A GUY CALLED GERALD - THE JOHN PEEL SESSIONS

A Guy Called Gerald
The John Peel Sessions
STRANGE FRUIT SFRSCD083

A Guy Called Gerald Simpson didn't have quite the same ring.

There's a strong case for calling Gerald Simpson the progenitor of acid house in Manchester. Long before Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses yoked electro-bleeps and dance rhythms to indie rock, this ingenuous waif - who, legend has it, was still working in McDonald's when Voodoo Ray was sweeping clubland in 1988 - was crafting scorching acid anthems and setting the city's musical agenda. This Peel Sessions CD comes wrapped in some fearsome cosmic guff - "Light and gravity are wave forms through which consciousness passes" indeed - and is variable in quality. He's occasionally prone to wandering up minimalist techno-muso cul-de-sacs, although the ferocious and brilliant Emotions Electric stands out.

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Ian Gittins