mash ups - love 'em or hate 'em., but when they are good, like this, they are too good to be buried away on you tube.
check it out...
Monday, 21 January 2013
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Forwards into the past we go...
Or a return to vinyl...
For those of you old enough to wax lyrically about the joy of vinyl, it's perceived "warmth", "sonic balance" and "organic"feel, I had ,not 2 words, 2 letters to counter these statements with : C and D.
I was fortunate in that I got my hands on a first generation Philips CD player and copies of the first albums released on CD - Dire Straits " Love over Gold" and Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" before the player was available.
I loved it - no crackles, no hiss, no turning the album over after 20 minutes... bliss.
I can still remember listening to "Telegraph Road" in my room, the lights out , watching a thunder strom roll over my parent's house, waiting for the lighting to replicate the cover. The music filled a room, crisp drums, layers of texture, no skipping, no wow and flutter from warped vinyl, nothing between my ears and the sound.
That was it.
I was off to the HiFi shop as soon as I could afford a player,and I put down hard earned cash for the first in a long line of CD players . I've gone from Technics to Sony to Marantz to Cambridge Audio, back to Marantz and am back with Cambridge audio again.
In fact, I'm listening to Pink Floyd "Meddle" through it as I type.
My first CD purchases were Led Zeppelin "Houses Of The Holy" and The Waterboys " This Is The Sea".
Since then, I've managed to divest myself of all the vinyl I'd collected , repalcing it with CD, then replacing the CD with the remastered CD, then upgrading to the "definitive " remaster deluxe versions of albums that have been a part of my life for those 30 years - Step forward Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Prince,Hawkwind, Climax Blues Band - all have made this journey with me.
Last week, the nagging at the back of my mind about the feel and look of vinyl combined with remembering the ritual of preparing to listen to a piece of music - choosing the album, removing the inner sleeve, sliding the vinyl out and onto the turntable, choosing the correct side, then placing it gently onto the anti static mat, cleaning it with the micro fibre brush, raising the tone arm, positioning the stylus over the run in groove then lowering it onto the rotating album became a full force gale.
Perhaps it's a reaction to getting older, maybe the realisation that I can no longer sit and devout 80 minutes without interruption to a CD, or maybe giving up alcohol has rekindled a previous addiction?
Whatever the reason, I ended up purchasing vinyl for only the second time in 30 years-The first was me treating myself to the ltd German special edition of the Storm Corrosion Album, which, with stereotypical German efficiency came as a CD / DVD / Blu Ray / double vinyl set, in a gatefold sleeve!!! That was how the beast was woken - Prog rock gatefold sleeves. The artwork, the care that went into the design of the whole album caused memories of fold out sleeves, posters, lyric sheets, all in stunning colour and 12" x 12" formats.
All those works of art that were taken for granted- I wish I'd kept them - The Zeppelin Physical Graffiti sleeve with the windows, "In Through the Outdoor " with it's brown paper outer sleeve that contained one of eight different colour wash pictures, the Hawkwind sleeves that folded put and were enough to send you in search of space just by looking at the art, The Prince sleeves, iconic and powerful in their messages, the long forgotten SF artworks, the "double live" gatefold in concert shots that captured the energy and power of a band in full live mode.
So, I trotted off to Sound Machine, determined to just buy a couple of albums for the artwork and the half remembered feeling of holding the album and unwrapping it, that ritual of preparation, now replaced by the sliding of a silver disc into a black box, or by the touch of a mouse button..
And I struck gold - 2 x Jess Rodens albums that have never been available on CD and a trio of Prince albums , "Around The World In A Day" with it's psychedelic cover that only hints at the music squashed into those grooves, "Purple Rain" with the iconic Rock Star on a Motorbike at night ,pouting cover, with the typeface and the tracks split between side one and side two... Sorry. All getting a bit weird here.
I also succumbed to temptation to purchase "Sign O the Times" on vinyl, as it was the first Prince album I'd gone straight to CD for on release, so felt a little guilt for not having owned the vinyl .
I then had the task of removing my old Dual turntable form under the bed where it had been stored for the last 15 or more years, reconnecting it and seeing if it worked.
