Tag Archives: vinyl records
ALBUM COVERS | PICKS AND PICS
Having launched into Instagram during lockdown, I kind of lost my appetite for its rapid digestive cycle after a year or so. More an icy pole than a proper meal, if you get what I mean. But a current September “challenge” caught my eye and so I decided to throw some records into the ring. […]
BETA ALPHA
The transition from novel to film involves many changes. Some enhance, others distract; often the response depends on what you did first… watched the film or read the book. The novel High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby, was first published in 1995. The movie, starring John Cusack and directed by Stephen Frears, was released in 2000. In […]
BILATERALLY YOURS
Glancing at the front cover, you could be forgiven for assuming you have just flicked past yet another early 80s record company sampler, a collection of mismatched tracks chosen by the not-so-hip uncle of the work experience kid and trotted out in a vain attempt to generate some (in this case) CBS buzz. You flip […]
ROUND LIKE A RECORD
During the 1970s “Sampler” LPs were a staple of record company marketing. Compiling a variety of tracks from various artists on their roster, these albums usually sold for much less than the prevailing price point of a new record. In fact, a number of companies called them, with disarming candour, “Loss Leaders”. There are a number […]
TORN BETWEEN TWO COVERS
When the Vinyl Connection collection finally moved into its new post-renovation space I was certain there was room enough to house at least five years of acquisitions. After all I was periodically doing a little weeding and pruning and the rate of purchasing had dropped substantially from an average of five LPs per week to […]
FEATS ALIVE!
Blending elements of rock, blues, country, funk and jazz, Little Feat created a sound that was entirely their own. Driven by the unique song-writing skills of Lowell George and a band both technically excellent and infectiously grooving, they were—and are—a favourite outfit of those who love their American rock somewhere West of the freeway. Yet […]
BACK AT THE CREASE
So much sport. So much music. Time to multi-task. Although not as dramatic as the Ashes tests, Wishbone Ash’s 1974 album There’s The Rub is a corker. Perhaps their last truly complete LP and my second favourite. Perfect for watching Australia clean up England in the first two tests. (Don’t mention the third.) The eccentric British troubadour-poet […]
STILL BLOOMING GOOD
One of the holy grails of rock music is the making of an album that defies time. The Stone Roses achieved this with their 1989 self-titled debut, a shimmering melodic masterpiece with a dark heart. From the Jackson Pollock inspired cover with its paint-trail puzzle to the ecstatic, epic final track “I am the resurrection”, […]
AERIAL VIEW
From the time she topped the charts with her swooping, swooning debut single “Wuthering Heights”, Kate Bush has been a unique—and uniquely talented—voice. When her first album came out in 1978, Kate was just 19 years old, inexperienced in the music industry but possessed of both confidence and determination. It was the young singer/composer who […]
HOT ROCKS
After the lively conversation about Goats Head Soup, I thought I’d better redeem myself with a truly timeless collection of early Rolling Stones hits. * There have been too many Stones compilations to count, but Hot Rocks 1964—1971, one of the early ones, is amongst the best and has rarely been out of print. Originally […]
1972 COUNTDOWN: #7 — #5
7 WISHBONE ASH — ARGUS On this, their 3rd album, British guitar band Wishbone Ash managed to fuse contemporary rock sensibilities with both British mythology and progressive arrangements. The twin guitars of Andy Powell and Ted Turner, interweaving and harmonising, add a glistening melodic flow to songs that hint at medieval sketches without ever crossing […]
1972 COUNTDOWN: #10 — #8
10 DEEP PURPLE — MACHINE HEAD 1970’s Deep Purple In Rock and 1971’s Fireball set the bar high for British heavy rock. Yet Deep Purple managed to top those two fine records with their seventh long-player, Machine Head. Prosaically named after the metal gear arrangement that adjusts the tension on guitar strings, the music is […]
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