My heart’s in the Highlands:
Marillion ‘Marbles’ - one of many post-‘89 Marillion albums that show precious little affinity with their ‘80s heyday, or with anything else for that matter. Quality rock - as art - is all. The Hogarth era Marillion is one of the best kept secrets of the last thirty-odd years, their loyal fanbase notwithstanding;
Alice Cooper ‘Easy Action’ - their transitional album between psych and hard rock with a bias towards the latter. ‘Return Of The Spiders’ rocks big time and is right up there with their best ever tracks IMHO. And there’s a section of the epic ‘Lay Down And Die, Goodbye’ that Hawkwind simply must have heard before they laid down ‘Master Of The Universe’;
Steve Winwood ‘Nine Lives’ - no less than fifteen years have elapsed since Winwood released an album of new songs. That ‘Nine Lives’ is such an assured and satisfying listen renders such a gap more than frustrating;
Roxy Music S/T - as good a debut album as I’ve ever heard, and quite unlike anything they - or anyone else for that matter - ever made. Still sounds like music from the Bizarro alternate world. Comparing it to the blandfest that is ‘Avalon’ from a decade later is like hearing life in reverse;
UFO ‘The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent’ - where the most tuneful of hard rock bands surpass themselves. There’s some great string arrangements in evidence too, used sparingly enough to keep the rock factor dominant;
Bob Dylan ‘Time Out Of Mind’ - prior to hearing the new box set edition, I spun the original album for the first time in several years. It’s as I remember it: highly engaging as Dylan has rarely been since. Well, up until ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ anyway;
Tim Buckley ‘Lorca’ - one of Buckley’s most impenetrable albums has some beautiful moments, but struggles to hold my attention over its full 40 minutes, maybe because all five “songs” sound a little too similar. Kind of like ‘Astral Weeks’ without its hooks;
Tim Buckley ‘The Song Belongs To Me’ - that rare thing: an album of demos that improve on the standard versions. There’s no finer take of ‘Song To The Siren’ than this one. In fact, I think that this may just be my favourite TB album from a sheer music-for-pleasure perspective. Beautifully recorded too.;
Elgar: Introduction & Allegro/Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.6/Beethoven: Symphony no.7 (all Halle/Barbirolli) - Sir Snifter got a rightly enthusiastic reception at this special concert for his 70th birthday in 1969 (so sad that he never had a 71st). The VW is especially intense;
Rossini: Overtures (LSO/Gamba) - near definitive readings from a conductor who died last year. One of those fab old Decca ffss LPs that make my system sing. As is
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto no.2 (Katchen/LSO/Solti) - a tremendously emotive and exciting take on the old Brief Encounter warhorse;
Brahms: Symphony no.3 (Cleveland Orch/Ashkenazy) - one of the best Brahms Thirds I know, ideally paced with just the right amount of drama and pathos;
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (Trevor Pinnock) - music that simply draws me into its being and doesn’t let go. Nearly two and a half hours passed like minutes. There’s an earthiness to Pinnock’s playing that hits straight and true, even if others find more elegance in this music. I’ll play Pinnock’s Book I next week.
Notes could not spell out the score.
Enjoy your week, all
Dave x
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