International Guardians of Rock'n'Roll 1983-1999

The sub-title says it all. You really couldn't sum up Alan McGee's arrogant revisionism of British music in the last fifteen or so years in a better and more overblown phrase. Despite the illusions of grandeur, there is no denying Creation's mighty influence.

As a sixteen year old music obsessive, the chronological release of Bandwagonesque, Screamadelica and Loveless back in one golden autumn in 1991 blew wide open how I listened to music.

Romanticism and nostalgia tripping aside, this thirty track selection of the label's glorious highs and crazy lows, is a mini-canon of familiar and obscure greats. You can always play the omissions game when it comes to compilations, but in total fairness, the absence of My Bloody Valentine's' Soon', the track that in Brian Eno's words set a new precedent for pop music, borders on the criminal. McGee pleaded not guilty in the last issue of hotpress, locating the blame in a quagmire of licensing and publishing hassles. Still, while this omission is highly unfortunate, there is plenty here that helped set new precedents in pop music – the headspinning cacophony of The Jesus And Mary Chain's 'Upside Down'; Teenage Fanclub's delicious guitar chimes and heaven-sent vocal melodies on 'The Concept'; and the genre-defying and genre-defining seven minutes of pure pop hedonism that was 'Loaded' by Primal Scream.

There is also a small and cluster of forgotten classics from Ride, Pastels, Adorable and Felt plus one or two unsung gems. Love Corporation were a Creation band that completely slipped by me in the heady days of indie's heyday, but the Andy Weatherall mix of 'Give Me Some Love' is good enough to prompt checking out their back catalogue.

We could debate the shortcomings of the tracklist until the next My Bloody Valentine album comes home, but ultimately this collection of noisy snapshots is a pretty good starting point for an enjoyable apprasial of the last decade and a half of guitar pop.