Come Fly With Me: Great New Zealand Rock'n'Roll 1964-1972

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Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral Kathleen Edwards: Voyageur Little Roy: Battle for Seattle Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas Lights: Siberia Various: ZZ Top: A Tribute from Friends REM: Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage I Am Giant: The Horrifying Truth Victoria Girling-Butcher: Summit Drive Manic Street Preachers: National Treasures

Rediscovering the gritty gems of the past is an essential part of any education in Kiwi music. John Baker's superb Wild Things compilations should be the first stop, and now Sony has chipped in with this collection.

Alongside well-worn essentials from the La De Da's, Chants R'n'B, the Action, the Pleazers, Tom Thumb and Larry's Rebels are more obscure treasures like Simple Image's The Grooviest Girl in the World.

The "slightlydelic" half of the album has some beauties like the Gremlins' Blast Off 1970, but it's hard to know whether it's also taking the mickey a bit – House of Nimrod's Psychotharsis is just dopey, and using a sitar didn't turn surfie band the Music Convention into hippies (and we can hear Blerta's Dance All Around the World anywhere).

And the liner notes are a mess – instead of photos or memorabilia, there are paintings in the currently popular Mac's Beer-style childish scrawl of changing sizes and typefaces.

Best tracks: The Action, I Can't Make A Friend; the Hi-Revving Tongues, Tropic of Capricorn

Reviewed by Nick Ward. CDs for reviews supplied by Everyman, Nelson.

- © Fairfax NZ News