Best of 1988:Chet Baker "Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo" (1988) (live)

'My' lp version

Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo (live)
Release date: 1988
format: vinyl (K28P 6491) / digital
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,80]
producer: Shigeyuki Kawashima
label: Paddle Wheel - nationality: USA

*Tracklist: 1. "Stella by Starlight" - 2. "For Minors Only" - 3. "Almost Blue" [Elvis Costello cover] - 4. "Portrait in Black and White" - 5. "My Funny Valentine"
*[original vinyl version]

alternate cover

This album is sooo cool and... absolutely wonderful.
I always found that tiny bit more pleasure from Chet than Miles Davis - no bad feelings about Miles but I think it has to do with some inner feel and slow sincerity that is ever present in Chet's sound. And also, he's not a bad singer. He's not a great vocalist in terms of ability to articulate and produce clean clear notes but there's something extremely authentic and fragile in his voice that you also find in his instrumentation. The only real down side to this album is the short playing time, of course having it on cd as well, the repeat function really comes handy.

1988 Favourite releases: 1. Chet Baker Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo - 2. R.E.M. Green - 3. Talk Talk Spirit of Eden

[ collectors' item ]

Montasje "Presence!" (1982)

Presence! [debut]
release date: 1982
format: vinyl (MAI 8201) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Helge Gaarder; Erik Aasheim (assistant)
label: Plateselskapet Mai - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: A) 1. "Nykter" (TV performance) - 2. "Reisning" - 3. "Presence!" - - B) 1. "Glass" (4 / 5) - 2. "Tundra" - 4. "Europa" - 5. "... Etter regnet"

Studio debut and only album by Norwegian new wave, post-punk and art pop quintet Montasje, who also featured with one song on a sampler album (Zink Zamler, '82) as an act called Modul 5. The whole project only existed from late 1981 to '82, and the album was recorded from Dec. '81 to Jan. '82, and the band here consists of vocalist and keyboardist Helge Gaarder, Erik Aasheim on guitar, bass and percussion, Jøran Rudi on guitar, Per (Kristian) Tro on bass, and Danish drummer Michael Rasmussen [who should later join the Danish band The Sandmen]. The album comes with an alias, as it says in the few notes on the cover: "Presence! et Montasje produkt - Modul 1".
Musically, it's quite a unique sound they have put together. There are some influences from early New Order - Movement-period ever-present but it's more than just a Scandinavian replica of that. What makes it much more its own blend is the presence of something ethereal - it's not ambient, nor jazz fusion but there's a layer of open landscape meandering throughout the album, which makes me think of Norwegian free jazz artist Jan Garbarek. The unique sound also helps building a sensation of timelessness to the project.
Recommended.

[ collectors' item ]

Dead Can Dance "Spleen and Ideal" (1985)

Spleen and Ideal
release date: Nov. 1985
format: vinyl (CAD 512) / cd (1986 reissue) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Dead Can Dance & John A. Rivers
label: 4AD Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "De profundis (Out of the Depths of Sorrow)" - 2. "Ascension" - 4. "The Cardinal Sin" - 5. "Mesmerism" - 6. "Enigma of the Absolute" - 7. "Advent" - 8. "Avatar" - 9. "Indoctrination (A Design for Living)"

2nd studio album by Australian neo-classical darkwave band Dead Can Dance, who at this point have been reduced to a duo consisting of singer, drummer & percussionist Lisa Gerrard (who would later become an acclaimed film composer) and British multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry. The album consists of nine compositions with varied durations from approx. 3 minutes to the album's longest track "The Cardinal Sin" of approx. 5½ minutes, and with a total running length of just 38 minutes.

In terms of style, the music here can only poorly be compared to other contemporary releases. In its time it fell under the category of post-punk, which it really never was. I think the closest critics could rightly describe the style as was gothic rock and experimental rock - perhaps with a touch of art rock, but seen from a music historical perspective it's nothing less than a modern cornerstone, which has only gained greater recognition over time. It's difficult, and perhaps impossible, to imagine contemporary works by artists such as Jocelyn Pook and Anna von Hausswolff, but also Chelsea Wolfe and Lingua Ignota, and basically: the whole wave of contemporary artists in neo-classical darkwave without pointing to the legacy of Dead Can Dance and perhaps this album in particular.

I purchased Spleen and Ideal on vinyl back in the mid-80s without having any knowledge of the band or of the music they played. All I knew was that 4AD Records put out music with super-interesting names and pretty original artists, and the band oozed that particular post-punk edge that (to me) connected them to bands like Bauhaus, Modern English, This Mortail Coil, and Joy Division (which admittedly came out on Factory Records). However, I also remember the first time I listened to the album and was really disappointed. It wasn't at all like the other bands I knew of. And it wasn't even close to some of the ones mentioned here. I tried repeatedly to listen to the album but always ended up putting something else on. Luckily, I kept the album, although in the late 80s and early 90s I got into a really bad habit of selling off early 80s albums that I didn't listen much to in order to finance newer music with a stronger appeal.

