Setting up this for mix CD reviews now that they are starting to appear on the sign up thread. I’ll do it by groups as per previous. No pressure if you haven’t sent out or properly listened yet as we are still well within the deadline, but I just wanted to stop the other thread getting clogged up and heading off to the margins.
How many ears does Captain Kirk have?
Kid dynamite / @timtunes / @deviant808 / @winterish
Right, first up is Kid Dynamite’s CD, nice cartoony space images on the cover – reminds me of Lost in Space and the old NME Captain Star strips š
I’m not going to embarrass myself by trying to guess who the artists are, just give my first impressions…
1. Late 60’s pop/show band/light entertainment tv stuff – apart from ‘crazy’ voices, I can imagine a bunch of wacky 60’s dancers flinging themselves about before it fades down and an announcer says “…and on tonight’s show Cilla’s guests are…”
2. That’s better, retro style guitars but it sounds like a much more modern take on a 60s surf-rock / Dick Dale style instrumental. I like it.
3. Started off like Christopher Cross, then into some nice celtic swirling stuff. Hmm, a little bit of echo used there too – dubby! Reminds me of a mellow afro-celt sound system without much afro. Maybe YachtRock-Celt Sound System. OK but a bit dull.
4. Japanese? Cute voice. Nicely minimal backing to start with. Then turns into a pleasantly bland pop track that goes on a bit too long.
5. Whitney ballad intro? Interesting buzzy/glitchy background noise. I like it, building up the fuzz nicely over the piano and sounding more epic. Then fades down to piano again and gets out of the way. Good one.
6. Wham/George Michael/80’s chords and synth. Bit of Vangelis. Some kind of soundtrack maybe. Now Homer chatting with a robot god. Odd but good. Mostly because of the conversation.
7. OK instrumental start, needs to do something else soon… kind of poppy post-rock building nicely… riffing started now, things still building, better… and we’re done. Pretty standard post-rock style structure but not bad.
8. Poppy bouncy percussion! Slightly frantic riff/tune! Expecting foreign language voice any time now… probably French or North African… still waiting, but electronic/instrumental bits building up well, plenty going on… and it stopped.
9. More nice fuzz sound with sort of marching folky percussion, now something like a theremin comes in, nice! I like this one, not really going anywhere but builds up with plenty of sounds I like, sitar, drums, horns and distortion. I’ll rip this one for my collection. Fave so far.
10. Jolly little northerner singing about Dr Who and the Tardis – sort of a Frank Sidebottom / Half Man Half Biscuit sound, but not as good. Fun though!
11. Oooh, space water… nice sounds, slow build… and I’ve drifted off and started reading emails. Not unpleasant but a bit wallpapery. Think I’ve got some ironing to do too… must get a haircut this week… zzzzz…
12. Ah, Apollo 11 dialogue! That’s more like it! Nice bleeps and noises with a good beat.
13. Cheating. Disgraceful. Doesn’t count. How dare you give me extra music! Although I cheated with mine too and blew 2 tracks on very short snippets of dialogue, mostly because I didn’t have time to think about any more tunes and they fitted in nicely.
This seems to be a continuation of track 12, so still good, but a bit dull.
14. And now here’s the hidden track after a long silence. Quite pleasant singer-songwriter guitar and vocal with ghostly synth backing. No idea who it is and haven’t spotted a space connection, but it’s quite catchy and I like it.
Overall, an entertaining hour of stuff with probably 2 or 3 I’ll investigate further when all is revealed, cheers!
Cheers @winterish. I will say more once other feedback is in, but I reckon @Deviant808 ‘s ears will have twitched at the news that there’s a Japanese band on here (actually, there’s two…) and I wanted to reassure him that it wasn’t that one.
Heh.
I wasnāt going to read the reviews yet until Iād written my own, but had to check out the comment I was tagged in š
Intrigued…
And this is what I had to say about @winterish ‘s mix. Particularly liked the little round case, very planet-y.
The first number isn’t a number at all, just a spoken word intro, an excited voice promising party music, which leads directly into…
Song 2: some mournful solo electric guitar! I feel that the young lady in track one is going to be disappointed. It’s not completely my bag either, but I can imagine it soundtracking a flypast video through the asteroid belt, so that’s alright then.
This third one was on my own shortlist. Didn’t make it (obviously), but that’s no slight, and it’s a fine tune.
Track 4. Of course, I know this! Being the all round nerd I am, I have a small library of different versions of this but this is a new one on me. I like it, nice and dubby. If you’re looking for something a bit livelier, I can particularly recommend the Simmertones version.
Number 5 is unremarkable at first, but after a few listens it’s crept up on me, and I think it might be my favourite on the disc. No idea who it is, Dubstar or someone like that? Whoever it is, I bet their set up is female frontwoman with two anonymous blokes on keyboards standing behind her. Anyway, this is top quality electronic pop and I dig it.
Track 6: Chuggy house, with some suitably cosmic pads on top. This one grew on me as it went on, another one in the hit column.
7: Detour into jazz. As you may have gathered from my disc I like my jazz a bit more frantic. This is pleasant alright, but fairly lightweight.
Part 8: I like the bits around this one more than I like the song itself. The lonely celestial piano at the beginning is lovely, the occasional string adornment is nice and the silly tune at the end raises a smile, but the core is unremarkable. I don’t know the song, but one of the lines he sings leads me to believe that it may appear again in this thread – I’m sure I’ve seen a tracklisting with that as a song title.
IX: An atmospheric piece, with some attractive wordless vocals. It’s quite slight, but I like that. Another good one, which flows nicely into
Ten: I have a nagging feeling I recognise this tune. Not this version or this arrangement, but there’s something in here that is just tickling my ears and staying out of reach. Sounds a little like Nemo Sandman, but that is highly obscure even by my own ridiculous standards, so probably isn’t? Doesn’t feel particularly cosmic, unless it’s some weird parallel universe where France became a major space power, but I suppose all will be revealed with the tracklisting.
11: Barely a track at all!
Twelve: Lovely, this is. I probably haven’t paid the parent album enough attention (I was a bit cool on the second one after loving the first), but this is a very good song, and a great way to finish.
All in all, a good mix, so thanks for that. I really wouldn’t have begrudged you keeping the spoken word interludes and sticking in two more tracks, but hey, rules is rules. Cheers!
Okay, @Deviant808, you’re next. First off, kudos on the little grid on the back of the sleeve. Brilliant idea! Top photo on the front as well.
1: great intro, a lovely funky number about Yuri Gagarin, narrated by the compere of a Northern working man’s club. No idea who this could be (the Moonlandingz?) but it’s top fun.
Two: More Northern action! This is one I knew. I like the way the artist and song title both qualify for the space theme. Very underrated band, this lot. I’ve only dipped my toe into their waters, but I should do more.
iii: Think I skew a bit young for this kind of thing. Yes, even on the Afterword. It’s short, which is a blessing, but if I want to hear how great the Sixties were again, I’ll phone my dad.
IV: A little bit jangly, a little bit poppy, female vocals…this is what I was expecting from you! Decent, without being earthshatteringly good.
if man is 5: ostensibly more of the same, but just shows how different two records that could be described very similarly can sound. This is a bit punchier than the predecessor, but lacks the lush production. Think I prefer it, though.
then the devil is 6: I bet everyone here would know this song. Notwithstanding my earlier comments on track 3, I do like this lot.
and if the devil is 6, then God is 7: A very distinctive voice. I’m sure I have this album, but I haven’t listened to it for years. I just Googled the track listing and I might have to dig it out again later. There’s some good stuff on there, innit?
H: a cover, obviously (assuming this wasn’t the long lost original demo revived for the super deluxe edition box set). A canny idea of the album it might be from has given me a pretty good idea of who this is, but it does sound cleaner than I’d expect from them?
9: Away from the guitars now, with some retro synthery that I’d guess is from the early eighties? It would have been revolutionary then, kind of quaint now. The way the future was.
X: Lots of samples, no discernable groove or tune. I’d say worst track yet, but I am haunted by track 3 still. If I had to guess I’d say Tack>Head or someone like that?
11: This is better. I was going to say a bit more modern, but it’s probably ten years old by now, isn’t it? When they are on form there is no one to touch this lot. I think this track benefits from being lifted out of the fairly mediocre album it’s off – listening to it here outside of that context I’ve enjoyed it a lot more. Not quite as sleek and euphoric as their very best work, but not that far off it either.
12: I really like this. Lovely swirling building music and a narration that echoes large chunks of my own inner monologue. Will definitely listen to more of this when I know who it is.
And that’s that. Definitely a few to chase up when I know more, so thanks!
That’s pretty positive, which is good to hear. Glad you found some things you approved of.
A couple of good guesses (you’re pretty much right with 10, but not quite) and a few comments that I’ll follow up on when I’ve had feedback from the others.
Can’t quite tell if you’ve worked out who track 9 is? If not then I suspect you’ll kick yourself when you find out. His voice is quite distinctive, so I’d be surprised if you hadn’t got it.
Hmmm, I hadn’t, but after that comment I’ve listened again, and I dare say I may have…
From that choice of phrase, I dare say you have š
And here’s my thoughts….firstly, Kid Dynamite ā cool cover…
1. Swinging space jazz baby to lift us off. Gets more melodic halfway through. Trashcan drums. No idea at all who.
2. Crampsy garage instrumental. Nice raygun action. Possibly a chase sequence from Tarntinoās 1950s Sci-fi homage. Once again, no idea.
3. Rhythm then fiddle (Scottish?). Space connection unknown. And yes itāsā¦no idea again. Sounds like bored half hour at Womad.
4. Off to Japan, hopefully in space with a cute cat. Cool. Might be in a bar that Bill Murray visits. Nice beats. Long enough for two whiskys.
5. Ooo, post rock stylings. Feel like I should have it in my 400 albums of epic post rock, but no bells rung. Whatever will hunt it out. Not long enough.
6. Blimey. The āGodā sounds like he could be from some 70s space disco, eg Automatic lover. Nice, backing touch too samey.
7. Back on planet post rock. Good stuff. Probably cool title like āCollapsing star on Cygnus VIIā. Nice drums.
8. Yes, I have this! Notting Hill on Mars.
9. Psychedelic sort of 90s groove, possible theremin?? Sounds like a b-side though.
10. Northern kitsch but just 37secs
11. And another! Havenāt listened to this for a while. Sounds good.
12. Iām a sucker for mission control clips ā wonder if Public Service Broadcasting heard this? Best track so far.
13. More clips! Iām definitely floating weightless. Nice post-rock meets Mazzy Star feel.
Very enjoyable mix ā surprising, heard little. Quite a big 90s post-rock influence. Nothing immediately registered as āskipā except George Formby talking about Dr Who but by the time I skipped it had finished. Interested to hunt down more on these.
that’s good – floating weightless amongst the stars was definitely the vibe I was going for with the last run of tracks!
Next up its…Winterish
1. Intro dialogue
2. Good dreamy track. No idea who or what is the spacey aspect
3. Folky tune with kitsch sci-fi lyrics. Bit too twee for me. People might laugh along to this at a āfestivalā. Pass
4. Dub Dr Who. Easy Star All-Stars do TV themes
5. Have this, havenāt listened to them for a while.
6. Whatās this? Nice build into āspace discoā type beats. No idea who.
7. Nice jazz quartet version of the Disney tune. Not sure who? Oscar Peterson? Dave Brubeck? Stan Getz?
8. More piano as intro. Like the strings leading into the chorus. Doesnāt really grab me.
9. Bit like track two. Dreamy. Like it, quite pastoral. Could go on longer.
10. Great. Keeping that same vibe. Sounds quite cinematic. Best track so far, fantastic.
11. Someone, hopefully an astronaut.
12. Have this, great album ā her best so far.
Cheers! I was losing the plot early on with the 1-2 of twee northern folk and dub Dr who but you pulled it back very nicely lulling me into dream state in the second half.
and then ..its
Deviant 808
1. Cut-price carnival with rumbling MC and assorted sound effects. Space theme checked. A minute would be enough.
2. Indie groove. Ghosts of American astronauts in Bradford? Seems a stretch. Not a fan first time, but it has grown on me. Still donāt know what sheās on about though.
3. Itās Junior Choice ā the Stewpot version. Makes me think of the Christmas Thunderbirds episode. Enjoyed that.
4. More Brit indie, bit folky. Sāalright I suppose, doesnāt overstay its welcome. Quite short.
5. 4. Could be the support for this band. Bit more energy but still in that indie pop vein ā comes to life after 1ā20ā, almost a bit Pixies underneath. Won me over eventually.
6. Hey Mr! I have this one
7. Ah, BB. Next track please.
8. Itās garage Klaatu! I have this on a tribute cd (best track Sonic Youth)
9. And this! A fave from the band ā first had it on a Virgin sampler album, Cash Cows! My memory says it was Ā£1.15
10. Yes! Mission control clips! Is there a song that couldnāt be improved by adding that? It could even help track 4 here. Ditch C3-PO though, officially the most annoying robot ever. Hang on, is this just random beats with spacey bits?
11. Ah! Yes, throbbing grooviness. Sounds a bit German. Bit of a banger on that full moon.
12. More grooves please? Err no, Scottish confessional indie about space. Like it though.
Thanks, enjoyed it. Strong space theme very prominent. For me a bit too much Brit indie strumming but thatās me. Favourites 3 or 11.
Thanks, that’s positive enough that I’ll take it as a success š
I thought I’d managed to rein in my natural leanings towards IndiePop a bit better than usual this year, but perhaps not! I tend to think of 2 as more Folk than anything else, and wasn’t really viewing track 12 as Indie either (though the band clearly are on their more typical tracks) given that it’s largely spoken.
Amused that you liked 3 when KD *really* didn’t!
OK, letās do this feedback thing, starting with @Kid-Dynamite. Written on my phone on the train, so excuse typos/formatting!
1
2001 sample to open, leading into a
Jazzy sixties-style SciFi theme by a popular beat combo of the day. Cracking opening salvo, will investigate further.
2
Twangy sixties (styled at least) surf pop with added laser effects for that space connection. Ace.
3
Jaunty Eastern European Roma jig that varies in pace and throws in odd spacy noises half way, does get a bit more folky as it goes along. No idea of the connection but I approve.
4
Ah, one of those Japanese acts you mentioned. (Guessing the other is one of the earlier instrumentals which is why Winterish didnāt spot itās origin?). Nice woodwind percussion.
Goes a bit Anisong as it progresses, might be the theme from a space-related anime show?
5
Introspective piano (not an instrument I particularly like) intro.
This could be Japanese too?
Spooky organ sounds added as we go along, but hasnāt really done too much by the time it finishes. Potential grower.
6
Squelchy Daft Punky robo-funk workout with psychedelic stoner voiceover describing classic Man Meets God/Machine trope scenario š Fun, but not something to listen to too often.
āI was God onceā
āI saw. You were doing well until everyone diedā
7
Moody brooding instrumental whose pace picks up halfway through.
All a tiny bit too proggy to be a real favourite, but still entertaining as it builds nicely into a bit of an epic wall of sound by the close.
8
Classic machine / computer noises to open. Gets bouncier and bleepier as it goes, rather liked this from first listen and it gets even better with repeated listens.
9
Some Indian influences in this one that I like very much as it circles overhead, throbbing menacingly as it goes.
10
Comedy Northern Dr Who ultra-short that knows how not to outstay itās welcome.
11
Shuffly spacy (naturally) instrumental thatās not a million miles from Air / Daft Pink territory initially but picks up Indian / Japanese elements as it goes and ends up being rather good.
12
Iām a sucker for a nice bit of NASA / Apollo dialogue and this uses it well. Probably my favourite apart from the opening two tracks.
13
Big slightly-dubby/blissed out finale. Pleasant enough without really making too much of an impression. Then into Hidden Extra Track territory with a Space Oddity style strum-along thatās inoffensive enough.
Hard to spot the Space connections given the number of instrumentals, but thatās not a problem as Iām rubbish at that anyway š
Being largely instrumentals, quite a few didnāt make a particularly strong first impression without a vocal hook to jog the memory, but most were real Growers on repeated listens, which is often a good sign.
Thanks!
well, three reviews in and so I think I can do a reveal now. Here goes
1) I did add the 2001 sample in myself, but the music is all Japan’s premiere death jazz act Soil & “Pimp” Sessions with a tune called “Apple Gravitate Toward Core Of Star”. From 2014, although everybody seemed to think it was Sixties flavoured. Go see them if you ever get the chance, they’re spectacular
2) is “Escape Velocity” by Man…Or Astroman?. Keep an eye on that title, it’ll be round again in a minute.
3) Scottish folk legends Shooglenifty. The tune is called “Venus In Tweeds”, and is probably meant to be more Botticelli than acidic cloud covered cosmic boiling death trap, but I ran with it.
4) The band is called TAMTAM, and the song is called ęé²ććććć¤ćÆ, which translates as “Nebula Hitchhike”. Don’t know much about this lot, but the parent album “Newpoesy” is more jazzy sophisticated pop
5) This is “Escape Velocity” (told you) by 65daysofstatic. It’s from the soundtrack they did to the No Man’s Sky game, any track of which could have gone here.
6) “Hasj Box” by Olav Brekke Mathisen. Some Scandinavian cosmic disco, with dialogue courtesy of Futurama:
7) Northern Irish post-rockers God Is An Astronaut with “Suicide By Star” from their debut album “All Is Violent, All Is Bright”.
8) more jazz from The Comet Is Coming, with “Space Carnival”
9) This seemed to be the one that went down best with everyone. It’s Death In Vegas, and a song called “Neptune City”. Have to admit I always thought of it as Neptune as in under the sea, but needs must. It’s on the same album (the excellent Contino Sessions) as the Iggy Pop collab “Aisha” which still turns up on Radio 6 every so often. I love the last minute or so of this, and the album still gets played regularly almost twenty years after release.
10) I have no idea where I sourced this from, but it’s been hanging about on my hard drive for years. Doghorse bringing you “Observations On Time Travel”
11) Into the home stretch now, where I was going for a weightless ambient floating in space vibe…to that end this is The Orb. A track off the first album, here remixed by Steve Hillage, this is the “Back Side Of The Moon (Under Water Deep Space Mix)” leading into…
12) “Eagle” by Banco De Gaia. Pleased this one has gone down well, it’s a favourite of mine (and of @retropath2, I believe) off the classic ethnodub album “Last Train To Lhasa”. The NASA samples predate Public Service Broadcasting by about twenty years…
13) Onwards and outwards with Arizona goths Lycia‘s “Distant Fading Star”. Lovely 4ADish elegiac gloom.
The last, hidden, track is Mercury Rev covering Nikki Sudden’s “Silver Street”. It’s a hangover from an earlier iteration of the mix where every song had something to do with a planet in order outwards from the sun. Said idea got dumped fairly quickly, but I couldn’t bear to omit this track so snuck it in the back.
Thanks for listening!
Really should have recognised Bender’s voice there, and I clearly haven’t listened to that Death In Vegas album anywhere near recently enough!
Thanks. So on 1 and 6 did you do you own ‘mixing’? If so, impressive.
Should have got 5, seen them live – good noise.
Will check out 12 – I have many genres covered, but my ethno dub knowledge is fairly superficial – kind of associate it with 90s acts that might turn up at Womad that sound better on paper than in reality but that track proved otherwise
Will also look at Lycia, God Is An Astronaut.
received your disc today, @timtunes. Love the cover, will report back later.
As far as mixing, sort of. I added the sample to track 1, but the Futurama stuff was baked into the Olav Brekke Mathisen track before I ever heard it. The rest of the mixing was just cutting down fadeouts and running tracks into each other (hopefully) seamlessly – the samples you mentioned at the beginning of the Lycia track are actually the end of Banco De Gaia playing as Lycia warm up, for example.
Nicely done, might try that next time
OK, my review of “A @winterish mix”
1) A snippet of dialogue from SPACED I think? Sounds like Jessica Hynes, or Stephenson as she was then.
2) Mournfully plucked guitar instrumental for an atmospheric start. Doesn’t really go anywhere, but it’s a nice enough opener.
3) Some Indian twang, goes a bit more Spanish as it progresses and warns us about not trusting Martians. Quite like this on first listen and it’s been a definite grower since.
4) Sounds suspiciously like a dubby version of the DR WHO theme? Ah, that’s exactly what it is. Excellent fun stuff. Nearly went for Orbital’s “Doctor ?” on my own mix.
5) Ah, I know this one. Love this band. Connection is the name, he says trying to demonstrate he knows it without spoilers š
6) Spacey housey track that sounds like I should probably know who it is. It’s rather good whoever it turns out to be.
7) A bit of a gear change into some light trad Jazz. Quite pleasant. I’m off to Vegas in a few days time and his has reminded me of sitting in the bar at the top of the Stratosphere tower listening to something similar the last time I was there.
8) Some nice drums at the beginning, but then it goes a bit lightweight singer-songwritery for me. Inoffensive enough but not particularly distinctive.
9) A bit psychedelic and proggy, was getting on my nerves a bit by the third listen to be honest.
10) Another one that doesn’t do an awful lot, though the violins (?) are nice enough.
11) Yep, that was definitely dialog from SPACED, and here’s Tim / Simon Pegg š Wonder why this wasn’t the last track?
12) Not a big country fan generally, but this really grew on me with it’s Space Cowboys, or Cowboys needing their Space at least. “Sunsets fade and love does too” could be a particularly devastating lyric in the wrong situation.
Reading that back it sounds a bit more negative than I intended. There was nothing (even 9) that I actively disliked and it hung together pretty well as a mix, just probably a bit more of a downtempo selection than I normally would go for.
OK, as often-volunteered, @Deviant808 and I go way back – and whether partnered-or-not always exchange our mix CDs and provide feedback. I’ve been holding off not wanting to pre-empt feedback from @winterish but as my comments are spoiler free, I think I am safe to take the plunge…
01. This is killing me. I know you have used this track on a Velvet CD compilation a couple of years back, you bugger. I’ve still got the VCD but have mislaid the tracklisting! Bang goes any chance to appear cool, hip & trendy. It’s not PSB, is it? Bloody brilliant track. Samba beat with David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd (or an impersonator) extolling the virtues of Klushino’s finest. Excellent opening.
02. From Cosmonauts to Astronauts. More typically-Deviant808 fayre, this one: guitar-led, female-voiced indy-pop. But… hang on… the vocals sounds VERY ’60s; are you throwing us a dummy? I suspect it’s a more recent ‘popular beat combo’ attempting the retro flower-power oeuvre. Lovely song, regardless. Me likey very much.
03. Speaking of ’60s retro-wannabes – surely this is a pastiche of ‘Telstar’, avec vocals, produced to sound like it was ripped from a Thunderbirds soundtrack? I’d have said it was authentic ’60s but the intro is too quirky, surely? I shall hazard a guess it is (re-)titled ‘Magic Star’? Harmless enough but never going to make it onto any of my playlists.
04. Guitar-led, female-voiced indy-pop; what were the chances? š The voice is irritatingly familiar, specifically the vowel intonations – but it eludes me. McGuinn-like guitar puts me in mind of the Byrds. There’s a hint of folkyness there, too. Very pleasant.
05. Sounds very much like Lush but not a track I am familiar with, so perhaps not. Driving bass & percussion. Entitled ‘Gravity’? Another winner.
06. If you don’t recognize this you want shooting. Thank Christ it wasn’t a Mental Health theme however, or you may have gone for ‘Mind Gardens’. You’re on a roll so far.
07. Barking. Or at least that’s where he hails from; pleasantly singing entirely in-tune for once. Can’t knock the fella though, as my politics pretty much mirror his own. Not heard this for a while, which has inspired me to dust off an album or two. Maintaining the high standard so far.
08. Oh my dear Lord. It had to end somewhere along the line. This is somebody utterly murdering ‘Calling Occupants (etc)’. Horribly weedy, thin, nasal vocals. Risible. Suspect this has been included as a joke track. If I NEVER hear this again, it will be TOO SOON.
09. This has to be someone doing a piss-take of the Human League. Drum machine and synths morph into chaotic space sounds then the horrific Oakey-like ‘vocal’. The lyric isn’t even funny. Unbearably awful.
10. NASA-speak excerpts lead into heavy beat-driven electronica. Driving percussive beat with samples of spoken word mixed over the top. Never really goes anywhere. Emperor’s new clothes stuff for me: no substance whatsoever.
11. Slightly more bearable beat-driven electronica. Other than ‘Born Slippy’ this is strangely the only other track of theirs I have ever heard. What can I say? This kind of stuff just really isn’t my cup of tea, as you well know.
12. Apparently the top two words you can speak, which are guaranteed to make you sound Scottish, are: ‘Briwiant’ and ‘Wurrum’. Try ’em. The voice sounds so much like Midge Ure it’s unreal. Surely not? The actual music/tune is pleasant enough but I don’t really give a chuff about our celtic narrator’s exposition.
In summary: an excellent start – and a VERY high standard maintained for two thirds of the compilation before dropping of a cliff in biblical fashion.
—————————————————————————–
Ye Extras:
13. Vocoder-morphed vocals inquire ‘Can you watch the stars’? ‘Cerrone’ it ain’t – but it’s catchy enough and didn’t have me reaching for the skip button at any point, so maybe I’m mellowing toward this stuff. Maybe. (Actually, I quite liked it).
14. NASA-speak samples over Bauhaus-like drum/bass/synth. Okay but I wouldn’t seek it out.
15. Bleepy-blippy sequenced intro. Driving drums. Sounds like bagpipes in space. Really bad. Really.
16. More beat. More repetition. More shouting ‘Hey’ for no reason or consequence. More loss of will to live, despite the Diva-wannabe trying her damnedest to drag it back into some semblance of a song. Good grief, Charlie Brown.
18. How to kill a classic theme tune. Apparently it’s what all late ’90s cinema-goers wanted. Terrible.
19. Incredibly, the worst track of the entire offering. You know what they say: save the worst ’til last. Death metal effluent.
