AMG Review of West of Eden: The California Collection

John D. Luerssen
All Music Guide

Representing 17 of California's finest underground pop outfits from the highly acclaimed to the still obscure, Zip Records' West of Eden compilation is largely delightful, despite its surprisingly tacky T&A cover art. Launched with the intoxicatingly loopy, provocative "Sex" by Persephone's Bees, the disc touches on power pop (the Shambles' stellar "All Sorts"), indie rock (Fields of Gaffney's lo-fi "Play Me"), and glam revival (the Paranoids' T. Rex homage "The Party's Over") with positive results. As one might expect, standouts come from that dog. vet Anna Waronker (who lends the easy, breezy keeper "California Fade") and the Muffs (supplying the shimmering, midtempo "Even Now"). If San Francisco's the Slings underachieve with the sluggish Pavement-wannabe offering "Road," the greatest discovery on West of Eden has to be "To the Cannon," by the tremendously talented '60s-inspired Sleaves.