When I finally re-listened to Spleen and Ideal again in the 2010s it was like a sheer revelation. How could I have failed to understand the obvious qualities of this very album?! No, it doesn't sound like anything else from the early or late 80s - except subsequent albums by Dead Can Dance. It's enchanting and beautiful music sounding like timeless tones that call for a kind of ceremonial gathering. The beauty of it is that you can simultaneously let it fill you without thinking about cultural or religious boundaries. But above all, it's remarkable how little it shares with other music originating in the mid-80s.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

The Gun Club "Pastoral Hide & Seek" (1990)

Pastoral Hide & Seek
release date: Oct. 1990
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Jeffrey Lee Pierce
label: New Rose Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Humanesque" - 2. "The Straights of Love and Hate" - 3. "Emily's Changed" - 4. "I Hear Your Heart Singing" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "St. John's Divine" - 7. "Another Country's Young" - 8. "Flowing"
[ full album ]

5th studio album by The Gun Club follows three years after Mother Juno (Oct. 1987), and what's quite interesting is that the line-up is the exact same quartet as on the '87 album with songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, guitarist Kid Congo Powers, bassist Romi Mori (girlfriend of Pierce), and drummer & percussionist Nick Sanderson. That said, Kid Congo had left the band to play with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds after Mother Juno, but after his return in the Spring of '90, Pierce soon made arrangements for the recordings ofwhat was to be this album. It's the second in the new formation of the band after Pierce had put an end to the band and initiated a solo career. Also, by the end of the year, Sanderson left to concentrate on another music project - all of this showing how this band never was in a stable period without members leaving, returning, or with someone being sacked. The album is the second recorded and released exclusively in Europe alone. At this point, the band, or at least Pierce and Mori appear to have being relocated to Amsterdam. As usual, Pierce is only songwriter and composer of all tracks, and this time he has also put himself in the producer seat. The resulting soundscape may not be that impressive but the style is certified The Gun Club - a style connected so much to Jeffrey Lee Pierce, his poignant vocal, his characteristic guitar-sound that no matter who he invites to play with him sounds crystallised as The Gun Club, and that is more than just sufficient. I've all ways linked The Gun Club with the music of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and all days found The Gun Club that little bit more interesting - or perhaps: showcasing something with  greater potential. In a contemporary perspective I didn't put this band among my favourites - I liked it, though, but may have neglected its qualities because of the lo-fi production, and the ever-present component of country and blues. I think, I might have put the band alongside artists like Adrian Borland, Bob Mould, R.E.M. etc. [without comparison whatsoever!] had I acknowledged it as much as I did later on. Fact is, I just listened to much else back then and The Gun Club was somewhere in the periphery: interesting and fine but never really 'it'. After this, Powers returned to the US - reputedly to get clean but stayed a member until '92 when he left to focus on a solo project of his; however, Mori and Pierce remained in Amsterdam with Pierce increasingly affected from heavy substance-addiction, also when heading into a studio in Belgium to record the band's final album, Lucky Jim (Sep. 1993).
In retrospect, there's no doubt that Jeffrey Lee Pierce definitely had 'it', and that he proved it over and over again. Better late than never, but fact is, I have come to understand why he became an artists' favourite and also a music critics' icon. This album doesn't contain obvious fillers, and in my mind, and in a close race with The Las Vegas Story (Jun. 1984), I find this to be one of the band's finest.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

Sort Sol "Stor langsom stjerne" (2017)

Stor langsom stjerne
release date: May 19, 2017
format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Randall Dunn
label: Columbia Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "The Weightless" - 2. "...Like a Trance Like..." (4 / 5) - 3. "Nocturnal Creature" (feat. Emily Cripe) - 5. "Stor, langsom stjerne" - 7. "Life Took You for a Freq." (feat. Chelsea Wolfe) - 8. "K-141 Kursk"

9th studio album by Sort Sol released 16 years after the band's last studio album Snakecharmer from 2001 - an album that had come to represent the end of the band.

The vinyl edition contains a bonus track ("Forever Present" on the D-side played at 45rpm). Founding member, as well as one of the band's essential songwriters, Knud Odde left the band in the aftermath of the last studio album, which left the band to a trio for another three years during which they managed to release a soundtrack to the movie "Baby" (2003). Guitarist Lars Top-Galia then left the band in 2004; however, both vocalist Steen Jørgensen and drummer Tomas Ortved determinately refrained from putting an end to the band and they managed to shelve it for the following years, and then in 2010 Top-Galia returned and the trio began performing for live concerts and they have stayed together since then. Rumours about a forthcoming new studio album began circulating after the new reformation, but then as most people had written that idea off this album was released.

Naturally, the musical output has changed, but perhaps to a degree where old fans will find it hard to associate this newfound style with that of Sort Sol. Apparently, the band had followed the incident of the Russian submarine K-141 Kursk and its tragic end with all 118 crew members being killing, as the band was finishing the album Snakecharmer. Jørgensen and Top-Galia had both wanted to compose a song based on the last notes by the submarine's captain, Dmitri Kolesnikov, but they never found the surplus artistic energy at a time when the band members had seen its own end approaching. The composition "K-141 Kursk" lasts 10:29 mins and is an orchestrated ambient hymn and it appears as the central composition of the album.