In summary: call these a ‘bonus’?!?!?! š Seriously however, swap-in tracks 13 & 14 for 8 & 9 and I may have been ‘gushing’ over your main CDmix genius. As ever, cheers for the ride. š
Heh. There was a reason those were bonus tracks. I like āem all, but am self-aware enough to realise they werenāt necessarily that palatable generally š
You didnāt like the āirreverentā cover version or that last bonus?
I Am Jackās Utter Lack Of Surprise š
I suppose I should mention what those “bonus tracks” (burned onto the mix I sent to @StellarX as it was off-book, available as a download to my official swappers to play by the rules for once):
13) ‘Kelly Watch The Stars (single edit)’ – Air
Thought this might be a bit too well known to include
14) ‘Go!’ – Public Service Broadcasting
Decided this and the Keith Le Blanc track were a bit similar and so chose to exclude this one as I know a lot of people here are already aware of what this lot sound like
15) ‘Astronauts and All’ – Foals
Lots of nice chaotic noises, but ended up deciding it was a bit *too* chaotic for the main mix
16) ‘Happiness Is A Warm Space Station’ – Solar Bears
In hindsight I probably should’ve found room for this to up the “dance” quota, but 12 tracks really isn’t much to play with.
Or it might be far too much if you’re having to sit through this stuff š
17) ‘Ride a Rocket’ – Lithium & Sonya Madan
Not an absolute top quality track if I’m honest, but I considered it as it’s a bit of an obscurity and it would’ve been interesting to see if anybody recognised the vocals as being from Her Out Of Echobelly
18) ‘”Lost In Space” (Video edit)’ – Apollo 440
A bit populist for the AW, but it’s a rollicking rocket ride from A440 with some cheesy samples by Him Out Of FRIENDS taken from the turkey of a film that it originates from
19) ‘Asteroid’ – Killing Joke
Heh. A bit much for some of the delicate ears around here, but still very nearly made the cut as it was the last track that I chose to exclude. Features that nice Mr Grohl from the Foo Fighters on the drums.
OK then, holiday-delayed review of @timtunes.
1) Could be the theme to something, possibly from the Sixties. Sounds more like a horror theme initially, then goes a bit more wobbly. Very atmospheric, nice opening.
2) A bit of hot vocoder action about venturing to the stars. Some Steven Hawking samples further in, so perhaps the earlier dialogue was (sampled) from someone famous too? Nice positive sentiments. Like it.
3) Think I recognise this? Nicolas Jaar? If so, heard this album at the time and liked it (and this still sounds good), but never got around to buying a copy so haven’t heard it in a long while.
4) NASA space-launch dialogue merges into hippy psychedlic rock thing. Not really my sort of thing, but it works in context.
5) Dodgy sludge metal with widdly bits. Goes on a bit without really going anywhere.
6) Slightly average stoner grunge, though it did grow on me over a couple of listens.
7) Throbby electro-tech workout with added soaring guitars, I rather like this. I’ve got a feeling I might know it, or at least the artist, as it sounds familiar, but it’s eluding me at the minute. Definitely my favourite track on here.
8) Franco-tech chugger about a rendezvous in space. Enjoyable stuff.
9) Flute (?) based sixties-style hippy wig-out. Vaguely funky in places. Could well be a TV theme from something?
10) More psychedelic meandering. Inoffensive, but didn’t really do anything for me.
11) Wow, this was really minimal. Thought I wouldn’t be able to comment as there wasn’t too much of anything there that I could actually hear until about halfway through it. It does perk up a bit towards the end and is quite pleasant.
12) Seattle space-fair sample and we’re done.
That reads as a bit lukewarm, which is a little unfair as there’s clearly some thought that’s gone into the track selection and it covers a number of bases style/genre-wise, just – unfortunately – not too many that overlap much with my tastes š
Thanks though, it was a worthwhile listen. Favourite track was 7, but interested to hear who 8 and 2 are too.
Thanks for the review @Deviant808 and no apologies, it did consciously veer around but perhaps next time I might have a few more successes. As you are the only reviewer so far I suppose I should be coy but on your comments:-
– Glad you like 7, LCD Soundsystem affiliated band
– 2, Yes you’re right the other chap looves the Cosmos
– 8, Belgian electro-pop. Had one hit here ish
And yes I do have a soft spot for Dodgy sludge metal with widdly bits…
–
It’s always a bit of a balancing act for me on how varied to make these things, it’s a fine line between “eclectic” and “dog’s breakfast” š
#2 – His initials aren’t CS are they?
Had intended to go into a bit more detail on the comments, but was conscious that the deadline was fast approaching so thought I’d get something out…
That’s him
Re the fine line – agreed, I’m just the right side š
Mine is coming, I promise, but I need to say that if @Deviant808 thinks the artist for #6 is “slightly average” then we are going to have to have words.
Heh. I did type “second division” in my first draft, so I think it’s improved?
Intrigued who that is now, might need to have a crafty Shazam of it…
okay, @timtunes, apologies for the delay in posting this. It’s been sat in my notes app for ages, but I wanted to give the mix one more go, which I finally managed this morning.
1: a cosmic overture, sets us up
2: bubbly vocodered space optimism, right up my street
3: love the synth when it kicks in here. Similar vocal trickery to the last one, feels quite otherworldly. Which is kind of the point, I guess
4: love those chiming sitars. Musically this is quite like the Death In Vegas track I used, but with additional unorthodox vocal stylings on top. Probably my favourite on the mix. Also convinced I recognise the singer, but can’t put a name to the voice.
5: sludgey doomy stuff with namechecks for Buzz and Neil. I’m always going to be happy with a bit of this style of music, and oooh look, here’s some more coming up next…
6: this is the first (and only) one I recognise. Big Dumb Rock of the highest order. Official Kid Dynamite seal of approval.
7: synths reminiscent of the Blade Runner end titles, morphs into spacey disco with vaguely hair metal guitars before a lady starts singing. No idea who this is or even what genre I’d call it, quite digging it though.
8: Bit of a similar vibe here, more purely electronic though, with no guitars. Leaving me scratching my head again, sounds like the sort of thing that would have been pressed in tiny quantities on an obscure European label in 1979. Might be a certain French fellow? (Basing that entirely on one word in the lyric)
9: slowing it down with a bit of jazzy funk (or is it funky jazz?). Quite pleasant this, but maybe a bit overlong.
10: and now we are drifting amongst the stars. This is nice enough, but doesn’t really go anywhere or do anything
11: more floating weightless vibes, but with a bit more going on. If the last one was drifting through the inky blackness of deep space, this is more like a flying past the rings of a gas giant, distant sunlight reflecting and scattering from a million tiny chunks of rock and ice. Until the end, when we plunge into the atmosphere and burn up.
12: thank you and goodbye
This is the most out there mix I’ve had from these swaps, a genuine deep dive into the fringes of record collecting, which I wholeheartedly approve of. Not all to my taste, but that’s hardly the point.
Great review, @Kid-Dynamite, thank you
I presume I should wait to post the listing as I’ve still got one review left to receive, so respecting the anonymity…
1. I’m surprised no-one’s guessed this yet..
3. Yes, I liked how they segued together
4. Agree quite like the DIV track, band are Australian mates of a more famous one (bloke)
5. Glad you like …can’t beat a bit of sludge
6. Very dumb and quite an odd remix. Saw them live recently, delivered as expected
8. French-ish, Belgian – had one hit here in the 80’s
10. Sacrilege! best track off of one of my albums of last year!
11. Damn fine description
I’m ‘made up’ that this is ‘out there’. I do listen to a wide-range of stuff and enjoy going on a bit of a journey
a tracklisting from @Deviant808! On his lonely journey tending to the last living trees with only a trio of tiny robots for company he was listening to:
1) āElvis In Spaceā ā Dave Formula
2) āGhosts of American Astronautsā ā The Mekons
3) āMagic Starā ā Kenny Hollywood
4) āNeil Armstrongā ā Allo Darlinā
5) āSpace Manateeā ā Heavenly
6) āMr Spacemanā ā The Byrds
7) āThe Space Race Is Overā ā Billy Bragg
8) āCalling Occupants of Interplanetary Craftā ā Babes in Toyland
9) āBlack Hit Of Spaceā ā The Human League
10) āMajor Malfunctionā ā Keith LeBlanc
11) āBetween Starsā ā Underworld
12) āA Day In Spaceā ā Ballboy
*goes to check Ballboy* hmmm, the rest of their stuff isn’t exactly like this one, is it? The “A Day In Space” track isn’t on Apple Music – where is it from?
Yeah, it is a bit of an outlier.
Itās a track from an early EP, the first few of which are collected as āClub Anthemsā.
I gave “A Guide For The Daylight Hours” a (metaphorical) spin. Quite enjoyed it, will investigate further. And I have a new entry in my “Bands with great song titles” list!
That is probably my favourite of their albums, though “The Royal Theatre” is also very good.
They do have some spectacular titles.
I particularly like “Godzilla Vs The Island of Manhattan (with you and I somewhere in-between)”
@timtunes tracklisting:
1 Prelude And Outer Space Bernard Herrmann The Day The Earth Stood Still
2 Glorious Dawn (Cosmos Remixed) Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking Glorious Dawn (Cosmos Remixed)
3 Space Is Only Noise If You Can See Nicolas Jaar Space Is Only Noise
4 Hobo Rocket Pond Hobo Rocket
5 Spacegrass (Live) Clutch Pure Rock Fury
6 Spacelord (Intergalactic 7 Mix) Monster Magnet Greatest Hits
7 A Place Called Space Juan MacLean In A Dream
8 Rendez-Vous Dans L’espace Telex Ultimate Best Of
9 Space Lady Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes Renaissence
10 Space To Bakersfield Black Mountain IV
11 Colors In Space Explosions In The Sky The Wilderness
12 Space Age World”s Fair Attilio Mineo Man In Space With Sounds”
I really must listen to that last EITS album properly. Definitely going to check out Pond and Nicolas Jaar on the back of this.
The EITS is top stuff
A few hastily scrawled notes on my selections and the thought process – such as it was – behind their selection.
1) ‘Elvis In Space’ – Dave Formula
This came from a covermount CD from the Word magazine so had to include it.
Dave Formula is the ex-keyboard player with Magazine, joining after they’d recorded “Shot By Both Sides” though.
He was also a member of Visage for their first two albums.
2) ‘Ghosts of American Astronauts’ – The Mekons
As KD alludes to, the opportunity to hit the Space theme with both the title and the act name was irresistible š
Have loved this track since first hearing Peel play it, but they’re not a band that I’m a massive fan of generally, the double compilation I have has some great stuff on it among the folkier offerings that I’m not so keen on.
3) ‘Magic Star’ – Kenny Hollywood
“Telstar” by the Tornados was one of the first tracks I thought of for this, both because it’s great and to give the more Senior members of the AW something they might recognise.
Have also heard it few times recently in the slightly incongruous – and utterly non-space age – setting of watching East Fife in their single-standed ground on an industrial estate just a long goal kick from the Forth.
Ended up talking myself out of it though on the grounds of it being a bit obvious, and going for this lesser-known (to me anyway) vocal version from a cheap – and somewhat patchy to be honest – Joe Meek compilation I bought recently.
4) ‘Neil Armstrong’ – Allo Darlin’
Interesting that this got tagged as Brit Indie as vocalist Liz Morris is from New Zealand, though they were London-based.
Allo Darlin’ (terrible name I admit) broke up last year but I was fortunate enough to snag a ticket for one of the farewell shows which was lovely.
A little bit disappointed this didn’t go down better to be honest as I absolutely love her voice.
5) ‘Space Manatee’ – Heavenly
Indie stalwarts and Sarah Records alumni Heavenly, led by Amelia Fletcher, who’s also been in some other great bands such as Talulah Gosh, Tender Trap (I think I put them on a previous AWCD) and Marine Research. Clearly absolutely central in the tastes of the AW š
6) ‘Mr Spaceman’ – The Byrds
I really didn’t have much concept of which the biggest songs on the Best Of album that I own (beyond the obvious like Mr Tambourine Man etc) were, so I appear to have picked something blindingly obvious.
7) ‘The Space Race Is Over’ – Billy Bragg
Billy’s voice is a bit marmite, which is reflected in people’s comments.
This is the last track that made the cut, edging out a very different offering from Killing Joke.
8) ‘Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft’ – Babes In Toyland
Every compilation needs an odd – and a bit dodgy – cover version, and Babes In Toyland tackling the Carpenters seemed to fit the bill, though it’s clearly not that obscure as Tim and KD spotted where it came from.
Probably highly offensive to any Carpenters hardcore fans out there, but it could’ve been worse. I could’ve chosen the “interesting” interpretation from the Langley Schools Music Project š
9) ‘The Black Hit Of Space’ – The Human League
Early offering from the League, before the split into Heaven 17 and the poppier Dare-era incarnation.
10) ‘Major Malfunction’ – Keith LeBlanc
Not quite Tack>>Head (good guess though), this is from Keith LeBlanc’s solo “Major Function” album, which does feature plenty of contributions from fellow Tack>>Head legends Doug Wimbush and Skip McDonald.
Thought hard about including this as it’s a bit of a challenge in terms of lack of anything resembling a tune (see comments!) and possibly of questionable taste in featuring dialogue from the Challenger crash.
11) ‘Between Stars’ – Underworld
KD’s comment about this sounding better out of the context of it’s parent album (“Barking”, which I remember liking initially, but it didn’t last as a particular favourite and clearly isn’t a patch on their best work) was a good one as that’s one of the joys of a good compilation in my opinion, the recontextualising of tracks leading to a different experience.
12) ‘A Day In Space’ – Ballboy
Similarly to the Mekons, didn’t really think of this as an “Indie” tune (though Ballboy clearly are an Indie band, albeit one that gets folkier over the years following this early offering) as it’s an atypical spoken-word piece that I thought might close off the mix nicely. It’s possibly a little long, but I think it was worth it.
oooh, what would the KJ track have been? I had ‘Asteroid’ on my longest.
Not sure if you’ve seen the above comment about the “bonus tracks”, but it was indeed “Asteroid” that nearly made the cut.
Winterish’s tunes, for anyone sufficiently intrigued by our reviews…
1. āWarm Up Musicā ā Daisy 0:08 Jessica Stephenson / Spaced ā Soundtrack To The TV Series
2. East Kennet Skies 2:48 July Skies / Dreaming Of Spires
3. Space Girl 3:57 The Imagined Village /Empire & Love
4. Doctor Who? 5:01 Doctor Pablo & The Dub Syndicate / On-U-Sound: 15 Years In An Open āBoatā (1982-1997)
5. Elevator Love Letter 4:03 Stars / Heart [2003 UK Edition]
6. Sky Is The Limit 6:48 Kaito / Until The End Of Time
7. When You Wish Upon A Star (Stereo Version) / 4:53 Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet The Real Dave Brubeck
8. The Great Parade 4:49 Her Space Holiday / The Past Presents the Future
9. Garden Constellations 3:57 July Skies / Dreaming Of Spires
10. Oblivion 4:07 Gidon Kremer / Hommage A Piazzolla
11. āThis Party Is Rubbishā ā Tim 0:04 Simon Pegg / Spaced ā Soundtrack To The TV Series
12. Space Cowboy 3:35 Kacey Musgraves / Golden Hour
@moseleymoles / @ron-cucumber / @arthur-cowslip / @rigid-digit
@moseleymoles / @ron-cucumber / @arthur-cowslip
Offering sent earlier this week – hopefully received and you are all revelling in the greatness
(or cursing your disappointment at getting drawn with me)
Ron Cucumber’s received so far.
A couple of listens so far – thoughts being martialed. Will do the “3 listens and scribble something” method
I’m taking this deadline right to the limit… expect a delivery in the next week or so….
@arthur-cowslip my spaced out CD is ready to post, can you message me your IRL address cheers.
As you were @arthur-cowslip found it, and 12 – or is it 12 – slices of far-out goodness on their way to you as we speak. Also to @rigid-digit and @ron-cucumber. It’s in the mail.
First Review of @ron-cucumber
These musings come after 3 listens ā 1 on a Saturday Night, 1 on a Sunday Morning, and a third just to get my thoughts clear.
Of all the listens, I think this CD is best consumed on a Sunday Morning with a cup of coffee and a fag.
1. Definite spooky/sci-fi start, almost haunting.
An instrumental of ambient-ish shenanigans. Single piano playing a gentle riff as the track gradually builds, with by some solid, subtle drumming, and then fades out to the piano
2. Straight into Track 2 ā piano and a wheezy sax. Bluesy vocal kicks in. Has a mood and feeling of original blues, but the lyrics about āhaving all that bread to send peoples in spaceā must date it to the late 60s, possibly early 70s (?).
The final words are āwe might as well go to the moonā which Iām guessing is the title ā no idea who the artist might be though.
Bluesy / Jazzy ā¦ Mmm ā¦ Nice
3. Moving deeper into jazzy territory with a kick of soul ā plenty of horns sounding really warm.
For some reason I hear this as a theme to a 1970s TV show (itās not, but the main section probably wouldāve fitted).
Again, no idea who it is but Iām not looking for the skip button
4. Spacey type indie with added horns. Breathy vocals almost drowned in the atmosphere.
Stone Roses-esque, but I know it aint them (is it?)
Still not pressing skip
5. Oo, getting a bit funky now. Voice sounds a bit like Curtis Mayfield, but maybe not as high.
I admit to picking out some words and googling ā the results confirmed I wasnāt ātoo far awayā with Curtis, but I never knew old ########### was so funky.
6. Straight away I think I recognise this one, but then Iām not so sure.
A bit of a 70s country rock feel, akin to Lynyrd Skynyrd or perhaps closer to The Outlaws.
Great guitar solo.
One for the āexplore furtherā list when Track Listings are revealed
7. An ambient-y/electrnica-y piece ā nice track, just sort of washes over you (definitely one for Sunday Morning).
Never seems to go anywhere though (or am I missing something?)
8. Starts like an electronica infused re-imagining of a 20s swing record.
The vocals sound a bit strained and slightly unhinged, and at times like theyāre singing a different song.
Plenty of musical washing going on giving the track a real feeling of floating (or have I been drinking again?)
9. More funky stuff, straight out of the disco.
One from the whole Chic, Sister Sledge, danceteria thing.
Not necessarily my āthingā but wholly in-offensive to these lugholes
10. Jazzy, funky and electronic-y ā three areas of complete aural blindspots to me.
Like a couple of previous tracks, Iām just waiting for that moment it opens up and reveals itself ā sadly for this listener it never really did.
11. Definite 60s psych-y feel, but I do actually know this one (and only because I bought the 2 Disc edition of a compilation) so can report that it is of early 21st century vintage from an oft under-rated band.
12. More ambient-y stuff ā my first thought here was Jean Michel Jarre, but there is too much piano for JMJ.
Another ālet it wash over you on a Sunday morningā tune
Of 12 tracks, I only knew 1 and made a guess at 1 other.
There is nothing here I would turn off ā OK, a couple which are outside my normal listening range. I suppose that is the whole point of this exercise – to expand our ears
1 definite āExplore Furtherā and a couple of āmight explore furtherā.
Birmingham calling…these are the scores from the judges and jury in the second city for @ron-cucumber Space CD
1.
Iām guessing this is an intro track to an album – maybe mid-nineties.Little bit grungy, bit Garbagey? Fine start.
2.
Some nice fairly straightforward blues rock, agree with @rigid-digit the lyrics place it mid-sixties to early seventies. No objection to this at all. Horns.
3. Horns. So many horns. Jazzy indeed. But not really my cup of tea. A bit dull. Starts well but doesnāt really go anywhere, and does take its time getting there.
4. Again, if this isnāt from 1985-95 Iāll eat my hat. Itās a bit shoegaze, a lot JAMC and even a bit of pre-loaded Primals. I should get this. More horns. Good stuff.
5. First of two damn long, damn funky and damn fine numbers. The lyrics are fab – āget Putonianisedā. Donny Hathaway? Someone who can sing and was around in the early to mid seventies thatās for sure. Plenty horns.
6. Not an unpleasant tune but nothing to really make it stand out. Iām thinking American bands who are a byword for this kind of stuff like Dave Matthews who I have never as such heard a track by. Probably turn out to be the Dead Kennedys on an ironic AOR tip.
7. Its Dubzone? Dubsyndicate? Dubpistols? A group with Dub in the title mixing house beats and dub. Quite long, though the longer it goes on the more I like it. Needs to be played way loud through a heavy bass system. Can definitely imagine the Stereo MCs on the vocal mix.
8.Not for me Clive. Thereās always one. Indie band being way too clever in the mix.
9. I love this and have seen it referred to as The Runner in many lists and playlists. Silver medal position of the twelve. A classic slab of disco funk with a jogging theme, and as a bonus the chant of āGo Man Goā reminds me of the childrenās story Go Dog Go I used to read to the kids. Iām guessing the space connection is in the band/singer name. Horns return.
10. We are laser-locked on the early/mid90s, the era of the maxi CD single and 6 different mixes by Perfecto and Justin Robertson. Guessing – Apollo 440? Fluke? Anyway I have this but canāt recall. Synth horns. I recall that you always ended up going back to the single mix.
11. Modern garage rock not my thing really, short and sharp though and much better than 8.
12. You saved the best until last. Looped piano riffs are lovely, but thereās a melodic progression (is that right) in the second half that lifts this into another league. Gold medal – and pretty sure which Scandinavian loops n keys guy this is. The live ending reinforces this. No horns.
So 12 and 9 are well worth the price of admission, only three that passed me by and you are a man that loves a bit of brass.
4. No, not the Stone Roses, but similar vintage…
6. British and 70s…!
7. No Dub anywhere in sight… but it might be a bit waxy…
12. No, not Scandinavian…
*Excessive brass is unintentional! [Insert jokes about just being horny etc]
And FINALLY my CD is in the post to all three of you, so expect it in the next few days.
I make no apology for burning it as a single track! It’s only half an hour, so should be painless.
My little bonus track 2 (or track 13, if you like) is a different kettle of fish though – if any of you manage to reach the end of that, you get a prize or something. Mind you, I quite like it. You could use it as a sleep aid.
Where to start with this one @arthur-cowslip ?!!
Track 1 (parts 1-12)
Wow. Massive effort gone into this. Struggling to recognise individual tracks to be honest.
Love the spacey-folk tune at the start, something about ‘earthings’ – keen to find out who that is when we get the big “ta-daa”.
Is that some John Barry in there?
Stardust Melody? – is that Nat King Cole?
The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes for You – it’s a track I’ve a lot of love for and a nice space link with the ‘stars’.
Lots of soundtrack stuff, bit of doo wop and other clever stuff drifting about that I’ve probably missed!
Overall it works really well as a space mix/soundtrack, so spot on with the theme and an enjoyable trip ‘out there’.
Track 2 – I now hate this song!!! (must confess, after a while I forwarded to the end as my patience wore out, but an amusing gag nonetheless).
A gag? Or Art? It’s a fine line! When I was making that I was thinking that if it was an art installation and with the blessing of someone like Brian Eno or Gavin Bryars, it could be in the Tate Modern!
@moseleymoles
Introduced by Kurt Waldheimās Voyager speech ā and why not?
1. A mess of guitars (almost Iron Maiden-esque). A stock HM growly vocal and guitar twiddly bits over a chug-a-lug backing.
Oh yes, right up my StraĆe. And I know who it is, although this was the point I was moving away from the band ā fine album, but not as ālovedā as the previous three
2. A real change of pace now, slowing right down.
Handclaps and bongos, plus a vocoded voice (itās so processed (is that right?) that I canāt make out a single word clearly. Shall we call this an āatmospheric pieceā.
All well and good and fine and that ā¦ Next
3. A bit of Funk stuff (with a whiff of Disco) coming on now. A touch of 70s Blaxploitation Soul going on. Something to do with Moon Rocks and/or Moondogs
4. And hereās some Jazz. Plenty of sax going on. I donāt recognise it, but feel I should
5. Sounds a bit Indie-Folky with a touch of Beatles-meets-Teenage Fanclub, with quite a mad lyric underpinning it. Definitely a Scottish band (the accent is a bit of a giveaway).
Donāt know it, but really enjoyed it and would like to hear more
6. A windy opening with synth washes happening and a single piano. A high pitched female vocal ā almost at the point where if it was any higher, only dogs would understand it. Kate Bush-esque? Tori Amos-ish?
Probably neither of those two (obvious!) choices ā all nice and relaxing though
7. A gospel-ish Hammond Organ opens this one, with drums coming on slowly and then both bowed and plucked strings.
A bit of a psych-y vocal going on ā reminds me bit of Temples (remember them?).
Nice bouncy synth ā a bit like one of Vince Clarkeās finest
Yup, quite like this one
8. Another high female vocal over a sort of lo-fi guitar.
As the vocal continues, it makes me think Sinaed OāConnor. And then a screech, and the rest of the band comes in. Iām guessing this is from a US Indie Band from the late 90s (donāt know why I think that, it just sounds like it).
Another one for the āMore pleaseā list.
9. Plenty of synth tracks over what I perceive to be jungle drums, and then it takes off like a Jean Michel Jarre / Public Service Broadcasting hybrid
10. The French voice at the start sounds like itās the same one as on Fade To Grey (no itās not). The English vocal begins, and whilst there is something I recognise there, I canāt place it at all. A sort of more European sounding New Order.
Not āarf bad ā if somewhat out of my usual comfort zone
11. Slow and deliberate opening. All very relaxing, but I just want the track to do āsomethingā rather than remain flat (to these cloth ears)
12. A Garage Rock type guitar riff-y thing. Maybe 80s (sounds to produced for the 60s brand of Garage Rock, and thereās something electronic there).
The vocal is a bit B52s (maybe it is?)
Iām thinking I recognise it, but canāt put a name to it.
This one aināt much too much more dynamic than the previous, but I want/need to hear more
Pretty good hit rate off this one ā nothing I would baulk at listening to again. Ignoring the 1 track I knew of old, tracks 5, 8 &12 are particularly fine and likely to cause cash transactions when track listings are revealed
Okay, first one, here’s my take on @moseleymoles
Intro – no idea, but as per above “why not” and it sets a nice Spacey vibe (man).
