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Unsung Forum » Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 9 January 2021 CE |
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1001realapes 2387 posts |
Edited Jan 10, 2021, 15:36
Jan 10, 2021, 04:43
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The Beatles - Please Please Me Arcturus - My Angel (demo) Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss Burzum - Dauði Baldrs Burzum - Hliðskjálf Burzum - Belus Elton John - Rare Masters Atomine Elektrine - Laniakea Julian Cope - Rite Bastard Jethro Tull - A Passion Play Bob Marley and The Wailers - Talkin' Blues Tampa Red - Bottleneck Guitar 1928-1937 AC/DC - Highway to Hell John Coltrane - The Believer Dolly Parton - The Best of Dolly Parton (1975) R.E.M. - Green Mutantes - A Divina Comédia Ou Ando Meio Desligado Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All Tod Dockstader - Aerial #1
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Fitter Stoke 2611 posts |
Edited Jan 10, 2021, 10:48
Jan 10, 2021, 10:42
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Chapman Whitney ‘Streetwalkers’ - their single post-Family, pre-Streetwalkers LP from 1974 is of its time but has some decent songs hampered by a slightly tame production job; Streetwalkers S/T - but this is much better. In fact, I don’t think Roger Chapman’s chops ever sounded better than here; Streetwalkers ‘Red Card’ - this stands up really well too. One of those sadly semi-forgotten bands that give the lie to a stale pre-punk scene in the mid-70s. They mightn’t have been the most distinctive band on the block but my, Streetwalkers could rock. This was my first ever coloured vinyl LP (sadly, my copy of ‘Faust’ is on boring black vinyl); Streetwalkers ‘Vicious But Fair’ - where the rot sets in. A change of rhythm section did the band no favours and the material started to get too predictable; Sad Cafe S/T - a perfect example of a slickly played and engineered record hampered by its artists’ inability to write a memorable song, at least on this album. In the words of John Peel (albeit in respect of a different band), this is just a waste of electricity; Bill Nelson ‘Silvertone Fountains’ - more instrumental wonder from this amazingly talented and productive Yorkshireman; Kevin Coyne & Brendan Croker ‘Life Is Almost Wonderful’ - short but sweet late work by Coyne at his most endearingly sardonic; Deep Purple ‘Made In Japan’ - I’ve got nearly everything Purple ever released, but this is still THE album for me. In fact, if there’s ever been a better double live rock album than this, I’d love to hear it; Jethro Tull ‘Stand Up’ - in its first - untampered with - mix, this was (no pun intended) a seriously heavy album, punctuated by some irresistibly jovial and/or pastoral moments. Part two of Tull’s near-faultless holy trinity (plus one!) from ‘This Was’ to ‘Aqualung’. It couldn’t, and didn’t, last; Dexys Midnight Runners ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’ - there’s been a lot of revisionist thinking about Dexys’ third album over the years but it remains what it’s always been to me: a decent but underwhelming record. It's the first of its three incarnations that sounds the best to me, but with all of them I get frustrated by the conversational elements that sound anything but spontaneous and cloy upon repeated listening. There are some fine songs going on amidst the pointless chat but the record is ultimately disfigured by Kevin Rowland’s unrestrained posturing and, it has to be said, occasionally off-key vocals. And not enough Big Jimmy; Patrick Moraz ‘Out In The Sun’ & ‘Patrick Moraz’ - I bought Moraz’ second and third solo albums on CD online at a very reasonable price a few weeks back and they made for enjoyable afternoon listening. ‘Sun’, which I had on LP back in the day, is the better of the two; Anthrax ’Spreading The Disease’ - this reminds me that maybe the pre-Roses late 80s weren’t as lifeless as I tend to remember. It’s a screamer of an album and still rocks like a rabid bitch today. I really enjoyed