The album consists of 8 tracks and has a running time exceeding 51 mins. with the end-track lasting more than 10 mins. All songs except two are credited Jørgensen and Top-Galia. "Nocturnal Creature" has lyrics by Emily Cripe, who also sings on the track and "Life Took You for a Freq." has lyrics and vocals by Chelsea Wolfe. The album is credited Jørgensen, Top-Galia and Ortved as only band members but it's recorded and produced using a bunch of additional musicians where producer Randall Dunn plays synths and electronics on all tracks, and Timm Mason handles keyboards, synths and programming on five compositions, and both seems vital to the end-product.

Stylistically, this is an electronic ambient, synthpop, and art rock album, which doesn't sound like any other album by Sort Sol. You may recognise Top-Galia's distorted guitar-picking, but other than that, you will probably only associate this with Sort Sol by the characteristic dark vocal of Steen Jørgensen.

The single "...Like a Trance Like..." was released a month prior to the album release, and it became a bit of a national radio hit. The album was met by positive reviews and the band was nominated "Best Release" at the 2017 Grammy Awards, where the band was handed an "Honorary Prize".

The album is a big positive surprise, which I find quite fine and easily bettering most of the band's earlier releases and basically placing it close to top 3 of all their studio albums.

[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6, Undertoner, Soundvenue 6 / 6 stars ]

[ collectors' item 'near mint' - from ~ €60,- ]

<  all albums rated >

~ ~ ~
"Albums by Sods / Sort Sol rated top to bottom"

1. "Glamourpuss" (1993)
2. "Flow My Firetear" (1991)
3. "Minutes to Go" (1979)

4. "Stor langsom stjerne" (2017)
5. "Under en sort sol" (1980)
6. "Everything That Rises..." (1987)
7. "Dagger & Guitar" (1983)
8. "Snakecharmer" (2001)
9. "Unspoiled Monsters" (1996)

~ ~ ~

The Stone Roses "The Stone Roses" (1989)

The Stone Roses [debut]
release date: Mar. 13, 1989
format: vinyl (ORE LP 502) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: John Leckie
label: Silvertone Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Wanna Be Adored" (4 / 5) - 2. "She Bangs the Drums" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "Waterfall" (studio live 2013) - 5. "Bye Bye Badman" - 7. "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" (live) - 8. "Made of Stone" - 11. "I Am the Resurrection"

Studio album debut by Manchester band The Stone Roses consisting of vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, Mani [aka Gary Mounfield] on bass and Reni [aka Alan John Wren] on drums, backing vocals and piano. All 11 songs are credited Ian Brown and John Squire. Stylewise, the album was released as indie pop and jangle pop, which had its roots in the Manchester scene with close bonds to The Smiths, but time has first and foremost put it in the category of baggy / Madchester and neo-psychedelia including bands like Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays all of which with connection to the (New Order) nightclub The Haçienda music scene, but also with a distinct relation to other bands like The Sundays (jangle pop / dreampop) and Australian band The Church (jangle pop / neo-psychedelia).
I bought the album upon its release after having heard the single hit "She Bangs the Drums" on the look-out for the "new big thing" after the demise of The Smiths. It was quite all right and pretty good, but it wasn't great, imho. What I became more hooked on was the music by Kitchens of Distinction, also releasing their debut album in '89, music by Bob Mould and Pixies with more power-fuzed compositions. However, time has been quite gentle with this album, I think. Actually, I consider it a whole lot better today than I did back then. I would play the first half of the album finding that part above average, but as a whole, I thought of it as too unfocused and without sufficient variation. I also found it somewhat difficult to label 'cause was it close to The Smiths and jangle pop, or was it more in line with noise pop or dream pop bands like The Sundays?
What is particular good is not just the variation of mood and energy, there's also a fine incorporation of classic pop pointing back to The Byrds and a baroque pop period, which basically had its comeback with britpop - Oasis and Blur, years later - and there's the whole neo-psychedelic part linking the band with the 60s and a long line of bands dealing with that style throughout the 70s and into the 80s where it fuses with other styles and genres. The Church, XTC and Love and Rockets all incorporated neo-psychedelia but none of these bands were dance-oriented like The Stone Roses and the baggy / Madchester scene of late 80s Manchester.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The front cover is a Jackson Pollock-inspired painting "Bye Bye Badman" by John Squire.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Uncut 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item, 1989 repress 'near mint' - from ~ €60,- ]

Kent "Du & jag döden" (2005)

Du & jag döden
release date: Mar. 15, 2005
format: cd / vinyl (2015 reissue)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]
producer: Kent, Stefan Boman
label: RCA / Sony BMG // Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. 400 slag" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Du är ånga" - 3. "Den döda vinkeln" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Du var min armé" - 5. "Palace & Main" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Järnspöken" (5 / 5) - 7. "Klåparen" (4 / 5) - 9. "Romeo återvänder ensam" - 11. "Mannen i den vita hatten (16 år senare)" (4,5 / 5)

