The
Varukers
re-formed in 1993, largely -- they say -- as a result of the fan mail that was still pouring in for them, more than half a decade after they split. A new single, the aptly titled
"Nothing's Changed,"
followed, and the band was soon working on their comeback LP,
Murder
. But they were also aware that, for many people, their back catalog was a thing of legend, long deleted, hard to find, and fetching absurd prices on the collectors' market. While
gestated, then, they set to work re-creating the ultimate
' best-of, re-recording 15 tracks from every corner of the archive -- and, unlike a lot of bands that take that same route, emerging with a collection that really did live up to its reputation. Wryly titled but wickedly executed,
Still Bollox But Still Here
rounds up all the band's most crucial numbers -- the debut single
"Protest and Survive,"
follow-ups
"I Don't Wanna Be a Victim,"
"Die for Your Government,"
and
"Led to the Slaughter,"
"Bomb Blast"
from the
Massacred Millions
12" -- it was a bruising litany, but a skillful one, sandpapering some of the rougher edges away from the original recordings, but replacing them with a competence and verve that time and inexperience had prohibited in the past. Of course, it is no substitute for the original recordings -- which themselves are now readily available on sundry CD compilations. But, as a snapshot of the
as they gathered strength for a second onslaught, and an assurance that they were still as great as ever,
does its duty with room to spare. ~ Dave Thompson