1. Holy moly, we’re off into Kerrang territory. Not my cuppa, it does sound a bit ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ but I’ve no idea who it is and hope to never ever hear it again, unlike…
2. …this which I really like. Still no idea who it is though, or its space connection. Deep, talky-voice, bit Leonard Cohen-y (but pretty sure it’s not). Nice bouncy bass. Look forward to the reveal.
3. Another one I’ll play again. Slightly latin-tinged funky house. Isn’t there a club in Ibiza called ‘Space’? Ah ha, lyrics kick in with something about “moon rocks” and “get myself back to earth”… builds up nicely as it goes along too. I think this is what the young folk refer to as a ‘banger’? And horns! Yes, the horns! You know me too well….!
4. Jazz. Pleasant enough. No idea who, why, when. Is this Neil’s brother, Louis Armstrong?
5. Not a clue. Chap has one of those “is he taking the mickey” type voices. This track should be fired into space and left there – is that the connection?
6. Welcome change of pace here. Sounds a bit spacey to start, unidentified female singer. Sort of Massive Attack-ish, without the grit or edginess. Okay, but I wouldn’t go back to it.
7. Is this Sparklehorse or Grandaddy? Seems like that sort of late 90s thing – I can imagine it soundtracking one of the more trippy parts of Trigger Happy TV. Has a light, airy feel so fits this whole ‘space’ lark well.
8. Got an early 90’s feel to my (cloth) ears. Throwing Muses? I quite like it, and would happily hear it on the radio, but I wouldn’t buy it. Couldn’t make out any spaciness.
9. I don’t know his stuff, but I too am guessing Jean-Michelle Jarre? He looks the type who’d knock out something like this. Leads nicely into…
10. Bonjour! Slick, modern electro-pop. Has that sort of everyday-familiarity about it, but I can’t recognise the song or the artist. Soundtrack to a mid-range car advert – Hyundai perhaps, or maybe Mazda. But definitely not a space rocket. Don’t mind it, but it’s a bit bland for my taste, needs more seasoning.
11. I was thinking Mogwai at the start – moody and threatening to go somewhere loud. But it doesn’t, the big tease. It does maintain a lost in space “help I’m running out of oxygen” atmosphere though, so top marks for that.
12. Not a track I know, but as mentioned already, it can only be the B52s, surely? Lyrics about West Virginia… hang on, isn’t there a space research centre there? Have I finally got one of the connections?! Ooh, this is so exciting…!
Nice mix of tunes, some new-to-me ones that will get ripped, especially 2, 3, 11 & 12. Track 1 can do one though! Looking forward to the reveal, cheers.
There is an Armstrong in the mix @ron-cucumber , but it’s not number four but I can see why you went with Louis.
Alexander? Stretch?
Lance?
Ok it’s review time! Quite an eclectic bunch of mixes I have to say. And as usual my musical knowledge is shown to be lacking as there are very few tracks I’ve actually heard before.
What I like doing is trying to guess the year. I’ll also give each track a thumbs up or thumbs down.
First up, Moseley Moles:
1. A little spoken word nugget to start with. Some kind of greeting to aliens we haven’t met yet. A nice starter. Thumbs up.
2. Ugh. “Loud” rock in a minor key with highly compressed guitars and a prominent snare. Is this Iron Maiden or something? It’s awful. Growly, comical vocal and indulgent Eddie Van Halen style guitar solo. 2002? Thumbs down.
3. Sounds modern. 2015? Very stop start, very art-rock. Can’t really work it out at all. A very mumbled male vocal. Thumbs down.
4. Very hard to place, because it has modern production but at heart is a cheesy disco tune with a comedy vocal. I’d guess it’s a 2010 song, trying to sound ‘old’. I’ve no idea who it is. Whatever, it’s great. Thumbs up.
5. Flighty little jazz tune. 1965? Hm, not really my thing, too light. Thumbs down.
6. Strange – sounds like a folky Irish vocal, but very mid-nineties sounding baggy drums and jangly guitars. 1993 I’d guess. No idea what it is. Quite good though – thumbs up.
7. Female vocal, lush instrumentation, strings, looped drums with a trip-hop feel – I’d guess this is late nineties, post-Portishead. 1998. Not really my thing I’m afraid. That tinkly piano does my head in. Thumbs down.
8. Oho! Retro sounding synths and drums with a sweet sounding poignant pop tune. The high pitched male vocal makes me think of Flaming Lips (but I always think everything sounds like the Flaming Lips). Definitely modern anyway – 2012? It’s nice. Thumbs up.
9. A girl with a guitar. Sounds very arch and knowing. Very NME. Halfway through those bag drums kick in.Definitely early to mid nineties. 1993? Every nineties drummer sounds like that. Hang on, it’s not the Cranberries is it? Anyway, sorry, thumbs down.
10. The mix of immaculately recorded slightly ethnic percussion with artfully retro synth sounds places this firmly in the last ten years. I’m going to say 2016. It’s a decent instrumental and reminiscent of an old John Carpenter soundtrack or something. A big thumbs up, great stuff.
11. Hm, not a fan of this kind of stuff. This kind of modern synth pop. I think it all sounds like Hot Chip. Mind you this is pleasant, particularly when the female vocal comes in on the chorus. It could be Calvin Harris or something like that? I’m going to say 2017. You know what though? I’m enjoying this. Thumbs up.
12. We are in solid Post Rock territory here. Instrumental, winsome space rock. I like this stuff, but I don’t really know it. Could be Mogwai, could be anybody like that. I’ll say 2005 and I’ll give it a thumbs up. This is really beautiful and a great closing track.
13. Except…. it’s not the closing track is it? Ha ha. I forgot you had the little bonus track at the start. Ok, this closing track is solidly art rock – slightly surf-y guitar, aloof female vocal, cheap sounding organ, Farfisa or something – I’ll eat my hat if this doesn’t date from around 1979. It’s good. Thumbs up.
What was that hit rate, 50/50? I’m hard to please so that’s a decent Cowslip score! Maybe a bit too eclectic for me as an overall mix, but as I didn’t know ANY of the tracks I’ll be keen for more info.
Rigid Digit:
1. Wow, haven’t heard this in years. I won’t give it away, but it’s a VERY well known song and band. I was never a huge fan of early nineties baggy indie, but this is one of those songs that was catchy enough to rise above the horde. Wonderful and a catchy opener. From memory it was 1992. Thumbs up.
2. Sounds very nineties again… are you the same age as me? Oh I know this! Wow, a real memory rush…. I’m going to kick myself when I find out what it is. I’ll say 1997 and it’s a big thumbs up. It’s a great tune, whatever it is. Definitely post Brit-pop, definitely NME friendly. It’s not Blur but it sounds like something Blur would do.
3. Cheesy rock. Productions sounds nineties but the vocal and the overall feel sound like they are trying to be seventies Hawkwind. Hm. It’s all right. Thumbs up. Year? I’d say 1994.
4. Not so keen on this. Clever-clever, arty Velvets / Bowie sound. 1991 I’d guess. Sounds like a forgotten indie band who people wonder ‘whatever became of…?’ – they were probably flavour of the month in Melody Maker or something. Thumbs down.
5. Argh. I hate this adolescent, guitar heavy Blink 182 type power pop stuff. Thumbs down. 1999?
6. Oh hang on, what a tune! You’re just making me eat my words now as this is guitar heavy power pop. But it’s GOOD guitar heavy power pop. One of my favourite songs from the nineties, an undeniably gorgeous and naive little tune. Was it 1995? Thumbs up.
7. Motoring krautrock groove with synth washes and vocal samples about Apollo etc….. Quite pleasant. Sounds like the kind of blend of big-beat sampling and guitar grooving you might get in… 1998? Thumbs up.
8. It’s a certain jingly jangly sixties band. I’ve got a blind spot for this lot, and believe me I’ve tried to like them. Thing is, I like Beatles, like Buffalo Springfield, Lovin Spoonful, CSNY, all that… so you think I’d like this combo as well. But no. This is 1967 I think. Thumbs down.
9. This is someone trying to sound like 70s era Elton or Jackson Browne. I’m going to guess it’s F– J—- M—y, am I right? Or J—- G—. One of the two. 2016? Not my thing, sorry. I’m not an Elton fan either. Thumbs down.
10. Hm, I know this but can’t place it. Is it those guys who do the Big Bang Theory tune? It sounds like THAT. Pop science lesson. Production sounds a little bit nineties – I’ll say 1992. Thumbs down, not my thing.
11. Oh god, this is meant to be funny isn’t it? Is this Half Man Half Biscuit? This is what I imagine they sound like. 1986?Thumbs down. Puerile comedy pop with a cheeky Northern vocal.
12. And Rigid redeems himself with a very well known Python classic. It’s an obvious choice, but it’s timeless and it’s undeniably genius. 1983. Thumbs up.
A decent Cowslip hit rate and a few Proustian moments. As a mix it flows very well. And for that reason it’s my favourite of the three!
Ron Cucumber:
1. Starts very promisingly with some spooky sounds and backwards stuff… Oh hang on, a tinkly piano… Building into a repetitive orchestral groove… I’m sure I know this, it’s a movie soundtrack I’m sure. I’m not sure what film it is but I’m going to stick my neck out and suggest it is a prominent soundtrack composer who is also on my mix, and I think it’s about…. 2015? Thumbs up, it’s a good opener.
2. Bar room blues. Nah, not my thing. Impossible to date as this kind of music has sounded the same for about 50 years. Oh, I don’t know – at a wild guess I’ll say mid eighties – 1986. Thumbs down.
3. Ooh I like this. Swinging, jazz rock feel with a slightly abstract melody. No idea what it is – could be soundtrack stuff from some groovy late sixties film, or could be library music, or could be something more alternative like a Frank Zappa album track I’ve no idea, but I’d guess the year is about 1972. Thumbs up.
4. I know this band, but not this particular song. It has that trademark droning sound, with a two-chord organ riff and a shimmering, tremolo guitar and echoey vocal…. In other words, like every single other song by this band. I’d guess 1988. Thumbs up.
5. I know this one! The cowbell, strings and slight disco groove date it to late seventies. A one chord jam with a certain prominent soul singer scatting over the top. I know it’s 1978. Thumbs up.
6. Hm, this one confused me. Acoustic, slightly hippy sound with psychedelic tinges… But with funky drums that MUST be seventies. I’m sure I’ve heard it before, but can’t place it. 1971 I’d say. Thumbs up.
7. I know this as well… But can’t place it. Very infuriating. Mellow, slightly dubby, sample-based groove. I think it’s one of maybe two or three bands that were prominent with this kind of stuff around the turn of the millennium… So I’d say it’s 1999. Thumbs up.
8. Weirdo, off-kilter, indie pop with easy listening style strings and pianos over the top. Nice, maybe a bit too clever clever. 2003? Thumbs up.
9. Don’t know it, but it could be any one of a number of late seventies mid-tempo soul/disco grooves. It’s nice, and would sound good on a dancefloor. 1978? Thumbs up.
10. More dubby, sample based grooving. It sounds nineties, but I’m going to guess it’s later, and it’s a band who just haven;t really progressed since the nineties. Wah wah guitar and whispered vocals – I think it’s a certain Scottish act? I’m gonna say 2004. Thumbs up.
11. Again confusing… It WANTS to be a Nuggets style psych-pop (tremelo, wah guitar and cheesy keyboards, swing beat)… But I think the overly clean production dates it to about… 1986? It’s good though, thumbs up.
12. Now THIS really frustrated me because I just can’t place it. The best track on here …. Builds up from a bubbling electronic piano with a very eighties reverb wash (that Enya sound)… But gradually starts bringing in more looped synth sounds (that Jean Michel Jarre sound) and eventually builds into something very moving and hypnotic… Then in the closing seconds the audience applauds and it turns out it’s been live! It’s excellent, I don’t know it and I want to know more – I’m intrigued. I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s ersatz vintage rather than true vintage – 2008? Thumbs up.
I think you scored the highest Cowslip hit rate… BUT I think although your mix is the most listenable (I would definitely put it on in the background when real people are around and it’s not just me and my headphones…) it sounds maybe a little “safe” for that same reason?
So I’ll still say Rigid’s is my favourite overall, just for the rollercoaster feel and the Proustian buzz!
10. Are you thinking Primal Scream? If so, then afraid not. But… the track is a remix from the early 90s and its producer has done similar stuff with the Scream too…
Yes that is indeed who I was thinking of.
9. Definitely 1 of the two suggestion (see Ron Cucumber below for further confirmation)
You’re not too far out with your blind year guessing.
Most of ’em within 5 or 6 years (and one absolutely spot on).
However, you have a variance of 21, 14 and 17 for 3 others
(yes. I am overly-analytical (and annoying))
And here’s the review of @rigid-digit
1. Lively start – deffo recognise the Mancunian hitmakers behind this planet-based toe tapper. Never was into them much, but this one’s a corker. Cool as…
2. Little fella, big in advertising in the late 90s. Cracking track, always liked this one.
3. Not familiar to my ears, but I’d guess something like Hawkwind? Motors along nicely. Not sure I’d go back to it myself.
4. Got a slight Velvets feel (but 99.99% sure it’s not them). “Time and space and relativity”. Don’t mind it, but don’t love it.
5. I only know ‘that’ song by the Only Ones, but this sounds like it might be the same chap singing? “Space is the place” Okay-ish, but not a keeper for me.
6. Back to the early 90s (via 1977). They sure knocked out some great punk-pop in their day.
7. I’d hazard a guess at Public Service Broadcasting? I don’t know their stuff other than bits and bobs on 6 Music, but I’d imagine their albums are stuffed with tracks that are perfect for a space-themed mix?
8. I haven’t heard this before, but as soon as the vocal harmonies kicked in I can tell you exactly who it is! I really must get round to checking out this band in a little more depth (really get under their feathers). I really love a Chris Hillman track “Here She Comes Again” that I found on a Mojo freebee CD a while back, I might start there.
9. Another track and artist I don’t know much about (though I do love Glacier and Black Belt, but I haven’t delved further) but pretty sure I can guess. As previously mentioned by Arthur, it has to be J— G—- ? I like this one, quirky lyrics and clever space link.
10. Bit ‘wacky’ – is it They Might Be Giants? Not my bag, but it is space-related!
11. Not a Scooby-Doo! Vaguely amusing for one spin, but isn’t going to get a repeat.
12. I only knew two Eric Idle songs (*that* one and the Victor Meldrew one). This one makes it a hattrick – are there any more worth a spin? Good end to a varied mix of tunes.
Of the ‘new-to-me’ tracks, 8 & 9 will be sending me off down some rabbit holes for sure. Cheers!
Yes … Track 11 is the one that I thought might be the most divisive.
Fine if you like your humour on the lavatorial and puerile side, but not to everyone’s taste
Loving the track 3 and 4 Hawkwind and Velvets suggestions – Ooh, you’re both so close.
All will be revealed …
Eric Idle songs
Bruces’ Philosophers Song
I Bet You They Won’t Play This Song On The Radio
Both pretty short.
The first is a bit clever naming all the Philosophers, but amusing with it
The second is an object lesson is “filling in your own naughty words”
@rigid-digit scores on the doors…
1. Solid choice, early nineties indie with a chorus so sturdy you could build a road bridge with it. Not my favourite tune of theirs but good to hear again.
2. Again, not my favourite track of his but can see why you picked it. Perfectly pleasant pop – was everything better in the nineties?
3. Now this one am at sea with, rock, heavy rock, possibly eighties. Lyrics about being underground (perhaps in confined spaces) and then coming up. Quite like this, interested definitely in knowing who. Daughter will know this in a flash I am betting.
4. A lot of Velvets, a bit of Jonathan Richman and some Weezer-esque lyrics. Deeply American, geeky power pop. Earworm chorus. Thumbs up.
5.Iām picking up the RD core canon here, itās got loud guitars, a bit of attitude and some kind of post-punk relationship. Having said that not a clue who this is, though now I listen again the vocal sneer is a bit Britpop. Itās maybe a bit Marionish, a bit Shed Sevenish. There, put my marker down.
6. Speaking of britpop…my second favourite track of theirs. A lyrical googlewhack with the phrase āWinterman Cigarsā surely.
7. Much more recent. Sampled vocals from the Apollo mission and driving pop/dance beats and melodies. I love this, may have this even, itās great. If itās not the bow-tie wearing scientists of sound looking duo Iāll eat that hat again.
8.. Is there an Afterworder who wouldnāt recognise this sixties jangly classic, not thatās itās not a good track and pleasant to hear again.
9. Ah some great sci-fi movie referencing lyrics, all round melodrama and gorgeous vocals. I wish he would do an album with the Pet Shop Boys – a la Results with Liza Minelli.
10. 90s geeky pop. Thinking Weezer (at the top), Wheatus (at the bottom) or even the daddies of them all They Might Be Giants. This is great, and should be definitely be soundtracking a sitcom.
11. Fair to say a controversial choice. Not because itās edgy, political, iconoclastic,…itās unremittingly awful. Sorry. I have memories of this āactā producing 7ā singles at the end of the 70s with crude cartoon covers stuck on record shop walls. Itās a crude, cartoonish song, being charitable Vizlike, being uncharitable without any of Vizās wit and wisdom.
12. So this, though very very familiar is a beacon of civility, wit and wisdom after that. Never a bad time to hear the master of the modern comic song (discuss).
So interested in 3,4 and 5 (good run of ānew to me, want to hear moreā), only one that had me reaching for the skip, and plenty it was good to hear again.
Daughter Moles – got number three before the vocals as predicted. Am less sure Moles Sr will be interested in hearing more of them once he knew who they were. Daughter Moles approves of number three nonetheless.
@arthur-cowslip
Unfortunately, my CD was broken on arrival. But a link to the files was duly sent.
There were two files: 1 continuous 12 track mix, and a 40 minute bonus track (more of which later)
First things first ā after listening to the single track, you should be commended on the amount of effort put in here. All the tracks flowing into each other ā it took a while to decipher where one ended and the next started.
And as a mix based on the Space theme, it really is a floaty treat (Ladies & Gentlemen, we are floating in space)
Itās always a pleasure to hear the crackle of vinyl, and itās there right at the start before some speech over violins ā Iām guessing this is about alien landings in Roswell or Area 51 (or Croydon?).
This leads to an almost copy of the ending of A Day In The Life, with an almost spoken vocal. At various moments, I think I recognise this voice. And then by the next line, Iām flummoxed again.
This is followed by what I assume to be a film score (the opening is a little disconcerting), and then into the unmistakeable voice of a early/mid 20th Century crooning bloke.
Nothing wrong with this so far (apart from a yearning for more guitar and cowbell).
There is some more (what sounds like) floaty film score stuff, and a voice that has passing resemblance to William Shatner discussing Roswell or Area 51 (possibly from the same source as the opener).
There is a dab of classical ā all swelling strings and brass, followed by a bit of Doo-Wop (that voice?).
I know this song, and there are a fair few about ā Iām guessing this night be the original version (or certainly an early one).
Thereās a bit of John Barry and some more doo-wop, and the mix is rounded off by a female jazz-blues vocal (that I feel I should know, but donāt ā sorry).
Iām guessing the track is called Paper Moon (or maybe Canvas Sky?), but I refuse to resort to Google.
On the whole, a well constructed mix ā one that really captures a feeling of spaciness. Iāll admit to knowing very little (or at least being able to place it).
One of those āoh my musical landscape is a bit limitedā moments.
Nothing there that made me go “where’s that skip button”, and will probably get a further couple of plays
And so to the bonus track ā a perpetual loop of one of the earlier tracks.
I admit to not letting it run to the end, and can only echo earlier sentiments:
But is it Art?
@arthur-cowslip HMHB sound nothing like this, they revel in sardonic, self-deprecating wit based around an encyclopedic knowledge of popular culture in all its glory. This is just crude k–b single entendres. Also, HMHB like the writer of no 12. pass the acid comedy test. If the lyrics weren’t funny would the music stand up? This is barely music.
@arthur-cowslip here’s my final one from our group:
First up, a beautifully presented mix. Going above and beyond with a sequenced single track. From the 28 minutes I could pick out maybe 10 separate tracks, though the whole thing flowed beautifully. Hereās my seamless review.
We start with the predominant tone of the whole mix: what I might characterise as pre-rock and roll strings. Over the top is (guilty in mine too) the inevitable spoken word space conversation. This gives way to track one proper, a very mellow sixties Iām guessing bit folky/bit psychy gently slow number. Not unpleasant, but nothing to writer home about. Next up is some urgent film score – Iām guessing John Barry, and it sounds very Bond-esque, so is it perhaps from Moonraker? The first of two standards, Stardust Memories, is next. I have no knowledge of, or appetite for, the crooner. Sinatra, Dean Martin – all the sophisticats of the forties and fifties I am afraid leave me cold. This too. Weāre back in the world of strings, with a very ethereal piece with spooky choir that is definitely one of the Planets by Holst. Maybe Neptune? A cold one. Not Mars. After this itās more movie stuff – but bang up to date strings building tension and mystery, so thinking Clint Mansell. From Moon perhaps? Then another fifties pre-Rock and Roll pop number. Are the stars out tonight? Well with this and the bonus track thereās over forty minutes to make your mind up. More soundtrack strings – Iām thinking cinemascope, technicolour and pre-2001 sci-fi films. Irwin Allen – the future as The Jetsons, with the spaceships as big cars, the women in cocktail dresses and heels, and the men in suits. Lost In Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Incredible Voyage – those kind of things. Thereās more doo-wop, before we finish with another standard, Itās Only A Paper Moon.
Like all good mixes, itās about the overall atmosphere. Which is dreamy, quite innocent, optimistic. Musically almost a counterfactual world, where Chuck Berry was convicted of something dirty and was never heard on mainstream radio, where Sam Phillips passed on Elvis, and rock and roll never happened. Lounge suits, cocktail dresses and sophisticated strings for ever!
So very little hit the spot as individual tracks. But the mix is fantastic.
Wow, thanks. I’ll take that! You describe it so well – in fact I’d buy that album you just described!
Yeah I decided early not to worry too much about finding spectacular tracks that stand on their own, but more creating an overall mood.
For what it’s worth, I also don’t like the Sinatra/Crosby school of crooners, but I do think Nat King Cole (for it is he, spoiler alert) is a league apart from them – especially on the gorgeous song arrangement here which is a perennial favourite of mine of the shivers-down-the-spine variety. It’s one of the most covered songs in history apparently, but nothing comes close to this arrangement in my mind.
As for the overall theme… I don’t know, a doo-wop/ambient/classical/psychedelic mashup just sort of appeals to me.
Have some tracklistings!
@ron-cucumber‘s mix was
1. Welcome to Lunar Industries ā Clint Mansell (from the Moon Soundtrack)
2. Moon Blues ā Otis Spann
3. Donāt You Know the Futureās In Space ā Eddie Harris
4. Hypnotized ā Spacemen 3
5. A Funky Space Reincarnation ā Marvin Gaye
6. Iād Love To Change The World ā Ten Years After (from the album A Space In Time)
7. Stars ā Nightmares On Wax
8. A Kiss From An Old Flame (A Trip To The Moon) ā Mercury Rev
9. Marathon Runner ā Aural Exciters (from the album Spooks In Space)
10. Kosmos (āLynch Mob Bonus Beatsā Remix) ā Paul Weller
11. Monkey to the Moon ā The Coral
12. Says ā Nils Frahm (from the album Spaces)
@moseleymoles served up:
0. Its rocking Secretary General of the UN Kurt Waldheim introducing the whole of humanity to whatever aliens may happen upon us, providing they have a record player. Just as well the vinly revival is going strong.
1.Daughters choice. Hanger 18 by Megadeath. Good hard rocking choice to kick off. She says this is from their best album. I donāt know.
2.Nicholas Jaar ā Thereās a Problem With the Sun. The compulsory itunes trawl threw up this complete gem.
3. Mungolian Jet Set ā A Space Woodysey ā those cheeky disco-jazz-funk jesters with their crazy invented mythologies and all. Top prog disco jazz or something.
4.Who knew Duke Ellington had a band called The Spacemen? A nonet rather than big band, this is Spacemen from the 1958 album The Cosmic Scene.
5. Ms moles pick here, My Father Was a Collapsing Star by her new favourite band Scots psych-folkers Trembling Bells. At a recent gig she was moved enough to shell out for the vinyl copy of album Dungeness.
6. Side one ends with a weak excuse of a name crossover to crowbar in this mighty tune. Itās This Love by Massive Attack collabro/soundtrack king Craig Armstrong (geddit) on his debut album The Space Between Us. Vocals by none other than Liz Fraser and this is the very definition of a buried gem. Why was this never a single/number one etc. etc.
7. Side 2 drifts gently in with this slow-burner from Beach House, Space song, from Depression Cherry. An ever-reliable band.
8. From an Ancient Star by Belbury Poly ā spooky psych instrumental from the ghostbox stalwarts.
9. It was about this time that I realised this mix was getting dominated by female singers. Which is fine. Alongside Liz, hereās another distinctive voice, Tanya Donnellyās Belly with Full Moon, Empty Heart from their first album.
10. Iām going to have to stop putting Stars on mixes. This is my second one in three mixes, both from album No-one is Lost. The happy/sad button is well and truly hit.
11. Has to be the closer. Thank You Space Expert from Mogwai, from The Hawk is Howling. Sombre. Downbeat. Taking us into the blackā¦
12. Except itās extratime, party time. B-52ās! 53 miles from Venus from my favourite album of theirs, the criminally under-rated Wild Planet. They are not short of space-related songs.
