Author Archives: Vinyl Connection
DANNY’S BLUES
With the recent passing of guitarist Danny Kirwan, I’m re-posting an edited version of a survey of the early 70s Fleetwood Mac albums, including—indeed, highlighting—those that feature Mr Kirwan. * By the beginning of the 70s, Green had left Fleetwood Mac. This was widely considered a damn shame, as the mercurial guitarist was the central […]
ART ON YOUR SLEEVE #4 − “DAYBREAK”
Some time back (2015, actually), Vinyl Connection was delighted to have fellow blogger JDB of Augenblick contribute to a series about fine art on album covers called Art On Your Sleeve. After something of a hiatus, we’re back with edition #4 and the world’s most famous poster. (No, not the one of the girl tennis […]
ALBUM COVER QUIZ—THE EIGHTIES
The album cover quiz posted a few weeks ago seemed to be enjoyed by many. In fact, a series of ‘Decade’ themed quizzes was proposed. Here is the first: THE EIGHTIES Below are fourteen album covers (CD sized) resting on a 12″ LP. All were released between 1980 and 1989. The task is to identify […]
KLAUS ENCOUNTERS
Berlin native Klaus Schulze formed his first band—Psy Free—in 1967. He was part of the birth of Tangerine Dream, playing on their debut Electronic Meditation, joined Manuel Göttsching in Ash Ra Temple for a while, and was an important part of the Cosmic Couriers team. Although revered for his role as a major innovator and […]
V (2) ASTRONOMER
SIDE ONE Most of the discography of Johannes Kepler was produced in the early sixteen hundreds. His first producer, Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg, helped him move beyond teaching to become a major player in the scientific revolution of the 17th-century. Kepler’s early genre was mathcore, though he dabbled in spiritual jazz (astrology) and progressive […]
8 AUSSIE ALBUM COVERS — PART 2
SMOKE AND MIRRORS Ariel — Rock ’n’ Roll Scars [1975] The Saints — (I’m) Stranded [1977] Carson — On the Air [1973] Skyhooks — Ego Is Not A Dirty Word [1975] Coloured Balls — Ball Power [1973] INXS — The Swing [1984] Kush — Snow White and the Eight Straights [1974] Dave Warner — Mug’s […]
V
The thing with progressive music is, it’s a bit more complex and structured. Which means, depending on what prejudices you bring to the argument, that it is either (a) music for wanky poseurs, or (b) something to spend a bit of time with before passing judgement. No surprises that, as a card-carrying wanky poseur, I […]
8 AUSSIE ALBUM COVERS — PART 1
A SENSE OF PLACE 1. Ayers Rock — Big Red Rock 2. Goanna — Spirit of Place 3. Yothu Yindi — Tribal Voice 4. Andrew Richardson — Expanse 5. Cold Chisel — Circus Animals 6. Midnight Oil — Diesel and Dust 7. Australian Crawl – The Boys Light Up 8. John Sangster — Lord of […]
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This glorious autumn weather seems to have gone on forever. Approaching the fag-end of April and we’re still getting cool hazy mornings opening up into amber afternoons. Today offered yet another deeply varnished red-gold platter. I got home after some errands (that may or may not have facilitated the acquisition of a few records) and […]
A QUIZ FOR RECORD STORE DAY (QUIZ #4)
It’s two years since I’ve posted a cover art quiz here at Vinyl Connection. What with the ongoing ‘Pick the artist’ game at 1001albumsin10years (the dedicated Geoff presiding) and the fun sporcle links hosted by Aphoristic Album Reviews (keeping the antipodean flag flying) no-one could say that the old musical grey matter has been un-ruffled […]
GAMES FOR MAY?
The Commonwealth Games are a bit of an anachronism, aren’t they? Not in the games sense; it’s basically Olympic sports with a few important additions such as lawn bowls and Royal tennis and a few omissions such as curling and skate boarding. At least, that’s my understanding. No, the oddness is the Commonwealth bit. British […]
MARS NEEDS GUITARS
It has been quite a while since there’s been an album cover post. So here is a six-pack of six-string instruments from the VC holding, each gee-tar dominating its sleeve. Few humans (or Martians) in sight (other than Robby’s disturbingly disembodied hands and the mortal remains of Mr Be-Bop). THE ALBUMS Chuck Berry – Rockit […]
