Various Artists

It is too easy to claim that the current music scene is not as exciting as when you were young, whatever that era is for you. But it is hard to imagine a diverse and creative time like the early 1980s being repeated, just like that of the previous two decades. As punk forged a fight against prog rock and new romantics emerged from disco and glam, the early 80s provided an extraordinary diverse range of music and fashions. Emerging directly from the darker elements of punk, came Goth. The music and clothes - with the often self loathing look and lyrics of Goth - were an expression of freedom as much as anger. Here this 5-CD collection from Cherry Red lovingly delves into the genre's peak.

More than 80 tracks are included, from the better known artists like Adam and the Ants, Sisters of Mercy and Spear of Destiny to lesser known lights (if that's the right word) of the scene, like Rema Rema, Lowlife and Zero Le Creche. Nothing here is commercial in any way but certainly influential. Even if there are bands that feature that would soon shed the darker shades of Goth and move to the light side of the mainstream. You have All About Eve (D For Desire) before they edged closer to prog. The Cure's The Hanging Garden has all the trademark chiming guitars and pounding rhythms, while Dead Can Dance's The Arcane plunders those gothic moods in a typically eerie way.

The term often used is Positive Punk, with many of these songs coming from a time before Goth had its label and also before those fans of the genre would become objects of ridicule and worse. The collection begins with Joy Division's Shadowplay and concludes with Rubella Ballet's Twister and the journey in between is often dark but never dull. Once again Cherry Red records have assembled an impressive catalogue of songs with some pictures from the time and fascinating sleeve notes too.