Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

This then is the end of the chapter that has been TBWNN, is it really nearly a decade? I remember watching the Manchester musicianeries after the first release, 'The Blitz', at the Cross Rhythms festival, since then they have evangelised, blessed and thrilled audiences with their unique fusion of hip-hop, rock and dance and in the process have become the most effective evangelists working in British youth culture. With studio maestro Zarc Porter ensuring that the beats are truly thunderous the band, in each of its incarnations, have refused to be pigeonholed in their style and have released three truly great albums. Chip K has, of course, been ever present in the lineup while, as this compilation demonstrates, there were masterly contributions from past members such as rapper MC Presha and singer The Bobsta. What you get here is probably right in being credited "the best" and includes all of my favourites such as "Amazing Grace", "Without You Within Me", "The Best Thing" and my all time favourite the anthemic "Home". I would have preferred "Calm" to "Easy" but i suppose that's nit-picking. The new songs are typical TBWNN. "The 4points" is typically brilliant using an unexpected fragment of the classic "Oh Happy Day" sung by a full-on gospel choir and with LZ7's Lindz West making some choice interjections. The other new recordings "Heroes Fall" and "Space Cadet" deviate a bit from the usual TBWNN sound but work perfectly. In a just and right world most of these tracks would have filled the mainstream airwaves. So we sadly say goodbye to the guys who have been an awesome blessing. This essential compilation is a reminder of how much they will be missed.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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