Category Records
INCOMING [WINTER 2019 EDITION]
Having enjoyed a couple of recent posts where fellow music nuts share the, er, nuts they have gathered, I thought I’d join the party. Don’t know how it is in your neighbourhood, but in these parts the price of second-hand records has become so absurd that it is often better value buying new re-issues. Seems […]
I’LL BE GONE (BUT NOT YET)
The silver-haired gentleman in the skull motif shirt may have had an iPad to remember the set list, but the singing was strong and the words tumbled out like freshly minted coins. The band were great—tight and energetic—and their fearless leader even managed a few quirky dance steps during an uptempo number. At a time […]
STONEDHENGE
A cold winter’s day in England; frost layering the ground even mid-morning. But I didn’t care, I was visiting Stonehenge for the first time and totally in thrall to the mystery of these most famous standing stones. I envied those who had visited them in the past, being able to walk between the towering neolithic […]
YOUNG AND FRESH
First albums by bands are always interesting, though not necessarily essential. Sometimes the artist is feeling their way, often the vision is a work-in-progress, occasionally it’s “All Change!” after the first effort. The two 1968 debuts we’re looking at in this post cover most of the bases mentioned above. Both are worthy of attention; both […]
DOUBLE LIVES
SIDE I I’ve just walked out of a record shop in Mont Albert clutching the 2018 re-issue of Pink Floyd’s Pulse. Four vinyl records and a 12” x 12” hardcover book in a handsome slipcase. No flashing light on the spine but it still cost a bomb. I’m thinking, Why? Sitting on the shelves at […]
VERTICAL PURPLE
The quest to unearth further 60s vertical gatefold album covers produced many nominations of 70s covers that do indeed open up in ‘portrait’ format, but only one addition from Sixties-land. The LP was the third Deep Purple release, their self-titled record from 1969. Many thanks to Arterrorist for the reminder. I say that because the CD […]
VERTICAL HOLD
There are plenty of books on album cover art on the Vinyl Connection bookshelves, but none of them could tell me which record had the glory of being the first gatefold pop/rock album. Everyone knows Sgt Pepper was the first LP to have the song lyrics on the cover—the back, incidentally, not inside in the […]
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 […]
COUSIN HOOKER
Earl Hooker was an unsung hero of electric blues guitar. Born near Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1930, Earl (middle name Zebedee) moved to Chicago with his family but left home at an early age to go play music. And play he certainly did, adding his Robert Nighthawk influenced slide playing to recordings by Sonny Boy Williamson, […]
By The Time I Get To Phoenix – Isaac Hayes and the greatest chord change in history.
Originally posted on Kid Slender:
In his 2005 book, Like A Rolling Stone, Greil Marcus essays a theory that the single snare beat that introduces Dylan’s masterpiece of spleen and sarcasm opens a kind of musical Pandora’s box, paving the way for all of rock’s innovation to come, from The Beatles yea unto The Pet…
REARVIEW MIRROR #5 (A FINAL GLANCE)
Being the merciful conclusion of a multi-part wander through the Vinyl Connection year in music Let’s cut to the chase. Here are the 2017 albums of newly recorded (or, in a couple of cases, newly released) music that found their way into the Vinyl Connection cave during the year. All had merit and brought aural […]
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