Tesco disco:
Bob Dylan ‘Blood On The Tracks’ - not all critically loved records are worthy of their acclaim, but this is: in fact, it’s underrated. Yes, I bought the big box a few years back and treasure it but, for me, the original 1975 release remains definitive. He’s never shone more brightly;
Blur ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ - what a middle-aged Britpop band should sound like: a few nods to their laddish heyday, but more the resigned, world-weary feel that takes over with each passing year. Story of my life. By the way, I thought that ‘St Charles Square’ sounded very like bits of…
David Bowie ‘Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps’) … especially ‘It’s No Game no.1’ and the title track, and it’s not the first time that Graham Coxon’s dissonant guitar playing has reminded me of Robert Fripp. But re-hearing this Bowie masterpiece - his last great album, IMO - I wondered why it’s stood gathering dust on my shelves for so long;
Blur ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ - hearing the new album made me keen to hear this again. It’s always been my favourite Blur album, and I do believe that it still is. Thirty years: jeez. Mind you, it’s taken me that long to suss that the verse melody of ‘Colin Zeal’ is too akin to ‘Went Crazy’ for comfort. Didn’t their label boss David Balfe tell them? And note that the adjacent track happens to be called ‘Pressure On Julian’…
Julian Cope ‘Robin Hood’ - hmmm. More low-fi outpourings from our hero: mostly immediate, a few less so. I’ll need more time with this but initial impressions are predominantly
positive. The DIY element that has exemplified The Drude’s recent output is most appealing;
Aztec Camera ‘High Land, Hard Rain’ - aside from Julian, The Smiths, and some of the JAMC’s oeuvre, I reckon that a decent early 80s music scene fell into sub-mediocrity until near to the end of that decade. This little gem appeared right at the cliff edge of that temporary abyss;
Jethro Tull ‘Benefit’ - I played the Steven Wilson remix against the 1970 original this week and unequivocally prefer the original. Whatever. What is clear from both is that ‘Benefit’ is easily Tull’s finest album, and I know that many - Ian Anderson included - disagree;
Nils Lofgren ‘Mountains’ - this exemplifies the consistency that a handful of mature artistes still exhibit after five decades or more. This is every bit as good as ‘Back It Up’, ‘Cry Tough’ or anything Nils released in the supposedly numb pre-punk years;
Kansas ‘In The Spirit Of Things’ - from Kansas’ lowly big hair period, one of those well executed but poorly inspired records that rather stretch the patience. I refer to my earlier comments about the mid-80s;
Waylon Jennings ‘Honky Tonk Heroes’ - Waylon’s homage to fellow outlaw countryman Billy Joe Shaver, who pens most of the songs on this excellent 1973 album;
Waylon Jennings ‘Lonesome, On’ry & Mean’ - Waylon’s earlier LP from 1973 - the first with his trademark beard in place - is a gem too: proper country with just the right amount of rock edge and the great man’s rich baritone at its best;
Keith Tippett ‘Blueprint’ - totally improvised, but musical at the same time. Keith could challenge and soothe simultaneously;
Coleridge-Taylor: 5 Fantasiestucke (Takacs Quartet) - slight but engaging chamber music: an apt filler for the Dvorak quartet with which it’s coupled;
Beethoven: Symphonies 1 & 6 ‘Pastoral’ (Verbier Fest CO/Gabor Takacs-Nagy) - two more ace performances from what is starting to look like the most sheerly enjoyable Beethoven cycle in years. There are grander and better played sets out there but none that more clearly convey the fun in these hallowed works. Ol’Ludwig wasn’t ALL sturm und drang y’know;
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture/Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe/Beethoven: Symphony no.5 (all Minneapolis SO/Antal Dorati) - from a new box set of Dorati’s complete mono Mercury records, most of which have never been available on CD. These are tense, exciting performances, with incredible sound quality for their early fifties’ vintage. The Beethoven Fifth is exceptional: much tauter than Dorati’s later LSO & RPO recordings and right up there with the best of Klemperer, Kleiber et al;
We can eat, drink and sleep together for tomorrow we die.
Love and tolerance to all
Dave x
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