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Recent purchases

M

Mekon

Anti-socialite
I am trying to be good, as it's only 16 days since my summer grant cheque arrived, and it has to last until October. I've been tormenting myself by putting together fantasy orders from Boomkat, HHI, and Soul Jazz. Fortunately, I've resisted all temptation to put a three figure order through. So other than Dave C's stuff (which I tell myself doesn't count), it's just a couple so far this week:

Mr Dibbs - The 30th Song
This one's been showing up on loads of 'best release of the year so far' threads. That Slug from Atmosphere is on there makes it almost a dead cert. I'll give it a spin tonight.

Labradford - Fixed::Context
Thanks to David S.
 
A good one i've just picked up is Nat Adderley Presents: Soul of the Bible, a two disc Blue Note reissue of very black sounding jazz with loads of consciousness raising recitations from the Good Book and ancient Hindu scripture.

Sparse, spacious, simple, lovely and earthy. As a high concept jazz album rest assured the obligatory mystic bongos and meandering Fender Rhodes lines are well in place :)
 
Us older farts have been buying stuff like:-

Steve Winwood - About Time
Great new CD - centred around Hammond B3 (used for bass as well) with just guitar and percussion on most tracks - good rocky / blues with Latin / World overtones here and there. Highly recommended.

John Mayall & Friends - Along For the Ride
Elder statesman of blues (I remember hearing him at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester late 60s) - great solid blues with guests including Gary Moore, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Billy Preston, Chris Rea, Steve Miller, Andy Fairweather Low (don't laugh), Dick Heckstall-Smith et al. Great if you like John Mayall and remember hot pants and loons.

Crusaders - Rural Renewal
First new release for years from this seminal jazz combo - bit of a mixed bag but some great tracks including a couple with Eric Clapton on acoustic guitar. Worth a shot if you're a Crusaders fan.

Deep Sky Divers - The New Fast Lane
Deep Sky Divers - Highlands & Skylands
Very chillled / ambient music - zip over to their web site and try for yourself. Acquired taste for some.

Comments welcome, along with other recommendations.

Thank you and goodnight.

Graeme
 
I recently bought the Led Zep DVD, which is an awesome collection demonstrating just what a great band they were live.

Jimmy Page is a god, and the driving rythms of Bonzo and that bloke playing the bass ( ;) ) really fix it all together nicely, with Plant demonstrating is abilities at the top of rocks' league of screamers.

I don't know how much the footage / music has been touched up, but I've not had so much fun in ages as having this lot cranked up to structural damage levels, there's some fantastic music and video footage on here, and in particular Page's sensitivity with a guitar, from gentle bluesy numbers, through the heavier stuff, for which almost every guitar player since owes him some credit, really shines through.

I'll have to enlist my Nait and Kans into play one day, as the DVD player has full 5.1 decoding, it would be interesting to hear it in that mode.

Does the recent CD, (How the west was won) have all the music from the DVD, I really want it in a more conventional audio format now, I'm sure it will be way better than my cheap DVD?

Andy.
 
...is John Paul Jones. I have one of his solo projects -Zooma - well recommended for on the structural damage front. Some pretty good music on it as well...
 
I knew that really ;)

Just a typical 'in the background' figure, seemingly dwarfed on stage by the much more flamboyant figures of Page, Plant and Bonzo, despite the obvious talent.

Andy.
 
Graeme,

Deep Sky Divers - The New Fast Lane
Deep Sky Divers - Highlands & Skylands
Very chillled / ambient music
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointer - the snippets on the web site sound really interesting. So where would you suggest a beginner should start? Is the latest album the best way in, or is going back one or more a better idea?

Cheers,
Simon
 
I've just manged to buy 2 new out of print ACR LPs; 'To Each' (1981) & 'Sextet' (1982) from 101cd.com (did you get yours Sideshowbob?).

They're REAL flat-earth music albums; rhythmic, percussive with some great bass playing. Sextet has an almost African/Caribbean flavour at times, with brass and whistles added to the rhythms and flat vocal style.

In typical Factory Record fashion, the cover contains almost no information about the band or the music; 'To Each' doesn't even label which side is which (you have to count the tracks) - I wonder where Tony got this minimalist thing from?
 
Simon,

Of the two listed, I actually prefer the earlier one Highlands & Skylands - it's a little more varied in pace and texture.

If you're new to DSD, you might like to start with Momentum which is a compilation of earlier stuff and the first one I bought.

Good luck.

Regards

Graeme
 
Patrick, fine albums both

ACR have a NEW single out with Fila Brazila called :

File Brazillia versus A Certain Ratio -

Tracks :Starlight, Wild Party, I'm a very busy man.

on 23 records.

DS

ITC - Various Artists - 21st Century Drum & Bass
 
(did you get yours Sideshowbob?).
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Nope, it's still on order with the supplier. I guess that means you got the only copy. (I do have a copy, but it has a deep scratch on The Fox, which is irritating).

Never liked Sextet as much, I remember it as a big disappointment when I bought it at the time. Must dig it out and give it another listen.

-- Ian
 
I've just manged to buy 2 new out of print ACR LPs; 'To Each' (1981) & 'Sextet' (1982) from 101cd.com (did you get yours Sideshowbob?).
Click to expand...