@rigid-digit chose:
1. Inspiral Carpets ā Saturn 5
2. Moby ā Stars
3. Montrose ā Space Station #5
4. Hawkwind ā Quark, Strangeness & Charm
5. Spacehog- Space Is The Place
6. Ash ā Girl From Mars
7. Public Service Broadcasting ā Go
8. Byrds ā Mr Spaceman
9. John Grant ā Sigourney Weaver
10. They Might Be Giants ā Why Does The Sun Shine
11. Ivor Biggun ā Probing Andromeda
12. Monty Python ā Galaxy Song
(psst, @arthur-cowslip, don’t seem to have a listing from you. Either send it to me, or put it up yourself)
Ten Years After – I is shocked. I bought their 1989 album “About Time” on a whim – enjoyed it – so I went and got a compilation. Didn’t enjoy that as much, and never returned. I’m thinking I’ve missed a big bit of learning.
And from another CD, another missed moment in time.
I really just explore this whole US Indie/Alt-Rock thing that Belly seem to be part of (at least in my mind). I never rally “got it” at the time – but now I can hear what I may have been missing
Those, and a couple more items, added to the Wish List for future listening.
But my first purchase will be Trembling Bells
Annoyed I didn’t get Mercury Rev, I may have that track. Ditto the Kosmos Paul Weller remix. And the Aural Exciters may need further investigation. The Three Degrees also did a disco track called The Runner, though nothing like as mighty as this one. @rigid-digit belly are a great act, I actually think the second album King is more consistent than the first, though all are good.
Sorry for the delay! I wasn’t trying to be mysterious or anything…. in fact I thought my song selection would cause far less confusion than it actually has!
1. ‘The Experience Begins’ – from the soundtrack of Close Encounters of the Third Kind but NOT credited to John Williams – it’s by an ‘A. Bunny’?? I reckon it’s some studio producer trying to piggy back some royalties on the back of soundtrack sales.
2. ‘2069 – A Spaced Oddity’ by US69. A band I know nothing about! This track turned up on a compilation LP I bought in the dim and distant 90s. The original drones on for another three or four minutes but I segued it early into….
3. ‘Space March (Capsule in Space)’ by John Barry (of course) from the soundtrack to You Only Live Twice.
4. ‘Stardust’ by Nat King Cole. Beautiful, beautiful song.
5. ‘Neptune (The Mystic)’ by Gustav Holst from The Planets suite. At least, an edit of the last section where the choir comes in. Fact fans please note – this is the first genuine ‘fade out’ in music history apparently! The sheet music instructs the choir to sing from an adjoining room, and for the door to be gradually closed to that room as the piece ends, making the choir fade away into the background!
6. ‘Star’s End’ by David Bedford. Wonderful, bonkers, spooky orchestral piece with Mike Oldfield on guitar. This is just an excerpt again – I found it blended in beautifully with the Holst and with the next track….
7. ‘Stay’ by Hans Zimmer from the soundtrack to Interstellar. Zimmer suffers from being too prolific and a low quality threshold, but when he is pushed to create something really special he can really deliver the goods.
8. ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ – a doo wop classic from The Flamingoes. I was transfixed by this when I first heard it in the movie American Graffiti, and spent a good amount of time (pre-internet, pre-DVD) trying to find a song called ‘Are the stars out tonight?’
9. ‘The Kiss’ from the soundtrack to Flash Gordon by Queen. That’s right, I managed to sneak some Queen on here! Actually, I think this particular track is more to do with Howard Blake (of ‘Walking in the Air’ fame), who orchestrated the soundtrack. Whatever, it’s a great little piece and a wonderful (and unfairly overlooked) soundtrack overall.
10. ‘Goodnight Alfie’ from the Barbarella soundtrack by Bob Crewe and Charles Fox (no, me neither)
11. ‘Sincerely’ by The Moonglows. More unbeatable doo wop.
12. ‘Paper Moon’ by the untouchable Ella Fitzgerald.
I do like that Nicolas Jaar track, thanks @moseleymoles – never heard of him, but a quick search turns up he’s also part of Darkside who made an album I bought a couple of years back called Psychic. Sort of an electronic Pink Floyd sound, if you like that sort of thing…? Funny how there’s all these little connections and threads running through music. Going to investigate the Mongolian Jet Set too.
Ah, @rigid-digit so there *was* Hawkwind in there… just not the track we thought it was! Sold us a nice dummy there, well played. Re: Ten Years After, try ‘Let The Sky Fall’ from the same album.
Thanks @arthur-cowslip for the US69, the droning on is fine by my ears!
@locust / @retropath2 / @vulpes-vulpes /@bogart
retropath2 says
22/08/2018 at 18:52
Here goes, then, with the beautifully presented One Way Trip to Space, by @Locust (AW3). This came with an explanatory letter, explaining how this was version 2, the first being too swedish and/or too serious, surely two distinct entitiesā¦ā¦
1. Lovely old fashioned analogue synth noodling, from a time, I guess, preceding āelectronica/danceā. Is it Mauriceās boy Jean Michel, or perhaps Walter to Wendy? Too lively to be Tontoās Expanding, I feel.
2. āArk at this! I might even have this bonkers celestial jazzers tune, but, I confess I seldom return to my shelves for a 2nd or 3rd listen. It seems to be about Jupiter but I recall he hails from Venus originally.
3. Rappy so no real idea beyond word association: Space ā> Planets. Dig? I found it not so diggable.
4. Afro rap is strangely seeming much more to my taste, but I donāt know any. In french so Camaroonian? Malian? Or that french rapper, is it MC Solaar or somesuch, which sounds a bit spacey as in the sun. Is that even the right name?
5. 80s alert. No idea. A bit too europoppy for me, with a side order of having listened to too much Kid Creole.
6. Jeepers creepers, even more 80s and another foreign. Wild guess, it this the Take on Me hitmakers before they sang in english?
7. Losing the will a bit here. 60s pop of a sort I would cross the street to avoid. Even with the trendy 1967 guitar solo. Ghastly.
8. Give me a break, my knowledge of scandi Top of the Pops is non existent. Please tell them to stop.
9. Please stop, please. especially the fake electric sitarā¦ā¦..
10. Thatās better. Very Agnes-sy, but I canāt place it. As it goes on I suspect it isnāt but at last one I can listen all the way through to, after the last 3.
11. This too I like. Milky Way the subject and is it a harp being strummed? It isnāt Joanna so is it the other one, Sarah someone? Good ethnic pipes towards the end.
12. Nice bit of bleep and booster motorik, becoming progressively sequencer driven as it builds, until some mildly deranged acid fried vocals start in the middle distance. Is it St Julian in one of his more kosmische moments? Or early Spiritualised? Am I warm? Spaceman 3?
13. The bonus track. Atonal caterwauling putting me in mind of of the Slits, the Raincoats, something like that. I am a Skywalker said repeatedly doesnāt, Iām afraid, help.
Well, I canāt say I enjoyed much if not all of this. One track only with any clear point of reference. Pity really, as I love the sleeve the disc came in.
Sorryā¦ā¦ā¦
Locust says
22/08/2018 at 20:15
LOL ā Sorry for torturing your ears, @retropath2! š
I donāt love all of the the tracks myself ,actually, but I went for the space-iest lyrics and noises to honour the theme first and foremost ā but I definitely do like quite a few more tracks than you do!
Also, you must have misread my letter that clearly said there were just two non-Swedish tracks, and that steered your guesses very wrong in a few cases! The guys from track 4 will be surprised you thought that their Swedish was in fact French (I know I am!) I guess our stern language takes on a different quality when used in rap!
Itās a Sarah on track 11 alright ā but somehow I doubt that youāre thinking of the correct Sarah (this oneās most certainly unknown outside of Sweden). But I canāt think of who you might be thinking ofā¦
Very funny review however! I hope the experience wasnāt too awful for youā¦and you can always rip the best tracks from all three of us and use the sleeve for that space-compilation! š
retropath2 says
23/08/2018 at 06:40
P.S. The āSarahā I was trying to think of was/is a Mary, it seems, as in Lattimore, having read a review and liked the idea. I have it but have yet to listen, but thought it fair game to look thruā my i-tunes stash for a clue. The only Sarahs I can think of are Blasko, Borges and MacLachlan, Saras being Watkins and as in Tegan and. Trying to be too clever, again I have i-tune searched my collection and Sara Isaakson might fit, if only as she stems from your vicinity, the one from the female duo Steely Dan covers album????
@retropath2 :
Nope. Not her, I’m afraid, but you’ll have to wait for the final reveals to get her name!
Just got your CD in the mail today, hopefully a review should be ready at the weekend!
And so to @vulpes-vulpes . Again, beautifully packaged, putting my spirit of ’77 DIY ethos to shame.
1. Mann o mann,wonderful stuff. This was in the box of singles my parents bought with a dansette record player in about 1966. And to think PJ is still singing and a blowing his harp.
2. Soundtrack time. I’m hedging a guess as it seems familiar. The new Bladerunner? Or maybe another one by the late Johannson, J, Arrival, maybe.
3. Very Gryphonic indeed, especially when the whistle/recorder comes in. Haven’t got this one, but like it a lot.
4. Sort of a creed for some. I like the reflection of the moon in clear water. Badly.
5. This is one Ella v a song. I don’t know her version, but surely it is? East of the Sun etc.
6. Solo fiddle of enough slippy slide notes as to be, unless I am wrong, unmistakably the late great David S. Struggling to think of a space connection.
7. Slick sounding from the start, it could be late Airplane rather than her somewhat shitey Starship stuff. Has to be the great Papa JC on fiddle.
8. Here’s my notes: Crap vocals = english prog, despite the earlier hammond, the main organ solo is ever so Canterbury. The guitar suddenly made me think of the boy Hillage. Bingo! Khan/Space Shanty. Is it?
9. White boy funky, not my bag. More moon, spanish this time. Possibly Terry Reid?
10. I feel I know the opening salvo of piano, the buzzy bee moog then veering off into more jazzy territory. Like it and feel I will kick myself. Instrumentals like this are usually journeys somewhere.
11. Kathryn Dawn sounding vocal and a guitar solo that is never more Willie. Some of her early Reclines stuff, singing to or about the stars.
12. Well monkeys are apparently on the moon, but I can’t work out who put them there, but I am sure they were very pleased with this little pastiche.
13. The combination of harmonium and a gentle scots inflection says Cutler, I. It is so long since I heard John Peel play any of his work, and I only have his appearance on a RT tribute album, on which he sounds much older and frailer. Maybe this was when he was younger and stronger.
14. I like the drums best in this, but it is all a bit frantic. Unfamiliar.
Well a bit more to my taste here, but again I find myself drawn to that, on a site where we are nominally similarly engaged by music, so too can our tastes be so wide.
Now if @bogart could get his joint in the post and I can get back to stuff (ouch) I want to hear.
š
Slight problem.
I saw the theme was ‘space’.
So thought, Space = empty so I just sent you all a blank CD of ‘space’.
Anyhow the disc’s are on there way to you all, just put the empty disc into a player, close you eyes and use your imagination to fill the space.
Any noise you do hear is merely cosmic microwave background (CMB) which is electromagnetic radiation left over from an early stage of the universe in Big Bang cosmology and any similarity to any artists song either alive or dead is coincidental
Yay, merely cosmic microwave background; like this site, then !
Mine arrived in a delightful woolly knitted CD case! Unbeatably cool! Haven’t spun it yet to check if you’re joshing us here!
*chuffed to bits*
Yes, I got mine today and at first I thought @bogart had sent me a complimentary potholder, until I saw that it was the CD case! Very cool idea.
The only one that hasn’t arrived yet is @vulpes-vulpes CD, but hopefully the Swedish Mail will find it and deliver it after the weekend.
Will post reviews of the other CDs in a day or two!
Your’s in on its way Locust.
@bogart‘s second track has me in bits. I love this artist, and I have the CD this comes from. Whatever else he’s put on the disc will have to work hard to beat this track.
For me it’s track 11…
@vulpesvulpes I guess it’s a often used clichĆ© that ‘so-n-so’ changed my life, well in this case this artist and yes it is he, certainly did. Or at very least it was largely because of him, that I’m now in the very happy life that I currently inhabit. And all because one I day I picked up a CD simply because I liked the cover.
OK, I’m ready to review @retropath2‘s CD (“Space – from my window”) after 2,5 listens (3 in the case of the tracks I likedā¦) Bogart’s CD has only had one spin so far, so that will have to wait.
1. A well-known track that I own and love, but for some odd reason I first assumed it was a cover of it by someone else! I had to listen to my “original” to hear that they were in fact identical…I think his vocals threw me a bit, he doesn’t quite sound as much as himself as he does at other times…if that makes sense! Weird. But a wonderful choice to start the CD with, and definitely fits the theme!
2. This is a folky, celtic type band and singer, trying to sound like JL perhaps, but I don’t think it’s him. The voice sounds a bit too smooth and lightweight (but I’m no expert, owning only that Word comp). Someone is keeping him from sleep “like a moon at my window”, but I’m afraid it rather puts me to sleep a bit… It’s not at all unpleasant, but a bit dull.
3. A male falsetto voice singing solemnly to orchestral backing. Sounds like “modern classical” of early to mid- 1900s, rather than “old classical”. Nothing I’m already familiar with, very beautiful. Can’t make out what language he sings in. A choir comes in towards the end of the piece. I’ll definitely listen to this again!
4. It starts OK, with a lone trumpet, but one minute in a ghastly backing accompaniment is added behind it and it all starts to sound like the theme tune to Miami Vice! The worst kind of 80s “slick but intrusive” jazz, in parts becoming a bit elevator music (if the elevator belongs to Willy Wonka) or even new age-y…I’m struggling to find any redeeming quality to this track – and it goes on for 6 bloody 33 minutes! Not even the trumpet is all that, he’s no Miles Davis.
5. Hymn-like brass and violin intro, except it goes on a bit long for an intro and is a bit repetitive. A couple of minutes in it becomes a sort of prog-rock thingā¦”Here Be Dragons In Flight”, demons are mentioned, before they escape to the stars. This confirms all of my prejudices of the genre, I’m afraid! Musically it’s also very dull. No idea who this is, it sounds fairly new and not 70s (so even more unforgivable if that’s the case!) Again, 7:20…of course the tracks I dislike has to be too LONG! š
6. Indian drums, sitar, and in the driver’s seat some very nasal and whiney wind instrument that sounds like a mix between a bagpipe and an oboe. The track is pleasant in a way, but that instrument gets on my nerves a bit as it goes on. About 3 minutes in the rhythms change and it becomes better, livelier. But again, after 6:36 of this I’m ready to set fire to a yoga studio. Second listen was better, having gotten over the initial shock of hearing that nasal inferno…but I also found it more tolerable as background music rather than for a focused listen as I did the first time.
7. A piano “drips” joined by electronic alarm-signals, static and odd noises. Bits of melody emerges bit by bit, noises added and subtracted. Not the sort of music I’d enjoy daily, but every now and then I find it quite interesting – but I’ve heard better exemples of this sort of thing. Still, not unpleasant at all.
8. More Electronic noises, but this time accompaning a male voice speaking melodically over the track about a girl. Some fairly weedy oooh-ing backing vocals are a bit annoying. Not awful, but a bit dull and I find my mind is drifting uncontrollably during it, so if there’s a reference to space in the lyrics I probably “spaced out” in those moments… No, this is not for me!
9. Ah, a familiar voice and track, if not a huge favourite of mine (the singer yes, but not this track so much). I don’t own this particular album, but I’ve heard it before. A voice you really can’t mistake for anyone else! She’s quite wonderful (but too often better than her material, IMO).
10. Hm, some glam rock track I’ve never heard before, no idea who it’s by. The sound quality of this track is very quiet and muddy, sounds like a bad vinyl rip, so maybe this is some LP track from someone who hasn’t been deemed worthy of a CD remaster? The little I can decipher of the lyrics is a tale of some alien guy in a car (?) from the sky picking up our singer for a night of planet-hopping. Well, why not?
11. Another familiar voice and track, but I’m on the fence about her. Not crazy about this track, her singing style back then sounded a bit like bad cabaret to me, especially in this song. I picture her and the band in a cellar club at the seaside, season coming to an end. Very gloomy and sad – but that could also be enhanced by my own “final-days-of-holiday” blues… š
12. Breathy female vocals over harp, strings are added and two minutes in drums and a bass adds rhythms and makes it all slightly jazzy. This is really nice once it gets going, especially when occasional clunks and raw noises appear and break up the otherwise too tasteful arrangement. A raw guitar outro finishes the track, which at 6:54 doesn’t feel long at all, because I enjoy all of it! I hear Jupiter mentioned, but I’ve no idea what the track is and who it is by. The voice seems a bit familiar, but I can’t place it.
There you go, a few highlights, a couple of horrible moments, but most of it tolerable enough! Will be interesting to find out what I’ve listened to, and thank you for the interesting mix of tracks!
“Set fire to a yoga studio!” Wonderful imagery, @locust and I will never be able to listen to this again without that thought. I have to come clean about track 10, it being the only one I had to deliberately source, owning nothing that otherwise references that tracks position in the order. All the others come from my computer.
(Order? There ‘s an order? With instrumentals figuring so prominently, it is nigh impossible to guess the title without a lyric, but maybe for the few that have words, you may be able to guess an order and this perhaps the tracks.)
Dare say there are a few who will take umbrage at your comments about 5 and 8 š
Hmm, something about the order of the planets in the solar system? But that doesn’t quite make sense to me either, unless I have my solar system all mixed up. I’ll find out eventually! I’m no stranger to causing umbrage outbreaks with my views, so bring it on! I’ll fight you all (and your dragons!) š
OK, time for me to review the CD from @bogart! As mentioned before, it came in a very cool knitted sleeve (I presume we can thank Mrs Bogart for that? If so, tell her I’m impressed and love the idea! If you did it yourself, I’m even more impressedā¦ š )
1. Very short track, acoustic plucking on guitar, guy singing what sounds like a kids song at first, until he starts to squeeze hydrogen atoms into beerā¦ Voice a bit wobbly, the track is OK, but it brings a smile more than a laugh. It’s a start too short to have an opinion on really.
2. Ethnic a cappella singing intro, can’t place the language. Seagull noises leads into a slow song sung by a very familiar sounding voice. I do believe that this must be JL, but what makes me question myself is that extreme Aaron Neville-type vibrato that he throws in now and then…is that really a trademark of his? “I am confuse” (but as I stated in my retro review, I’m no JL expert). It’s a nice track however, if a little long for what it is. Actually, I would have loved hearing just that first a cappella singing the whole track throughā¦ The spoken outro makes me more certain that my guess is correct.
3. Dear god…that spoken outro leads into a ghastly spoken word track, a female voice telling a story about walking through the rooms of a shut down hotel. Sorry, but I can’t stand it, this makes my skin crawl. And I don’t just mean this track, pretty much all spoken word makes me cringe. Her pronunciation is too clear to be that Kate woman (is that her name?) that divides the AWs opinion, I think, and I don’t know the names of any other artists doing this sort of thing (obviously; I barely know her name!)
4. Bleeps before an indie type guy with another half singing, half speaking voice starts to talk/sing. Hm. Your sequencing is certainly spot on, Bogart, but this track is just OK for my taste. The instrumental breaks are a little more tuneful, with a distorted, mumbling voice in the background. But it’s all very same-y and unmelodical as a whole. A bit dull. OMG; he actually sings (muted) in the outro. š
5. Three (two?) people shouting in the studio before attempting a rehearsal of a chorus of “Paper Moon” a cappella with heavy echo, then giving their verdict (which is favourable). My verdict: cute, but I wouldn’t listen to it again (unless they do record that full version they speak of). Who are they? Hm, I’m guessing either siblings or married couple, some r’n’b or jazz-singing artists.
6. OK, I know who this is, singing a quirky rock’n’roll ditty about Martians. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of his actually, but I respect the influence he’s been to other artists that I do like. This track is a bit cute and a bit funny, but I’m afraid in the end it leaves me rather cold.
7. Squeaky “alien voices” (sounding more like the Chipmunks) begin the track before a heavy, grinding beat gets going, with a female voice trilling on top of it. Towards the end she “computer-speaks” melodically to the beat and machine noises. I rather like this.
8. Electronic jew’s harp-noises & drum machine begins, electronic and (wordless) vocal loops. A dancey beat and a looped keyboard melody takes the centre stage and the rave can begin! It’s long, but constantly evolving so never gets dull. Some really nice intense drums right towards the end of this as well. I do find myself dancing in my chair listening to this. Quite good, but I couldn’t guess who it’s by because I haven’t listened to this kind of music since “Music For The Jilted Generation” came outā¦
9. A very short rock instrumental, not really my cup of tea, but it’s too short to tell really.
10. Thunderstorm and rain in the background, a banjo being plucked, xylophone etc. A male singer with a folky type song. At times (mainly in the chorus) he sounds like Julian Cope, but it’s not the kind of song he’d sing. Again, a bit “Leven-y”, but the voice is nothing like him. A child dies on a pilgrimage and the singer loses his faith. Grim lyrics but a pretty arrangement. The melody could have been a little less monotone for my taste. Still, this isn’t bad at all.
11. A raspy male voice singing over piano and strings about lost love (and lost life). Very sad and VERY beautiful. Sorry – I seem to have something in my eye – probably need to do some dusting! Wow, this lyric just builds until you crack…and then crack some more! Again, strangely familiar voice that I just can’t put a name to! I’m sure I’ll be kicking myself when I get the answer.
12. Post-punk boppy pop tune (of muddy sound quality). Never heard it before, but sounds British and early 80s, similar to lots of bands in that era but I suspect that it must be some one-hit-wonder that were no-hit-wonders outside of the UK. It’s not bad, but lacks a real killer chorus to put it in the global charts, and it’s a bit too long for this kind of pop song IMO (and changes almost into a different song halfway through). But I like it anyway – this is my musical coming-of-age era, so anything late 70s/early 80s will make me smile! I suspect that it’s called “Wrap Up the Rockets”, but I refrained from googlingā¦
Sorry if I sound negative, Bogart, it wasn’t as bad an experience as you might think reading that! And you had a couple of killer tracks in that list. I had fun listening and trying to guess, looking forward to having my CD trashed in turnā¦ š
Indeedy it was Mrs B who crocheted the CD sleeve (case?) , but hey I sellotaped the envelope which was a bloody tricky, fiddly job!
The accappela singing is I believe in Gaelic. I had thought of putting a live version of this on the disc which wouldn’t have had the vocal gymnastics that he often used when in the studio, nor would it have had the ‘old women singing or the poem’. But it would have had (if I could find the version amongst the many of his bootlegs) the amusing/sad tale of how the song came about. But in the end decided the intro and outro needed to be heard and yes I agree that the actual song could be a minute or so shorter.
By heck I’m glad Decided not to put a Kate Tempest track in position 3, I did think of it, but decided against it and went with the one that is there. A lesser evil….
Track 5 is from a Rap album, I was trying to find something suitable that wasn’t from a ‘superstar’ of the genre and came across this little ditty on this groups album, all the actual rap songs where no way space related. .
10, the tale is set on the moors upon which I used to play as a child, totally unaware that had been a route for pilgrimages.
11 It’s strange but this is the track I thought longest and hardest about including, not because of any doubts about it’s quality as I thinks it’s wonderful, but I did wonder how it would be received.
12, Being frank, if they had been one-hit wonders they’d have been chuffed to death. A late addition, I thought I’d go out not with a bang but a ‘pop’.
Really enjoyed your insights into the songs, always nice to hear how other people hear something, then you can scratch your head and think are they listening to the same track as me as I think it’s wonderful/awful/bland and they think the opposite.
But beware next time I shall fill your CD with Kate Tempest……
From what I recall, it’s from Orkney, so it’s not Gaelic, it’s something closer to Viking.
@vulpesvulpes
I’d still say it was Gaelic, my somewhat hazy memory seems to recall JL mentioning it as such during a couple of his shows and there is a line in the song about ancient women singing in the Outer Hebrides, where the islanders still speak Gaelic.
Or it could be Geordie!!
@locust
ā¦ā¦ And the result from the Happy Valley jury is…
I remove the CD from itās grand Daniel Johnson like cover and place it into the CD player, as Commander Shore would (almost) say at the start of every episode of Stingray āanything can happen in the next half hour…. or soā.
As the theme is Space the opening track is a fitting start, sounding like Joe Meek theme for a Gerry Anderson Fireball XL5 era show, it bounces along energetically with woozy and shimmery waves of synth sounds, but in a moan that I will return to over the 3 CDās to be reviewed Iād suggest a shorter version would benefit the track as by the time it gets to 3.42 itās out stayed itās welcome by repeating itās self once to often. But a good and enjoyable start.
A pilnkty plonk piano and hep-cat style (scat?) vocal introduce the next track, a vocal refrain of āzoom, zoom zoomā bring a flash of childhood memory of adverts for Wallās ice lollies of that name, but I digress. Back to the music, this is jazz, my bette noir, but so far Iām enjoying it, the chanted vocals. the err jazzy plinky plonk piano, the drums are all tickling my ears rather nicely. Until just over a minute in somebody, could it be Roy Castle starts parping a bloody trumpet in a way that jazzateers always seem to do and which to my poor ears is the equivalent of fingernails on the blackboard. Thankfully after around 45 seconds ( seconds that seem like minutes) it gives way to a saxophone, or what I think is a sax. I can tell the difference between a drum and a piano in the instrument stakes, after that itās often guess work, anyhow the Sax marks a return to the realms of enjoyment. And on it goes, what sounds like a cello takes centre stage some 3.5 minutes in and adds to the chaotic cacophony that embodies this track. Then after around 5.30 minutes, yes itās long track, enter stage right all the way ELP itās Mr Keith Emerson orsomeone who sounds like him, playing some trade mark piano, which for me is a good thing. The singers return to show to take the song to the exit. With the exception of the trumpet itās been a rather enjoyable, quirky 5 minutes and 43 seconds. As to who it is, no idea, but I canāt get the idea of it being used in a 60ās black and white coffee shop film where the stars go into some trendy Soho night club and this band are playing on the stage in the corner.
Dialogue from a film (?) introduces a song, that soon becomes apparent is of the genre that the young folks these days call rap. Rather than the in-yer-face heavy angry beats or the chart aimed sanguine poppy sounds of rap this has a jazzy, movie soundtrack feel to it. Most enjoyable.
