Easily one of the best albums of the 1990s hardly anyone's ever heard. Though Bill Fox had previously made two excellent punky power-pop records with his previous band, the Mice, it's the homemade Dylan-via-the-Byrds vibes on the mostly solo Shelter from the Smoke that will assure him a devoted and growing cult following for many years to come.

The business of music is a tricky beast to try and master, but what if you have no interest in trying? In the mid-1980s Bill Fox's band the Mice released two excellent punky power-pop records (For Almost Ever and Scooter, reissued together as For Almost Ever Scooter, which I strongly suggest seeking out as they are some of the best records of the era) and then called it a day. Ten years later Bill quietly released a 7" and the mostly solo Shelter from the Smoke. Its homemade Dylan-via-the-Byrds vibes felt as good as your favorite t-shirt for a lot of folks, and spinART quickly stepped in and re-released the album with a few songs swapped out for some new ones. It was followed by another excellent record, Transit Byzantium, about a year later, and then nothing. No shows (not that there were ever many in the first place), no more records, no interviews (Bill is extremely reluctant to talk to the press or discuss his music regardless of -- or maybe because of -- how flattering the pieces are). But when a record is this good, when it sounds better with each passing year, when it becomes the sort of record that the mention of causes those who already know it to share an instant bond and those who get turned on to it to be forever grateful, it is inevitable that it would see the light of day again. And you can thank your lucky stars that today is that day. Robert at Scat has done it right too, as he has included all of the material from both the Cherry Pop release and the spinART reissue as well as the two excellent tracks from the Bird of the World 7". How much do I love this record? A few years back I purged my CD collection, but it wasn't until I was absolutely positive that this reissue was happening that I let go of BOTH versions of the album on CD, and as a vinyl fan I can't tell you how happy I am to finally have this record available on LP.

-Dave Martin (December 10, 2009)