After a lot of rerouting wires, checking plugs etc, it was ready to go.
Sign O The Times album, side 4, " The Cross" cued up and ready to go.
The turntable still turned at a constant 33 1/3 rpm. The tone arm still floated across to take up postion, and the dampening on the move into the run in was good.
The crackle of the stylus slipping into thr groove brought a memory flashback to my first "proper" Hi Fi record deck, a Garrard one ( they were made in Swindon, my Grandmother worked there) and the anticipation was still a rush.
The music kicked in, quieter than CD , so the volume was adjusted , and it sounded good. Very good.
Hmmm. Where were the crackles? what about the clicks? the "muddy" sound of vinyl that bright shiny digital CD over wrote?
Well, either my ears have lost the ability to discern the fine points of difference, or I listen to things more holistically now as it sounded great.
In the interests of fair play, I'm now going to put on a vinyl copy of "Lovesexy", the 3rd of the Prnce albums acquired that day, and the CD too.
Well, the Cd is "Brighter", has more "punch", the bass is more "Bassy" , but the vinyl sounds fine, more crackly, sure, but that adds to the experience, a bit like good black pepper on a meal, that finishing touch to a meal.
in fact vinyl listening is like eating a rich dish - a treat every now and then ,worth the extra effort for a special occasion,an indulgence , a guilty pleasure..
The artwork is the main reason for me revisiting vinyl country, but the ritual of listening is a pleasure too and one I'm glad I was brave enough to take the trip.
So , after a nag, the turntable has been reinstated , hidden in thr hi fi cupboard, not on top as it "clutters the room even more" , we have a small selection of vinyl that will expand under carefully controlled laboratory conditions ( ie charity or bargains from secondhand shops, chosen for cover art aesthetics primarily) and my love affair with music continues unabated.
In fact, Lovesexy is sounding very, well , sexy - now this is not all down to the power of vinyl, more to do with the fact that this is the first time I've listened to it in a couple of years. In fact, the crackles on this pressing are coating it with a veneer of nostalgia that is a little too much bathos , so back to CD we go...
but not before we admire the beauty of the Paisley Park design on the record label. Why can't they reproduce this on the CD?
For those of you old enough to wax lyrically about the joy of vinyl, it's perceived "warmth", "sonic balance" and "organic"feel, I had ,not 2 words, 2 letters to counter these statements with : C and D.
I was fortunate in that I got my hands on a first generation Philips CD player and copies of the first albums released on CD - Dire Straits " Love over Gold" and Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" before the player was available.
I loved it - no crackles, no hiss, no turning the album over after 20 minutes... bliss.
I can still remember listening to "Telegraph Road" in my room, the lights out , watching a thunder strom roll over my parent's house, waiting for the lighting to replicate the cover. The music filled a room, crisp drums, layers of texture, no skipping, no wow and flutter from warped vinyl, nothing between my ears and the sound.
That was it.
I was off to the HiFi shop as soon as I could afford a player,and I put down hard earned cash for the first in a long line of CD players . I've gone from Technics to Sony to Marantz to Cambridge Audio, back to Marantz and am back with Cambridge audio again.
In fact, I'm listening to Pink Floyd "Meddle" through it as I type.
My first CD purchases were Led Zeppelin "Houses Of The Holy" and The Waterboys " This Is The Sea".
Since then, I've managed to divest myself of all the vinyl I'd collected , repalcing it with CD, then replacing the CD with the remastered CD, then upgrading to the "definitive " remaster deluxe versions of albums that have been a part of my life for those 30 years - Step forward Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Prince,Hawkwind, Climax Blues Band - all have made this journey with me.
Last week, the nagging at the back of my mind about the feel and look of vinyl combined with remembering the ritual of preparing to listen to a piece of music - choosing the album, removing the inner sleeve, sliding the vinyl out and onto the turntable, choosing the correct side, then placing it gently onto the anti static mat, cleaning it with the micro fibre brush, raising the tone arm, positioning the stylus over the run in groove then lowering it onto the rotating album became a full force gale.
Perhaps it's a reaction to getting older, maybe the realisation that I can no longer sit and devout 80 minutes without interruption to a CD, or maybe giving up alcohol has rekindled a previous addiction?
