What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIV)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 31 December 2017
On the eve of a new year, it's time for a new thread.
Last year's thread can be found here:
1st pressing vinyl (bought in the last couple of years from the great bloke Sid at Hebden Bridge’s Muse Music). LIfe-affirming music from a band at their peak.
After 1 track it’s taken me back to the mid-80s, a long haired early twenty-something, I was standing at a roundabout in Cambridge on the Monday morning after the folk festival, rucksack and tent on my back hitching back to London. A cop car pulled up beside me and I started shrugging the rucksack off for a drugs search. Instead a cheery Geordie cop leant over from the driver’s seat to ask me whether Lindisfarne had been good the night before. Being assured they’d played up a storm, he drove off beaming.
Jesca Hoop - Complete Kismet Accoustic
Redkev posted:
Jesca Hoop - Complete Kismet Accoustic
Great voice. I have a CD copy of Hunting My Dress. Playing it now...
Thanks for the reminder.
Original 1986 vinyl pressing. Superb blues-rock from a band based around 3 of the Yardbirds, with a few star guests (hacket, Gallagher and Page all have a strum), any minute now I’ll turn to side 2 for a fantastic rendition of Heart Full of Soul. Grown up rock.
Last one for today. My favourite (well One World is a close second) John Martyn album. I'm not usually a fan of cover albums but this is rather superb selection of songs with great musicianship and production.
John Martyn - The Church With One Bell
Original 1980 vinyl. I hadn't Intended to play this, I was bending down to the bottom right of the record cabinet to get some Zappa (yes alphabetical order) and spotted the spine of this, which I had forgotten I owned. I suspect this is its first spin this millennium. I’m pretty sure I was at the 1980 Hammy Odeon gig that provides the first disc, playing this now with trepidation. After the first 2 tracks I’m loving it. Unsubtle hard rock with some of the horrifyingly sexist lyrics Whitesnake became notorious for, classic c**k rock, but they couldn’t half rock out. Micky Moody was one hell of a lead guitarist, walking in the shadow of the blues is a seriously good version.
Suzanne Sundfør, Music For People In Trouble, Tidal.
Smooth, ambient and haunting.
Not much to say to this but wow
Original 1980 vinyl. Now on a nostalgia trip, Magnum at the Marquee in 1979 was one of my first gigs at a major venue. This was recorded there, as was the double-single EP I’ll probably also play. Magnum were prog/hard-rock at this point of their career, and an excellent live band. This is a really enjoyable album, hard driving rock.
This album survived being played on a Trio KD1033B turntable sitting on hall of residence/flat floors through my student days, it’s never been cleaned, and not a click or hiss to be heard.
Now Playing.......
Jan Garbarek, Egberto Giamonti, & Charlie Haden - Magico -- Carta de Amor
Jan Garbarek (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), Egberto Giamonti (guitar, piano), & Charlie Haden (double bass)
Streaming on NAS........ Simply a beautiful album and works well on this Sunday evening.
Note from ECM Records website here:
A fascinating set from three strong and contrasting musical personalities: Norwegian saxophonist, Brazilian guitarist-pianist, and US bassist making purposeful and creative music together on this previously unreleased live recording. “Carta de Amor” documents music captured at Munich’s Amerika Haus in April, 1981. Two years on from the much-loved albums “Magico” and “Folk Songs”, the trio’s improvisational empathy and sensibilities were further honed by experiences as a touring group. Repertoire includes five pieces from Gismonti’s pen, with the title track heard in two variations, opening and closing this enthralling double album. Also heard here are Garbarek’s folk song arrangements and an extended, freewheeling version of his composition “Spor”. Charlie Haden brings in “La Pasionaria”, from the repertoire of the Liberation Music Orchestra and “All That Is Beautiful”, not previously documented on disc.
Background music, whilst at home studying for an exam.
Lindisfarne - Back and Fourth - Vinyl
Another of my Oxfam purchases at £4.49. I put the XPSDR on the CDX2 which is below and the vinyl sounds better as well! Perhaps the cable dressing changed a bit! Now the instruments give off all their natural character and the music clicks rather than being a bit uninteresting and flat. Other LPs add more instrumental stuff to avoid the problem.
Just had to follow this one with my favourite Fairport Convention - History of ...
Start of my love affair with Sandy Denny. I have her own releases on CD, but surely the Fairport Convention days were her best.
Phil
Foolishly I never did buy 'Made In Japan' on vinyl when I first heard it as a student, but my funds did run to this, which captures three titles from that set plus studio cuts of most other tracks from the Japan album as well as a (then) unreleased live version of 'Black Night'.
Released in 1994 on VAI label, a pristine sound and an exquisite straight forward playing.
Katie Melua and the Gori choir. This is the special edition which has the studio album and a live recording in Berlin of the album and additional tracks. A lovely voice, touching lyrics, sung in Georgian (Russian) and mostly English.
Dvorak’s 7th on Tidal. Was listening to an old LP version two days ago; I have a log burning in the fireplace as we spark and the gap between digital and analogue somehow seems to be narrowing down fast!
Greg
Kevin Mahogany - My romance.
Great male vocal jazz.
Sticking with some more early Savoy Brown because I've been having trouble getting them out of my head this year.