Author Archives: Vinyl Connection
ALL ABOARD THE McCARTNEY EXPRESS
When Paul McCartney released his first post-Beatles album in 1970, he was about to turn twenty-eight years old. The self-titled debut came out half a year after Abbey Road and a month before the Beatles swan song, Let It Be. Since then, McCartney has given us a slew of live recordings and seventeen studio albums, […]
IMAGINE NO IMAGINE
It is difficult to imagine a world without John’s song “Imagine”. From the time it appeared on the album of the same name in September 1971—and then as a single a month later—it has become an anthem and a lullaby, a protest and a non-religious prayer, a campfire sing-along and a manifesto for dreamers. It […]
WHO IS NICK LOWE?
RSD 2022 saw a welcome re-issue of power pop legend Nick Lowe’s first solo album, originally released in 1978. Filled with catchy songs evoking all the bands you would hope for—Beatles, Badfinger, Kinks—it is infectiously entertaining and great fun. But why is it called Wireless World? And why does the hype sticker mysteriously refer to it […]
STILL SHINING ON
At first glance, it looks fairly straightforward. After conquering the earth with Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd were shadowed by understandable anxiety regarding their follow-up album. Eventually, they found inspiration in the things they knew. Their own history An industry slavering at the door, demanding to be fed. The result was an album […]
SLEEP
8.5 hours duration, a full night’s repose. 31 sections explore variations on five themes. Scored for piano, cello, viola, violin, organ, voice (soprano), synthesisers and electronics. The opus took years to complete; during its creation the composer consulted a neuroscientist. It has been performed live in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London, and the Sydney Opera House. […]
PROGRESSIVE FOURPLAY A—D
I generally don’t last long in Facebook groups. Someone will say something offensive and/or ignorant I’ll hurriedly hit “Leave Group”. Sometimes, which is far worse, I’ll respond/react only to then see the thing collapse into a foetid swamp as my stomach sinks at roughly the same rate. And that’s just the music groups. Nevertheless, one […]
KLAUS ENCOUNTERS | THE FINAL FRONTIER
Continuing (and completing) Vinyl Connection’s homage to German synthesiser great Klaus Schulze. The Cosmic Couriers — Sci-Fi Party [1974] In the first half of 1973, producer Rolf Ulrich Kaiser organised a series of jams with a number of the major musicians in the emerging psychedelic/electronic space rock scene. There were recorded (without the musicians’ explicit […]
KLAUS ENCOUNTERS | DEPARTURE AND RETURN
A Dozen Klaus Schulze Albums Worthy Of Consideration When Klaus Schulze died on 26 April 2022 the world lost one of its foundation rock-electronic composers and a cornerstone of the early German indie music scene that became known as ‘Krautrock’. As someone who discovered his drifting, droning, pulsating synthesiser music back in the 1970s, I […]
CRATED UP
Few things get the old Vinyl Connection pulse racing as effectively as the gift of records. I was recently gobsmacked by the offer to plunder three crates of dusty vinyl that, my benefactor said, had been sitting in the garage for a couple of decades and that he would never play again. A quick flick […]
BOWIE BLACKOUT
Live albums often spark discussion amongst rock fans. Are they a fascinating insight into the artist as experienced in concert? A contractual filler for the record company? Sometimes both? Maybe it depends on how big a fan you are. Being a huge David Bowie fan, I was excited by the release (originally RSD 2018) of […]
FLY ME TO THE MOON
The debut album by Air is soaring towards its twenty-fifth anniversary. A big part of the reason people are still enjoying Moon Safari is its tasteful mash-up of genres. Melding lounge, electronica, chill-out, pop, even trip-hop, this charming album is friendly, accessible, and a sustained delight. The LP opens with the lounge jazz instrumental “La […]
JOIN THE YES UNION
The orchestral strains of Stravinsky’s Firebird ease into a smooth wash of synthesiser chords as the musicians take their places. A caped Rick Wakeman strokes the keyboard producing those electronic strings. Bill Bruford sits at a Simmons electronic drum kit, dressed for judo. Steve Howe is wearing a silky, brightly hued shirt while Jon Anderson, […]
