legacy - here's to the next 40 years.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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