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Soundtracks Of Our Lives w/e 1 November 2009 CE
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keith a
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Re: Soundtracks Of Our Lives w/e 1 November 2009 CE
Nov 04, 2009, 23:17
LP’S
ABBEY ROAD – The Beatles
I’d not heard AR in years. I only had it on vinyl – a picture disc at that (Nice to look at and all that but a very murky sound!) Anyway, it’s good to hear it again. It’s patchy admittedly, but there are some great tracks here. I really enjoyed hearing Something again – it’s so easy to take these kind of tracks for granted but listening to it again...well it’s easy to understand why some fella off some radio show like Sing Something Simple way-back-when thought it was better than anything Lennon & McCartney wrote because it lends itself so well to MOR renditions, but hey, the Beatles version is fab. And the “You're asking me will my love grow, I don't know, I don't know” bit in the middle is fabulous. You’ve got to be on top of your game to come up with something so wonderfully melodic and just use it the once in a song! I Want You is pretty remarkable, too. I think this was as ahead of its time as some of the earlier more touted Beatles tracks. Very much Macca’s album isn’t it – and his bass playing is top notch here.

DECADE – Duran Duran
I know. But it was only a quid and I love The Reflex!

OPEN HEARTS – The Longcut
I think this long awaited follow up to their excellent debut is gonna prove to be a real grower.

THIS IS HARDCORE – Pulp
My fave LP from Britpop’s equivalent of Roxy Music. Great to hear the extremely Bowie-esque Party Hard again, and Seductive Harry has a real lush feel to it. Best of all though is the quite remarkable title track – arguably their crowning glory.

NEW GOLD DREAM – Simple Minds
I like NGD, but with hindsight this is where it started to go wrong. I dunno if it’s just my copy though but mine has a rubbish sound. You really have to turn it up to bypass the murky sound (and no it wasn’t a cheap vinyl import!)

SATURN STRIP / JUST A MILLION DREAMS – Alan Vega
I love Saturn Strip. The opening track, Saturn Drive, is wonderful and the lead track on side two (Wipeout Beat) isn’t far behind. I’d never heard JAMD before though, but was aware that it was perceived to be Vega’s somewhat disappointing attempt at AOR commercialism. Seeing as they’re now available on one cd I thought it was time I got this – worth it to be able to hear SS in the car and to finally hear Dreams for myself. Sadly I can only confirm what others have said! Admittedly this is after a solitary play but I’m of the conclusion JAMD *is* pretty rubbish and am struggling to gather the enthusiasm to play it again. It’s well known that Billy Idol is a Vega fan who has ripped his hero’s ideas off, but this is surely the sound of Vega attempting to gain some Idol-like success. Unfortunately there’s nothing here anywhere near as good as, say, White Wedding. Even the vocals sounded watered down (and possibly speeded up – the fabulous Vega voice certainly seems higher on this one). But Saturn Drive? Genius!!

45’s
PLAY DEAD – Bjork / David Arnold
REMEMBER ME – The Blue Boy
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY – Janet Jackson
ROADRUNNER – Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers
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