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Soundtracks Of Our Lives w/e 11 July 2010 CE
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Fitter Stoke
Fitter Stoke
2601 posts

Re: Soundtracks Of Our Lives w/e 11 July 2010 CE
Jul 11, 2010, 10:31
Very mainstream listening for me this week, including:

Queen 'Queen': It occurred to me this week that this fine debut album has enriched my life for nearly four decades, and I've never tired of it. Despite the ridicule I risk upon myself, I feel an Unsung review coming on....;

Caravan 'The Album' - their commercial nadir, released at a time (1980) when no-one cared any more, Caravan's tenth album is a superbly crafted pop album full of warmth and melody. The guitar on the marvelous closing track 'Keeping Up Defences' is amazing, making me wonder where Pye Hastings had been hiding that particular facet of his talents for so long;

Van Morrison 'Astral Weeks' - i've been revelling again in the sonic glories of this classic's current audiophile vinyl edition, which every fan of this album really should stop at nothing to acquire (£15 at HMV last time I was in, if you're interested). There's so much going on that I'd never heard before, and wasn't Richard Davis' just-off-the-note bass playing just perfect for the sessions;

David Bowie 'Station To Station' - inspired by the deluxe edition thread, I dug this out of the mothballs last week, not having played it in at least ten years. I remain of the opinion that it's far from Bowie's best album, caught as it is between the blue-eyed soul of 'Young Americans' and the coke-soaked artrock of his Berlin period, but it does have some great moments, not least the stunning title track which pretty much overshadows everything that follows, especially the godawful 'Golden Years'. Carlos Alomar deserves a mention too: his Isleyesque riffing and lead work on 'Stay' is a thing of wonder;

The Beatles 'Rubber Soul' - quite the grooviest album in The Beatles' discography, in that the feet are kept-a-tapping through nearly every track. I hope EMI see fit to issue the original mono mix of this separately as it's so much more vibrant than either of the stereo versions on the market;

Holger Czukay 'Movies' - totally accessible and irresistible solo album from Can bassist. Why 'Cool In The Pool' wasn't a million-selling floor filler is one of the great mysteries of modern music.

Classical stuff included Glenn Gould's quirky but enthralling Bach Partitas, Kurt Sanderling in Haydn's 44th and 104th symphonies, and Karajan's Mahler Ninth - the 1980 studio one, if you're interested - with a closing slow movement that is nothing less than the stairway to heaven transcribed in musical form. One listen, and that's all she wrote.

I fuckn love music, me. May you get a similar rush from it, dear friends. Have a great week.

Dave
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