Tag Archives: Record Collecting
1971 COUNTDOWN: #25 — #21
#25 GENESIS — Nursery Cryme After their initial 60s album and the exploratory but not-quite-there-yet “Trespass”, Genesis started to define and grow into their own sound with this third LP. The eccentric Englishness (particularly in Peter Gabriel’s theatrics) sparkles, while the ambition of the compositions makes for music twists and turns that would be further […]
COVER ART | ON THE TURNTABLE
A selection of what has recently been on the Vinyl Connection turntable. * Bowie’s 2003 release is a strong album. Really enjoyed it during a recent re-visit. * “The Hermit” (Transatlantic 1976) John Renbourn was one of two brilliant guitarists in Pentangle. He also had a rich solo career, including this excellent album. * Bo […]
1971 COUNTDOWN: #29 — #26
#29 FOCUS — Moving Waves The second album from the Dutch progressive rock band contained their surprise hit “Hocus Pocus”. Who knew yodelling could be cool? The side-long “Eruption” suite is a highlight in the Focus catalogue and the album is consistently inventive and entertaining as the music dances between Jan Ackerman’s mercurial guitar and […]
COVER ART | ALBUMS AL FRESCO
It’s Spring in Melbourne. The weather tends to be varied—drizzle, downpours, showers, storms, occasional sun—but when time and inclemency allow, I’ve been taking some records for walks. They need a change of scenery after the long lockdowns. * The adventure began in the back garden, celebrating Joni Mitchell’s 78th birthday (7 November) during a break […]
1971 COUNTDOWN: #44 — #40
44 SPECTRUM — Miles Ago The second album by Australian progressive outfit Spectrum was an ambitious work that sprawled across four sides of vinyl. Displaying the downbeat wit of songwriter/leader Mike Rudd, the album was hugely ambitions and largely successful. Sometimes the laid back style is hypnotic and as relaxed as a hot Aussie Saturday […]
ALBUM COVERS | INSTA EDITION
For reasons I can neither fully comprehend nor explain in any coherent way, I decided a couple of weeks ago to dive into Instagram. Having had a Tumblr account since the dawn of Vinyl Connection I largely ignored the world’s largest image sharing social app, a choice that says much about my ability to pick […]
RECORDS AND OTHER MEDIA
When Vinyl Connection began in 2013, I knew that a cross-platform presence was important. I just didn’t know what social media was. Or were. Or are, for that matter. Accounts on Tumblr, Instagram, Linkedin and Twitter were duly created, but the only one I paid any attention to (other than this venerable blog) was Tumblr, […]
ALBUM COVERS | WALKING THE DOG
* PAUL McCARTNEY — Paul Is Live [1993] VAN MORRISON — Days Like This [ 1995] NEIL YOUNG — Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere [1969] JAMES TAYLOR — One Man Dog [1972] JONI MITCHELL — Dog Eat Dog [1985] JIMMY SMITH — Back At The Chicken Shack [1963] JACK BRUCE — Things We Like […]
ALBUM COVERS | A DOG’S LIFE
* ANIMAL LOGIC — Animal Logic [1989] RUSH — Signals [1982] ERIC CLAPTON — There’s One In Every Crowd [1975] BLUR — Parklife [1994] THE CRUEL SEA — Three Legged Dog [1995] WEEZER — Raditude [2009] RICK SPRINGFIELD — Working Class Dog [1980] THE CHURCH — Priest = Aura [1992] PAVLOV’S DOG — Pampered Menial […]
LITTLE EDEN
The last time Nick Saloman and I spoke he had just sent off the digital files for the next Bevis Frond album to his record company, Fire Records. We spoke about his hopes for the two-dozenth Frond opus. As always, the songwriter was phlegmatic about the record’s future. “I write songs,” he says. “I record […]
RELICS
Pink Floyd’s Relics, which came out in May 1971, was the perfect example of a record company stop-gap release. The band toured extensively in that era (the time of Atom Heart Mother) and when they did eventually make it into the studio, there were worries their rate of creating new music was far from brisk. […]
1971 COUNTDOWN: #71 — #66
After some time becalmed in lockdown waters, word has come from the poop deck of the good ship Vinyl Connection that it is well and truly time venture once more into the ocean that is “1971”. Although voyages on this varied and exciting sea have been a tad irregular, a few nautical miles have accumulated. […]
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