What more can you say about The Levellers, a Brighton band who last year marked their 25th anniversary with another successful year. Still ignored by large swathes of the media and uber-indie trendies, it's a remarkable fact that they are the most successful Brighton band of all time; they've had eight top 20 singles, 15 top 40s and eight of their studio albums have made the top 40, including a number one, Zeitgeist, released at the height of their popularity in 1994 when they were Pyramid Stage headliners, delivering a performance that has gone down in the annals of Glastonbury history. Legend has it that up to 300,000 made it to the stage, a record unlikely to be broken as the capacity of the whole festival has now peaked at 175,000…

It's also a remarkable fact that they are largely the same line up they were since 1990, with only the addition of keyboardist Matt Savage being the only difference. It's also worth noting that The Levellers were in rapid commercial decline by the mid-noughties, their Truth & Lies album of 2005 not even making the top 100 here in the UK. But, their power and popularity as a live band kept them in the game and since that nadir they have fought their way back, releasing two more top 40 albums, winning new fans as they enter middle age and continuing to not err from their profound socio-political bearing, which has always been about the marginalised, the misunderstood and the maverick within us all. In other words, they have remained largely true to their roots and in the end this has seen them win respect amongst newer converts, as well as keeping the loyalty and love of their huge long-term fan base. Once derided by the ignorant and obnoxious as the 'crusty dog-on-a-string' band, The Levellers are approaching 'national treasure' status as they continue on their extraordinary journey.
 

So, why not release a Greatest Hits for the very first time, an in-depth retrospective of their career? They totally deserve it, if only for the simple reason that their catalogue is a deep treasure trove of fantastic songs that showcase the many musical sides of a band who have remained very consistent since the beginning. For newcomers to the band it is a perfect introduction. From the first official release – Carry On – in 1989, to the Truth Is single released in 2012, The Levellers have demonstrated an unwavering ability to write uncluttered, melodic, powerful and dynamic songs. This two CD set features almost all their singles, including the big hits such as Hope Street, Beautiful Day, Fantasy, Just The One (which featured soul-mate Joe Strummer on piano and is also famously remembered for the lyrics which neatly bypassed censorship…), This Garden, Julie and Belaruse, as well as a number of lesser hits and some singles that failed to make much of an impression at the time. Their last top 40 was 2005's uplifting Make U Happy and of course the singles chart has largely become an irrelevancy but still the singles they have released since then retain high quality standards including the rare Levellers love song, Before The End.

Musically, they have always steered the right side of anthemic, One Way being their biggest crowd pleaser of all but outside the live arena they continuously show how adept they are at all-round rootsy folk, from the aforementioned Just The One to The Cholera Well, as well as balladry via the beautiful Julie; dance-based world music (This Garden, Too Real), country-folk (Far From Home, Celebrate), pop inflected rock (Burn America Burn, Make U Happy) and of course, their forte, folk-rock via the likes of 15 Years, Fantasy and Carry Me.

But being The Levellers, simply delivering a greatest hits package isn't satisfactory. You'll also get four new versions of Beautiful Day, Just The One, Hope Street and Julie, performed by the band and with guest vocalists Imelda May, Bellowhead, Billy Bragg and Frank Turner, respectively. Plus they've thrown in The Devil Goes Down To Georgia, a rousing fan favourite and Liberty Song, a track that was co-written with Alan Miles who was with the band for a short period near the beginning of their existence and which only had a very limit single release in 1992 but which also remains a fan favourite.

Rousing and relevant, The Levellers are the antithesis of all that fake and superficial folksiness al la Mumfords et al. They remain the real deal and indeed, look set to be so for a while yet. As it goes in Beautiful Day: 'Nothing is impossible in my all-powerful mind.'

Jeff Hemmings

Website:  levellers.co.uk
Facebook:  facebook.com/levellersofficial
Twitter: twitter.com/the_levellers