6th studio album by Kent, and once again the band spent 3 years to get ready for a new album, and this time they got everything right it seems.
This is perhaps my all-time favourite Kent album being forced to choose just one. Then it doesn't make much sense to pin one out as the best, but this is clearly among their two best album releases - the other being Röd (2009). This is also the album that made me love the band and acknowledge their status as the best rock band in Scandinavia. It's an album without fillers, and it balances a beautiful combo of melancholic ballads, blue-eyed chorus-based pop songs, and up-tempo synthpop. Du & jag döden is also a cornerstone in their musical progression in the way that it's like a solid statement of a move from guitar-based indie pop towards an acceptance of synthesizer-founded synthpop within an alt. rock universe. Guitar, bass and drums are still very much in use but now accompanied by drum machine, synths and electronic devices in a near perfect blend.
Highly recommended.

EDIT 2017: 

Without much luck, I have searched and searched for an original pressing and then settled with a 2015 pressing of the album on vinyl, which a few years later also happens to be a highly sought after issue.

[ collectors' item ]

2005 Favourite releases: 1. Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté In the Heart of the Moon - 2. Kent Du & jag döden - 3. Sigur Rós Takk...

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"Den döda vinkeln"

"Jag var länge ensam, enda barnet
Ett monster underst i en hembyggd våningssäng
och på håll såg jag ljusen dö i dimman
precis när mörkret tändes upp igen

Och jag såg dig springa över skaren
i jakten på din sagolika vy
och du lärde mig att fullständigt försvinna
in i dina tankar,i ditt huvud står jag fri

Ge mig en vinterdrog
Ge mig allt du har
Kom nu, jag är kroniskt låg
Bara mörkret hörs
I ditt öga var en storm jag såg
som sommarsnö
I döda vinkeln ser jag allt du gör

Och där kommer dom jag ser dom mellan träden
Snälla kan du hjälpa mig att fly
Deras ögon är som mareld över världen
Jag kryper där i askan, fågel Fenix född som ny

Ge mig en vinterdrog
Ge mig allt du har
Kom nu, jag är kroniskt låg
Bara mörkret hörs
I ditt öga var en storm jag såg
Blåsa sommarsnö
I döda vinkeln ser jag allt du gör

Ge mig en vinterdrog
Ge mig sommarsnö
Kom nu, jag är kroniskt låg
Bara mörkret hörs
I ditt öga dansar stormar små
men det är du som för
I döda vinkeln ser jag allt du gör"

~ ~ ~

"Järnspöken"

"Dom brände Grönan och skolan står där ensam nu
Cykelställen står tomma än, trots att loven är slut
Dom fäller kastanjeträden i allén framför skolgården
och jag rör mig tyst, hör inte hemma här, jag är vålnaden

Jag vet inte varför, men kanske är det därför jag minns det så väl
Dina stora ögon, dina bruna händer, dina vassa knän

Var det dig jag såg, som en skugga ur mina drömmar
Var det dig jag såg, dig jag svor att aldrig glömma

Dom gräver i parken och frosten i marken, blir ett försvar
och vid hörnet av kyrkan där järnvägen går, har dom spärrat av
Någon ligger i gräset, med frostiga kläder, så stilla och vit
och blåljusen blinkar, tänk vad man kan göra med en liten kniv

Och jag vet inte varför men jag återvänder alltid hit
Det var väl något vi gjorde, något vi sa här som förändrade mitt liv

Var det dig jag såg, som en skugga ur mina drömmar
Var det dig jag såg, dig jag svor att aldrig glömma
Var det dig jag såg som ett spöke från döda drömmar
Var det dig jag såg
Har jag äntligen lyckats glömma?"

~ ~ ~

"Klåparen"

"Du går på ditt oefterhärmliga sätt
över skolgårdens grus för dig själv
I ditt nyklippta hår, likt en irländsk idols
Din spegelbild i fönsterglas
beundrar varje steg du tar

Och så blinkar det till
Gröna, röda, gula ljus
Du var på nålar när du kom
med ditt insmugglade rus

Och så släcker dom ner, för en sista stilla chans
och allting svartnar i panik när du ser att alla redan har en dans
och allt är som förut

Och du minns den du var med förakt, lite hat
och man blir lik sin mor eller far
Du har förändrat ditt sätt, suddat ut varje spår
men i själen din ja långt, långt in ekar tonåringens vrål

Och så blinkar det till
och dom tänder alla ljus
och du var ensam när du kom, nu har magin brunnit ut
och så släcker dom ner
Alla skyltar alla ljus
och när parken ligger tom, inser du att din kväll just tagit slut
och allting är som förut

Och så blinkar det till
och dom tänder alla ljus
Du var ensam när du kom
och du är lika ensam nu
och så släcker dom ner alla gator alla hus
och när staden ligger tom inser du
att det är så ditt liv ser ut
och allting är som förut"