Were they genuine new old stock? I am amazed there are any still knocking around over 20 years after the fac(t) – they are worth at least £13 in half decent second hand condition. I bought mine when they came out, and thankfully they are still mint. I've got the key ACR 12" singles too. Now if I could only find a copy of Always Now by Section 25…

The early Factory stuff seems to have totally vanished since the film 24 Hour party people, I suspect its safe to add at least a tenner to the prices in RCRRPG.

In typical Factory Record fashion, the cover contains almost no information about the band or the music; 'To Each' doesn't even label which side is which (you have to count the tracks) - I wonder where Tony got this minimalist thing from?
Click to expand...

Probably a large factor – I remember being totally knocked out when a friend lent me a copy of Unknown Pleasures in 79; everything was right, the music, the sleeve, the label design, the inner, the fact the vinyl glows dark red held up to the light. A total product, and still IMHO one of the most perfect albums ever made. It will never make it out of my top ten!

Tony.
 
..items doing the rounds hereabouts:

Steel Pulse Handsworth Revolution
Culture International Herb
Dillinger CB200

..amongst others, but these are the ones I can't put away. Fabulous, esp. the Dillinger: right on the cusp between roots reggae /toasting and early dancehall it's not the place to start if reggae for you starts and ends with Bob...cokane in the brain, indeed.

It doesn't help I now live 3mins walk from a branch of Fopp: simply can't avoid filling the holes in the collection. Only problem is, the more you hear, the more you need...

More soon, no doubt.

MC
 
Were they genuine new old stock?
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I reckon so. The covers look like they've been hanging around a bit - the corners are slightly knocked (but I bought worse new in the 80s); the vinyl looks mint unplayed - well, was unplayed.

Not bad for 20 years old.

I like 'Sextet' - 'To Each' sounds more familar because it's more like the 12"s I've got. I think it's impressive that they still sound so fresh 20 years on, as so much of the stuff I bought at the time sounds terribly dated now.

I've got a 'Gang of Four' 7" with 'Love Like Anthrax' on which I always really liked, so I guess I should look out for their LPs too.
 
I've got a 'Gang of Four' 7" with 'Love Like Anthrax' on which I always really liked, so I guess I should look out for their LPs too.
Click to expand...

Everybody should have a copy of Entertainment! the first album. Great sleeve as well. Strange Fruit released a Peel sessions album a few years ago and that's excellent, too.

I relistened to Sextet and liked it more than I remembered. At the time I only ever played "Knife Slits Water" very much, but it turns out side one, especially, is pretty good. Still prefer To Each and the early singles. After Sextet I think they pretty much lost the plot.

-- Ian
 
Everybody should have a copy of Entertainment!
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Absolutely – I picked up a totally mint copy (not even a spine crease!) two weeks ago along with a similar condition copy of Cut by The Slits. Two very big holes in my record collection filled in one hit… superb stuff. Both records that I knew well, but always borrowed my friends copies and later realised they had vanished from the shops.

I relistened to Sextet and liked it more than I remembered. At the time I only ever played "Knife Slits Water" very much, but it turns out side one, especially, is pretty good. Still prefer To Each and the early singles. After Sextet I think they pretty much lost the plot.
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I really like Sextet, but the two 12”s of The Fox and Shack Up / Du the du are where its at. Too Each is wonderful, a very dark and atmospheric take that I believe was actually a mistake as they screwed up the mix and could never get it back! Works for me. I’ve also got ‘I’d like to see you again’ which is the point they lost it – if anyone has seen 24 Hr Party People I was actually at the empty gig at the Hac when it all went jazz-funk! The 12” of Knife slits water is essential, way better than the Sextet version, and is Linn friendly at 33rpm. Waterline is good too.

Anyone new to ACR should buy the Soul Jazz retrospective 'Early' - its stunningly well compiled.

Tony.
 
One that's growing on me is the new Tindersticks album, 'Waiting for the Moon'.

They were on BBC R2 the other night, playing live, which was an engaging experience, there's some soulful, melodic and beautiful tunes on here, in typical Tindersticks style.

Nothing radically different from previous albums, but no worse for that.

Andy.
 
Andy - I'm a recent purchaser of the Zep DVD too - my wife's a BIG fan (not that I'm not, but I'm not allowed to like them as much as she is ...:rolleyes: )
We are lucky enough to have a projector, and I have the sound running through the 250/Arcs plus surround channels too.

Interestingly the sound defaults to stereo, and one has to choose 5.1/DTS manually. I'd say that it adds some ambience (mainly crowd noise etc), apart from a couple of heavy handed bouces of Pagey's guitar around (when he's playing his guitar with the viledin bow).
What I found interesting is that some stuff sounds MUCH better than others - so I think we can assume that Mr Page has been reasonably sensitive in his remastering.

Funnily enough, watching that DVD made me hanker after playing the .... bass. Maybe I'm just a limelight shunning backroom boy. Watching JPJ and Bonham working together is awesome. Mind you, I don't think I'll be buying one of those jackets with Christmas tree decorations all over it.
 
Saw Mr. Plant with his current band live last Saturday night. Somehow managed not to see LZ "at the time", so it was quite a revelation -- one of the few who can really, really do it, IMHO.

Best;

Mark
 
Just bought a few more hip hop 12"s recently:

Lyrics Born - Hello
Being hailed as the best thing on Quannum.

Saul Williams - Not in my name
Listen to it here.

V/A - Urban Renewal Program
Mos Def, Aesop Rock, RJD2, and Tortoise.
 
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