In the nightclub of my mind I’m doing cocaine in the cloakroom:
Roddy Frame ‘Surf’ - a man blessed with a melodic gift that even Mozart could envy. It’s been far too long since we had new music from this dude. And what a lovely album this is;
Gruff Rhys ‘Sadness Sets Me Free’ - any new record that I have to hear at least twice a week is more than likely to figure in my end of year lists. In Roddy’s continued absence thank God for Gruff;
Kirsty MacColl ‘See That Girl’ - damn-near definitive 6CD box of hits, rarities and extended mixes. Guaranteed smiles at every juncture. She’s sadly missed;
Procol Harum ‘Exotic Birds and Fruit’ - Chris Thomas-produced album that sounds as fresh as the day it was minted, half a century ago. I just love this album;
KK’s Priest ‘The Sinner Rides Again’ - pure, unadulterated metal is all here. The lyrics are laughably naff, but who cares? This blisters. As does
Saxon ‘Hell, Fire & Damnation’ - comments EXACTLY as above. Guilty pleasure? Naah. Too old for that;
The Teardrop Explodes ‘Wilder’ - the singer in this band sounded promising. Wonder what became of him? Seriously though, the Teardrops’ second album just grows in my affections as the years go by;
Can ‘Live 1973-1977’ - I hadn’t heard any of Can’s live series until this week, via this fabulously low-fi ‘Uncut’ cover mount CD. Jeez, this is revelatory, especially the Paris ‘73 take on ‘Vitamin C’. I’ve always thought that Jaki Leibezeit had God-given talent. Now I wonder if he could be, in fact, God himself;
David Sylvian ‘Blemish’ - his starkest, emotionally direct, most atonal utterance. Gets better with every listen - and I’ve listened to it a lot. In fact, I believe it to be the man’s finest work;
Herbie Hancock ‘Secrets’ - one of Herbie’s funkiest offerings: very right-on Seventies with loads of wah-wah wonderment;
Poulenc: Piano Concerto (Cristina Ortiz/CBSO/Louis Fremaux) - unashamedly lyrical 20th century concerto played as well as I could imagine here;
Dunstable: Motets (Hilliard Ensemble) - John Dunstable was arguably the first great English composer. His vocal works are hypnotic and enthralling;
Beethoven: Symphony no.3 (Budapest Fest Orchestra/Ivan Fischer) - beautifully played and recorded Eroica, maybe not the most dramatic available but highly musical and satisfying. Ditto its accompanying Coriolan Overture;
Walton: Symphony no.1 (New Philh/Sir Malcolm Sargent) - always in the critical shadow of Previn’s classic recording of this most un-English sounding symphony, but every bit as enthralling in its more measured approach;
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll (ECO/Vladimir Ashkenazy) - one lovely tune after another, sounding even more beautiful in a chamber orchestra context;
Set me free from my vain and selfish ways.
Sweet week all
Dave x
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