Five star

HOW anybody can fail to crank up the stereo as the opening track of the Eels' latest album seeps through the speakers is beyond me.

Shootenanny! is the fifth studio offering from Mark Oliver Everett and his motley crew and the listener is guided through a roller-coaster performance.

Quite simply there is a track for every occasion - from the heavy Blues influence on the opening All In A Day's Work to the melodic offering The Good Old Days which could have slipped straight off the recording desk of Badly Drawn Boy.

Restraining Order Blues will have you sobbing before the spirits are lifted again moments later with the splendid Lone Wolf - a perfect indie anthem for the summer.

Each track is a gem waiting to be discovered by the unsuspecting public. Though the band now has a handful of albums to their name there must remain scores of potential Eels devotees waiting to be converted.

All I can say is that if the back catalogue is just half as good as Shootenanny! then I for one will be making a bee-line to snap up more of the same.

Something more than a few photographs in the CD sleeve would have been nice but just let the music do the talking.

Everett - or just plain E to those already familiar with his talents - has a splendid voice and, coupled with the extraordinary performances of those around him, provides a heady mixture to make Shootenanny! easily one of the best albums of the year so far.

DL