~ ~ ~

Best of 1991:Talk Talk "Laughing Stock" (1991)

org. vinyl cover

Laughing Stock
release date: Nov. 19, 1991
format: vinyl (847 717-1) / cd (1999 remaster)
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,86]
producer: Tim Friese-Greene
label: Verve / Polydor - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Myrrhman" (5 / 5) - 2. "Ascension Day" (5 / 5) - 3. "After the Flood" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Taphead" (4 / 5) - 5. "New Grass" (5 / 5) - 6. "Runeii" (5 / 5)

5th and final studio album by Talk Talk originally released on the Polydor sub-label Verve Records. After the band's controversy with former label EMI, bassist Paul Webb left the band, officially reducing Talk Talk to a duo of Mark Hollis and drummer Lee Harris, but practically, Harris had left Talk Talk before recording the album. The band had become a one-man project, but Harris is still credited as band member because he was hired as session musician, and the 'real' duo of Talk Talk was rather one consisting of Hollis and producer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist Tim Friese-Greene, although he never was an official member of Talk Talk.
The music on Laughing Stock is the extended journey to what was initiated on The Colour of Spring (1986) and much bolder heard on Spirit of Eden (1988). It's like one long coherent composition, although, there are 6 tracks on the album. The music is inter-woven jazz rock, art rock, and / or experimental but ultimately post-rock compositions with thematic ideas as foundation to improvisations.
Of all the great Talk Talk albums, I have always loved this album the most. Alas, the vinyl pressing of the release is not impressively manufactured. The sound is too low and the quality of the record is poor. This is the sort of album you just need to own on optical disc because of the minimal and spatial sound. Hollis was never the arch typical star of the music industry - he always distanced himself from the media circus, be it TV, reporters and-the-like, and he only reluctantly agreed to make music videos to some of the band's singles - as he didn't believe in the whole idea of promoting music.
Laughing Stock was met by positive reviews but Hollis had no intentions of touring to promote the album, very much like it had been the issue with the previous album(s). By 1992 Hollis dissolved the band and withdrew from music to concentrate on his family. However, he would go on to release one critically acclaimed solo album, the eponymous Mark Hollis in 1998 - produced, only to fulfil the contractual obligations of the two albums record deal with Polydor. Unfortunately, he hasn't released music since. He was embraced as a gifted singer and songwriter, and although, he could have continued as a famous solo artist, producer and/or songwriter, Hollis just wanted no part of the business. Paul Webb and Lee Harris went on to launch their duo-project .O.rang - for two full-length albums after which Paul Webb founded his own (acclaimed) project Rustin Man, and Tim Friese-Greene initiated his solo project Heligoland. Both .O.rang and Heligoland expose some of the experimental ideas you'll find resonating with Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock.
Sigur Rós has played Talk Talk compositions when playing live, and alongside many bands of the mid- and late 90s (Mogwai, Recoil, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Radiohead, Portishead - yes, the list goes on) they have found much of their inspiration in Talk Talk and especially the band's last two albums that have come to stand like cornerstones of the modern music era.
To me, Laughing Stock is an album that I have always listened to - never a year without it - and I find it a modern masterpiece.
[ allmusic.com, Sputnikmusic 5 / 5, Q Magazine, Select 4 / 5 stars ]

1991 Favourite releases: 1. Talk Talk Laughing Stock - 2. Van Morrison Hymns to the Silence - 3. Kitchens of Distinction Strange Free World


[ collectors' item - plus €100,- and up for VG+ ]

1999 cd remaster

The Durutti Column "Vini Reilly" (1989)

Vini Reilly
release date: Mar. 1, 1989
format: vinyl (fact 244) / cd (2020)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Paul Miller, Stephen Street, Vini Reilly
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Love No More" (4 / 5) - 2. "Pol in G" (5 / 5) - 3. "Opera I" - 4. "People's Pleasure Park" - 5. "Finding the Sea" - - B) 1. "Otis" (4 / 5) - 5. "Requiem Again" (4 / 5) - 6. "My Country" (4 / 5)
[ full album ]

7th studio album by The Durutti Column released on Factory Records and produced by Paul Miller, Stephen Street and Vini Reilly. This is one of my favourite albums by The Durutti Column, which may be the one if I was to pick just one of his brilliant works. Musically, it's a development from his 1987 release The Guitar and Other Machines but here the tracks are much more incorporated as one album instead of being a collection of single tracks. Somehow he succeeds in mixing classical compositions with art pop making his own unique modern classical style.
Finally, it's suggested, perhaps just to answer a lot of questions about the name of the band - "Yes, I am The Durutti Column". Prior to his work on this album, and after finishing his '87 album, Reilly was hired by ex-The Smiths vocalist, Morrissey to play guitar and keyboards on his debut album Viva Hate (1988) - also produced by Stephen Street.
The 2020 remastered 2 CD edition contains a number of live recordings, some of which previously were released as "Womad Live" as well as demo recordings.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item 'made in England' - from ~ €68,- ]

The Durutti Column "The Guitar and Other Machines" (1987)

The Guitar and Other Machines
release date: Dec. 1987
format: vinyl (fact204) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Arpeggiator" (4 / 5) - 2. "What Is It to Me (Woman)" - 4. "Jongleur Grey" - 5. "When the World" - 6. "U.S.P." (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Bordeaux Sequence" - 2. "Pol In B" (4 / 5) - 3. "English Landscape Tradition" (4 / 5) - 5. "Don't Think You're Funny" (4 / 5)

6th studio album by The Durutti Column following 1 year after Circuses and Bread.

