Bob Dylan ‘Murder Most Foul’ - what a way to end an eight year period of writer’s block: a seventeen minute, soothing yet seething take on Kennedy’s assassination and all manner of cultural references old and new. This perplexed me three years ago and still does now, but… I like it;
Bob Dylan ‘Fragments’ (Disc 4: live recordings) - although some of this stuff appears to be audience-sourced it’s a highly entertaining listen, and each of the ‘Time Out Of Mind’ songs featured takes on a fresh new life. I tried not to let the occasional whooping tw*ts in the crowds affect my enjoyment;
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band ‘Live’ - capturing their energy better than any of their studio albums. I just wish there was more of it;
Deniece Williams ‘When Love Comes Calling’ - Niecy’s most dance-oriented album, with the lady in fine four octave form as ever;
The Stranglers ‘Black and White’ - my favourite Strangs LP, complete with its white vinyl EP and their fab Doorsy take on ‘Walk On By’;
Rory Gallagher ‘Deuce’ - Rory’s second solo LP is one of his best, and sounds particularly good in last year’s 50th anniversary remaster;
Epic Soundtracks ‘Sleeping Star’ - the records that the much missed Kevin Godfrey released under his stage name are much subtler than his punky roots might suggest. These are simple, heartfelt vignettes with great tunes and fragile, plaintive vocals. Lovely;
Steve Miller Band ‘Fly Like An Eagle’ - though my tastes tend more towards the late Steve Miller who was briefly a member of Caravan and made a bunch of charmingly eccentric LPs with Lol Coxhill, I do maintain a somewhat guilty liking for his West Coast namesake. This is IMHO the latter’s best album, oh so 1976 in its sound and feel but with tunes so infectious it should’ve come with a face mask. Mind you, Free could’ve sued for ‘Rock’n Me’;
Edgar Winter Group ‘Shock Treatment’ - another 70s album that sounds its age, but so what - it veers from hard rock to funk to soulfulness without a blip. A couple of clunky ballads can be safely skipped;
Porcupine Tree ‘Closure/Continuation’ - forget restrictive sub-genre classifications. This is a damn fine rock album, period;
Frankie Miller ‘Once In A Blue Moon’ - what an R&B flavoured Brinsley Schwarz might have sounded like with a gritty lead vocalist. Which is precisely what we get here;
Dave Rowntree ‘Radio Songs’ - a by no means typical solo effort by a drummer. There’s an appealingly elegiac mood throughout this record that I find most appealing;
The Who at Kilburn 1977 (Sky Arts show last night) - Jesus H Christ. Enwistle plays a solo throughout every song, Moon can’t leave his cymbals alone, Townshend wrenches every note and chord out if his Les Paul as if he hated the f*cker, and Daltrey is just THE rock god. Was there ever a better band? I don’t think so;
Ian Matthews ‘Somedays You Eat The Bear’ - Matthews has stood fast by his patently Lincolnshire take on Americana ever since the early Fairport days. This LP from 1974 is typical of his style, with his poignant, double-tracked voice to the fore. I especially love his takes on the Dan’s ‘Dirty Work’ and Crazy Horse’s ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’;
Rush ‘Exit … Stage Left’ and ‘Test For Echo’ - jaw droppingly slick hard rock is all. I miss them already;
Gary Numan ‘The Pleasure Principle’ - there’s an attractive naivete about Numan’s early albums, and no shortage of melody amidst their synthesised chill. This has aged better than I thought;
Jethro Tull ‘Thick As A Brick’ - as definitive a “prog” album as there could possibly be, yet - for the first side anyway - devoid of the worst excesses of the genre and (whisper it) chock full of catchy tunes. Deniers beware: you might just like this;
The Jam ‘Funeral Pyre’ 45 - possibly the most awesome track of Weller’s 46 years (and counting) discography, and I speak as a fan of his recent work. He’s never got more intense than this;
The Teardrop Explodes: Old Waldorf, SF gig May 1981 - I’m obliged to Makkr for posting a link to this. Low-fi in sound, but high class in artistry;
Elgar: Enigma Variations/Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia/Beethoven: Symphony no.6 ‘Pastoral’ (all Pittsburgh SO/Steinberg) - these were the first recordings of these works I heard when my dad bought them as 12/6d Music For Pleasure LPs back in the 60s (that’s an eight year old me in the pic putting one on our newly acquired radiogram). I have them on CD now and they still hold their own with more lauded versions; in fact, I rate William Steinberg’s (originally Capitol) 1952 recording of Beethoven 6 as my favourite of the 140+ interpretations I’ve heard since. I played these to the Newcastle Recorded Music Group on Thursday and they went down very well;
Beethoven: Symphony no.6 ‘Pastoral’ (BRSO/Kubelik) - this isn’t far behind the Steinberg in my affections, mind. Kubelik gets that lilt in the first movement’s development section just right, like spring lambs dancing on clouds (yeah, I know - I’ll get me coat);
Hindemith: Symphony ‘Mathis der Maler’ (Boston SO/Steinberg) - pity poor Paul Hindemith: too far out for the traditionalists, yet too romantic for the modernists. A work this individual, yet accessible, deserves to be much better known. And this is a nigh-on definitive recording, I reckon;
Brahms: Symphony no.3/Weber: Oberon Overture/Beethoven: Piano Concerto no.4 (w.Backhaus)/Beethoven: Symphony no.4 (all cond. Karl Boehm) - these early 50s recordings convey a natural musicality that defies their age, and interpretations that sound just right;
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Paris CO/Argenta) - venerable early stereo LP that still leaps from the speakers (dig that brass in the fourth movement: wow!) with an interpretation that really brings out how spaced out was Berlioz’ creativity;
Beethoven: Violin Sonata no.7, Op.30 no.2 (Perlman/Ashkenazy) - despite being a little over-forceful in places, the passion and musicality of these A list players shines through. And this is another of those wonderful C minor works that show LvB’s genius at its most intense;
Beethoven: String Quartet no.12, Op.127 (Calidore String Quartet) - ace new recording of “music better than it can ever be played” (Artur Schnabel) which comes alarmingly close to disproving that point. This is an exciting new ensemble who play this music as if its notes were almost too hot to hold. Can’t wait to hear more;
Mozart: Horn Concertos (Hoegner/VPO/Boehm) - delightful music, delightfully rendered.
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.
Happy vibes to all
Dave x
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