Dr John’s Gumbo tends to be my go-to, especially this track
Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come
Lovely 70s folk album. Only knew some of her haunting 60s acapella stuff previously. Grabbed this from a second hand CD box on my first record shop trip in 3 months the other day, but had never heard anything from it before. It’s really nice to hear her with some acoustic guitar underneath (and a bit of bouzouki). Wonder why this hasn’t had the same level of reappraisal as someone like Vashti Bunyan
Been rinsing The Stranglers recently Black and White and The Raven are ace
Listened to Goodbooks - Control this morning after my son picked it off the shelf. This is becoming our routine when I get up with him have breakfast go and pick record, play it (he chose Jungle the other morning he liked the sirens at the start).
Goodbooks was really quite good could do without some of the annoying vocals but, it was alright for 8 in the morning:
Going through some 1998 albums I’d not listened to before, and there are some I’m really enjoying:
Gang Starr - Moment of Truth, one of the most immediately gratifying rap albums I’ve ever heard, it’s absolutely brilliant. Does everybody already know this? I wasn’t really listening to any rap or hip-hop other than the Fugees at this time and I wouldn’t have known them from BraveStarr before now.
PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? Always thought I just didn’t rate it, but actually I am not sure I’ve ever heard it before as none of it sounds familiar and all of it sounds amazing, up there with her best.
Moment of truth is pretty highly regarded and for me it’s prob my fav cos it was my entry point.
Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder…so good! Maybe their best!!!
Wheat - Hope & Adams ( I basically bought anything that Dave Fridman produced at this point but.this is a cracker)
All Night Radio - Spirit Stereo Frequncy (fuckin kwality)
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish
Beaucoup Fish is a banger
Never really listened to much Jon Spencer Blues Explosion picked up a copy of ‘Now I got Worry’ on a whim the other day and it’s frickin great! Right up my street, sounds so claustrophobic but yet so alive.
Finally got round to listening to this wonderful (and slightly odd) album made by Dion and Phil Spector in the 70s.
Also, having always been a bit dubious about the later Blue Nile records I bought the vinyl reissue of High. It does verge on the MOR at times but the songs are good and Paul Buchanan’s voice is still a thing of beauty. This is a great song I think
Born To Be With You is one of my top 10 favourite albums of all time. We almost had Only You Know as the 1st dance at our wedding but, the intro is really long.
It’s really great. I love the title track and New York City Song particularly
Changes alot for me probably Baby Let’s Stick Together at the moment.
It’s all good, apart from (He’s Got) The Whole World In His Hands, which makes me feel like I’m 8 years old and back in school assembly.
For me even that is brilliant due to the madness of it being a hymn, although I agree it is probably the weakest.
Try Orange, it’s amazing
I think there is a possible thread about songs on albums which jar because of their associations (not through being bad as such but through being incongruous). I would also include Sunshine (ie the song from Morecambe and Wise) at the end of the first Low album and The Byrds having a crack at Dame Vera’s We’ll Meet Again on their debut album.