This is one of my favourite albums by The DC. The sound and style is very different with the introduction of drum machines and a heavier use of synthesizers. Somehow the album felt right when it came out and I recall how I used to listen to this at full volume on my walk-man while travelling to work by train. It's not his best but I like his experiments and will to expand his repertoire. My main critique of the album is that it points in too many directions to be a really great album.
[ allmusic.com hands it 3 in 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

Lush "Split" (1994)

vinyl cover

Split
release date: Jun. 13, 1994
format: vinyl (CAD 4011) / cd (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,90]
producer: Mike Hedges and Lush
label: 4AD Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Light from a Dead Star" - 2. "Kiss Chase" (4 / 5) - 3. "Blackout" - 4. "Hypocrite" (live) - 5. "Lovelife" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Desire Lines" - 7. "The Invisible Man" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Undertow" - 2. "Never-Never" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Lit Up" (5 / 5) (live) - 4. "Starlust"

2nd studio album by English, London-founded band Lush. This is just another great album released in 1994, and it's just outside my personal top-10 favourites. The debut release Gala (Nov. 1990) compiles the band's first releases, a single and two eps. It's dark and promising shoegaze and the follow-up, which is the actual full-length studio debut Spooky (Jan. 1992) turned out as what seemed more like an unfinished Robin Guthrie-project.
Split has a fine balance between dream pop and indie pop, and it both comes with long progressive dreamy sounds as well as more direct almost power pop energetic tracks, all kept together by the same touch. The front duo is made up of Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi who are both doing lead vocals and play guitars, with Phil King playing bass, and Chris Acland handling drums. The album is produced by Mike Hedges, who used to work with post-punk and gothic rock bands like The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bauhaus but also with more synth pop and new romantic bands like Associates, Thomas Dolby and that seems like a better choice than Guthrie's strong production signature of dream pop reminding me of album productions for This Mortail Coil and his former main band Cocteau Twins. After this, Lush released its perhaps least interesting album, Lovelife (1996), which indicated a change in style towards more indistinct britpop, and then the band's career came to a devastating end by drummer Chris Acland's tragic suicide in '96 and the remaining members then decided to call it a day. Berenyi featured on a few releases and then changed career, Emma Anderson continued in the duo-band Sing-Sing, and King appears to have chosen a way out of the backdoor of the business; however, and although being the band's lowest charting album, Split is a mighty fine album, and it stands as this band's most coherent and best effort, imho. The cd issue comes in a 2-disc Deluxe Edition with a 3-track bonus disc.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 ]

[ collectors' item - 1st pressing in NM condition from ~ €120,- ]

cd issue

Lou Reed & John Cale "Songs for Drella" (1990)

Songs for Drella
release date: Apr. 24, 1990
format: vinyl (7599-26140-1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Lou Reed and John Cale
label: Sire Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 3. "Style It Takes" (live) - 4. "Work" - 6. "Starlight" - 7. "Faces and Names" (live) - 10. "It Wasn't Me" (live) - 11. "I Believe" (live) - 15. "Hello It's Me" (live)

Collaboration album by Lou Reed and John Cale released in memory of Andy Warhol (who passed away Feb. 1987), and who also went by the moniker 'Drella'. The collaboration work of the two is their first since 1968.
The album is a fine collection of narratives - some strange and experimental, others more straight-forward pop / rock-styled but all with focus on lyrical content. Warhol's funeral had brought the two back together and for a period of time, 4-5 years, in which they (actually) managed to work together. The Velvet Underground were even brought back to life with Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker, but eventually, around 1993, they once again decided - never ever - to work with one another again. Anyway, this is a fine and very interesting album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item ]

Adrian Borland and The Citizens "Alexandria" (1989)

Alexandria [debut]
release date: 1989
format: vinyl (BIAS 125) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,16]
producer: Adrian Borland and Nick Robbins
label: Play It Again Sam - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Light the Sky" (4 / 5) - 2. "Rogue Beauty" (4 / 5) - 3. "Beneath the Big Wheel" - 4. "Community Call" (4 / 5) - 5. "No Ethereal" - 6. "Other Side of the World" - 7. "Crystalline" - 8. "Shadow of Your Grace" (4 / 5) - 9. "Weight of Stuff" - 10. "She's My Heroine" (4 / 5) - 11. "Deep Deep Blue"

Solo album debut by Adrian Borland after the disbandment of The Sound. The album was released under the name of Adrian Borland and The Citizens. It's more or less the sound of Adrian as we have come to know him from The Sound. He was THE driving force and songwriter of that band and therefore his solo albums are closely related to the style of his former band. Maybe one could argue that he puts even more focus on the narrating element making the style a contemporary singer / songwriter release but still with traces of post-punk and alt. rock, however, Borland also expands his style to include more pop / rock tunes with plain chorus-based tracks as in "Light the Sky", "Rogue Beauty", and "She's My Heroine". I think that both the record company and Adrian had hoped for more recognition when the album was launched, alas, it went more or less like the story of The Sound. Borland received good reviews but failed to gain more than a small devoted audience. The album was produced by Adrian and Nick Robbins (who also produced albums for The Sound) and Colvin Mayers the keyboardist of his old band also handles keyboards on this one.
Highly recommended.

