Staff Reviews

Various - Kats Karavan - the History of John Peel on the Radio

Review by Kevin EG Perry

There’s much to discover, not all of it great, but that was always the point. John Peel was a remarkable guide, but it was always up to you to decide which paths to follow.»

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'kats karavan' is a 4-cd deluxe set charting the history of john peel's iconoclastic shows spanning 5 decades from the late 1960s until his sad and untimely death in 2004. champion of the obscure and unheard, he introduced whole generations of teenagers to new music and gave hundreds of bands their first mainstream broadcasts. incredibly, 5 years have already passed since john's death and a whole new generation is already growing up without knowing what it's like to listen to a dj who would play bloc party, followed by ivor cutler, the yeah yeah yeahs, then bong-ra, linton kwesi johnson followed by the misunderstood. universal music, with the full approval of john's family, has undertaken the unenviable task of trying to recreate one of john's shows on this 4-cd box set. drawing material right up until john's last ever festive fifty, 'kats karavan' includes big players, one-hit wonders, chart toppers and those who stayed at the lower reaches. it includes tracks from the likes of small faces, thin lizzy, aswad, the damned, medicine head, the jam, the slits, funboy five, the cure, linton kwesi johnson, that petrol emotion, extreme noise terror, ivor cutler, mercury rev, milo, bloc party and many, many more. the set also includes some rarities and curiosities. the free track, 'walk in my shadow', was considered 'lost' by the bbc until it was recently discovered on some old reel to reel tapes. this is the first time it has ever been available and the first time it's been heard since the original broadcast. 'kats karavan' comes complete with artwork featuring rare and unseen photographs alongside personal recollections from many of the featured artists, who were only too delighted to contribute and be involved in this homage to the late, great john peel.
description from www.roughtrade.com