4play: Roots Manuva guest spots

New feature! New feature! Ring the bells and flash some lights! For trivia fans, rejected titles for this feature were "4real", "4pack", "4songs", "4way" and "Gimme 5". I decided that, if I wanted to sustain this, though, I should limit it to four and not five tunes. The premise is: four songs that I like, united by some arbitrary theme. Questions?

To begin with, four songs that feature London's Rodney Smith, better known as Roots Manuva in a cameo. He's had a variable career - a handful of genius moments (if you've never seen the video for 'Witness', go go go go) but lots and lots of mediocre output. When I saw him live at Reading 2001, it was a weak show and he cut off 'Witness' after one verse. He may proclaim to be a vision of splendid splendidness, but he's frustratingly uneven.

But these guest appearances are all ace. The Cinematic Orchestra track is long and brooding and has some reference to a Tardis, and the line about his best friend dying always gets me. Meanwhile, 'Dusted' was a great taster for the disappointing 'Rhythm and Stealth'. Get up!

He only drops a verse on the other two tracks. Exodus 77 is a huge dude who you may have heard on 'Won' by the Beta Band, and the Bhangra mix of the TY track is ace. Enjoy! The tune with Exodus isn't even listed on Wikipedia, so consider that an exclusive?

[download The Cinematic Orchestra - All Things To All Men]
[download TY - So You Want More (Refix)]
[download Leftfield - Dusted]
[download Exodus 77 - 3D Reconstruction]