Tag Archives: album reviews
MOSE KNOWS
In the early 1970s jazz labels started to mine their back catalogues by re-issuing material repackaged for a new, younger audience. These compilations were often priced lower than a new release and provided opportunities to explore less familiar styles and artists. It was a fine idea and it worked. Well, for me, anyway. Just recently […]
1972 COUNTDOWN — #25 – 21
25 NICK DRAKE — PINK MOON A short album of brief songs—some barely more than sketches—somehow Pink Moon has all the depth of a midnight lake. Famous for bringing posthumous fame to the songwriter after it was skilfully deployed in an American TV ad, the title song exemplifies the sparse beauty of Drake’s final album. […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
SOUL GOLD — DONNY HATHAWAY LIVE
Soul and R&B music was strong in the early 1970s. Although the decade came to be dominated by the peerless Stevie Wonder, there were other great artists reimagining the sounds of black America. Take, for example, the transition of Marvin Gaye from pop heartthrob to urban story-teller with his timeless 1971 LP What’s Going On. […]
THE PRINCE’S DIARIES
Day 1 Having suggested featuring a Prince album at the Discrepancy Records blog, I realised as I unwrapped the album that my knowledge of the small purple one’s music was rather limited. In fact the only Prince items in the VC collection are a double CD of his hits and the one where he’s being […]
1972 COUNTDOWN… #72 — #70
A new year, another trawl through some favourite fifty-year old albums, records that still have some pep in their step and are worth a listen for more than nostalgic reasons. Not to denigrate nostalgia, of course. Perfectly valid reason to look up an old friend. The VC holding from 1972 is edging towards the three […]
1971 COUNTDOWN: #4 — #3
4 ROLLING STONES — Sticky Fingers Sticky Fingers is the most consistent collection of quality songs and most satisfying overall album by the Rolling Stones. Discuss. Well, it was certainly no tossed off blues-rock pastiche. The songs on the Stones ninth (UK) studio album were laboured over across a two year period and show clear […]
1971 COUNTDOWN: #34 — #30
34 TANGERINE DREAM — Alpha Centauri In some ways the most psychedelic of the early Tangerine Dream albums, Alpha Centauri is as powerful as a neural freight train and as spacey as a black hole. This is powerful cosmic music. It starts with a brief preamble, “Sunrise in the third system” before launching into the […]
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