Whatever the reason, I ended up purchasing vinyl for only the second time in 30 years-The first was me treating myself to the ltd German special edition of the Storm Corrosion Album, which, with stereotypical German efficiency came as a CD / DVD / Blu Ray / double vinyl set, in a gatefold sleeve!!! That was how the beast was woken - Prog rock gatefold sleeves. The artwork, the care that went into the design of the whole album caused memories of fold out sleeves, posters, lyric sheets, all in stunning colour and 12" x 12" formats.
All those works of art that were taken for granted- I wish I'd kept them - The Zeppelin Physical Graffiti sleeve with the windows, "In Through the Outdoor " with it's brown paper outer sleeve that contained one of eight different colour wash pictures, the Hawkwind sleeves that folded put and were enough to send you in search of space just by looking at the art, The Prince sleeves, iconic and powerful in their messages, the long forgotten SF artworks, the "double live" gatefold in concert shots that captured the energy and power of a band in full live mode.
So, I trotted off to Sound Machine, determined to just buy a couple of albums for the artwork and the half remembered feeling of holding the album and unwrapping it, that ritual of preparation, now replaced by the sliding of a silver disc into a black box, or by the touch of a mouse button..
And I struck gold - 2 x Jess Rodens albums that have never been available on CD and a trio of Prince albums , "Around The World In A Day" with it's psychedelic cover that only hints at the music squashed into those grooves, "Purple Rain" with the iconic Rock Star on a Motorbike at night ,pouting cover, with the typeface and the tracks split between side one and side two... Sorry. All getting a bit weird here.
I also succumbed to temptation to purchase "Sign O the Times" on vinyl, as it was the first Prince album I'd gone straight to CD for on release, so felt a little guilt for not having owned the vinyl .
I then had the task of removing my old Dual turntable form under the bed where it had been stored for the last 15 or more years, reconnecting it and seeing if it worked.
After a lot of rerouting wires, checking plugs etc, it was ready to go.
Sign O The Times album, side 4, " The Cross" cued up and ready to go.
The turntable still turned at a constant 33 1/3 rpm. The tone arm still floated across to take up postion, and the dampening on the move into the run in was good.
The crackle of the stylus slipping into thr groove brought a memory flashback to my first "proper" Hi Fi record deck, a Garrard one ( they were made in Swindon, my Grandmother worked there) and the anticipation was still a rush.
The music kicked in, quieter than CD , so the volume was adjusted , and it sounded good. Very good.
Hmmm. Where were the crackles? what about the clicks? the "muddy" sound of vinyl that bright shiny digital CD over wrote?
Well, either my ears have lost the ability to discern the fine points of difference, or I listen to things more holistically now as it sounded great.
In the interests of fair play, I'm now going to put on a vinyl copy of "Lovesexy", the 3rd of the Prnce albums acquired that day, and the CD too.
Well, the Cd is "Brighter", has more "punch", the bass is more "Bassy" , but the vinyl sounds fine, more crackly, sure, but that adds to the experience, a bit like good black pepper on a meal, that finishing touch to a meal.
in fact vinyl listening is like eating a rich dish - a treat every now and then ,worth the extra effort for a special occasion,an indulgence , a guilty pleasure..
The artwork is the main reason for me revisiting vinyl country, but the ritual of listening is a pleasure too and one I'm glad I was brave enough to take the trip.
So , after a nag, the turntable has been reinstated , hidden in thr hi fi cupboard, not on top as it "clutters the room even more" , we have a small selection of vinyl that will expand under carefully controlled laboratory conditions ( ie charity or bargains from secondhand shops, chosen for cover art aesthetics primarily) and my love affair with music continues unabated.
In fact, Lovesexy is sounding very, well , sexy - now this is not all down to the power of vinyl, more to do with the fact that this is the first time I've listened to it in a couple of years. In fact, the crackles on this pressing are coating it with a veneer of nostalgia that is a little too much bathos , so back to CD we go...
but not before we admire the beauty of the Paisley Park design on the record label. Why can't they reproduce this on the CD?
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Twelfth Night - Live Earlier tonight.