Beats, Afro style guitar picking, rapping in French, real brass or brass sounding synths make track 4 another enjoyable few minutes for the lug holes.
Track 5 is exactly the same length as track 4 ( 4.26 in case your wondering) but thatās where the similarity ends. Musically itās a sort of Euro disco-pop, soulless bland auto tuned, probably enjoyable for the disco dancing sangria fuelled holiday makers, but as a two-left footed pogo only dancer it doesnāt do anything for me. But hey Iām not the market its aimed at. A cheeky refrain of Close Encounters was detected.
Track 6. Rather as track 5, Euro-disco pop or so it sounds to these here ears. Not for me.
Track 7. Something from the 60s I think, I sort of recognise it, it bounces along in a pleasant entertain g way, enjoyable and forgetful.
Track 8, sirens wail, another 60s sounding pop-psychedelic bops along, you wouldnāt change the channel if it came on the radio but then again it wouldnāt inspire you to check out anything else by them.
Track 9. Another 60s sounding track, acoustic guitar strums away with an electric making a occasional Bert Wheedon type interjections while a duo or so it sounds of female vocalist sing away. It reminds me of my childhood in the early 70s when my folks watched the Saturday night variety show and a New Seekers type foursome would come on and perform family friendly bland folk-pop. Alas another song Iāll pass on.
Track 10, piano and then a female vocal, I know the voice or at least I think I do, but I canāt place a name on her. A piano, backs a lone vocal for the first part of the song before slowly adding more instrumentation as the track progresses, including for me at least a superfluous synth at around 3.42, that aside a real good listen.
Track 11, a zither (possibly?) a distinctive female voice, singing, this canāt be right , but sounds like ālove and a milky wayā which if accurate is a advert for the Milky Way chocolate bar that passed me by. Building to a climax with synth, drums and a pan-pipe, a ethereal sound that was most enjoyable.
Track 12. It starts, it sounds like the intro to some sort of stadium filling soft rockers who have decided to have a go with ābeatsā, echo chamber big vocals are introduced before there is a prog rock keyboard moment, then itās back to the echo chamber vocal, crashing drums and a long synth sound coda that at one points infuses a Eastern nights refrain, then it comes to an end. It neither excites or bores, it just happens.
Track 13….. of 12. A punky- White Stripes guitar and drum heavy song that mentions Luke Skywalker. A good tune to end, but would have been better if somewhat shorter, maybe cut a minute?
And so thatās that. On the whole a enjoyable experience, trackās 10 & 11 for me are the stand out ones and the artists Iād seek out more from.
Thanks
@bogart – thanks for another entertaining review!
I agree that track 1 is too repetitive, it’s probably my least favourite from its parent album, but the title was too perfect to miss and I needed an instrumental in the mix.
I’m very intrigued by the fact that the two of you both thought that track 4 was sung in French (it’s Swedish)!
If I tell you that track 5 is for kids, will you hate it a little less? š
Yep, I don’t like track 6 either, but the lyrics make it essential for this theme. Same with track 9, which is unexplicably popular in Sweden!
However, I’ll defend the merits of track 8 against anyone – but I’ve used other of my favourite tracks by that artist before on different compilations, and he must be a particular Swedish flavour, because nobody else seems to get his genius! š
But as you said, it’s fun to find out how others hear and react to the same music!
Finally enough time and gravity to weigh up @bogart.
1. Is this whimsy or is it drivel? (Is it you, @bogart ?)
2. Big fan o this chap, but not one that I know. Several of his tropes to the fore: a sample of local colour (and it is gaelic), tinny drum machine, the odd “swallowing vocals” tic that alienates so many, just in case you feel his voice just too good, and some consummate spoken poem at the end. Lovely!!
3. Neither poetry nor song, with nothing of appeal for lovers of either.
4. I think I once invested in some product by this fella, long since deleted. One of those quaaluded yanks in recovery. Is it the one who crushed his legs as he fell unconscious for 2 days? (R.I.P.)
5. I listened to this first in the car and have no intention of giving it a second go. Who is it? Who cares?
6. I know this fella too, but felt one of his, “Rock’n’Roll with the etc” to be enough. Ice Cream Man is better. I recall reading that the percussionist was orchestrally trained.
7. A spooky ice-maiden godesss made me wonder as to some solo Siouxsie or the Natasha Khan side-project that wasn’t Bat For Lashes. Again, maybe one of those @kid-dynamite inexplicables
like Phoebe Bridgens. Half way through a change of vocal, to a child, and it’s better.
8. A bit schizoid this, with ethno-ambient beginnings, before then going into near Donna Summer/ G.Moroder territory and then back into a more comfortable bleep and booster sequencer ending. I liked the last couple of minutes, very Paul Van Dyk trancy.
9. Bet this is called something or other part 2. Or maybe part 3. There will definitely be 3 parts, widdle merchants like this don’t normally do only one minute.
10. Bit of pastoral folky fare, shit vocals and all. Is it someone like Steve Ashley? I like the banjo.
11. This is rather grand. It smacks of the style of the Toy Story hitmaker, but must be early in his career as the vocals have a range. (Strangely I find also myself imagining Kermit the frog singing this?!)
12. This sounds like some grizzled light-weight proggers greeting 1977 year zero by embracing a new name and new image, perhaps in time for christmas, the first one I can find much of a space feel to, as in the rockets needing wrapped, altho’ they seem to forget that as the song lurches seamlessly, with the same Tommy Ramones drums and “melody”, into singing, flatly, about something else. Probably Barclay James Harvest or Fruupp before the change of image. I would know but it clearly didn’t strike the charts alight.
Hmm, this reads harsher than I meant, but you can’t floss a bogey as the aphorism goes. I will be disappointed if the opener isn’t a home recording you made before your hopes were crushed by public opinion.
But thanks all 3 of you. One good EP’s worth.
@retropath2
1. Is this whimsy or is it drivel? (Is it you, @bogart ?)
Nope itās not Lord Peter and as for drivel, that is in the ear of the listener…
4 Is it the one who crushed his legs as he fell unconscious for 2 days? (R.I.P.)
It isnāt. That was Mark Linkous or Sparklehorse as the writing on the recordās would say. He is one of those rare artists who for what ever reason touched the parts with in me that most fail to do, so if it had been him and anything untoward had been said, well Iād have had to come around to that persons house, brick up their toilet and then feed them copious amounts of laxative filled Eccles cakes…or whatever tickles their taste buds.
5. Who is it? Who cares?
Their Mumās and Dadās….possibly
6Ice Cream Man is better.
Can anybody hear you (selling ice) scream in space…..
7. A spooky ice-maiden godesss made me wonder as to some solo Siouxsie or the Natasha Khan side-project that wasnāt Bat For Lashes. Again, maybe one of those @kid-dynamite inexplicables
like Phoebe Bridgens.
Nope!! Although I can’t say if he/she/they are one of @kid-dynamite inexplicables..
9. Bet this is called something or other part 2. Or maybe part 3. There will definitely be 3 parts, widdle merchants like this donāt normally do only one minute.
No other Pts to it, this is it in itās full unexpurgated version. I thought most AWāders of a certain age and especially if a product of the British Isles would have recognised this tune. Seems I maybe wrong.
10. Bit of pastoral folky fare, shit vocals and all. Is it someone like Steve Ashley? I like the banjo.
No idea who Steve Ashley is, so that answers the question posed. But as for the dislike of the vocal, I cannot disagree more, for me the singers voice is a gem, rather like Linkous it touches those deeply hidden parts. Also he got me out of trouble by dedicating a song to my wife on her birthday when Iād forgotten to buy a card. But music is in the ear of the beholder and I do not bear any ill will on your observation but just to let you know Jewsons will be delivering some bricks to your house and may I ask is it Flycakes or some other delicacy I can tempt you with. Now where is that laxative.
11. This is rather grand. It smacks of the style of the Toy Story hitmaker, but must be early in his career as the vocals have a range. (Strangely I find also myself imagining Kermit the frog singing this?!)
Not the TS fella, thatās Randy Newman I believe. Nor, alas now that you have floated the idea, did Kermit sing this in Muppet In Space…..maybe in Muppets in Space2 if we are lucky
12. Probably Barclay James Harvest or Fruupp
Sir this is beyond the pale, how dare you suggest I have any BJH in my collection, I do have a modicum of taste… now where is that industrial strength laxative and brickwork trowel.
To conclude, music is merely background irritation unless it causes you to either turn up the radio or turn it off. And as it seems you may require a new off button having worn out the old one while listening to this collection, I’m chuffed that the selections have caused a reaction thus, at the very least , avoiding being filed under Supermarket acceptable. Anyway, fancy a Eccles cake, freshly made….
Oh and who the feck are Fruupp….
A wee nerve or two touched there? Thank the lord we have different tastes and I’m sorry if you felt bechurled. I still want to know who they are, if only @vulpes-vulpes would pull his proverbial out. Hell, I might like them when I know who they are.
If truth be, I am waiting to distance myself from several of mine.
Fruupp? One for @colin-H to answer, but, succinctly, the Belfast Gentle Giant. Actually, more the Belfast Simon Dupree and the Big Sound.
@retropath2
No, no and thrice no in regards touching of my nerve. I rather enjoyed your views on the songs, even when you failed to appreciate the good stuff….. my response was meant to be a jolly come back on your comments, not a riposte nor a petty ‘I’m taking my ball back then’ suky response.
The bricking up your toilet and feeding you laxative laced Eccles cakes was meant to show that your comments where taken in good humour and my response was also given with such.*
We all have different ears that hear differently, we all have different tastes and it’s grand when they are different. For example I can’t understand how you or anybody cannot appreciate such a wonderful voice as that number 10, but that’s the joy of it.
And as I said I’d rather the music cause a reaction rather than just being ‘ errrrr yeah that’s errrrr fine’ , if the listener is moved to switch it off, then at least it causes an emotion, strikes a chord etc and that’s what music is meant to do.
So nope not bechurled one little bit, amused sometimes, befuddled sometimes but bechurled, no, no and no.
Just read my response were it says “and as for drivel, that is in the ear of the listenerā¦”
That does come across as seeing my backside, it was
my error, I’d meant to say ‘that is for the ear of the listener to decide ‘ a simple I like it but what others hear and then decide is subjective.
* Although any jury would say I had just cause to do such a thing once I’d told them of the BJH accusation…….. Unless of course the jury were all BJH fans……. as we say some ears hear things differently
š
I remember buying a BJH product aged 16 at school. The one with Mockinggggggbird on. I also remember the joy with which I sold it on, along with Imagine and A Nods as Good as a A Wink. I bought the last one back a bit later.
@vulpes-vulpes
Warnings are there for a reason. On the disc there is a warning not to run it, I ignore it and place the disc into computer and press play. All I hear is a āroaring silenceā maybe itās a case of āin space no one can hear your compilationā. I fiddle with wires and press various buttons more in hope then with any intrinsic technical knowledge, then suddenly I hear….
Fivvvvvvvvve four three two one … duh-duh-duh ..duh-duh-duh..5-4-3-2-1.
A great way to start and youād have to have cloth ears not to enjoy this frenetic 60ās evergreen.
One of my first concerts was the Manfredās although Earthband had been tagged on the end of the name by that time. I donāt think they played this, maybe PJ did on the occasions I saw him in the Blues Band, probably not.
Thunder rumbles,soundtrack synth s swell,could it be Vangelis, Tomita, JJJ, possibly works better as part of a suite or over film scene.
Classical- medieval type guitars play off each other until eventual a flute ( or a recorder?) joins in, very 70ās proggy rockers pastoral sound. It would be ideal as the background music for the scene in the re-make of King Arthur legend, the scene when Lance and Guinevere are alone together for the first time. A nice tune and one which I found myself humming a few hours later.
The Bad Moon rises on another those timeless tunes that are the staple of the various Gold radio stations. Despite hearing it numerous times itās never encouraged me to a) buy it b) seek out more of their music. But a good song never the less. Also adapted and sung on the Stretford End in my latter years of season ticket holding at Old Trafford.
A cocktail bar song, that sort of louche jazzy sound that, according to TV and film was the only live music that people watched in the 60ās. Doesnāt do anything for me, maybe a stronger vocalist would have made it more appealing.
A fiddle and just a fiddle. Eliza C or maybe John Boden? A good un.
Maybe late 60ās psychedelic or early 70ās proggy sounding tune. Further listens make me think the former. Not a bad few minutes.
Opening organ/synth then staccato guitar scream this one is 70ās prog. Sing-a-long bouncy vocals lead into a dreaded guitar-gurning-wank-solo, before more self indulgent guitar – organ noise, thankfully the pleasant but bland vocal returns but just seems to repeat the same dumpty-dumpty-dumpty phrasing and harmony. And now itās time for the organ to play a bit, guitar returns to take the song to itās much needed end. It could be Yes when Anderson wasnāt inhaling helium, it could be any of the many 70ās 2nd division proggers. Would it inspire me to seek anything else of theirs. No.
Bluesy funky again early 70ās sounding, made me think of Streetwalkers and the fact that they did this better probably due to having Chappo and a voice that could have carried this song. Underwhelming.
Jazzy piano, cocktail lounge (again) synth joins, bobs along. get the feeling that this could have been taken from a MFP label budget LP that people in who didnāt like music but wanted something to play at dinner parties would buy from Woolies.. Probably turn out to be from a Rick Wakeman or Keith Emerson solo album or such like.
Female vocal, acoustic off sets the vocal at times, bass and slide guitar providing backing, country-ish sound, canāt hazard a guess who is singing but like the voice and like the song.
Bugger, Iāve heard this before, canāt recall who sang it. Is it Randy Newman? or the bastard off-spring of him and Jonathan Richman. Pleasant little pop song.
I believe this is Ivor Cuttler, itās rather good but for some reason makes me think of Joyce Grenfell
Mid 70ās rockers hidden track, a jam to allow them all solo? Should have stayed hidden, not for me.
All in all an enjoyable listen, when played again some tracks will be skipped, other will be enjoyed.
OK – here we finally go…the CD from @vulpes-vulpes took a detour into a black hole for a couple of weeks (onboard a shuttle from the Swedish Mail), but has finally turned up and been listened to.
Some I knew, but mostly mystery tracks on the very cool looking CD (with very ambitious liner notes) called (Edit: something that doesn’t show up when typed into a text, apparently!) Since I’m the last one to review it, I’ll spoil what I know!
Track 1 is “54321” by Manfred Mann. A perky but a bit silly track, I’ve always thought.
Track 2 start with sounds of thunder and rain, before the film soundtrack (surely it must be) begins. Beautiful but ominous, something bad is definitely happening out there! You can hear the vast space, you can hear the silence of the Universe, it sounds very lonely. Gorgeous, but I’m not sure when I would actually want to listen to this again (but perhaps listening to the soundtrack in full would give me a more interesting experience). No idea what the film is (I’m ten years behind on contemporary films) or who the composer is. I hear the name Hans Zimmer a lot these days, but I’ve no idea if he’s done a soundtrack to a space movie!
Track 3 begins with two guitars plucking aĀ“la medieval ballads, with added recorder. It’s OK, but a bit weedy and dull to my taste. No idea what it is, but I bet there’s a moon involved in the title!
As it is in track 4, which is “Bad Moon Rising” by CCR. A classic.
Track 5 is a version of the standard “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” sung by a female singer, no idea who but it’s fairly new I reckon. Not the most exciting arrangement or voice, but perfectly fine.
On track 6 a lone Irish fiddler play a very beautiful folky melody that I half recognise but don’t have a title for (my brother used to play a ton of albums of Irish folk music as I was growing up, so I may well have heard it before). I love it.
Track 7 is some American sounding rock band playing a tune that is giving me somewhat Native American vibes for some reason. There’s something of a modern Redbone about this. With a slight tinge of a Daniel Lanois production? “We are waiting for the sun” they sing (and also “take hope from outer space”) and I rather like it, a little bit more with each listen.
Track 8 begins with some progressive noodlings that are quite entertaining, unfortunately a male singer then comes in to sing a very silly lyric that spoils it all…full of suns & moons and kings & queens mixed in with a bunch of other bollocks. The track shifts tempo and character and melody several times during its 5:36 and has some neat guitarwork on it, and I believe I would have enjoyed it quite a bit if it hadn’t been for that unnecessary singer warbling on, god knows about what! Keep it instrumental, boys!
Track 9 is one I know, both in the original Little Feat version and in this version by Robert Palmer. It’s “Spanish Moon” and it has a funky, laid-back bass throughout and some neat organ twiddles towards the end. Brothels, whisky and bad cocaine…it’s a typical Saturday for an Afterworder! š I do really like it, but it goes on a bit, could need a more dynamic melody or at least a cool bridge or something to lift it to the next level.
Track 10 has some very alien sounds on it, synthetic squeaks and beeps accompanying a slightly funky, a bit jazzy, very proggy instrumental. Sounds very 70s, but I can’t venture a guess for who they are. But it’s quite interesting (if a bit short to become really interesting). More yay than nay.
Track 11 has a Tex-Mex country kinda feel to it, with a female voice crooning and half-speaking in a melancholy mood. Singing that “western stars light up the sky”, among other things. Not crazy about the production of this track, it all sounds a bit cheap and greasy and “tourist-y”, like something from a Taco Bell menu. Nothing wrong with the song itself, or her voice, but I’m just not keen on the sound of it.
Track 12 is “Monkeys On The Moon” by Sopwith Camel. I had their track “Fazon” on my shortlist for this swap for a while. I have to say I prefer that one to this track…the charleston vibe is silly but harmless, but some very annoying instruments on this one makes it a bit of a tough listen for my ears! Still, a fun track (very much in the cartoony vibe I used for my own swap CD).
(Bonus) Track 13 has a spoken intro (and outro) telling us that it’s called “Gravity Begins At Home”, which is a nice enough pun, but his voice is so annoying and dull to me that I find it difficult to listen to the rest of the “jokes” in the lyrics. I didn’t laugh once. Not being that familiar with older British comedy I first thought it might be the Goons, but the few things I’ve heard from them have been funnier than this. Not a hit with me I’m afraid!
(Another Bonus) Track 14 begins furiously in tempo and explodes into bombastic prog rock noodlings of unnecessary awfulness…it smells more like the 80s than the 70s. Lots of wanking of instruments. Goes on a bit, but is mercifully cut before it turns into a “suite”… Sorry, this is not really to my liking at all!
All in all, more hits than misses and a fun ride from here to there! Look forward to the reveal for a few of those tracks that may need investigating. Good job with the CD!
@locust
you’re the only person to spot that the “name” I put on the front cover of my CD was a string of characters that won’t display on screen when rendered from html.
Like this:
*utters nerdy Beavis-like chuckling sound to self*
PS agree about the Palmer version of Spanish Moon. The Feat version knocks this one for six, but I thought if I put that on the disc, EVERYBODY would know who it was. Lowell rules, after all.
@retropath2 @kid-dynamite
After writing the first two reviews I set on to listen to Mr Path’s disc, I gave it a few listens and then put it into Mrs Bogart’s car CD player. The idea being to have another listen on the drive and then afterwards take the disc, put it into the PC play it and write the review.
As I drove along I heard something I hadn’t before. what was this, a hidden track? It sounded like Test Dept, all noise and clanking cacophony rhythm.
It turned out It wasn’t Test Dept. It was the cars automatic gearbox.
And so the car was duly taken to the place from where it was bought.
Can you identify that noise we asked, ” is it’s Test Dept?” they didn’t say.
.What they said it’s the gearbox and it will cost you Ā£7000 to repair. Yes 7 thousand pounds.
Now the car is 3 1/5 years old, it’s done around 30,000 miles and apparently that this is a common and know fault for Nissan. So it was suggested that they re-think the āyouā and that they the garage who sold it to us or Nissan themselves will be footing that bill.
“Errrrrrr” said Nissan, “we will look into it, but have a hire car on us while we do”.
As we were going away later that week we said OK, expecting a decision onour return.
.
We get back from holiday and they were still looking. Two weeks since getting back and theyāre still ‘lookingā. Itās now over four weeks that they have been ‘looking’.
They’re still paying for a rental car, Mr’s B’s car is still in the garage and Sir Ret’s CD is still in the car in the garage.
And that dear Sir’s is my excuse for not having written the review, My deepest apologies. .
On the whole I enjoyed the music, some was certainly worth a re-listen either for enjoyment or a case of ‘is that really that bad’ some is worth further investigation and some was almost as much fun as the clanking gearbox. It’s a bugger as I’d like to have spoken about which tracks I liked, why certain tracks or passages didn’t work for me, but being discless I’m afraid I can’t.
One thing I do recall is the cover, was it I thought an arty minimalist comment stating that it’s the music and not the cover that counts. Rather like when Arista (?) released Patti Smith’s Hey Joe 12″ in a plain brown paper bag and made out it was a reaction to all the expensive picture sleeves of the time. Hmmmm.
Or was it more like, bugger got to get this disc out, this brown paper bag will keep it clean and scratch free during transit, so away it goes. In end it’s the music that counts and it was a good and interesting listen.
And again thanks to @locust @vulpes-vulpes for their enjoyable discs. It’s been a pleasure.
Do you want a “back-up”, @bogart? PM me and I’ll have a go. Maybe a box might drop.
@retropath2
Forever delayed. Better late. And not before time. Etc etc etc.
Apologies for delay, first the CD went into the Nissan garage for around 7 weeks as they tried to get us to pay Ā£7k to get it back. That 7k would see a new gear box fitted, not surprisingly we refused and in the end they fitted the gearbox and returned the CD at their expense.
Then my on going fight with dropbox stopped me accessing the file,but around the same time the CD was set free. I then wrote the review and with a sign of advancing age i fear, thought Iād posted it but hadnāt.
I doubt it was worth the wait for my views, but here goes.
Track 1. This fella never seems to be off 6 Music at the moment. Great track, belting starter for 10.
Track two, makes me think of the Chrisās Rhea & De Burgh, I know itās not or should I say I think itās not one of them. A pleasant tune backing a story telling vocal but its oh so very pedestrian and soulless, the sort of safe music that would be played on Radio 2 or Heart FMor i a supermarket at Chritsmas.
Track 3 A classical piece, strings, solo female or young chap, choir, whatās not to like. Could easily be taken from a soundtrack . For some reason itās just struck me that if Vangelis during his Heaven and Hell era had made a classical album this is what it would sound like.
Track 4 starts like itās the theme to a 60ās sci-fi show,but after those 23 seconds it goes down hill. A trumpet starts and is joined by a sort of Euro-poppy-dance backing and sorry but I canāt say it any other way, this jazzy euro poppy cacophony drones on and on and on and on and…..
Track 5 Starts as though we are going to be treated to a hymn, The Unthanks comes to mind as the intro plays that sort of pastoral Englandās green and pleasant land invoking sound. A change of tempo, some guitar and a vocal that is annoyingly familiar starts singing about a fault in time and space, dragons, setting the course for the stars . Itās all going along rather pleasantly, brass parps, a chanted Latin (?) refrain all very prog-by-numbers but enjoyable. But. As it comes to itās conclusion they/he introduces a bloody awful, intrusive, generic, gurning, spandex legs akimbo guitar solo which ruins the whole listening experience.
Track 6 If you keep a pet snake in your washing basket, this track would see it knocking the lid off as it gyrates and sways like Lionel āsnake-hipsā Blair to a Indian/Arabic collection of instruments weaving their tune. Good stuff indeed.
Track 7 Opens with a repeated strikes of a piano key, synthesisers make ambient noise as the piano plays phrases. On a roll here another good track.
Track 8 Another bloody, I know that voice, I think it is him. A sparse backing track sits nicely behind the vocal, but why oh why do they have to have that āwhoo-oo-ohhh-oohhā refrain, itās awful. Despite that another winner.
Track 9 Iāll just re- use the words written for track 2, the only thing this one has a female vocal, so very pedestrian and soulless, the sort of safe music that would be played on Radio 2 or in a doctors waiting room
Track 10 A mid-70ās Nazareth type rocky song that youād hear every week on the OGWT, sounds as though it could have been done as a spoof of the genre, but alas I donāt think it was.
Track 11 Female vocal, piano for first couple of minutes, then a chicken in the basket circuit band joins in and the songs which was OK to start with becomes something of a dirge.
Track 12 Female vocal (sounding like Cleo Liane..but itās not) and twinkly piano then it morphs into a sort of jazz light – cabaret vibe Sade sound, it doesnāt really do anything, it just sort of exists, the sound of indifference.
And thatās that, always good to hear something new, as the Smiths almost said Some music is better than others for every track 2 there is always, thankfully a track 6.
Ta Retro.
OK, @vulpes-vulpes, I hope you’re OK and just too busy to post reviews, but I’m going to post my track list now before I (and @Kid-Dynamite) forget it completely! If you want to post your thoughts on the CD later, I trust that you won’t cheat and read this first (it’ll be too long to show up in the email notice!)
@retropath2 and @bogart, I suggest you post yours as well, I’m curious to find out what I’ve heard!
1. In I Rymden (“Into Space”) – Sagor & Swing (2013)
Following in the tradition started by Hansson & Karlsson, Sagor & Swing play drums and organ and very intermittently record it. This is the somewhat too long opening track to a very splendid album of all instrumentals. Not my favourite tune, but I needed an instrumental and it captured that cartoonish space sound that I wanted for this compilation. Fitting title for the first track as well!
2. Rocket Number Nine Take Off For The Planet Venus – Sun Ra & His Myth Science Orchestra (recorded 1960, released 1969, apparently)
I’m surprised that more swap CDs didn’t use the incredible sounds from the actual space alien that was Sun Raā¦ š I love this so much – it was the main reason I scrapped my first all-Swedish version of this swap comp.
3. The Space Program – A Tribe Called Quest (2016)
The funkiest track from their excellent comeback (and RIP) album. If the Tribe has ever made a bad album, I’ve missed it.
