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*** Black Grape

IT'S GREAT WHEN YOU'RE STRAIGHT . . . YEAH

(Radioactive)

It'd be pretty painful to listen to Shaun Ryder sing in the shower; naked, his tuneless croak would be all warts. Which says a lot about the appeal of his late Happy Mondays, and now Black Grape, whose line-up includes rappers Kermit and Jed (Ruthless Rap Assassins), guitarist Wags (Paris Angels), and whirling dervish Bez (who used to liven up Happy Mondays' stage show).

Ryder has a knack for dance grooves and techno-flourishes seductive enough that his gruff warble really doesn't matter. It's Great is distilled from the same mix of trippy rhythms that swept Happy Mondays straight to the top of the Madchester rave scene circa 1990. Like Happy Mondays, Black Grape do sometimes get too languid and redundant for their own good - "A Big Day in the North" and "Shake Your Money" are downright anemic. But more often this CD has the same propulsive giddiness of Happy Mondays' best. Opening the disc with "Reverend Black Grape" and "In the Name of the Father" was a shrewd move. After that one-two smack, you just have to hear what other goodies Ryder has in store.

- Amy Finch

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