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Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 20 November 2011 CE
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Fitter Stoke
Fitter Stoke
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Re: Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 20 November 2011 CE
Nov 20, 2011, 11:11
Inspired by Martin Scorcese's excellent docufilm, I've been re-exploring George Harrison's back catalogue this week. The big surprise was the 1981 album 'Somewhere In England', a superb heartfelt pop record chocfull of catchy songs, devoid of the dated 80's production standards that Jeff Lynne inflicted later on. I also dug Hari's underrated mid-70's albums 'Dark Horse', 'Extra Texture' and 'Thirty Three And A Third', all dripping with weird chord changes and that addictively dour atmosphere that was uniquely George.

Joy Division's great 1979 album 'Unknown Pleasures' also got a couple of long-delayed spins chez moi this week. Anyone else get the Sabbath links here? Sumner's guitar sound on several tracks is pure Tony Iommi, despite Martin Hannett's best efforts to stop the band from sounding metal. Check out 'New Dawn Fades' to see what I mean. It sounds like an outtake from 'Paranoid'!

I kept things Mancunian with a few more plays of the new Magazine album 'No Thyself'. Musically, I'm well impressed: it's the most satisfying record released under the Magazine name since the near-perfect 'Secondhand Daylight', despite what I thought would be fatal line-up changes (probably because the new guys have copied their predecessors' techniques off pat). Where I am disappointed is with the main man himself. Although Devoto is on good vocal form, his lyrics are pretty poor throughout the record, veering into obscene tastelessness on a couple of songs, with none of those great one-liners
that made me fall in love with him way back when. But I'm still delighted to have him back.

Have a great week everybody.

Dave
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Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 20 November 2011 CE (1001realapes)		 Replies:
Re: Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 20 November 2011 CE (IanB)
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