this; Judas Priest ‘British Steel’ - well, everyone needs a dumb-metal fix from time to time; Cabaret Voltaire ‘Mix Up’ - y’know, I’m convinced that if this came out today, it’d be raved over. I still remember my own reaction when I heard Peel play ‘Expect Nothing’ and playing it 42 years later it still sounds like nothing else I’ve heard before or since. If there was an alternate, Bizarro R&R Hall Of Fame I’d nominate Messrs Mallinder, Kirk and Watson in an instant; David Sylvian ‘Gone To Earth’ - with special emphasis on the excellent Low/Heroesesque instrumental second disc, featuring inspirational contributions from the aforementioned Bill Nelson as well as (natch) Robert Fripp. The sublime, song-based first record is however better still, and (in its very different way from the Anthrax LP mentioned above) a self-reminder that it wasn’t just The Smiths that distracted me from the classical and jazz racks in the mid to late eighties. Sacrilegious as it may sound, I’m starting to think that Sylvian took over Bowie’s torch after ‘Scary Monsters’. Consider the dude’s output from ‘Polaroids’ onwards and see what you think. One of very few artists (Cope included) who matured rather than stagnated in the 1980s; Shakin’ Stevens ‘Take One!’ - smirk if you like, but Shaky’s first Epic LP from 1979 is a rock and roll (in the original sense of that term) gem; Keith Jarrett ‘Hourglass’ (from ‘Staircase/Hourglass/Sundial/Sand’) - I played this last week, but it demanded a couple of plays this week too. Lovely music to stroll to; Keith Jarrett ’No End’ - wherein Jarrett leaves his primary instrument behind to indulge in two hours of low-fi, Garcia-esque guitar noodling - and emerges with surprisingly listenable results, albeit a little one-dimensional. This has grown on me in the seven years or so since it was first belatedly released; David Holland & Derek Bailey ‘Improvisations for Cello & Guitar’ - surprisingly listenable free jazz from two masters of that craft; Jon Christensen ‘Rarum XX Selected Recordings’ - this fine, sadly departed drummer left no albums in his own name, but more than left his mark on others’, as this excellent ECM comp confirms; Beethoven: Piano Concerto no.1 (Krystian Zimerman/LSO/Simon Rattle) - online taster of forthcoming, lockdown-recorded concerto cycle is reasonably promising. Orchestrally it’s excellent but I think Zimerman was subtler and more lyrical in his self-led VPO recording; Hoddinott: Variants for Orchestra, Op.47 (LSO/Norman del Mar) - distinctive piece staying just the right side of atonality; Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition (Chicago SO/Rafael Kubelik) - incredible to think that this staggeringly good recording was made nearly 70 years ago. Still my favourite version; Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante, K364 & Schubert: String Quintet (London Mozart Players/Harry Blech/Amadeus Quartet & William Pleeth) - lovely Testament remastering of two great early examples of the art of the Amadeus Quartet. Their 1952 take on Schubert’s sublime String Quintet is a truly wondrous thing; Messiaen: Livre d’Orgue (Gillian Weir) - from her 1994 complete Messiaen cycle, this is as near-definitive as it gets; Mozart: Rondo in C, K 373 (Henryk Szeryng/New Philh/Sir Alexander Gibson - delightful mini violin concerto in one movement; Haydn: String Quartets Op.50 nos.1 & 2 (Kodaly Quartet) - snowy morning music; Bach: Oboe Concerto BWV 1055 (COE/Douglas Boyd) - beautiful music, sensitively played on modern instruments; Haydn: Symphonies 83 & 86 (Paris Chamber O/Douglas Boyd) - new recording of two ‘Paris’ symphonies beautifully revealing the inner voices of Haydn’s writing; Haydn: Symphony no.96 (Detroit SO/Paul Paray) - energetic rendition of the so-called ‘Miracle’ symphony; Haydn: Symphonies 103 & 104 (Concertgebouw/Nikolaus Harnoncourt) - serious, teutonic flavoured readings, superbly played and conducted; Sibelius: Symphony no.3 (LPO/Owain Arwel Hughes) - well played new recording of Sibelius’ first truly distinctive symphony, if a little too measured for my taste.