4. Universum (“The Universe”) – Looptroop Rockers (2013)
This legendary Swedish hip hop-collective apparently sound French to you guys, which was very surprising to me! Nice groove and a lyric about painting the Universe, grafitti style, to brighten up the grey parts of existense and protest against the political and financial elite that are keeping people down…if I interpret the lyrics correctly!
5. Banankontakt (“Banana Encounter”) – Electric Banana Band (1982)
Well, I guess you just have to have grown up with this wonderful band, making music for kids in the style of a Kid Creole & The Coconut-type band wearing wacky costumes, having weird monikers and doing different hand choreography to each song! Play this to any Swede and they’ll immediately start singing along and jumping about, happy as kids again. The title is a pun – “banankontakt” also means “banana plug”, but the lyrics tell the story of an encounter of the third kind with a race of alien “super bananas” coming to the planet to take over and put everything right. Well, it couldn’t get much worse, could it? š
6. Vi Har Bara Varandra (“We Only Have Each Other”) – Di Leva (1989)
No, I don’t particularly like this either, but the lyrics are a plea to aliens to come to Earth and join us, so I thought it would fit perfectly (forgetting that when your audience doesn’t understand the lyrics, the music has to be strong enough on its own…noted for future swaps! š )
7. You’ve Got Me High – Science Poption (1966)
A Swedish beat band, singing a cover in all probability. Not about space at all, but their band name combined with the 60s space type noises in the production and the high/spaced out connection was good enough for me! Unlike you guys, I really like it; the production is full of small details that I find amusing, and it’s a cute song.
8. Mona – Pugh Rogefelt (1974)
Poor Pugh, the Brits just doesn’t get you! š I’ve tried before, no doubt I’ll try again, as I bloody love his music, especially every tune from the classic album “Bolla Och Rulla”, including this one. This is a tale of aliens crashing on Earth and being unable to return home to their planet. Pugh’s a legend, and massively influential.
9. Jag Vill Ha En Egen MĆ„ne (“I Want A Moon Of My Own”) – Ted GƤrdestad (1972)
I’ve never liked this song…but it was/is hugely popular in Sweden. I do like some of his other stuff, if not as much as everybody else does. This was his debut hit, I think he was just 15 or so when this came out and he became a bit of a Bieber with screaming girls everywhere he went.
10. In The Comet – Laleh (2012)
Brilliant Laleh with a bonkers song where she and the background chorus are telling two different stories painting the picture of a mental breakdown. Love the lyrics, love the melody, love the production (she’s produced her own albums from the start, making it the provision for signing her first contract, and she built her own studio before making her first album). Love the “space noises” towards the end. Love everything about it.
11. Milky Way – Sarah Klang (2018)
From the debut album “Love In The Milky Way” that came out this spring, which is quietly wonderful. This track was the only one I didn’t like at first listen, in fact the beginning of the song turned me off so much that I could never make myself listen all the way to the end! But when I made myself listen on, I discovered that it got better the longer I listened to it, and with each listen. Still, I do prefer the other tracks, which are very different from this one!
12. Moonraker – Oholics (2012)
A Swedish band in the psych category I guess. This album (“Orbits”) is the only one of theirs that I own, and I don’t know if they still exist as a band! But it’s actually pretty good, without being spectacular. I should probably investigate if they’ve recorded something else and, if so, buy it!
13. Luke Skywalker – Broder Daniel (1995)
I added this as a bonus track because I used it for the first AW swap but the others in my group bailed on the task, so it was wasted. And it fit this theme much better, so I thought, why not? Broder Daniel is a bit of a Swedish cult band that spawned an avalanche of (badly) singing solo careers after they broke up, some bigger and some betterā¦ I find them overrated, but this track is a hilarious teen angst anthem (even though it really is too long, had it been of Ramones’ length, it would have been pure genius). And that sort of fits with the silly/cartoon space angle I chose (more or less).
There you go, all is revealed! š
Right, I’ve written up notes from scribbles and even the back of an envelope, sat down and put together my reviews of your discs, and the track-listing for my own compilation – albeit FAR too long in the delivery – and here they are:
@Locust
Here we go then, the first Swap 3 disc goes into the control room drive for a considered spin. Iāve listened to this a few times in the car, and there are some gems here; now itās time to scribble down some notes while listening again:
Space synths and snares. Pulsing bass and a frantic pace. We must either be in the late 60ās or listening to echoes from then reflected through a newer source. Thereās a pleasing Bo Hansson-esque shade in the melody, so maybe itās a little later than the late 60ās? This is a fun track to lead off with, but I have no idea who it might be!
Now here comes more vintage madness, with Blue note drums and a Brubeck tinkle. Oooh, and now we have horns too. And before long weāre squonking along to a loping beat. A quick saw on the double bass for an interlude. Which becomes too long an interlude. By far. And then it sort of dribbles out. What an odd track.
OK, some vocal samples tell us itās time to get our shit together in a hippity hoppity style over a hesitant beat. Syncopation, and we lope along under a typically hectic rap, driven by that drummer who seems to have fallen asleep during at least half of the rap recording sessions of the last 25 years. The shared vocals are generously endowed with āniggasā and āmothasā. Loosely followed, itās a political diatribe. Iām guessing this is one of the acknowledged āgreatsā but if so they are outside of my limited knowledge of this genre. Interesting, but once heard, once forgotten.
Now this is more rapping beats, but much more interesting. Itās dense and steeped in Saharan riffs that sound like they came from Tinariwen, then there are brassy horns pulsing out a great soulful backdrop to the chorus. Like, like, like. What language is this they are singing though? Iām guessing itās from northern Europe somewhere. Thereās an interlude with refrain repeated by childrenās voices, a la Deep Forest. This strikes me as fantastic driving music. I need to know who these people are, and whether this is representative of them. Really like this one.
More unidentifiable European voices and a ludicrously eighties backbeat. Iām living in a box, Iām living in a Swedish (?) box. Bass line from Pookiesnackenburger, but where are the dustbins? Huge fun, distorted vocals, outrageous synthy string backing, and that insistent drive that takes you though to the gentler vocals and the staccato chorus again. Fairly pleasant on the ear, but once again, I have no idea about the who or when for this, bar a vague guess that itās from the 80ās.
Whoah, more unfamiliarity. Slightly strained vocals over some rather tired gated drum sounds. Blokeās got a good enough voice, but without knowing what heās saying itās hard to listen past the rather uncomfortably reached high notes. Some neat twangy guitar work introduces a rather more epic tone as we progress, and thereās some very interesting things happening way down in the lower register that my little office loudspeakers only hint at ā I get the impression that this would come alive at a higher volume on the Spendors downstairs. Iāll listen again to this with the house to myself. Might be a bit of a grower I suspect. Shame about the drums though.
OK, weāve slipped through a rotating tunnel with wavy lines and stuff and we are back in poptastic times. The Manfreds seem to have merged with the Beach Boys and itās a groovy thang baby. Weāve obviously eaten a couple of those little orange pills here. No idea who these are; this could be a track from any one of those awesome Rubbleicious compilations that sneak out every six weeks laden with singles youāve either never heard of by bands you didnāt know existed, or things you heard once when you were four, through wobbly medium wave AM on the Light Programme, spun by a youthful Brian Matthews. Great fun!
Bleep and Booster coming over the horizon! Air Raid!! Riff, twelve string and a slide over an industrially familiar chord sequence with harmonics to single transitions; someone up above the arctic circle has been listening to the good Captain, or maybe the same records the Captain heard on the radio in LA. Oddly familiar but obviously never heard before. Once again, the influences are obvious, the singing is great, but placing this in time and space proves beyond me. Rather fond of this one.
Now we move sideways into something closer to Carpenters territory. C, F and G with a twanging counterpoint, honeyed vocals sing a song that sounds SO familiar itās frustrating. I have never heard this before (like most of this fascinating disc), and though Iād place this safely in the Two-Way Family Favourites play-list, Iām not sure if Stewpot would have spun it, or if comes before or after his era. Rather bland, rather timeless, rather innocent, rather harmless and probably best heard in the background while enjoying a reindeer-burger in a drive-in under the Northern Lights.
This is a great CD ā Iām hearing more stuff thatās entirely new to me than Iāve heard in ages. The only way I usually get exposed to so much ānewā is by tuning my little internet radio to Radio 3 from Spain, but there I donāt get bombarded with northern European magic from Planet Quirk.
Suddenly we are up to date, and the wistful half-spoken vocals over tinkling piano are instantly intriguing. This is lovely; she has a great voice, the lyric ā in English ā is interesting, mischievously imaginative (who do you think you are, youāre not a scientist ā you just clean the floors here) and very well delivered and I can hear (almost) every word what she is singing. The production is first class. Iām going to play this track again immediately, and this will be one that stays with me. I used the word āwistfulā, and thatās key to the attraction here ā the story resolves into an acknowledgment of Joniās contention at Woodstock. Brilliant, I really like this. Who is she??? I shall be buying the album if there is one.
Sustained circular chords lead us inexorably to a chromatic conclusion that doesnāt arrive, looping instead into an operatic swell over a big keyboard, collapsing into a repeat of the build, and a very good voice sings confidently in what occasionally sounds like English (I hear the phrase Milky Way a few times), but isnāt. There are huge synths, pan pipes and strings in a wash over a deep bass. And then itās over. How frustrating! That was fantastic. I wanted another 5 minutes of that.
Big pulsing beat over floor toms getting a good seeing to. Then we run into a great motorik drive, still those toms beat out a syncopated background and suddenly (āsame old spaceā?) a Bunnymen vocal attracts the ear and we are back into a driving section that introduces a wobbly keyboard and a Donna Summer bass line. Huge echo on the vocals, someone tips the entire studio into the mix and the Can-like drive returns. This is ace, but really needs to be heard at 3 a.m. in partial darkness in a field or a big warehouse space. Collapses, finally into a tinkling singularity. Again, a fantastic find!
āOh yeah yeah yeah, I went to danceā. Punk ethos. Three chords and a pedal. Screaming vocals. No doubt the bass player stands with his feet six feet apart, and has floppy hair and a ripped T shirt stained with sweat. āIām Luke Skywalker, oh yes I amā the singer yells. Hmmmmm. Gosh this is drivel. Next. Oh God itās still going on after more than 3 minutes. Ah, thanks for that, theyāve finished. Bless. Keep practicing boys.
Well, what a ride! Absolutely no idea whatsoever who any of these people are, and some of them I can definitely leave rather than take, but one or two are very much worth investigating, so Iāll be off to an online retailer as soon as I find out what Iāve been listening to, for further research. Great CD, Anna, I really enjoyed this, and the hand-made CD coverslip is a thing of joy and beauty, thank you.
@Knittedspace (actually thatās @bogart)
We start with a finger picked guitar that sounds very much like a Floyd quiet number. The vocal is a little āpitchyā in places but charmingly quaint, and the punch line is a hoot, even if it means that the short song probably wonāt replay repeated listening. Great whimsical beginning. I think this might be an eclectic collectionā¦.
Track two and we start with a very robust vocal, very up in the mix. I know this from somewhere. There are backing singers in the same tongue, which brings to mind some Viking celebrations, maybe flickering flames as a boat floats past bearing dead warriors (ah, yes, here are seagulls!). Oh my goodness, goose bumps. He starts to sing and in an instant I know itās Jackie of course. I love this manās music. I canāt recall which album this is number is from, or if itās one I have. Sorry, Iām going to have to Google the lyric ā I want to know if I have this – ah yes, itās from Shining Brother, Shining Sister. OK, thatās tonightās listening sorted; all I have to do is find the CD in this pile somewhere! A soft Scottish burr speaks the final lines over a skirling synth and a delicate violin. I have a lump in my throat, both from the song and from thinking of the singer. Thatās going to take some following.
And now some spoken word over an elliptical hesitant instrumental backdrop; a house clearance is in progress, but itās all a bit depressing and nothing is what the prospective buyer wanted when they came for a speculative browse. This is the sort of thing I would expect to hear by accident on Radio 4 one afternoon while pottering around in my workshop; interesting, well observed and diverting for a few minutes, but once heard, of no more interest to me. I prefer my poetry in print, I think.
A few seconds of random access to a sound effects disc and then another voice I recognise, and those ridiculously awkward lyrics, wrestled into the tune, they sound familiar too. Who IS this? Now the bandās joined in, and theyāve brought the sound effects disc, which is scratched to buggery and playing on a wind-up in the background. Good job they make a good sound, and itās recorded very well. I know this, especially when the band steam in again from time to time. Itās someone Iāve heard a few times and then filed away for a rainy day; not my favourite kind of thing but well executed and I suppose somewhat cute in its quirkiness. Still canāt think who he/they are! Grrrrr.
Oooh, letās stick some make-believe studio chat on the start of the next track. Yeah! That was unnecessary guys, especially when you have voices as good as this. Another one I have no idea about. The song is āPaper Moonā, and the voice is, briefly, gloriously good, but no clue Iām afraid. I guess this is a throwaway hidden track wherever it was placed on a an album. If it was.
Martian Martians come in on a simple vamp over a snare and a lightly jazzy guitar. Itās Jonathan Richman doing his schtick ā all very entertaining in a light-hearted kind of way. Itās hard not to like pretty much anything this lot do, and Iāve always enjoyed their stuff, but the weird thing is I donāt own a single disc of theirs (as far as I can remember). Good for grin.
Grinding beat follows; this is almost like a chimeric merge of Kate Bush vocal and a Dutch hard house outfit from the 90ās. This kind of stuff leaves me cold, Iām afraid. Thereās no soul in it, itās just an exercise in the sonically possible. Yuk.
Oh, but we have wandered such a long way from the humanity of Jackie back there. Now we have am interminable EDM thing that witters on for far too long and then drops into that moronic, what is it? 120 bpm? Sorry, track 8, youāre awful. SKIP.
This is the theme to one of the Gerry Anderson shows! Is it U.F.O.? Yes! Gosh, havenāt heard this for, oooh, aeons. Who is this version by, they can really belt it out. Great fun, what a choooon! No wonder they covered it. Gabrielle Drake in a shiny dress. *rubs thighs* Marvellous.
A great Northern British voice sings over a picked tune with wind and rain in the background, alleviated by tinkling glockenspiel and sawed strings. This is a dark tune about some sort of ghastly story of the death of a child. This could be a ballad from Cecil Sharp house reimagined and rearranged for a modern audience. I have no idea who this is, but it feels to me like it belongs with another recent find (and again I donāt know who they are) that graces the CD I received from @retropath2 ā that one has been an ear worm for weeks now, and this one, though darker still, is also memorably good.
Thereās more death in the next song, over Newmanesque piano beautifully recorded. His voice rings a lot of bells, and I have suspicion I know who this is, but havenāt kept up with his output since that early record that everyone had back in the day. Itās that Eels guy with the funny eyes isnāt it? Iām not sure Iād put this particular track on much if I owned it, but this gets away with that forlorn American thing thatās been at the forefront of what I think of as American indie for a while now; by and large itās lost its sense of humour, which Eels certainly has retained, and has now reached is worst excesses with the godawful dreariness of Richmond Fontaine and countless bearded wailers. Very good, but not for now; next track please.
Itās 1980 and post-punk is here. Costelloās telling us about Oliverās army, tunes are back and bands can play well without worrying about it. Time signature changes are allowed once more. Iām watching The Motors belt out āAirportā, and itās impossible not to dance. Whoever they are, this lot could have been on the same bill; this is fine stuff that wears its influences on its sleeve well. They are obviously one of the best of the bands that were around back then, but Iām afraid I donāt know which one they are. Of their time, but wonderfully fresh even now. I see we are at tack 12, and this is a good flourishing finish to the disc!
Cracking good fun, even if there were one or two bloaters – for my taste ā mixed in. A couple that will definitely lead to further investigation, which is a GOOD THING. And I now have a CD on my shelves with a knitted cover. Awesome!ā
@retropath2
Itās been hard to get around to reviewing this (mostly) gem of a disc, as itās been in my car for a month now, through equipment failure and times when I have found it impossible to sit at a PC for any length of time after a day in the office. The CD has accompanied me to work and back for weeks now, and Iāve got familiar with the tracks; some seem almost like old friends, even when I have no idea who they are. Anyway, here goes, Iāll spin it once more in the comfort of my office and make contemporaneous notes, which is how I like to do these things, and you want to see me fluff my initial reactions by telling you that I think Iām listening to Popul Vuh when itās actually Nancy Sinatra. Letās press playā¦.
I recognised John Grantās voice almost immediately. I find him a difficult prospect ā sometimes so awkward to hear, so contrived, but this has him swimming in a huge production that closes over the whole thing, rendering a beautiful wall of sound with his warm tones at the centre. This is such an ear-worm itās been in my head constantly ā you may have just elevated him in my listening appreciation from also-ran to contender.
The next is a classic English folk-rock song of loss, dismay and ultimately, death. It makes me feel as if I am hearing it either in a field in Cropredy or maybe in a warm pub with a pint of dark ale and a crackling fire. This is comfort music for me, one of the threads that has followed me all through the years from early Fairport days onwards. A great English voice, who I cannot place and probably have never heard before. The chord changes are familiar, thereās little innovation there, but the arrangement is outstanding, and the lyric maintains the listenerās interest until the classic last-verse reveal. A real find for me.
Lovely pastoral contrast with track three. Gentle classical orchestration behind a clear and pure voice; this is choice quality stuff. Now, who is it by, and who is performing? Absolutely no idea whatsoever, except to say they are of the highest standard. Iāll venture it might be a Philip Glass piece, but there my guesswork ends ā Iām not familiar enough with his work to be sure (only Koyaanisqatsi, Glassworks and a few others), and in truth I would not be surprised if itās by someone else entirely. Itās enchanting in any case, and unfolds with great delicacy and a measured lyricism that I find soothing and pleasurable. Another splendid listen.
The next track starts with a glorious horn progression, which may be either treated horn or synth, who knows, it doesnāt matter ā itās lovely. Then we are in to a more frantic rhythmic section that still carries that jazzy feeling from the intro. No idea who this is, either. The guitar playing, when it steams in like a freight-train, is pretty immense ā is it possible that what I hear as a horn is played through a treated guitar? No idea. Thereās a real proggy feel to this but I cannot place it. I am most intrigued to know who this is by!
Another great contrast, and another brilliant slide sideways, as we seem to have now landed in the much more relaxed milieu of a Hovis advert, all late summer sun, thatched roofs and cobbles. This is so lush, so gently British, blue and green with fading yellow light, and then it finally dawns on me what it is I am listening to. God, I love this lot! They named an album after the iron-age hill fort that sits above my friend Dianaās farm on Dartmoor, where I walked as a child and again as a grown man who worships the granite and moss beneath my feet whenever I am on Dartmoor. I have a T shirt with the front cover of Grimspound splashed across it. This track is from the earlier āFolkloreā album, which is another triumph. A voice like Gabrielās at his best, fabulous lyrics, instrumentation that always pleases, and the most accomplished arrangements of any current band. This is the mighty Big Big Train in all their glory. They bring tears to my eyes every time I listen. Fabulous music, fabulously played. Love it, love it, love it.
Well, what a surprise, another track I know ā this is Jim somebody, a Scot if I remember correctly who plays various kinds of pipes; this piece is in a middle-eastern style. If you found that brian jones disc of the Pan Pipes of Joujouka in your local lending library, as I did many years ago when there still were lending libraries across the country, you may have been seriously underwhelmed by the sounds within. To remedy your disappointment, seek out this disc ā Iāll leave it to retro to publish the details ā and have your faith in pipe music with a Moorish tinge replenished. I bought this disc, I think, in Ireland a couple of years back, whilst on a Martyn Bennett jag after accidentally colliding with a copy of āBothy Cultureā! Glorious.
Now we are off into modern prog again, with a pulsing Floydian instrumental that sounds like Philip Glass has set the controls for the heart of the sun. Once more I am nowhere near guessing who this is. Thereās a bass end that obviously needs bigger speakers than my office pair, and a shuddering echoey effect that makes the whole thing sound HUGE. I will definitely follow this lot up, whoever they turn out to be.
Nick Cave has arrived at the rings of Saturn. Big sounding, deep and heartbreaking. This chap is a force of nature, and this is great music. He manages to make these heartfelt songs that repay repeated listening, even when they are basically so simple. His voice breaks and cracks, his band are in PERFECT alignment behind the vocal, and the lyric is always genuinely interesting and well formed. They know how to end a song too, a skill that is far from widespread.
Emmylou sashays into the room, and Buddie, Julie and Gillian are very obviously back there in the dim behind the front line, probably rocking along with a couple of good bourbons inside them. They not only make this rock, they provide backing vocals that fit ājust soā. Buddyās tone is the exact mixture of overdrive and ring. And Emmylou? She could sing any old thing and it would sound fabulous, so with a great song like this she is unbeatable. This is from āStumble Into Graceā isnāt it? The perfect foil for Nickās grave intonement. Hot shit, this is a great compilation!
Now here comeās some rock ānā roll from those boys that are not The Beatles, and how on earth did anyone ever think they could be? I bought this album many years ago, and thought they sounded more like Cheap Trick. Itās Klaatu, fooling around. Throwaway, but charming.
Next we have we have a young female singer with a fine voice, nicely in tune and with a good range and easy delivery. This has become another ear-worm for me; I donāt have a clue who she is, but I very much want to hear more from her. The production is flawless, her delivery is accomplished and finely measured. Beautifully recorded and sung. Genuine moments of shiver. *turns chair through 180 degrees*
And another female voice takes over for the next track ā she sounds older, less American, and more demonstrative than the previous woman. This is more of a torch song than a ballad, and she lacks the simple vocal power of the previous singer; thereās far more artifice and stylish theatricality. Having said that, the song intrigues, the production opens things out and the arrangement is superb. Once more, I am completely unable to say who this is, but wish to hear more! The track doesnāt end well, but itās got there via an interesting route, so Iāll let that pass. Another score from senor retropath.
ā
Finally, hereās the track listing for the disc that I sent out:
1 – 54321 – Manfred Mann
2 ā The Inception ā Maitreya
3 ā Equinox ā Mad River
4 ā Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
5 ā East of the Sun (and west of the Moon) ā Cass Elliot
6 ā The Star of Munster ā Martin Hayes
7 ā Waiting For The Sun ā Mu
8 ā Stargazers ā Khan
9 ā Spanish Moon ā Robert Palmer
10 ā Space Child – Spirit
11 – Western Stars ā K. D. Lang
12 ā Monkeys On The Moon ā Sopwith Camel
13 ā Gravity Begins At Home ā Ivor Cutler
14 ā East of Asteroid ā 801
And the only thing that disappointed me about the whole exercise?
No one commented on my musical pun ā24 Hours From a Pulsarā. Can’t win ’em all.
Thanks, @vulpes-vulpes, great reviews! Finally someone who enjoyed Pugh (and Electric Banana Bandā¦ š )
Laleh is great, that particular album isn’t her very best, but even her lesser albums have tracks on them that are magical.
Really, that was Cass Elliot ? And how did I miss that it was K D Lang – not that I own any of her albums but now that I know it’s her it seems obvious!
Is “The Inception” from a film as I guessed? After finding a few options on Wiki I’m guessing that Mu probably isn’t the British-Japanese electropunks, but the American 70s (??) oneā¦?
Great fun and plenty of interesting stuff on all three CDs, thanks to all of you!
Just waiting for the two missing track lists now, perhaps @kid-dynamite can add them?
Mu is indeed the 70’s Californian and Hawaii bunch – Merrell Fankhauser led, just after his possibly better known band HMS Bounty had disbanded. Recorded in 71 and 72, it’s a feast of west coast bonkersness.
Maitreya is a band from the Somerset Levels, featuring an old mate of mine’s daughter Kama and her boyfriend Simon. The album is called ‘From The Mothership’, and was recorded for the total eclipse of the sun in 1999 on the label Council of Nine. It does sound like a soundtrack, but I don’t believe it’s ever been licensed as such. My copy has a sticker on it saying “no. 146”; I’m not sure how many they made, but I’d guess it was only a few hundred.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Here we go………..
1.Outer Space/John Grant (Queen Of Denmark): rightly guessed, when he was less enthused by electronica than now.
2. Moon At My Window/Little Johnny England (Mercs & Cherokees): loved this band, fabulous live. Cropredy regulars being the interface between Fairport and the Dylan Section, by virtue of ex-Steve Gibbons band guitarist, PJ Wright.
3. Akhnaten ā Hymn To The Sun/WĆ¼rttemberg State Opera Orchestra & Chorus (The Essential Philip Glass): Well played @vulpes-vulpes, didn’t think anyone would get that.
4. The Mercury Grid/David Torn (Cloud About Mercury): yeas, hardly essential 70s style jazz but I was stuck to the theme. It’s OK.
5. The Transit of Venus Across the Sun/Big Big Train (Folklore): I knew which one of you would get this!
6. Earthdance/Jimi McRae (Earthdance): Astounded again by the Fox. Picked this up when he was busking on the Royal Mile. Great stuff.
7. My Kids Live On Mars/Hauschka (What If): Part of my immersion is, for want of a better word, New Age. Like his stuff very much.
8. Rings of Saturn/Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (Skeleton Tree): My favourite track. And, @bogart , it is the ow-ow-ow-o-os that make it for me, so there.
9. Jupiter Rising/Emmylou Harris (Stumble into Grace): That voice means that if you don’t like it……
10. Anus Of Uranus/Klaatu (3.47 EST): Awful tosh, the only song I had to deliberately source, the number of Uranus tracks being few.
11. Neptune City (In A Different City Version)/Nicole Atkins (Bleeding Diamonds): Ain’t she good. She has a brace of good records, ahead of finding sobriety (and a duller output thereafter.
12. To Plutoās Moon/My Brightest Diamond (A Thousand Sharks Teeth): Caught her live at Lunar Festival a couple of years ago. Not the best example of her work, which is probably her singing on the opening track of Death Speaks, by David Lang. I dare you to look that one up.
So, a contrived jaunt thru’ the solar system, Space, then Moon to Sun and then each planet in turn.
