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A.R.Kane – Complete Singles Collection

This long-overdue A.R.Kane compilation with 33 tracks (2 CDs) showcases their best work in the late 80s / early 90s era.

It is tempting to describe A.R.Kane as the great lost group of the 1980s. “Great” is spot-on. And “1980s” is more or less accurate (they did release some stuff in the nineties but the late eighties was A.R.Kane’s recording prime). No, it’s the “lost” bit that is misleading. It gives the impression that this was a group that was neglected, overlooked… if not utterly unknown, then certainly marginal in the scheme of things. And that is inaccurate. Inaccurate. Not only were A.R.Kane renowned and revered, but, in certain quarters, they were regarded and written up as one of the central groups of their era. The singles and albums received rave reviews (and when I say “rave” I mean frothing at the mouth, purple-prose-drooling paeans). Their faces appeared on the front covers of the British music weekly papers. But A.R.Kane weren’t just critics’ faves either. 69, their debut album, topped the independent charts in the summer of 1988.

Still, the “lost” bit of “great lost group of the 1980s” does apply, in so far as A.R.Kane are now the stuff of cult memory. As often happens, the passing of the years resulted in history shaking out and settling into a shape that doesn’t necessarily reflect how things were seen at the time. Some late eighties groups (My Bloody Valentine, Pixies) have maintained a high profile, while others, considered their contemporary equals, have faded into the background (A.R.Kane, Throwing Muses). Hopefully, this long-overdue collection of A.R.Kane’s EPs and singles, which has arrived – funny coincidence – the same year as MBV’s own EP compilation, will serve to redress this injustice.