This is the way. Step inside:
Van der Graaf Generator ‘Pawn Hearts’ - perhaps the definitive VdGG album, demonstrating both their lyrical and manic extremes in equal measure across three veritable continents of sound. The curious should start (and may well end) here;
Van der Graaf Generator ‘H To He Who Am The Only One’ - closing moments aside, this is almost conventional if compared to its successor (above), but pretty far out in any other context. God, I love this band;
Van der Graaf Generator ‘Still Life’ (2021 remix) - look, no more pussying about. If you aren’t already convinced, blag a stream of ‘La Rossa’ from this, play it loud, then try (and fail) to convince me that you’ve ever heard anything more awesome in your fucking life. Then buy ‘The Charisma Years 1970-1978’ box set while you can, and live the rest of your days happy and fulfilled. I have. Well, musically anyway;
Public Image Ltd ‘Metal Box’ - sounding as radical and fresh as it ever did. Lethargy turned into great art: yes, it can be done;
Joy Division ‘Closer’ - which sounds every bit as newly-minted as the above, and is perhaps even more influential;
Steve Winwood ‘Talking Back To The Night’ - the second of Winwood’s totally solo efforts from the early 80s falls short of ‘Arc Of A Diver’ but has enough good songs to keep a place on my sagging shelves;
Captain Beefheart ‘Bluejeans & Moonbeams’ - derided for being too mainstream, this is one of my fave Beefheart albums, and I’m not ashamed to admit it;
Marillion ‘Anoraknophobia’ - did you ever fall in love?
Wishbone Ash ‘Argus’ - the epitome of what is now embarrassingly termed “classic rock”? Not as far as I’m concerned. This is class - without the “ic” - truly progressive early 70s guitar based rock - and I don’t mean in the Dave Nice sense. All killer, no filler. I thought I had a girl…
The Monochrome Set ‘Eligible Bachelors’ - the Richard Stilgoes of post-punk still put a smile on my haggered pate;
The Smile ‘Wall Of Eyes’ - it’s refreshing to be so moved by a new record I haven’t spent half of my life with;
Saxon ‘Wheels Of Steel’ - because at my age I place whatever excitement I can get above being cool, not that I ever was;
Don Byas ‘Classic Don Byas Sessions 1946-48’ (selections) - big Mosaic box of an underrated tenor sax master, capable of stellar smoothness one minute and playing as fast & loose as Bird the next. These often rare 40s cuts emerge as newly minted here. This is some prime jazz shit;
Pat Metheny ‘Rejoicing’ - one of Metheny’s most straight-jazz albums, sounding less dated than many of his group efforts of the time;
Solem Quartet ‘Painted Light’ - lovely new disc of five old and new quartet works inspired by colour. Beautiful afternoon music, with a unique rendition of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now’ as an encore;
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op.14 no.2 & Op.28 ‘Pastorale’ (Denis Matthews) - civilised & idiomatic readings of two LvB piano masterpieces. Matthews is sadly ignored these days but made some excellent records in the 1950s;
Bartok: String Quartet no.6 (Tatrai Quartet) - the Tatrai Quartet are all but forgotten for anything other than Haydn these days, but they shone in their homeland’s music too, as this excellent rendition exemplifies;
Debussy: Iberia & Nocturnes/Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole & Alborada del gradioso (Orch Nat de la RDF or LSO/Leopold Stokowski) - one of Mickey’s mate’s greatest records, sounding like it was recorded yesterday. The booklet states 1957/58!
Still waiting for my saviour.
Rock on
Dave x
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