Well, we rushed back from this amazing event at the Barbican, and here's the whole thing as it went out into cyberspace.
This is the full stream - due to technical difficulties, the first hour( ish) is the stage set up, but when it starts, they roc!
Thanks to Brian for the invite and the rest of the band for a great night.
http://new.livestream.com/silkstreetevents/twelfthnightlive
This is the full stream - due to technical difficulties, the first hour( ish) is the stage set up, but when it starts, they roc!
Thanks to Brian for the invite and the rest of the band for a great night.
http://new.livestream.com/silkstreetevents/twelfthnightlive
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Best of the year...
My Best of the year compilations started as a single C90
cassette back when Vinyl was the only choice.
The first one I remember doing was for 1982, the year of
Hughes / Thrall, Peter Gabriel 4, Whitesnake’s Album with “Crying in the Rain “
on it, Led Zeppelin ‘s Coda, Dire Straits “love over Gold” – not a bad year,
all Vinyl now usurped by CD except Whitesnake, that just never got upgraded.
Well, this year has seen a bit of a bumper glut. Back then ,
the tape had 2 tracks from each album…
This year I ended up with 6 CD’s, with a rule of one track
per artist only.
So it would appear that I’ve acquired at least 97 CD’s that
were released in 2012.
So much for the death of the Music industry…
Rather than post links or you tube videos or even a podcast
of these ( that would go on and on and on) here’s the list.
Feel free to argue about who’s on it ( or who’s not) or
ignore it completely and produce your own.
Every blogger, music critic, journalist or wannabe is
producing a list, so mine’s in the form of those CD’s.
They are not themed, neither are the artists in order of
favour, just split into 80 minute chunks…
CD ONE
1 Train - Drive By
2 Butch
Walker - Summer of ‘89
3 Grayson
Capps - Coconut Moonshine
4 Gotye - Eyes Wide Open
5 Jason
Mraz - I Won't Give Up
6 Juan
Zelada - The Blues Remain
7 John
Mayer - Shadow Days
8 Trombone
Shorty - Roses
9 Larry
Graham – GCSDrumline/ Raise Up
10 Fdeluxe - Beautiful You
11 Lenny
Kravitz - Black and White America
12 Beth Hart
- Baddest Blues
13 Joe
Bonamassa - New Coat of Paint
14 Joan
Osborne - Shake Your Hips
15 Michael
Kiwanuka -I'll Get Along
16 Philipp
Fankhauser - Blues Ain't Nothin (live)
CD TWO
1 Warren
Haynes Band - A Change Is Gonna Come (live)
2 Flying
Colors - Blue Ocean
3 The
Horrible Crowes - Sugar
4 Kassidy
- There Is a War Coming
5 Ian
McNabb - High On A Hill
6 Henrik
Freischlader Band - Keep Playin'
7 Thievery
Corporation - Is It Over?
8 Band of
Skulls - Lay My Head Down
9 Tina
Dico - True North
10 Jason
Collett - Sailor Boy
11 The Chris
Robinson Brotherhood - Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go
12 Alabama
Shakes - You Ain't Alone
13 The
Imagined Village - Get Kalsi
14 Muse - Panic Station
15 Matchbox
Twenty - She's So Mean
16 Coldplay - Charlie Brown
17 Jack
Savoretti - Come Shine A Light
18 Tab Benoit
- Gold On the Ceiling
CD THREE
1 Richard
Hawley - Standing at the
Sky's Edge
2 DJ Shadow
- Organ Donor
3 Rendezvous
- Blues in Space
4 North
Atlantic Oscillation - Empire
Waste
5 Public
Service Broadcasting - Spitfire
6 Robbie
Robertson - This Is Where I Get
Off
7 Storm
Corrosion - Drag Ropes
8 Paul
Cusick - Tears
9 Lissie -
Nothing Else Matters
10 Band of
Horses - Electric Music
11 The
Decemberists - Rise to Me (live)
12 Rich
Hopkins & Luminarios - Darkside
of the Spoon
13 Steve
Hackett - Broadyway Melody
of 1974
14 Ryan Adams
- Ashes & Fire
15 Waterboys
- The Girl In The Swing (live)
CD FOUR
1 Joe
Walsh Analog
Man
2 School
Of Seven Bells Low Times
3 Led
Zeppelin Black Dog (live)
4 Walter
