Black Grape's debut revs up with a command from lead singer Shaun Ryder: "Oh, come all ye faithful, oh, joyful and triumphant!/Gather round while I blow my own trumpet!" The biblical bellowing seems appropriate: Black Grape are a resurrection of sorts – Ryder was formerly the main man in Happy Mondays, the most experimental, groove-ridden and recklessly Dionysian gang to come out of England's...

That Shaun Ryder is even alive, let alone making music, belies his reputation. As the leader of the Happy Mondays, he was the poster boy for pharmaceutical indulgence during the height of England's late-eighties Madchester scene. Ryder not only survived his fifteen minutes of fame, he also made an improbable comeback in 1995 with a new group, the electrorabble-rousers Black Grape.

Black Grape's...