So, returning to yours:
@locust : It is Oholics, Sarah Klang, Laleh and Sagor & Swing I need to look for more of.
@vulpes-vulpes : Mad River and Mu for me. Can’t believe my Cass/Ella and Reid/Palmer mistakes, but understandable. And Martin Hayes eh? I think I have his record with the pianist, The Gloaming. Doesn’t he sound Swarbricky?
Waiting on @bogart
@retropath2 (well, anyone of you really) If you have trouble finding what you seek, give me a nudge and I’m sure I can help…
@locust
I’ve been trying to get some more Pugh – I’ve already ordered copies of ‘Hollywood’ and ‘Ja Da a Da’ – looking forward to hearing them!
Was about to order a copy of ‘Bolla och rulla’ as well, when I spotted that there is a 5 album box in the Original Album Series format – 5 little repro LP covers in a slip case – which came out in 2011. It contains ‘Bolla och rulla’ as well as ‘Ja Da a Da’, and so would be a great way to get more of his stuff – but, and here’s the problem – it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere!
Can you tell me if it is still available in Sweden, and if so, where can I order a copy online?
@vulpes-vulpes
I can’t find it anywhere, but I own a megabox of Pugh’s recordings as well as the “Bolla och Rulla” album, so I can burn it for you if you want. Not all of the mega box set perhaps, as it’s all kinds of alternative takes and odd recordings as well, but the essentials!
I think I still have your address written down somewhere from the swap. Just let me know if you want it and how deep you want to go into the Pugh universe! š
@locust
Thanks for the offer, but hold your fire! I’ve managed to order Bolla och Rulla, along with Ja Da a Da and another called Pughish, which from the cover looks an early LP.
Once I’ve digested them, maybe you could tell me what the gems are from his catalogue – I’ve realised he’s been VERY productive over the years! Hopefully the ones I’ve ordered are a decent sample?
@vulpes-vulpes: I’d say that those exact three are the ones to get! There are a few nuggets on other albums but not enough of them to buy – especially not the ones recorded after the 70s! Quite a few stinkers after his golden yearsā¦ If you enjoy those three I can make a compilation of the interesting tracks from the rest of his career, just DM me then.
I see what you did there! I hadn’t spotted that; excellent tactic.
The Glass was a relatively easy guess and you’ve prompted me to order the big fat 24 CD boxed set of the Sony material with which to get a fuller flavour of the man’s music!
I’ve just put Neptune city on order too, and I nearly ordered Queen Of Denmark as well before the title rang a bell and I realised I had it somewhere already – bought in 2010 apparently – so I will have to do some excavation!
@retropath2
Oh yeah, and Little Johnny England – deffo want that – Mercs etc bought for 3 quid (WTF?) plus a 10 year retrospective for less than a fiver. Result.
Finally, not wanting to spoil the fnarr factor, it prevails upon me to point out that on the cover of my copy, the Klaatu track is called “Hanus of Uranus”. With an H.
The Fnarr Factor… that’s a helluva TV format right there.
I think they, LJE, have officially broken up, but aren’t beyond an occasional impromptu reunion for old times sake, at summer festivals. Of the front line, PJ is in the Dylan Project and an occasional duo outing with Dave Pegg, as well as the band/collective Trad Arr, who are a bit disappointing on reflection. Fiddle player Guy Fletcher also is in Trad Arr and plays drums for Tickled Pink and various Ashley Hutchings’ touring gigs. Gareth Morris seems to have disappeared but did reappear for the 2017 Cropredy reprise of Morris On. Stonking live as they have the fiddle melodeon folk-rock off to a tee, with PJ’s searing blues-rock guitar really cutting the mustard. Decent coves too, always up for a chat after or before.
@metal-mickey / @johnny99 / @carl
Metal Mickeyās comp
1 This is āPearl and Deanā from the cinema ā donāt know why this is on here but itās a great intro to a mix CD
2 Jangly pop which I quite like ā no idea what this is at all;
3 Dear me ā the vocals are mixed well back on this. Female vocal which I can just make out as singing about āRocket to Marsā. Despite that fact I really like it. Whoever it may be
4. No idea who this is ā angst ridden male vocal
5. Again no idea ā this sounds like someone has been set loose in the studio and been told that they can use all the effects they like as long as theyāre out of there by 8pm. Breathy male vocals which I canāt āquiteā hear underneath all the effects !
6. AH ā āspacey soundsā start this off. Bits of spoken dialogue ā very strange indeed. WTF is this ?
7. Has James Last infiltrated a Hawkwind rehearsal ? Odd in the extreme but kinda likeable in a very cheesy way
8. Iām guessing this is called āSpaceship Earthā though I have no idea about who it is by . Almost got a bit of a disco feel to it ā certainly a 70ās production.
9 OH I like this ā rattles along at a fair lick. Thin k it may be called āRocket to the moonā
10 This is the one we both put on our CDs ā Billy Lee Riley (and his little green men). All the way from 1957 ā great slice of 50s sci fi kitsch rockabilly.
11. It seems @metal mickey and I share a similar record collection. This is āMarsā by Jimmy Cauty aka Space aka half of the KLF. I almost put this on my compilation too !
12. Now weāre really into the realms of electronica. This is excellent ā very restful. God knows what itās called but I shall be making a purchase when I find out (even though Iāve got loads of this sort of stuff anyway)
13. This sounds like Elton John around about the time of āTumbleweed Connectionā which is one of my favourite Elton John albums but I have never heard this before and I thought I had everything from that period . Called āSaturday Sunā ? Pray tell Mr Mickey
Carlās Space
1 Like this ā very Latin, castanets a clacking in the background etc, kitchen sink production.Sudden dawning realization that itās Santana and āAll the love in the universeā from Caravanserai.
Never been my favourite Santana album but this is a decent start to the CD
2. Lotās of breathy background vocals ā havenāt a clue as to who this is. Only clue I can get is that she sings something about āA million starsā quite early on. Fair voice
3 āIn between starsā ? āIn between moonsā? Something along those lines. Nice voice ā catchy sort of poppy tune
4 .Bruce and āEmpty Skyā. āNuff said
5. Traffic ā Empty pages. Have not heard this in years
6. Female vocal ā singing about space cowboy. Quite ācountryā. Like this
7. Guessing this is called er āSpaceā. Thereās a hint of Wall of Voodoo about this without Stan Ridgewayās vocals. Also could be compared to a less harsh OMD This vocalist is English. Never heard this before but I like this
8. Female vocal ā starts with āLost in spaceā which Iām guessing is the title. OK but a wee bit āsugaryā for me. Discordant break in the middle too
9. John Cooper Clarke ā unmistakeably so. Nice touch to put a comedy track in the compilation
10. Country type fiddles start this off followed by . . .well country type vocals. Think this may be the Dixie Chicks. āWide open spacesā ?
11 This is the Triffids ā I downloaded this from a dodgy Russian site some years back. Good track
12 The wonderful Ms Merchant ā āGulf of Arabyā. Nice bit of wordplay there @Carl
All in all a decent compilation and well worth the Ā£1.50 I had to stump up at the post office to collect it !
I think the envelope was too big for Johnny Postman to deliver and it may have strained his back ! Pedantic bastards !
Hi @johnny99, thanks for the review, and glad the collection seemed to have quite a high strike rate for you… the presence of the Pearl & Dean theme will be apparent when you see the track name, and I’ll share the provenance of that last track after the big reveal, I think you’ll be impressed!
My reviews due early next week, watch this, er, “space”!
Sorry about that @johnny99. The postman was a total bastard because I checked at the counter that the packages were legitimate for normal First Class postage.
No problem @carl. The buggers just aren’t consistent – depends on whether the moon is in the correct quadrant of the sky, whether or not they got laid the night before and if their football team won at the weekend !!
The rules on sizes etc. are quite complicated now. I always take any packages to the post office counter, ask them how much and pay accordingly.
Presumably, after that, if there’s any extra charge it’s down to their error and therefore their responsibility.
Firstly, kudos to both of my āteammatesā for picking some examples of genres I usually avoid (especially Americana & metal), but which I actually enjoyed, which I guess it at least part of the object of these CD swapsā¦ Iāve āspoiledā the identity of the few tracks I knew in my reviews, hope thatās OK!
@carl
1) A long, prog-gy intro gets us started, very warm and ālive in the studioā sounding, before the song itself kicks in and then settles into a wonderful guitar solo which is how I imagine early Santana sounding like, good opening gambitā¦
2) As will become apparent over the course of the CD, Carl appears to have a thing for female-fronted folk/country/Americanaā¦ this first track in that vein doesnāt really stand out for me Iām afraid, though the voice is excellent, putting me in mind slightly of Neko Case, though itās definitely not herā¦
3) Another in the same ballpark as the preceding track, but I like this one a lot more, itās more mid-paced and poppy, probably called āIn Between Starsā, though Iām afraid it might be by someone I theoretically donāt like, if you know what I meanā¦
4) More Americana, but a gruff male vocal this time, with a song called āEmpty Skyā by the sound of itā¦ at first Iām resistant to its charms, but Iām converted as the arrangement builds over the running time, and a few listens later itās one of the highlights of the CD for meā¦
5) The voice sounds like Steve Winwood, and the production is very 70s, so the funky vibe makes me think it must be Traffic, though I donāt know the song, but Iāll be investigating further after the reveal, good trackā¦
6) Back in female country, this will be called āSpace Cowboyā I thinkā¦ the voice reminds me of that hit by Lene Marlin (āSitting Right Hereā?) but this particular song doesnāt really move me one way or anotherā¦
7) I donāt know the track, but thereās no doubt whatsoever that this is Itās Immaterialā¦ quite impressive for a one-hit wonder to be so distinctive! Iām guessing itās called āSpaceā and I like it a lot, might even make me check out more of their workā¦
8) More female-vocal-Americana, titled āLost In Spaceā by the sound of itā¦ definitely a nice voice, but all-in-all a bit pedestrian for my tastesā¦
9) And just when I thought it would be a clean sheet of unknown tracks, along comes the unmistakeable tones of John Cooper Clarke with āI Married A Monster From Outer Spaceā, great choice! (Interesting how JCC has achieved semi-national treasure status with few apparent record salesā¦)
10) And another track I know! This is the Dixie Chicksā āWide Open Spaceā ā I actually bought the titular album because I loved the single āThereās Your Troubleā, but never really got on with itā¦ Natalie Maineās voice is lovely, thoughā¦
11) ā¦ and itās a hat-trick! This is The Triffidsā āWide Open Roadā ā what a great track, how could it have not been a hit?
12) Finally, another female vocal to take us homeā¦ this is a live track, but pin-drop quiet, almost spooky ambienceā¦ excellent, and I will check her/them out more when I know who it isā¦
@johnny99 (excellent retro sleeve by the way!)
1) Now this is right up my alley, so much so Iām amazed I havenāt heard it before, or even own itā¦ itās clips from JFKās āmoonā speech, with a very understated choral backing, that for some reason reminds me of Philip Glass, excellent!
2) No idea about this ā feedback and a scream takes us into heavy metal/prog boogie mode, which must be from the 70s, with a hint of the Sabs, though not themā¦ not my line of country, but I actually quite enjoy it in isolation, even the chaotic stereo-panning endingā¦
3) A little but more of the same, but less adventurous, bonus points for rhyming āMoonchildā with āsoon childāā¦
4) This is a weird oneā¦ āPlanet Earth Rock & Roll Orchestraā (which is what it seems to be called) is an over-the-top production with an 80s vibe that almost sounds like it could be from a musical, or an attempt by a rock band to write a pop hitā¦ sounds like it could have been number 1 in Germany for a month once upon a timeā¦ not unpleasant, but I canāt see it getting heavy rotation chez Mickey anytime soonā¦
5) Ah yes, by amazing co-incidence, Johnny & I picked this same track for each otherās mixes, Bill Rileyās āFlying Saucer Rock & Rollā, a fantastic track, you have good taste, sir!
6) More rock & roll to follow up, a twangy boogie instrumental that I really like but canāt identify, though thereās every chance I have it already somewhere!
7) And another co-incidence, well almost, as Colourboxās āThe Moon Is Blueā was in my final selection for this mix, but got cut at the last minuteā¦ another great track, canāt believe Colourbox werenāt bigger, except as part of MARRSā¦
8) Some cosmic dub reggae now, very nice, but sounds more recent, maybe even the 90s, than 70s vintage, but it could just be well masteredā¦
9) Iām guessing this track is part of a longer āsuiteā, due to its short length and the rather abrupt intro & outroā¦ very Floyd-like, probably called āHoneymoon on Marsā, quite enjoyable, but disappears before you have a chance to really get into itā¦
10) A jazz-funk-dance keyboard workout now, very lush 70s sound (or a very good attempt to recreate it) ā nice but a bit undistinguished to this laymanā¦
11) Oh, everyone here will know this, itās Wingsā āVenus & Mars/Rockshowā, always good to hear it again!
12) Great track to finish with, that Iām almost certain is Kamasi Washington, though I canāt place it exactlyā¦ begins like a soundtrack before settling into its lengthy jazz groove, really greatā¦
Thanks a lot guys, really enjoyed your CDs, and I have a decent number of things to check out from them, so mission accomplished ā cheers!
Space selection from @Johnny99
Firstly I should acknowledge the excellent wrapper. It puts my plain white sleeve to shame.
1 An interesting choice that I quite like, but wouldnāt stand repeat listening beyond this review.
Kennedy pronouncing āthereā as āthey-uhā and other Bostonian characteristics made me wonder why I have been asked on a couple of occasions, when in the USA āAre you from Boston?ā.
No idea who it is.
2 Synth noises and strummed guitar didnāt prepare me for the guitar that that crunches my ears. A metal track – is it AC/DC? – that has a huge debt to Led Zeppelin. Itās not my usual sort of thing but I like it.
3 The unmistakable voice of Rory Gallagher. It made me realise how much we miss him. A song that never occurred to me for inclusion (nor the King Crimson song with the same title).
4 I guess this must be Jefferson Starship. Another unmistakeable voice down there in the mix – this time Grace Slick. Itās generally OK, but illustrates why the Starship was better kept as a side project (before of course it became the main project).
5 Flying Saucer Rock n Roll. Is it Duane Eddy or Eddie Cochrane? Did the Stray Cats do a cover of this? It sounds more familiar than it should, it you get my drift. Very much of its time, but itās OK.
6 This sounds like its from the same era. Link Wray or someone else who did loads of instrumentals. It was the sort of thing that John Peel would throw in between a session track from Radioactive Bandicoot and the latest release from Der Unterzee Munsters.
7 The background track to this made it sound like it should be a doormat-woo record but the female voice does nothing like it. I have no idea who it is and it is a bit irritating.
8 Is this Lee Perry? So much of his stuff sounded spaced out. No doubt Iām miles off and it is some kid creating noises in his bedroom in Battersea. Good all the same.
9 Very 1960s. Honeymoon On Mars. I canāt make up whether I have hear this before or it is just generic. File under One Hit Wonder. OK but not world stopping.
10 In the days before All Day TV existed BBC2 used to show a short film called Evoluon. This sounds like it got rejected from the proposed soundtrack. Sorry, but bland and uninteresting.
11 As the follow up to Band On The Run I was profoundly disappointed by Venus And Mars. One of my brothers bought it and I can remember listening and thinking it was absolute rubbish.
Some 40 years on and for some strange reason I find I now really like this. I’m not sure how I’d feel about the rest of the album
12 A lot of strings and a piano and all those Aaahs in the background make it sound like something from the original TV series of Star Trek. It is inoffensive but at around ten and a half minutes overstays it welcome.
Space selection by @metal-mickey
The Pearl & Dean intro is a very nice touch
1 A very early 80s indie sound. A goodish start, though vocals could do with a bit more heft. Is the Space connection in the band name, because I canāt hear anything in the lyric. I donāt know who it is. Could it be Radiators From Space?
2 It sounds like something from that time known as power-pop. Is it The Bangles? A fun selection.
3 A nice piano based ballad. No idea who it is.
4 This sounds vaguely familiar, but I canāt place it. Strummed guitar over an organ. I like this one, whoever it is.
5 An organ heavy sound laden with FX. Astronauts talking about Venusian girls. A bit of early 60s hokum I guess. I find it irritating.
6 Another synth FX. Sounds like it comes from something like the series Space 1999. The sax is mixed too far down. Itās Ok, but not one to explore further.
7 A song called apparently Spaceship Earth performed in a funky style. Iād suggest George Clinton, but it doesnāt seem to have enough muscle to be him. Embarrassing if Iām wrong.
8 A dose of 1960s US pop. I donāt know who it is. Itās decent enough. Nice trumpet solo in the middle.
9 As with Johnny99 here is Flying Saucer Rock n Roll. To repeat what I said there: Is it Duane Eddy or Eddie Cochrane? Did the Stray Cats do a cover of this? It sounds more familiar than it should, it you get my drift. Very much of its time, but itās OK.
10 A rocket takes off? A background drone – – lots of radio chatter. Pulsing sounds. Wibbly notes. A Hawkwind inspired trip? Rather dull, Iām afraid to say.
11 Distant, ethereal voices over a pulse. Another meander to no good purpose. A new age chill out of sorts. Rather too long
12 I thought this was going to be something by Dr John from the opening piano bars. Then the unmistakeable voice of Elton John singing Nick Drakeās Saturday Sun.
I have never heard this before, but thank you for introducing me to it. Itās very good. But then screwing up a Nick Drake song is difficult unless you’re a musical illiterate.
Tracklistings ahoy!
@metal-mickey offered:
01 PETE MOORE ā Asteroid (Pearl & Dean Theme) (1967)
02 THE POSIES ā Solar Sister (1993)
03 LISA MYCHOLS ā Rocket To Mars (2003)
04 RODDY FRAME In Orbit (2014)
05 PAUL THOMAS SAUNDERS ā A Lunar Veteranās Guide to Re-Entry (2014)
06 THE SCIENCE FICTION CORPORATION ā Flirtation On Venus (1968)
07 BARRY ADAMSON ā Saturn In The Summertime (1999)
08 DAVID BATTEAU ā Spaceship Earth (1976)
09 PATRICK CLEANDENIM ā Rocket To The Moon (2007)
10 BILLY RILEY & HIS LITTLE GREEN MEN ā Flying Saucer Rock & Roll (1957)
11 SPACE (JIMMY CAUTY) ā Mars (1990)
12 JULIANNA BARWICK ā Nebula (2016)
13 ELTON JOHN ā Saturday Sun (1970)
@carl sent these into orbit:
1) Santana; All The Love Of The Universe (Caravanserai)
2) Karen Elson; A Million Stars (Double Roses)
3) Eleanor Friedberger; In Between Stars (Rebound)
4) Bruce Springsteen; Empty Sky (The Rising)
5) Traffic; Empty Pages (John Barleycorn Must Die)
6) Kacey Musgraves; Space Cowboy (Golden Hour)
7) Itās Immaterial; Space (Lifeās Hard And Then You Die)
8) Aimee Mann; Lost In Space (Lost In Space)
9) John Cooper-Clarke; (I Married A) Monster From Outer Space (Disguise In Love)
10) Dixie Chicks; Wide Open Spaces (Wide Open Spaces)
11) The Triffids; Wide Open Road (Born Sandy Devotional)
12) Natalie Merchant; The Gulf Of Araby (Live In Concert, New York City June 13th 1999)
haven’t had a tracklist yet from @johnny99. I’m sure it’s bang on anyway
@Kid Dynamite – I sent it to you on August 15th but no matter – here it is again :
Hi @Kid Dynamite
My track listing is as follows
1 Public Service Broadcasting ā The race for space
2 Montrose ā Space Station no 5
3 Rory Gallagher ā Moonchild
4 Paul Kantner ā Planet Earth RockānāRoll Orchestra
5 Billy Lee Riley ā Flying saucers rockānāroll
6 Lynn Vernon ā Moon Rocket
7 Colourbox ā The moon is blue
8 Youth and Gaudi ā Outer space
9 BeBop Deluxe ā Honeymoon on Mars
10 Dexter Wansel ā Life on Mars
11 Paul McCartney/Wings ā Venus and Mars
12 Kamasi Washington ā The space travellers lullaby
@stellarX / @fatima-Xberg / @DrewToo
fatima Xberg says
19/08/2018 at 15:41
Now hereās my thoughts about the SPACE compilation from @stellarX ā track by track, although it came in one piece (how prog of youā¦).
1. It starts with the expected spacey synthesizer sounds, but this soon turns into a mid-70s disco/soul tune, falsetto vocals ānā all. No Roger Troutman in sight, groovy rhythm guitar though.
2. And here comes the proper science fiction part: a song about the people of tomorrow, from the album Robert Fripp called the unrecognized other half of āIn The Wake Of Poseidonā. I hadnāt noticed before how funky this track is.
3. The earthy tones a fat stand-up bass (probably sampled, as itās from France) open a more recent nouvelle vague tune about chocolate bars (double entendre probably intentional, as itās from France). Nice string arrangement.
4. The familiar sound of an 80s rhythm āmachineā ā this must be one of the dance remixes of 4ADās big worldwide hit. We heard this stuff on our Walkman on the school bus in Morocco.
5. The Man In The Moon ā no, not Marty Kaufman. The lyrics are supposed to be funny and witty, but everything sounds a bit forced. Another fine string arrangement.
6. Ah yes, our favorite born-again Christian, and the only acceptable kind of steak. Great track (but why didnāt I use it for my own compilation?).
7. A spacey space ballad, all tinkling pianner, longing female vocals and lots of echo. The backing vocals from outer space come from a 1940s landline telephone, apparently.
8. Boppinā tune with fuzz guitar and slightly retro late 90s sound, probably recorded in some fancy studio with vintage analog equipment. And it points in the general direction ofā¦
9. Late fifties country pop from the IFTP hitmaker, recorded at Bradleyās Barn with Hank Garland on guitar and Floyd Cramer on piano.
10. Back to the present, where 18-year-olds record on analog mixing desks in their dadās recording studio, and release their music on 78 rpm records that everyone buys but no-one can play. Whatever happened to gravity indeed.
11. This is the āfunnyā bonus track on someone cleverās album ā fake crackling gramophone sound and fake ukulele. Itās like āHoney Pieā never happened.
12. And hereās the Afterword-friendly track, from that girl in a summer dress with an acoustic guitar. Echo-y vocals notwithstanding, a beautiful track with nice guitar picking.
And then itās over. Too bad, as I would have loved to hear a full 70 minutes of this stuff. The track list will probably seem quite eclectic on paper, but it flows perfectly and will sure get plenty of āspinsā in the future.
(And, since you asked, Iāve got the original album from which the cover art was takenā¦)
StellarX says
20/08/2018 at 15:38
After three listens here is my feedback for fatima Xbergās SPACE themed mix CD:
Mr Postie recently delivered the much-anticipated package all the way from Berlin. Lovely presentation: earth-tone block-colour cover in a jewel case. Cool CD produced to look like an old vinyl ā45. Groovy (literally). Bonus postcard and friendly message from sender; always appreciated.
Clearly a LOT of effort, and no small aount of mixing skill, thas gone into producing this compilation. Throughout, there are myriad spoken word clips seamlessly spliced/over-layed with floaty mood music, merged with selected core compilation tracks. This works well, to reinforce the āSpaceā theme and create a cohesive feel to the overall mix. Itās a neat trick, probably took a long time to achieve, and is something I would love to have the knowledege/capability of doing myself. Much applause for this.
From the outset, I have to state that I did not recognise a single track in this compilation. Given that a lot of the tracks are instrumental, and liberally spliced/mixed with the spoken word/background music over-lays, itās difficult for me to ascertain where the core tracks begin and end, so providing feedback is a challenge. An apology up-front: through no fault of the compiler, most if not all of the tracks are not my cup of tea ā which is reflected in my feedback. I feel particularly churlish about this given the positive feeback my own mix cd received. No doubt this review will highlight my biblical musical ignorance but here goesā¦
1) Spoken word narration ripped from (presumably an audio book of) āTwin Peaksā. No corresponding song, so whilst it fits the theme and is an interesting and atmospheric opening, I felt this was a bit of a missed opportunity to hear some music.
2) Spoken word samples/overlays with Frank Sinatraās āFly Me To The Moonā both in the background (initially) then the foreground ā finally merging into a strange techno/bhangra instrumental, heavily sampling Gustav Holstās āMars ā The Bringer Of Warā with the occasional spacey sound-effect thrown in. Very much sounds like it was mixed in someoneās bedroom; a bit of a musical mess and not really to my taste. More spoken samples form the trackās āoutroā.
3) A second, lengthier instrumental track. Plucked electric guitar with floaty flute overtones (or flute-a-like keyboardness) which builds nicely but never really goes anywhere. The guitar solo is a bit self-indulgent. Put me a bit in mind of Absolute Elsewhereās āIn Search Of Ancient Godsā but am pretty sure itās someone else. Sorry to have to admit that again, I was not a fan of this track and it took some doing to stay the course for ten minutes. Another spliced spoken-word outro.
4) Third instrumental in a row. Beginning to yearn for lyric and a harmony or two. Not sure if this is some theme music or background music to a little-known, obscure sci-fi TV series? Sounds somewhat āprogā in nature ā but very 60s also. Quite repetetive and, very sad to say, a third āstrikeā for my tastes ā but a potential āear-wormā.
5) Extended spoken word intro backed by relaxing mood music; a mid-section of swelling space-synth, then suddenly from nowhere appears a down-beat vocal/acoustic guitar track. The vocal and lyric suggests 60s prog but it could well be a more recent homage to that era/genre. Not sure if the background synth is origially part of the track or not. He needs to cheer up a bit, mind.
6) Sound-effect of water dripping into a pool precedes Merle Haggard introducing himself and his band for a twee country ditty. Not a particularly good quality recording (muffled, as if the speaker is sealed in a sack). More spoken word throughout. Whilst welcome as an intro/outro itās somewhat obtrusive when trying to listen to the core song.
