Still In A Dream doesn't set itself out to be the definitive record of the first shoegaze movement. As its subtitle says it's a story, not the story. There are bound to be minor controversies over inclusions and exclusions - were The Jesus And Mary Chain ever considered shoegaze? Not as far as I knew. But, including as it does both the influences and the influenced of the scene, those that stuck it out for their whole career or the ones who'd gone in a different direction by 1995 (such as scene-setters Ride) there's enough breadth here to satisfy those in need of some nostalgia and those wanting a fast-track into where the new crop of such acts first heard the sound they love.

Across the five discs of the set some 85+ bands are featured, a bunch of which are as unknown to me as they may well be to you. Therein lies the beauty of such a collection as it's as educational as it hopefully is fun to listen to. To aid that element the booklet has band biographies etc. amidst 12,000 words on the genre. Very nice it is too, at least as a pdf.

For the nostalgia hounds there's the chance to hear bands you may have previously assumed to be goths (The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa), those whose albums you bought late and realise you hardly ever played, for good reason (Moose) & you can ask yourself why you ever found the precocious child vocals of Cranes affecting. You can also discover gems such as 'Godlike' by The Dylans, whose organ-heavy sound then leads you to wonder why the Inspiral Carpets aren't included as genre boundaries seem to be getting blurred by somebody. Then again you can't include everything & licensing agreements may not be available.

Listening to over five hours of shoegaze straight through is quite a task & not something I've managed to do at one sitting in the writing of this review but it's safe to say that, should you wish to do that very thing, this set from Cherry Red Records should be your first port of call before you try to branch out and create your own mega-playlist on the streaming service of your choice (assuming of course that any one such service has all the necessary tunes).

Still In A Dream is available from amazon.

In a week where the hype is firmly placed around the 6 Music Festival in the city, Newcastle is still flexing its musical muscles. Tonight being no different as The Jesus and Mary Chain roll into town, playing their classic album Psycho Candy in full. However, we begin the evening cursing ourselves, arriving slightly late we walk into the venue to see The Membranes rocking out.

John Robb and his band are tearing the place limb from limb, to clarify the reason we missed part of the support was because they weren’t announced after Eagulls cancelled. Anyway we get to see the latter part of their fierce set with the enigmatic bass player Robb up on the barriers taunting the crowd in his individual style.

The Jesus and The Mary Chain take to the stage for their first set of the evening (normally in these types of sets the band play the album first then a smattering of hits after. Not The Jesus and Mary Chain). They open with the hits, ‘April Skies up first, the band, clouded in smoke, protecting the fact that they’re not overly comfortable with being on stage.

That anxiety makes the set though, 'Psycho Candy' is just awesome, these first few tracks are breathtaking and despite the crowd not needing warming up, this is definitely the perfect way to do it. As Jim Reid clings to his mic stand as if it were a safety blanket, seldom letting go, though when he does he appears more at ease.

The band leave the stage for a very short moment as the Psycho Candy album cover is projected on to the back of the stage, whilst more smoke is pumped on to the stage. They return and waste no time in getting stuck into 'Just Like Honey', which sets the crowd alight; many hands are firmly held high and the crowds collective voice almost overpowers Jim’s own.

Similarly ‘Cut Dead’ sounds phenomenal, the stripped back nature of the track provides a small amount of shade on what is otherwise a powerhouse of a performance. At the opposite end of the spectrum ‘Taste of Cindy’ sounds incredible for a completely different set of reasons, the guitars are otherworldly, so abrasive and in your face, so few bands achieve such intense sounds.

That sound is one which courses through the veins of the album, it's the sound which initially drew us into it all those years ago. Jim’s interaction with the crowd throughout the second part of the set is minimal, only stopping to introduce the last track ‘It’s So Hard’. An awesome way to finish and whilst we know it is the closing track on the album it seems like a fitting way to close out this barrage of guitar noise and otherworldly sounds.

We’re filled with a renewed sense admiration and adoration for Psycho Candy, it is a classic album and tonight The Jesus and Mary Chain have really done it justice.