Tag Archives: Record Collecting
10 SUPER CTI ALBUM COVERS
Creed Taylor’s CTI record label was founded in 1967, separating from parent company A&M in 1970. Specialising in a style of jazz that boasted instrumental excellence while keeping an eye on the pop and rock scenes, the label used staff arrangers such as Don Sebesky and Bob James to add orchestral silkiness to the jazz-based […]
PRELUDE
It was on the airwaves during the Summer of ’73 and sounded like nothing else. A mysterious, beatless opening full of space buzzes and cosmic bird calls that built thrillingly into an infectious jazz-funk epic. No words but a riveting groove. That piano! At the time I had no idea what a Fender Rhodes was, […]
ALBUM COVERS | JADE WARRIOR
Tony Duhig and Jon Field created art rock band Jade Warrior at the birth of the 1970s. After three albums on Vertigo, they shifted to the Island record label and produced a fascinating quartet of albums between and 1974 and 1978. Characterised by an eclectic range of influences and instrumentation, their albums presaged ‘Fourth World’ […]
DESTINATION: PARIS
Saint Germain. A Parisian boulevard where Jean-Paul Satre strolled, or a football team from the same city. Perhaps the French liqueur made with elderflowers. Those of a theosophical persuasion will want to bend your ear with tales of Saint Germain, an eighteenth century mystic, philosopher and ascended master. Whatever that is. While all the above […]
ALBUM COVERS | THE BLUES
Anthology Of The Blues was a twelve LP series that first appeared in 1969. Some of the albums feature a single artist (often a notable one) whilst others compile regional sides from lesser known performers. All feature portraits on the covers, giving the series a visual cohesion along side the genre focus. Vinyl Connection only […]
VALE MAYALL
John Mayall was known as the ‘Father of the British Blues’. In this case the epithet was no exaggeration. Alongside Alexis Corner, Graham Bond and a few others, Mayall pioneered R&B in Blighty. An extraordinary number of important musicians passed through his bands, most captured on vinyl in a massive discography. Here is a selection […]
DRIVE
The real trick in creating a first class film soundtrack is finding the balance between music to support the on-screen vision and an album that holds up to focussed listening on your turntable. Composer and former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Cliff Martinez certainly achieved this delicate feat with his soundtrack to Drive, a high-paced […]
ALBUM COVERS | 7 X 7 INCH
…WITH THEIR PARENT ALBUMS Having never been an avid collector of 7″ singles—or 12″s, for that matter—it was an odd feeling to have seven or eight hundred of the little blighters take up residence in the cupboard. I had no idea my friend Steven had so many. It was rather daunting, as I’m not a […]
THE NATURE OF DAN
It was no secret. Steely Dan fans knew the 1980 LP Gaucho was the last offering from studio perfectionists Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. They’d reached a pinnacle of consummate musicianship with their penultimate album Aja and were done with Dan. In fact, they were done with each other. So the buzz of excitement around […]
ALBUM COVER SPECIAL: IN THE CAN
Sadly, Can The Can doesn’t get a guernsey. Still, there are a number of other LPs that deploy the humble tin can on their covers. Here is a selection. * The debut from Britain’s blues outfit came out in 1968 and reached #12 on the UK albums chart. The band were formed by Stan Webb […]
HIS DAY
For many years I had an ambivalent relationship with Tom Waits. Beat Generation revivalist or Carny huckster? Jazzbo pretender or theatrical joker? The moment of revelation—conversion, even—came from an unlikely source. In 1988 A&M Records released a fascinating compilation entitled Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films. Amongst left-field gems from Sun […]
COLD HARD FACT
Sixto Rodriguez has appeared in these pages twice. Once as part of the 70 FROM 1970 series (where the album featured today placed at a very creditable #22) and once earlier this year when he made an untimely appearance on the Departures board. This post expands on the 70 FROM 70 paragraph and first appeared […]
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