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garerama 1111 posts |
Edited Jan 10, 2021, 10:50
Jan 10, 2021, 10:50
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The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl (mono) / Summer Days (And Summer Nights) (mono) / Pet Sounds / Love You David Bowie - Images / Stage / Lodger / 50th Birthday Concert / Blackstar John Cale - Fear / Slow Dazzle / Helen Of Troy Coil - Horse Rotorvator / Stolen & Contaminated Songs / Unnatural History Vols 1-3 John Coltrane - Coltrane / Impressions / Cosmic Music (with Alice Coltrane) Crass - Christ The Album (studio sides) Cream - Heavy Cream John Foxx - Metamatic / The Garden Hawkwind - Quark, Strangeness & Charm (DE 2cd) / P.X.R.5 I Monster - Neveroddoreven The Kinks - ... Are The Village Green Preservation Society / Arthur (DE 2cd) / Lola Versus The Powerman & The Moneygoround / Percy / Muswell Hillbillies / Collection (The Collectors Series 2LP) The Lollipop Shoppe - Just Colour Loop Guru - Amrita Master Musicians Of Jajouka - Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Jajouka The Onyx - Kaleidoscope Of Colours David Sylvian - Dead Bees On A Cake / Everything & Nothing / A Victim Of Stars Van Der Graaf Generator - World Record Verdi - Requiem Mass (Orchestra Del Teatro Alla Scala, Claudio Abbado (conductor))
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flashbackcaruso 1056 posts |
Jan 10, 2021, 11:32
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George Harrison - All Things Must Pass George Harrison - Living In The Material World Simon Joyner - Songs For The New Year Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Shirley Collins - Heart's Ease The Beach Boys - Carl & The Passions: So Tough The Beach Boys - Holland The Beach Boys - In Concert Ron Geesin - Ghost Story OST ABBA - The Visitors ABBA - Opus 10 Elton John - 21 At 33 Elton John - The Fox Broadcast & The Focus Group - Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age Paul McCartney - McCartney II (2LP version) Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow Aphrodite's Child - End Of The World
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jb lamptoast-morsley 2447 posts |
Jan 10, 2021, 17:44
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All my Jesus & the Mary Chain CD's, them being: Honey's Dead Darklands Psychocandy. Their debut album never really gelled with me until now - seemed like a lot of noise! James - Laid. Not sure what I think of Tim Booth's lyrics and songwriting. This time around I wasn't so complementary! Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures. One of the consolations of getting older is that hopefully you become a bit more receptive and less dismissive aesthetically? Things that never really gelled suddenly have pride of place in your collection. Bit like this. Never really had a strong aversion to it and knew there was something about them, but now appreciating them that bit more Elsewhere: Fat White Family - Serf's Up & Champagne Holocaust, the latter making a little way into my affections Falling - Out of Sight The Fall - Perverted by Language. Sounding more vital as the years go by. That seems to be my theme this week! Faith No More - We care a lot
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Monganaut 2375 posts |
Edited Jan 10, 2021, 20:27
Jan 10, 2021, 20:21
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The final 90's JAMC album 'Munci' is worth a listen. Seems to amalgamate everything that had gone before into a a pretty cool, if poppier release (much like Bowie's Scary Monsters did at the time). https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNDXDJtQAOamSOmZK9mSdtrzg8jfywVlM My daughter was only saying the other day how much she was loving various bits of The Fall all over again, must be something about lockdown. Champagne Holocaust is a blinder of a record. First heard it on headphones fixing a hole in the shed roof. It actually made my ears prick, and i stood up several times and listened just to take in the majesty. They released a 2 disc version as well with loads more goodies on it. On Bandcamp fer DL or CD. https://fatwhitefamily.bandcamp.com/album/champagne-holocaust-deluxe-edition
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keith a 9572 posts |
Edited Jan 10, 2021, 21:05
Jan 10, 2021, 21:04
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Mainly 2020 Releases This Week... Karma & Desire – Actress Love & Light – Daniel Avery Shadow Of Fear – Cabaret Voltaire Where This Leads – Carlton Melton Little We Know EP – Extrawelt Sixteen Oceans – Four Tet I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep – Ghostpoet McCartney III – Paul McCartney A Few Scattered Hours – Memory Drawings Roisin Machine – Roisin Murphy Selbstportrait Wahre Liebe – Roedelius Fall To Pieces – Tricky Interzone - The Vacant Lots Damage Control – The Vacant Lots Shattered Metal Sky – White Hills Otherwise... For Ever – Jungle Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt – Moby Connected – Stereo MC's
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Fatalist 1123 posts |
Jan 11, 2021, 23:46
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Craven Faults – Erratics & Unconformities The Brian Jonestown Massacre – s/t. Popped up on YouTube after the Auteurs. Don’t think I’ve ever knowingly heard a BJM album, but this, from 2019, was actually rather good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmfBJsWWnIo The Auteurs – After Murder Park. Start of the year, so a chance to revisit a few old favourites. Here’s Luke Haines, the eternal ghost at the Britpop feast, with one of the best albums of the 90s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4i9100QooY&list=OLAK5uy_k9hPllT2dgwDDlI7c4SvIRJYyvGvkiOas Godflesh – Slavestate. Hey, great riff, let’s nick it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra9bprHxcqE Robert Calvert – Test Tube Conceived. His last, and once again, I don’t think I appreciated at the time just how good this was. Definitely due a reappraisal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmaOKDJ4KBA King Crimson – Discipline. One of the great (and relatively) unheralded art rock albums of the 80s Eloy – Ocean. Yes, I’m on record as saying this is one of the funniest albums ever released, but… it’s actually Euro prog heaven in places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI8b6GQ5C80&t=5s Neil Ardley – Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows. Brit jazz/prog guy who I have to plead complete ignorance of, but this was perfectly pleasant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgdfA4YJWP0
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