[ collectors' item ]

Rod Stewart "Unplugged... and Seated" (1993) (live)

Unplugged... and Seated (live)
release date: May 24, 1993
format: vinyl
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Patrick Leonard
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: England, UK

Live album by Rod Stewart with special guest Ronnie Wood on acoustic guitar recorded Feb. 5, 1993 at Universal Studios, Los Angeles as part of MTV’s Unplugged series.

[ collectors' item - from ~ €50,- ]

The Blue Nile "Hats" (1989)

Hats
release date: May 13, 1989
format: vinyl (LKH2) / digital
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,78]
producer: The Blue Nile
label: Linn Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Over the Hillside" (5 / 5) - 2. "The Downtown Lights" (5 / 5 ) - 3. "Let's Go Out Tonight" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Headlights on the Parade" (5 / 5) - 5. "From a Late Night Train" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Seven A.M." - 7. "Saturday Night" (4,5 / 5)

2nd studio album by The Blue Nile. All songs are credited vocalist and guitarist Paul Buchanan. I recall how I impatiently awaited this second album while I kept trying to figure out if they had already disbanded. Most other artists released at least a new album each year but it took 4½ years before this one came out. I rushed out to buy it, which wasn't really easy, and I remember playing the album over and over for years to come. It's really another classic work, and again, mostly just artists and critics were overwhelmed. A remastered 2-disc Collector's Edition was released in 2012 by Virgin, and it feature live versions, alternate mixes and two new studio songs ("Christmas" is previously unreleased, whereas "The Wires Are Down" is a B-side to the single "The Downtown Lights").
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, NME 4,5 / 5, Records Mirror, Sounds 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3/5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]
[ Danish review ]

1989 Favourite releases: 1. Pixies Doolittle - 2. The Blue Nile Hats - 3. Kitchens of Distinction Love Is Hell

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~

"Headlights On The Parade"

"And if in love she cried
Something wasn't right
'I'm sorry' - would be easy
To say I love you

Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
I go, yeah

Close your eyes come with me
Only love is alive
Close your eyes can't you see
Only love will survive, yeah

Headlights on the parade
Light up the way, I love you

Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
I've made up my mind
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Only love will survive
Yeah

The city wins while you and I
Can't find a way
Oh, headlights on the parade, yeah, yeah

Fly little angel
Fly little angel
Yeah"

~ ~ ~

The Cure "Lullaby" (Remix) (1989) (single)

FICSP 29, Ltd. nb.
clear disc #2844
(my copy)

Lullaby (Remix), 7'' single
release date: Apr. 1989
format: vinyl (clear vinyl - FICSP29, #2844)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Robert Smith, Dave Allen [David M. Allen]
label: Fiction Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Lullaby (Remix)" - - B) "Babble"

7'' single by The Cure released in a normal edition with the album version of the track "Lullaby", but also in this Limited numbered clear disc Remix version of the track.

[ collectors' item - clear vinyl, ltd. numbered edition in PVC sleeve - from ~ €120,- ]

Annika Aakjær "Missionær" (2010)

Missionær

release date: Feb. 8, 2010
format: cd (Digipak)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Henrik Marstal
label: Playground - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Dagens tekst" - 2. "For tiden" - 3. "Missionær" - 4. "Marie Magdalene" - 5. "De fik dig aldrig" - 6. "Pænhed er kommet til byen" - 9. "Den maskerede hævner"

2nd studio album by Danish singer / songwriter Annika Aakjær follows a little less than two years after her fine debut Lille filantrop (May 2008) is like that produced by Herik Marstal. This collection of ten new songs continue in more or less the same style. Both the lyrics, being slightly more diverse, as well as the music, which appears slightly more dynamic are here on a higher level. Also, Aakjær now challenges her singing voice more, which isn't a traditional pop vocal but a strong, and highly charismatic one. Yet, it's still in a folk pop universe. I find that her lyrical universe has much in common with the male artist Allan Olsen - only this is aeons better.

[ collectors' item - from ~ 35€ ]

Gangway "The Quiet Boy Ate the Whole Cake" (1991)

The Quiet Boy Ate the Whole Cake
release date: Mar. 21, 1991
format: vinyl (EL 0115-1) / cd (1993)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,70]
producer: David Motion
label: Elektra Denmark - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: A) 1. "Biology" - 2. "Strawberry Coat" (4 / 5) - 3. "Going Away" - 4. "Sisters in Legs" (4 / 5) - 5. "Believe in Me" - - B) 4. "Biology (Reprise)" - 5. "Buck" - 6. "Thermometer Song"