Trout Blues 4 my Baby
5 My
Morning Jacket Out of my head
6 Sean
Chambers Dust My Broom (live)
7 Sean
Costello Doin' My Own Thing (live)
8 Audrae
Mae My Friend The Devil
9 Daniel
Martin Moore Dark Road
10 Bobby
Womack Stupid
11 Laura
Marling The Muse
12 Ben Howard Under The Same Sun
13 Howard
Elliot Payne Walk By My Side
14 Tristan
Mackay I found You
15 The Flower
Kings Pandemonium
16 Sylvan Share The World With Me IV
17 Steven
Wilson Index
CD FIVE
1 Jonathan
Wilson Natural Rhapsody
2 Laki
Mera Fingertips
3 Dave
Alvin Gary, Indiana, 1959
4 The Jar
Family Never Looked Back
5 Mike
Doughty Busting Up A Starbucks (live)
6 Tedeschi
Trucks Band Midnight In Harlem (live)
7 Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo Kings
Hypnotise bonus random track
8 Gary
Clark Jnr When My Train Pulls In (live)
9 Silhouette Winter's Snow Falling
Down
10 Hawkwind Electric Tears
11 Rush The Garden
12 ZZ Top Consumption
13 Howlin'
Rain Strange Thunder
14 Lynyrd
Skynyd Mississipp i Blood
CD SIX
1 Prince RnR Love Affair (live)
2 Rupa
& the April Fishes Guns of Brixton
3 OSI Enemy Prayer
4 It Bites Map Of The Past
5 Hans
Theessink & Terry Evans Pouring
Water On A Drowning Man
6 Dan
Stuart Searching
Through The Pieces
7 Jason
Isbell Like A Hurricane (live)
8 Royal
Southern Brotherhood Left My Heart In
Memphis
9 Black
Country Communion Confessor
10 Big Big
Train The First Rebreather
11 24 Pesos Everyone's got The
Blues
12 The Blues
Broads River Deep (live)
13 Low Try to Sleep
14 Memoryhouse Bonfire
15 Kimbra Plain Gold Ring (live)
16 Santana Shapeshifter
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Maceo in Reading. Part 2
Post lunch, we hopped onto Public Transport "Oh, here, it's No Spitting on the bus" I said. Maceo looked at me. "Pass the Peas, and pay the man.”
We get to The Spanish Moon” here, Maceo gets cornered by a local, who was telling him “now that we've found love, Blues Ain't nothin, but a little bubble”.
As we stepped away, this ghostly figure continued…
"Hollywood has ended; it's the End Days of the Computer Age .
It's time for us to stop Sleeping in the ground and say Welcome to the jungle!"
Taken aback by this, I stumbled and fell way down in a hole... “Get up outta that Wishing Well” Maceo shouted. Otherwise you'll catch those Buenos Aires Blues.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Maceo's coming to Reading..
Maceo's coming to Reading, we're gonna do Lunch, he wants to discuss his fear of meat, ah, Lunchmeatophobia I tell him. I know just the cure...
so will we end up Stoned, Drunk & Naked...
As Record Collectors we share the distinction of being born in a hurricane of people doing their personal thing, but being Gentle Spirits Under a stormy sky, but suffering from those Ash wednesday blues, I am constantly forced to get it outta my stystem, all because I witnessed a crime comitted by the riders on the storm when it rains, which makes me a Doo Doo Heartbreaker out in the Purple Rain, but as M says, it's all one world...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/32921286/maceo%20comes%20to%20Reading%20part%201.rar
so will we end up Stoned, Drunk & Naked...
As Record Collectors we share the distinction of being born in a hurricane of people doing their personal thing, but being Gentle Spirits Under a stormy sky, but suffering from those Ash wednesday blues, I am constantly forced to get it outta my stystem, all because I witnessed a crime comitted by the riders on the storm when it rains, which makes me a Doo Doo Heartbreaker out in the Purple Rain, but as M says, it's all one world...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/32921286/maceo%20comes%20to%20Reading%20part%201.rar
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