Lately I’ve let things slide:
Luther Grosvenor ‘Under Open Skies’ - Luther’s first solo album from 1971 has worn well and scrubs up even better in its new Esoteric remaster, replete with a couple of excellent, single-only bonuses. This dude has very much his own guitar sound, as fans of Spooky Tooth, Mott the Hoople or Widowmaker (like me) will already know. He’s no slouch on bass either;
MC5 ‘Kick Out The Jams’ - well, what’s there to say? Pure, raw, rock & roll is all;
Dom Martin ‘Buried In The Trail’ - very decent contemporary rhythm & blues from Belfast;
Camel ‘Rainbow’s End: An Anthology 1973-1985’ - revealing Camel’s gradual artistic decline after Peter Bardens’ departure in 1978. Up until then, they were one of the most melodic of first wave prog bands, their first two albums in particular being masterpieces of the genre. And although I never took to ‘Snow Goose’, they went on to make at least two more fine albums (the ones with Richard Sinclair, natch) after it. This 2010 4CD box set will do me more than the impending mega box which is for more dedicated Camel admirers than me;
Nick Lowe ‘Untouched Takeaway’ - Basher caught live in 2004, ever the consummate entertainer, with an excellent band in tow. I hate the term “national treasure”, but in Nick’s case I think it’s valid;
Pip Pyle’s Bash! ‘Belle Illusion’ - Pyle’s last new group was a fine quartet in the classic not-quite-jazz Canterbury style. This is their only release: an impressive live recording of music penned by Pip to each member’s style and taste. Great cameo by Elton Dean on the last couple of tracks. RIP, great men;
Clive Gregson & Christine Collister ‘A Change In The Weather’ - the third of Gregson & Collister’s five albums still sounds great: much rockier than their misleading “folk” categorisation implies. They had a fabulous musical chemistry that sadly couldn’t survive their personal differences;
Julian Cope ‘Cope’s Notes #5: The Modern Antiquarian’ - well worth your money even if you haven’t got the mighty tome from which it was inspired. The CD is even more entertaining than the Drude’s last two “proper” albums and I’ve needed to hear it daily since it arrived. And lo, the music and its unputdownable accompanying book has led me back to:
Julian Cope ‘Jehovahkill’ - if you’re reading this, you know how great this now duly ancient record was, is and f’ever will be. So nowt I can say matters a jot - not that it ever does;
Simon & Garfunkel ‘Bookends’ - less than half an hour long, but proving the old adage that less is more. Music this good never palls;
Lou Reed ‘Sally Can’t Dance’ - where the underground got mainstream - and why not? This sounds so much better now than it did in 1974;
Radiohead ‘Ill Wind’ and ‘Harry Patch (In Memory Of)’ - two beautiful, non-album tracks exhibiting the dreamier side of Radiohead. I was unaware of the latter until it was picked on Desert Island Discs this week. Never mind, I’m only 14 years late;
Buzzcocks ‘Spiral Scratch’ - although this has thrilled me since I was a teen, it’s only now that I’ve realised how truly distinctive it is. As on the wonderful ‘Time’s Up’ boot, Pete Shelley’s cheap guitar had an ugly - yet perfect - grit that lay somewhere between Tony Iommi and James Williamson. By the time he’d signed to UA and regaled himself with a Gibson something got lost. Remember him this way;
OM ‘With Dom Um Romao’ - OM confirmed their early Weather Report influences by guesting the latter’s percussionist on their third album. Joyous stuff, especially ‘Chipero’ which sounds like a kindergarten on acid;
Beethoven: Symphony no.5 (VPO/Wilhelm Furtwaengler) - Furtwaengler’s 1954 studio Fifth, recorded in his last year of life, is his most stately: at once both elegant and powerful. The famous opening movement has real impact, despite a relatively measured tempo. The Andante con moto second movement has never sounded more poignant than here (and I’ve heard well in excess of two hundred versions - no lie). The basses in the third movement play with such verve I can almost see resin coming out of my woofers, and the C major fanfare that opens the fourth pins me to the wall - as it should. There may be better recorded readings of Beethoven 5 out there, but this is special;
Brahms: Symphony no.2 (BPO/Wilhelm Furtwaengler) - this is F’s 1952 live recording issued by EMI a couple of decades back, and I’d forgotten how monumental it is. There are moments where time seems to stand still, as if the conductor wanted it to end there and then, yet there are also times where the power of the timpani seem to overwhelm the whole show. Unique and, to my ears, wonderful;
Wagner: Flying Dutchman Overture/Beethoven: Violin Concerto (w. Francescatti)/Mahler: Symphony no.1 (all Columbia SO/Bruno Walter) - Walter enjoyed a remarkably fruitful indian summer in Hollywood, as these fine records exemplify. His 1961 Mahler First is still a benchmark recording;
Bax: Symphony no.5 (LPO/Raymond Leppard) - like Bruckner, Bax kept to a set symphonic formula, but each of his symphonies nevertheless has its own distinctive character, this one being eerier than the other six;
Mompou: Piano Works (Marina Staneva) - lovely new CD of Mompou’s ethereal piano music;
Rheinberger: Symphony no.2 (Nordwestdeutsche Phil/Alun Francis) - obscure late romantic gem - sort of Schubert meets Schumann - from a composer more renouned for his organ music. Talking of which:
Rheinberger: Organ Works Vol.5 (Wolfgang Ruebsam) - principally the 12th & 13th Organ Sonatas, where the sonorities and sheer power of the Fulda Cathedral organ are overwhelming in the works’ big climaxes.
They’re only good friends of mine.
Rock on, dudes
Dave x
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