Artful Dodger It's All About The Stragglers CD - Import

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE STRAGGLERS by dance band Artful Dodger features "Think About Me" and "Please Don't Turn Me On."

Japanese version features two extra tracks "Woman Trouble" and "What You Gonna Do."

In 2000, U.K. garage was about as ever-present as rap-metal and flailing dot coms. Yet just as with suspicious sites like ThisIPOIsACon.com, the prevalence of all these photogenic two-steppers began to feel like all part of some elaborate Ponzi scheme. Of course, Artful Dodger hopes to dismiss such a theory -- even when a saccharine, fizz-less strip of hyper R&B is hardly a grassy-knoll alibi for the growing number of garage doubters. "R U Ready" clips and preens with a sparkly ragga flair; "Re Re-wind" actually flaunts a long shelf life as it still sounds like a delightful dollop of two-step cheese this long after its initial release. But that's about it. The rest of the album re-recycles the same syncopated strings and Smurf tinkles. Showing that even a cash-in-the-bag "greatest-hits" package from quite possibly the first U.K. garage mega-group can show what money baron thieves they just might be deep down inside. A bad investment, all around. ~ Dean Carlson

Does the Artful Dodger really deserve to recycle years-old tracks on their first "official" studio album? Mark Hill, along with a large cast of vocalists and co-producers, already released two own-productions-heavy mix albums (Rewind, Re-Rewind) when the 2-step/garage boom was trying to make a transatlantic move to American shores. Their proper debut, It's All About the Stragglers finally appeared in 2000 (complete with ironic title), and includes versions of every Artful Dodger hit to date, and those in versions usually inferior to the originals. The only difference in the new version of the originally excellent "Movin' Too Fast" is the removal of a precious few beats-per-minute, a tactic that doesn't work at all. Also appearing are no less than four radio edits ("Re-Rewind," "It Ain't Enough," "Please Don't Turn Me On," and "Twentyfourseven"), none of which improve on the originals. For those curious about the heavy-hitters of the British garage scene, a good alternative is the excellent label compilation The Best of Locked On. ~ John Bush

Japanese version featuring 2 bonus tracks: 'Woman Trouble' (original version) & 'What You Gonna Do' (Artful Dodger house remix).

Additional personnel includes: Craig David, Michelle Escoffery, Lynn Eden, Lifford, Romina Johnson, MC Alistair, Robbie Craig, Nadia, Melanie Blatt.

CD contains 2 bonus tracks.

Artful Dodger: Mark Hill, Pete Devereaux.

Entertainment Weekly (6/01/01, pp.87-8) - "...Lighter and softer than much American R&B, and poptronica tracks like 'Please Don't Turn Me On' and 'Twentyfourseven' inject sexual tension into a genre that's long been celibate....perfectly passable dance-diva pop sung by perfectly passable frontpeople..." - Rating: B
CMJ (9/3/01, p.37) - "...Super-catchy, effortless R&B melodies with edges just a tad sharper than that of a butter knife..."