This week’s music to avoid the World Cup to:
Nick Drake ‘Time Of No Reply’ - the earliest (?) and best of Drake’s posthumous albums, unearthing genuine jewels devoid of annoying post-production;
Mogwai ‘Happy Songs For Happy People’ - well, the title says it all, doesn’t it. Made ME smile anyway;
George Harrison ‘Living In The Material World’ - my favourite Beatle solo LP moves me more every time I hear it. Some strange chord changes and time signatures are going down here, but somehow they work, resulting in some achingly emotive songs;
Barclay James Harvest ‘Early Morning Onwards’ - good, cheapo sampler of BJH’s first phase with some choice early 45 sides thrown in;
Altered Images ‘Mascara Streakz’ - nothing earth moving, just high quality modern pop is all. A most enjoyable comeback. Mind you, New Order could sue over ‘Double Reflection’;
Camel ‘Mirage’ - their brief Sinclair era aside, Camel are a band I’ve admired rather than loved. Their second album is a slow grower though. 48 years after its release, I now get it. Prog without tears;
Eddie and the Hot Rods ‘Life On The Line’ - blistering sophomore LP by the ever-underrated Hot Rods. Too slick for punks, too punky for old farts, their fame came and went far too quickly. This was their finest hour;
Wishbone Ash S/T - bit of an unsung debut album this, methinks. Loud and vibrant, yet tuneful too. I’ve underrated this for too long;
Tyrannosaurus Rex ‘Unicorn’ - the very different ‘Electric Warrior’ excepted, this is my go-to Bolan LP, a perfect snapshot of its hippy time with Marc and Steve in perfect accord. I came to it relatively late (via its post-fame pairing with ‘A Beard Of Stars’) but ‘Unicorn’ has enriched over three quarters of my life;
Discharge ‘Fight Back’ EP - Discharge’s second EP from 1980 presents them at their out-and-out punkiest: five short and exhilarating blasts of raucous, tinny mayhem;
Roddy Frame ‘Surf’ - a quiet classic;
Man ‘Back Into The Future’ - Man’s studio albums sound better to me now than they did back in their day, rendering the title of this 1973 opus somewhat apposite. Micky Jones (no, not him from The Clash nor him from Foreigner) was one serious axe virtuoso, as is well exemplified here;
Paul Weller ‘Will Of The People’ - I love odds’n’ends albums like this that flow so well they end up being played more often than the regular ones, such as Nirvana’s ‘Incesticide’ in my case. I suspect that CD1 of this generous box will endure likewise;
King Crimson ‘In The Court Of The Crimson King’ (film) - endurable rather than enjoyable for me, alas. Much as I dig most of the music released under the KC name, I can’t help be repelled by the unnecessary preciousness its leader places upon it, and himself. For chissakes man, can’t you just rock? (Maybe I’d have enjoyed it more had I not sat through the ludicrously pompous Pseuds’ Corner intro and post-film Q&A session that accompanied the premiere);
Gary Burton Quintet & Eberhard Weber ‘Passengers’ - there’s a track on this called ‘B & G (Midwestern Night’s Dream’ which is as ethereal as any music I’ve ever heard. The whole album though is just lovely, the blend of acoustic and electric instruments nigh-perfect;
Miles Davis ‘Milestones’ - ‘Kind Of Blue’ may be the classic Miles quintet’s most lauded album - and why not, it’s damn near perfect - but ‘Milestones’ is almost as great, and it’s livelier too. Tell me that whoever penned the Tomorrow’s World theme hadn’t dug its title track and I’ll give you the most overt chinny reckon you’ve ever seen;
Schubert: Symphony no.9 (VPO/Solti) - the more I hear the Great C major, the more I marvel at its delights. Solti plays it straight and that’s okay by me;
Berg: Three Orchestral Pieces, Op.6 and Altenberg Lieder, Op.4 (Margaret Price/LSO/Abbado) - Berg’s greatest orchestral score allied with some of his strangest music, pretty well definitively rendered in this 1971 recording;
Artur Pizarro ‘Chopin Reminiscences’ - sensitive recital of mostly well-known Chopin works by one of the finest pianists of today;
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op.101 & Op.106 (Maurizio Pollini) - Pollini’s new recordings of these late masterpieces are more introspective and considered than his classic 1976 versions. Maybe it’s sign of my similarly advancing age that I prefer his maturer readings;
Timothy Wakerell ‘The St Paul’s Gem’ - entertaining recital of baroque, classical and romantic organ music superbly recorded on the Drake organ at St Paul’s Cathedral.
It’s a messed up, f**ked up, f**king system!
Rock on
Dave x
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