4th studio album (sometimes listed as the third - see below) by Gangway released on Elektra Denmark and reissued in '93 by Genlyd. The album was practically nearly five years in the making due to problems finding a proper record label during a time of tormoil. The band had been buried by many due to its split with former label Irmgardz..., the 'promised' international breakthrough simply didn't materialise after the acclaimed Sitting in the Park (1986), which had sent the band in the arms of huge label PolyGram on the sublabel of London Records, who crafted the alternate version (Jul. '88), and the band only found themselves released from their new contract due to conflicting interests between manager, sublabel and PolyGram. The band returned to Denmark and continued playing their older material. Still without a record contract they then went on an Asian tour in early '89, again, with a setlist primarily focusing on their early songs. Tensions within the band resulted in drummer Gorm Ravn-Jonsen then decided to leave Gangway reduced to a trio. Back in Denmark they now signed with Elektra Denmark (subdivision of Elektra) and they seemed finally in a position to focus on a new album. For the recording sessions the band remains a trio with composer of all songs, Henrik Balling as guitarist & backing vocalist, Allan Jensen on lead vocals (no longer playing bass), and with Torben Johansen on keyboards & backing vocals. Additionally, Kai Bojsen-Møller is now credited on drums but isn't an official member of the band - though he would be after the release - and Jesper Siberg (formerly member of Scatterbrain) is credited 'sound design'. On the album's back cover there's a photo of the three aforementioned (stable) members, and Bojsen-Møller's name is put with a clear blank spot after Balling, Jensen, and Johansen. Anyway, it's also quite obvious that there's hardly any use of traditional drums on the album.

Stylistically, this is closer to the style of Pet Shop Boys than they have ever been and it's clearly with focus on synth-pop with strict arrangements. What may seem like an odd choice is that the album is produced by David Motion, who also produced the rather unsuccesful '88 version of Sitting in the Park, but I guess the reassuring take is that the new album is made with a sound designer, 'cause frankly, Motion didn't exactly help shaping the right sound on the predecessor.

I recall, how several reviews were positive about the album when it came out but soon I also noticed how little attention it was paid by the national media and radio stations. It sort of marked a stylistic change the public hadn't expected. I for one was more than pleased about it, and still cannot understand why "Strawberry Coat" wasn't a bigger hit than "My Girl and Me" from the predecessor. Like "Sisters in Legs" it's quite original and catchy and absolutely great when played loud. I guess, the whole world had tuned in on grunge rock and neo-psychedelia, and if there's an opposite to that movement, it might be polished synth-pop, which explains why it didn't draw the attention it rightfully deserves. The album didn't bring the band new prizes and roughly sold about 20.000 copies. With Elektra the band continued its unfortunate tradition with weak management, or especially: poor promotion. Elektra Denmark simply didn't have the means to finance music videos and already as of Autumn '91 the band broke with Elektra, and stood without a contract...

Unfortunately, the vinyl pressing of the album wasn't that good, to put it mildly, so I had to purchase the cd as well. Building on a New Order and Pet Shop Boys-sound of familiar synth-pop, the album may not be the artistically most original album, but I find it the band's most solidly coherent with a bunch of great songs making it no less than their best album altogether.

Naturally recommended!

[ collectors' item ]

Felt "Me and a Monkey on the Moon" (1989)

Me and a Monkey on the Moon
release date: Nov. 13, 1989
format: vinyl (acme 24) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Adrian Borland
label: él Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Can't Make Love to You Anymore" 4 / 5) - 2. "Mobile Shack" - 3. "Free" - 4. "Budgie Jacket" (4 / 5) - 5. "Cartoon Sky" (4 / 5) - 7. "Down an August Path" (4,5 / 5) - 8. "Never Let You Go" - 10. "Get Out of My Mirror"

10th and final studio album by Felt, originally released on él, sub-label of Cherry Red, who reissued the album on cd in 2003. The album appears as the proclaimed final album by Felt, fulfilling an idea of releasing a total of 10 studio albums as stated by front-man Lawrence at the foundation of the band. The album is produced by The Sound lead guitarist, singer and composer, Adrian Borland, who manages to establish a new sound to the band, which feels wider and more vivid without losing the special tone of the band. Yet, it's not the band's best - it does contain new fine songs unlike its two predecessors, but it also contain several fillers. The characteristic Duffy organ is almost gone, and the sound is build on guitars and drums putting it close to the style of Lloyd Cole, and as a whole, and after two lesser albums, this is a fine last release by Felt.
[ allmusic.com, Sounds 4,5 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item 'near mint' - from ~ €60,- ]

The Blue Nile "Tinseltown in the Rain" (1984) (single)

Tinseltown in the Rain, 12'' single
release date: Aug. 20, 1984
format: vinyl
[single rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: Paul Buchanan, Robert Bell
label: Virgin Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Tinseltown in the Rain" (5 / 5 ) (live on Later) - - B) 1. "Regret" (4 / 5) - 2. "Heatwave" (4 / 5)

12'' single is the second of two singles taken from the studio album debut A Walk Across the Rooftops (Apr. 1984) by The Blue Nile released on Linn Records in the UK and Australia, by A&M Records in North America, and by Virgin in the EU only.

[ collectors' item - only EU 12'' pressing ]