….STOP PRESS…STOP PRESS…STOP PRESS…STOP PRESS….

9 SEPTEMBER, 2003

DIZZEE RASCAL’S ‘BOY IN DA CORNER’ IS VOTED ALBUM OF DA YEAR

The Mercury Music Prize panel has surprised the industry by picking Dizzee Rascal’s debut album for this year’s prize. This young eighteen-year old has undoubtadly produced a vibrant, and innovative record - in his bedroom. Congratulations to ya Dizzee.

MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE SHORTLIST, 2003

This year’s shortlist is:

…. ATHLETE: Vehicles And Animals

…. COLDPLAY: A Rush Of Blood To The Head

…. THE DARKNESS: Permission To Land

…. DIZZEE RASCAL: Boy In Da Corner

…. ELIZA CARTHY: Anglicana

…. FLOETRY: Floetic

…. LEMON JELLY: Lost Horizons

…. MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD: Quixotic

…. RADIOHEAD: Hail To The Thief

…. SOWETO KINCH: Conversations With The Unseen

…. TERRI WALKER: Untitled

…. THE THRILLS: So Much For The City

Observations

The award PR material states: ‘The shortlist was chosen from an entry of over 180 albums by British and Irish artists.’ I would love to know which albums these were and if the entry included albums by Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man, David Gray, Biffy Clyro, Damien Rice, Fleetwood Mac, Tom McRae and a few others. I’m not convinced that what we’re seeing here are the best releases of the past twelve months. Not by a long chalk. I observe this primarily for two reasons: the relatively small number of total albums submitted, and the absence from the shortlist of certain great albums.

My only conclusion can be that many albums were not submitted. My question is WHY? The Mercury Music Prize website provides no background information to the prize, e.g. the panel member names, how to submit albums, parameters for submission, and the full entry list. It remains a secretive process and focuses on the final shortlist to the exclusion of everything else. Not good.

The Shortlist

Martina Topley-Bird has only just released her debut solo album, and from the few songs I’ve heard its melodic, distinctive, heartfelt and passionate. In 2003, Radiohead released a disappointing album in HAIL TO THE THIEF. Even the most loyal reviewers had very mixed feelings about it, but benefit of doubt prevailed. Coldplay’s album had one truly great track, Politik, plus a couple of good ones, and in my view was not strong enough for the final short-list. The Thrills didn’t with, at best, a disposable pop album that owed much to The Beach Boys, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and Grandaddy - surely the most over-hyped and overrated album of the year. While The Darkness impress as a live band, and have plugged a gap in the UK guitar rock scene, to class their album as a potential Mercury winner may be taking it too far. And I’m still waiting to hear the secret of Floetry!

In Lemon Jelly’s LOST HORIZONS the guys have produced arguably the best (and most beautiful) album in the electronic genre. Soweto Kinch’s album is a modern jazz classic, and brim full of some of the finest artistry around at the moment - it excites me to the core. Dizzee Rascal’s I LUV U has some of the most innovative and vibrant sounds I’ve heard in the urban genre, and it’s truly a stunner. Once again, a token British folk album has been included. However, this year I believe it’s justified with the inclusion of Eliza Carthy’s best album to-date.

In conclusion, not a bad shortlist, but sadly missing some wonderful records.

Missing

Two of the very best albums of the last twelve months (and by some margin) have ben excluded. Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man’s OUT OF SEASON is a stunningly beautiful album that made our top five albums of 2002. Damien Rice’s ‘O’ has propelled this young Irish singer/songwriter to rare trans-Atlantic success. It was the best album by a UK and Irish singer/songwriter in the last twelve months, and was also included in out top five albums of 2002. But I also found that many older albums have been excluded - perhaps the answer lies in selecting judges with better memories; at least good enough to remember albums from earlier in the regulatory release cycle.

A Question Of Credibility

With so much genuinely wonderful UK and Irish music missing from the shortlist, The Mercury Music Prize lacks the credibility that the UK’s best music prize needs to sustain and build. Any award is subject to conjecture and disagreement by music lovers - that’s healthy. However, with such obvious discrepancies and lack of the aforementioned information, there is a major problem. I don’t believe this shortlist, I don’t trust this shortlist. Yes, it’s good that there are so many debut albums. Yes, it’s good that it contains an eclectic range of music. But until UK and Irish artists are openly encouraged to submit their albums without constraints, it will remain an incomplete list, and subsequently only a small part of the UK/Ireland music story. I also believe that it’s time for the award to be split into broad generic groups, including ‘best debut album’, while still selecting an ‘album of the year’.

The fact is that this award is the most credible of all popular UK music awards, and is recognised internationally. It therefore has a responsibility to play a more open and encouraging role in a UK industry where media and music mediocrity currently reigns supreme.

Finally, The Mercury Music Prize 2003 CD is the best compilation of the year, and essential listening for you eclectic souls out there (I know there are millions of you!). And at £6.99, it’s something of a bargain…