7) Cosmic sound-effect intro. Foreign (to me) language spoken parts (East European?) over a VERY lengthy (15 minute) otherwise-instrumental, consisting primarily of a few repeated double-bass notes, some tinkly piano and a bit of mournful guitar. It doesnāt half go on. A dripping water repirise signals blissful releaseā¦
8) Further NASA/Astronaut conversations lead into (another!) instrumental featuring, echo-ey, twangy, Shadows-esque guitar. Production quality sounds quite modern however. Sea sounds fade us outā¦
9) Another spoken/floaty synth intro segues into a lively folk/rock number, which Iād bet my house on being Jethro Tull ā before merging back into NASA-land.
10) A reprise of track 4 announces another brief folk-(i.e. it features an accordion)-rock instrumental, sporting similar space sound-effects heard elsewhere in this compilation, then another spoken outro. This is a really weird track. Iām not entirely sure there is actually a single core song here as opposed to a custom hybrid specifically for the theme.
11) Dreamy/trance-inducing modern soft-prog. The minimalist lyrics suggest itās entitled āSpace To Bakersfieldā but I have resisted resorting to Google to appear more hip & trendy than I have any right to aspire-to. Another hefty offering, weighing-in at nine minutes.
12) Like track 10, I suspect this is another custom splicing of various bit of music and spoken word samples to sign off with.
So ā as mentioned at the outset the work that has gone into creating this overall mix is to be admired ā it really is a fine piece of work in that respect. Similarly there is zero doubt that this is a full-fledged āSPACEā themed mix, so top marks for that. You were not to know you were being paired with a boring partner who really just likes a nice tune and some lyrics. Deviant808 could tell you some talesā¦
Thanks for the CD and apologies that I could not be more positive in my appraisal of the actual tracks. But anyway, Iām probably wrong. š
fatima Xberg says
21/08/2018 at 07:24
Thanks for the review ā but what can I doā¦? I tried my best to come up with an Afterword-compatible selection (it includes The Stones, a track from an Afterword blogger, some nineties indie poppers, some prog ā even a Stackridge track!). Next time Iāll probably have to include dialogue from āNeighboursā and āThe Archersā for better results. š
But anyway, Iām probably wrong, too.
“Beginning to yearn for lyric and a harmony or two”
You had better hope you never get paired up with me…
Ha Ha – after years of Velvet CD-ing, and now this happy continuation, experience has taught me that one thing is true: if we all liked the same things, the world would be a very boring place!
I was also very remiss not to praise fatima for being spot-on in identifying many of many of the tracks in my compilation. It evidences an impressive broad knowledge of varied genres. Sadly the same cannot be said about yours truly!
Blimey – the appearance of this thread well and truly twisted my melon, man! š Thought I was going mad for a minute but then it all made sense…
DrewToo’s CD arrived in the post this morning and will receive the mandatory three listens over the coming weekend before feedback is posted. š Cheers!
And a P.S. Here’s my ‘Space’ ACD cover art, referred-to in fatima’s feedback…
Truly stellar.
Too kind. š
So my thoughts on the CDs from @stellarX and @fatima-Xberg
Thank you both for your time and efforts. In comparison with your products – you will notice mines look like I picked all the songs I could find with “space” in the title in my library, whittled them down to 12 tracks, burnt a CD, scrawled my name on it and threw it in an envelope. On the other hand – you both took time and effort and clearly a lot of thought to this. The music and the artwork.
So I thought I would not analyse track by track – you have both done that for each other already – but one thing that has hit me is the wide spread of music and styles between the three of us. I’ll admit whilst originally coming from the UK – after 20 years or so the States my tastes have moved to a pretty narrow “Americana/Country rock/folk/songwriter with guitar” thing. You two however are very different.
Fatima – I LOVED what you did. The editing, the sampling, the music. A “spacey” feel all the way through. The music was not familiar to me – but I simply loved it. The effect seemed close to Public Service Broadcasting – indeed for a moment I thought you might just have copied their Race for Space CD and called it your own. I am presuming you are in the editing/sound business professionally – if not you should be. The music choices were “spacey” – floaty loveliness to get lost in – and the sound clips just brought it all together. Some of the sound clips from the Apollo times were very affecting – the Command Module Pilot “yeah I wish I was going down with them, we don’t talk about it much but I am trained to come back alone”. Wonderfully done – I would call it art – in fact MsDrewToo said it sounded like it should be part of a museum exhibit. I have gushed enough.
Stellar – pretty straightforward stuff compared with Fatima – but great listening – and damn it I knew a few of the songs but could not put a name to an artist. MARRS perhaps? Pop from many decades – from ballads to bollocks in the best way.
Again – thank you both – and hope you both enjoy my hastily assembled Space twang rock
Cheers Drew. I totally concur about how fatima produced her compilation. Am fairly in awe of it, to be honest…
Have given your disc its first spin and will revisit over the weekend before posting a review. However, you have somewhat pulled the rug out from under my feet, as I was intending to lead with “you appear to have moved to a pretty narrow āAmericana/Country rock/folk/songwriter with guitarā thing.” š
Thanks for the feedback āĀ I hope you both have the odd deja vu moment when the track listing is revealed. (Still looking forward to that “Country/Folk/Space” mix…)
Here, again after three listens, is my review of @DrewToo‘s ‘Space’ mix cd:
I suspect that even without knowing your postal address or reading your earlier review post comments, it’s fair to say I could have had a fairly reliable stab at where you hail from! The CD is largely alt/rock/country fayre throughout. I generally think of this genre of music as ‘inoffensive’ but it rarely piques my interest. Again there is not a single track on this mix that I recognise but I’ll have a guess at the artists and the ‘Space’ links where I can.
Track 01: Cajun twangy/slide gee-tar heralds a deep south instrumental (the only track on the compilation devoid of lyrics, which came as a relief). Okay but nothing to write home about.
Track 02: Starts off with cello-backed, plucked acoustic guitar morphing into sombre ‘Country Gal’ introspection. One suspects it is entitled ‘Empty Spaces’. Again okay but never really goes anywhere. She’s a tad miserable so perhaps that explains why he did a runner.
Track 03: Sounds very much like Embrace – or perhaps even Andrew Bird? Another okay track that I did not feel any urge to skip.
Track 04: ‘Country Boy’ time now – but accompanied by piano rather than the gee-tar. A strange track that in an unexpected twist segues into a jazzy/up-beat section 2/3rds of the way through, until the out. Interesting change of pace.
Track 05: Sounds very much like The Jayhawks, which is fine by me as I have several of their albums – though I don’t recognize this particular track. Is this another track entitled ‘Empty Spaces’? My favourite track so far.
Track 06: Live (or produced to sound like its live) jazzy piano with raunchy male vocals and decent-sounding backing vocals. Not sure I could sit through and entire concert or album of this but I quite liked this track too. No idea who it is, though – or the ‘space’ link.
Track 07: Mellow elder-male country vocals that put me in mind of Don Williams or even a laid back Johnny Cash. Perhaps entitled ‘Space City’? Another okay track.
Track 08: So that’s what happened to The Stranglers: they upped sticks and moved to the mid-west of the good ole’ U.S. of A.! š A welcome change in tone/pace.
Track 09: Jazzy piano/electric piano and female vocal (sounds a bit like Judith Owen) develops into an up-beat number with a very catchy chorus. Another decent track.
Track 10: Vocals put me in mind of Maria McKee but if it is, then she’s toned down her histrionics from the dreadful ‘Show Me Heaven’. Guessing the track is named ‘Open Spaces’? Resisting resorting to Google is a challenge…
Track 11: Modern (i.e. sweary) Country Boy rock. Guessing it is called ‘Zero From Outer Space’? Not really my cup of tea.
Track 12: My favourite track on the compilation. Sounds as if it is from the early 70s from the soundtrack of some blacksplotation film or other. Great electric piano, soft horns and backing vocals. Funkadelic? Parliament? Put me out of my misery…
In summary I don’t think this is quite as narrow-genre a compilation as your caveat comment suggests – but if I was going to stab a pin in a map of the world to guess where you live, then I wouldn’t be a million miles away. As I said up-front I’m not a big fan of the genre from which the majority of these tracks hail; taken individually they are all bearable and a couple are decent – but I honestly would struggle to listen to the whole compilations again ‘as one’. Unless of course, my dog dies, my gal leaves me or I find myself sharing a cell with Chuck. š
Thanks for the CD – it’s good to be partnered with dependable swappees who deliver their compilation CDs and provide feedback. It doesn’t matter if we like each other’s mixes or not – the experience and the banter are the fun part. And it’s been great fun.
Cheers, both!
The disc from @DrewToo finally arrived (courtesy of the wonderful folks at Homeland Security) and it certainly is worth the wait. I still expect something floating and ethereal from the “Space” theme, so listening to it was a bit like standing behind a fence at dawn, you know something is going on, you hear a chicken squawk, you glimpse a bloody knife, and you’re not sure if it’s really what you think it is…
1) One thing’s for sure ā this is a different kind of space. The Little Sister hitmaker fills the available space with his slide guitar while Keltner rumbles in the background. Wim Wenders surely would love this.
2) Even more down home, empty spaces framed by acoustic guitar and fiddle. Nice vocals in a country mood not too far from T-Bone Burnette county.
3) Finally the sound gets real spacey ā a cinematic Monument Valley at night is evoked with massed acoustic guitars and reverb. This is one of several tracks here that could well be on one of UNCUT’s “Sounds Of The West” compilations.
4) This starts like one of those token Neil Young piano ballads, but cello and harmony vocals point in another direction ā and then suddenly a full band joins in and the whole thing morphs into a dry-run for one of McCartney’s multi-part songs from the “Ram” period. Quite compelling.
5) Is this the Jayhawks? If not, it’s their rhythm section and guitar sound. Anyway, this cosmic cowboy stuff gets me every time. Hey, there’s even a hymn-like guitar break!
6) This must be some configuration of Mad Dogs, Delaneys, Englishmen & Leon Russel. With probably Venetta Fields and some Bonnies on backing vocals. It sure got that early seventies Southern Country/rock/gospel sound… recorded live of course.
7) Another cosmic cowboy, another Americana track. But also a fine song, nicely played.
8) A sudden change of scenery ā we’re in some garage now, with a cheap organ and a singer with very high blood pressure. Girl trouble, from the sound of it.
9) A finger-snapping, slightly gospel-y organ & piano tune, starts like a demo but evolves into a big arrangement with a nice brass section. Great.
10) More chicks with guitars. Someone should have pointed out to them that singing about “Open Spaces” by law requires lots of echo. (Enthusiastic whistling doesn’t count)
11) The Running Down The Drain hitmaker with the appropriate song. And a harmonica straight out of “Nuggets”. He probably wasn’t aiming for a Nobel Prize with the lyrics though.
12) Finally ā my kind of space concept. Weird chanting, churchy organ, space toys bleeping, rubbery bass and a proper brass section. There must be George Clinton somewhere behind that fence… Fantastic.
This compilation is the polar opposite of my own collection ā and all the better for it. Very down to earth, rootsy and country. And it’ll most likely mean a couple of new albums for me, once the track listing is revealed.
Meanwhile, did the chicken just cross the road?
Fatima – thanks for your thoughts. You Uncut “Sounds of the New West” comment was VERY appropriate.
Looking forward to the reveal!
Bonus feedback for @stellarX from our traditional behind-the-scene off-book swap
1) Seventies disco-funk. Thought I recognised this, then realised I didnāt, then changed my mind again. Which suggests itās sufficiently generic/timeless (delete according to taste) for it sound like I did š Anyway, itās exuberant and fun and I enjoyed it.
2) Seventies oddity, annoying flute break, references to the sun and the Tomorrow People.
3) Light jazzy shuffly thing about how Mars Is No Fun. One of those interchangeable watery Jools Holland-friendly female singers that youāre partial to I suspect š Hootenanny!
4) Classic. MARRS. I remember buying this the day it came out as I was a big fan of Colourbox and it being dismissed in the office as āanother one of those records you like that nobodyās heard of”, which was quote amusing when it hit number one shortly after.
5) Voice of the Beehive and āMan in the Moonā. I remember liking this at the time (though the album wasnāt a patch on āLet It Beeā) but hearing it here for the first time in years it seems a bit lethargic. Nice to hear it again though.
6) Slidey guitar overload. Humans from Earth? I rather like this.
7) Seventies-style floaty singer songwriter woman. Quite possibly actually something more contemporary though. Not my sort of stuff, but mostly harmless. (See what I did there?)
8) Ah, I know this. Should really have heard it too much by now, but itās still great fun.
9) Bluesy standard. Powerful voice I probably ought to recognise. Great stuff.
10) Music hall piano, squeaky vocals. Sounds like it should be annoying from that description – and probably would be on repeated listens – but itās quite fun as a one-off.
11) Lo-fi archive recording with jazzy brassy melody. Works in context, not sure I’d go for an album’s worth.
12) Tastefully minimal track with smoky breathy vocals in search of an HBO drama to appear over the credits of š
Cheers @Deviant808! Glad it was mostly ‘tolerable’! š I’m always hugely appreciative of the effort that goes into track-by-track feedback as it is all ‘part of the fun’. Even when I get slaughtered, which is often! š I’ll refrain from posting the track listing as I don’t want to undermine our friendly neighbourhood moderators’ big moment. š
Attention! Prepare to be informed!
@DrewToo launched:
Available Space ā RY COODER
Empty Spaces ā MARY GAUTHIER
Neither Heaven or Space ā NADA SURF
The Perfect Space ā THE AVETT BROTHERS
Quiet Corners and Empty Spaces ā THE JAYHAWKS
Space Captain ā THE BLACK CROWES
Space Humping $19.99 ā LIFTER PULLER
Spaceship ā SHARON LITTLE
To The Open Spaces ā MARIA McKee
Zero From Outer Space ā TOM PETTY
Outta Space ā JIMI TENOR
@StellarX is orbited by:
01 ā Earth, Wind & Fire ā Star
02 ā McDonald & Giles ā Tomorrowās People
03 ā Camille ā Mars Is No Fun
04 ā M|A|R|R|S ā Pump Up The Volume
05 ā Voice Of The Beehive ā Man In The Moon
06 ā T Bone Burnette ā Humans From Earth
07 ā Bat For Lashes ā Moon And Moon
08 ā Smash Mouth ā Walkinā On The Sun
09 ā Patsy Cline ā Never No More
10 ā The Asteroids Galaxy Tour ā The Golden Age
11 ā Panic At The Disco ā I Have Friends in Holy Spaces
12 ā Julien Baker ā Distant Solar Systems
accompanying @fatima-Xberg on her fiery journey through the solar system were:
1. Dale Cooper: Diane!
2. Herbert von Karajan vs. M. Artmann: The Planets
3. Stackridge: Purple Spaceships Over Yatton
4. The Rolling Stones: 2000 Light Years From Home (Instrumental)
5. Terrapin: Cirrus Minor
6. Merle Haggard & The Strangers: Someday Weāll Look Back
7. The Orb: Spanish Castles In Space
8. Colin Harper: On The Ocean
9. Jethro Tull: For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me
10. They Might Be Giants: Space Suit
11. Black Mountain: Space To Bakersfield
12. Brian Eno: Leaving (Soundtrack Version)
Only just realised I have not explained the inclusion of my Track #09 and its ‘space’ link. Nobody has mentioned it, so I assume no one is geeky enough to know (or interested enough to care). The track features in an episode of ‘Space: Above And Beyond’, as a consequence of which, the episode is entitled ‘Never No More’. I really should get out more.
SO – ARE WE DOING ANOTHER ONE OF THESE OR WHAT?!?!?! š
Merry Crimble everyone, and all that.
@bamber / @contraryarticle / @kool_aid_wino
Cds went in the post yesterday @bamber @kool_aid_wino afore I run off on my hols. Hopefully 2 to review when I get back. May god help us all. Haha.
Thanks @Contraryarticle. Your selection arrived yesterday. First late night listen suggests I know nothing of the bands and music you’ve put together. I attempted recording my stuff last night using my recently purchased CD recorder from the minidisc on which I’ve compiled too many tracks. I’ve decided on 12 tracks plus a bonus one I decided I couldn’t leave off and my running order is finalised. Attempt #2 tonight. Hopefully I get it sorted for you and @kool_aid_wino this time.
@contraryarticle and @kool_aid_wino
I copied and tested my discs today and did the fairly basic artwork so they’re ready for posting tomorrow. As they’ll be coming from the Rep. of Ireland, they’ll take a little longer to arrive. In fact one never arrived from the last dispatch. Anyway towards the end of next week “Watch the Skies!”
CD received from @kool_aid_wino. I deduced, from it having a UK postmark as I know @bamber ‘s is coming from Eire. A quick listen to the 1st half had me recognising, & liking a few of ’em so this should be an enjoyable listen. Will get back to you after a few more listens.
Hi all. Just received my second CD in the post. I’ll try to get my “reviews” up over the weekend. All sounds good so far.
Right, I’ll start the ball rolling for our group. I’ve lived with @contraryarticle ‘s CD for over a week now and jotted down notes and observations. I’ve made no definite identifications of tracks or artists which may suggest that the creator and I diverge in our musical tastes. Recurring themes are kooky female vocals, lyrics that indicate generous helpings of mind altering substances and a bias towards American acts. A phrase used by Bernard Sumner in an episode of the revived Juke Box Jury in the 80s came to mind a number of times “all a bit We Are Weird”. Bands such as Sunkillmoon, Spacemen 3 or God is an Astronaut may feature but, as I have no idea how any of them sound, they may not.
1 This is a modern sounding “Robinson Crusoe in Space”, kind of tune with space invader bleeps and rambling stonery lyrics – somewhere between Sufjan Stevens and Flaming Lips. Having initially decided that this is the kind of stuff I normally dislike, it has grown on me although the coda at the end annoys me every time. One of my favourites.
2 NASA samples, kitsch instrumental like the soundtrack to a 60’s sitcom set in space. I seem to recall British Sea Power doing something involving space before their recent mining themed album but it’s maybe too whimsical for them. Enjoyable but overdone.
3 Post-grunge nu-metal anywhere on the spectrum between Janes Addiction and Slipknot (if such a thing exists). Prog time signatures and a riff steal from T-Rex later on. Energetic but messy. I can’t decide whether they’re deadly serious or taking the piss.
4 Androgynous weedy-then-loud vocals that reminded me of Davy Jones of the Monkees a bit. Never settles into one thing or another before it finishes abruptly. I had to repeat this track a number of times because it just wouldn’t lodge or leave any strong impression.
5 Probably my favourite track. Kooky female vocals very much from the folk tradition and an interesting acoustic arrangement. Modern. Possibly American. Stars and the Moon mentioned. I could imagine this act supporting the Waterboys. I will explore further once all is revealed.
6 Dancy but not clubby. Possibly late 90s/early 00s. Female vocals and vocoder samples over a pleasant uncomplicated backing. Quite St Etienne-ish in parts. Likeable and cheerful but sounding dated.
7 “Roooccckkkkeeett Shippppp”, distressed female vocal sample over another folky sounding female singer with a dancy beat that you couldn’t dance to. Lyrical reference to “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. A bit messy and lo-fi. NASA samples again. Not sure what I make of it. Again, no idea who I’m listening to. I can’t even identify reference points for this one.
8 Starts off quite 70s Glam, then into Union City Blue style riff. Possibly late 90s stoner rock. Doesn’t really go anywhere or do anything for me. This is what I imagine Pavement sound like.
9 Something of a standout track – a true space oddity. Essentially this is a rambling druggy stream of consciousness tale of sexual congress between our plucky space travelling heroine and a Martian, over a lo-fi if-HMHB-were-American background. Like the B52s on bad brown acid. Memorable.
10 Starts with slow guitar chops reminiscent of “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”. More stonery lyrics on a Lost in Space theme. Like laid back grunge if such a thing exists. I would change channel if it came on the radio.
11 Let it Be style piano leading to more euphoric keyboard. References to Tropic of Capricorn and Shooting Stars. Plods a bit an it loses me with the annoying Yayayayayayay in the chorus. More lyrics that suggest illegal substances have been ingested. Reminds me of The Flaming Lips or Grandaddy although it’s probably neither.
12 I like this one. The musical arrangement reminds me of Fridge (Kieran Hebden) but more of a band feel. I feel I should know the vocalist – reminds me of Warren Zevon or Mark Lanegan but I’m sure it’s not either of them. It also reminds me of something I had on a compilation by the Dirty Three. Doesn’t really build up much as it goes along but I’d listen to more of these.
13 More contemporary or recent American indie kookiness. It’s quite a lively upbeat tune, almost ska. Muffled vocals with added vocal fry. I like it in spite of this.
Reflecting on the above, it reads as if I didn’t “get”, a lot of this music. As with previous CD swaps I’ve been taken outside my comfort zone (see my CD for details) and into musical areas that are “new worlds and new civilisations”, as Star Trek (the original) once said. Unlike my own collection, this works as a coherent compilation (apart from track 3) rather than a random selection of loosely affiliated numbers gathered under a theme. I enjoyed listening and look forward to finding out just how off the beam I was with my guesses as to the responsible musical acts. Looking forward to @kool_aid_wino ‘s collection arriving.
Re. the above, I meant Public Service Broadcasting when I said British Sea Power. I’m sure it’s neither of them. It was late…
I see that @bamber has posted his review for @contraryarticle‘s disc, although I haven’t read it yet in case it colours my opinions, so I am safe to name names in mine. That said, I only know one artist for sure, everything else is guesswork.
1) I recognised this instantly as Grandaddy, as I’ve been a fan since “Under The Western Freeway”, which this is from. After recognising track 1, I worried for a while that I would know a lot of the other songs on the CD. A very, very short while. This is the only song here that I know and own.
2) This track feels like a lazy drift through space. Space age bachelor pad music, like Austin Powers doing a spacewalk. Very pleasant.
3) Musically, this sounds a bit like QOTSA desert /stoner/whatevertheycallit rock, but I’m not sure about the vocals. They somehow remind me of 80s hair metal. Still undecided.
4) This is short and sweet. Sounds 60s psychedelic, but I think is modern. MGMT?
5) When I first heard the vocals on this track, I thought I wouldn’t like it, but I was actually hooked pretty quickly. Is it freak folk? What IS freak folk? I get an Andean vibe from some of the instruments. It puts me in mind of Devendra Banhart (based on the memory of an album I heard about 15 years ago). Not sure if I could take an entire album, but I enjoy this.
6) Not much to say about this one. 90s dance music you would probably listen to at home rather than in a club. Maybe at an indie disco.
7) I hadn’t been thinking about the space theme for a while, until this track came on and blasted me into space on a rocketship, complete with countdown. I have no idea who this is, but I’m digging it. Nice drums.
8) It’s strange that I like this song, but can’t think of anything to say about it.
9) A terrific song about a space traveller who encounters a bunch of Martians, one of whom knocks her up with his nose-hose. A bit racy. Reminds me of Bongwater. The title of the CD “I’ve Kissed A Lot Of Space Freaks” comes from this song.
10) The intro guitar sounds like “Can’t Get Used To Losing You”, the vocal reminds me of a more softly-spoken Stephen Malkmus. Later lyrics mention “consuming the losing of you”, so the guitar may be intentional.
11) Seems to be about a space shuttle returning from a successful mission but breaking up on re-entry. The “yay” refrain should convey the elation of the crew nearing home, but the delivery of the vocals is so mournful and slow, maybe the narrator knew what was going to happen.
12) Not so keen on this one. I can’t really explain why, but it just doesn’t move me.
13) I thought this sounded a bit like Neil Young at first, then Silver Jews, but I think it might be Giant Sand (again, based on listening to one album a long time ago).
I didn’t participate in the second CD swap, as some people didn’t bother to review the CDs they received the first time round, but I’m glad I took another punt. I have really enjoyed both CDs. The only tracks I’m not too keen on are 3 and 12, so not a bad strike rate at all. I’m very interested to check out more of these artists once they are revealed. I’ll share my thoughts on @bamber‘s CD soon. Thanks to both of you.
Space 2018 by @bamber
I actually own two of the tracks on this CD, numbers 1 and 5, but it’s always a pleasure to hear them both.
1) We kick off with a diss track aimed at the entire planet Earth. If “Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer” had a punk soundtrack, this would be it.
2) I thought at first that this was a late 70s or early 80s new wave tune, but I think the singer mentions David Icke, so I’m stumped. Good, though.
3) A long, funky version of a sci-fi soundtrack classic. I thought I would get bored of this, but was wrong.
4) A Sinatra style easy listening duet version of a grunge anthem. You wouldn’t think it would work, but it does. Probably not somethng I would listen to very often, though. I can’t work out who either of the singers are.
5) Not long after completing my CD, this song came up on shuffle on my iPod, and I thought “I should have included this.” Everyone should hear this beautiful song. I never tire of it.
6) Vocals somewhere between John Grant and Jim Morrison. Mentions of Prometheus. Pounding drums. It sounds very dramatic and portentous. What could possibly come next?
7) Of course, a wacky guitar and violin song about UFOs, complete with alien noises that sound like Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. A lot of fun.
8) I think I know who this is. I know very little about him, but have always liked what I have heard. Uncomplicated rock and roll enjoyment.
9) A “Telstar”-esque tune about standing on the street watching a comet. With a male voice choir. Sounds like the Inspiral Carpets. All good.
10) I like this a lot. It reminds me a bit of early David Kitt, but with a bit more oomph. Looking forward to finding out more about this one.
11) Sounds to me like a home recorded tribute to “Girl From Mars”. Fun, but not my favourite.
12) Again, I think I know the voice, but I’m only familiar with the hits. This sounds to me like the last track from the album it came from originally, and ends this CD on a lovely note.
13) Wait a minute, there’s another song. Sounds like 70s orchestral pop, a la ELO. Voice sounds familiar. Cucumber sandwiches made by who? Aah. I was so caught up trying to work out who it was, I wasn’t paying attention to the chorus. What a great tune, with a nice little musical callback to track 3.
I’ll say it again, I’ve had a lot of enjoyment from this swap, and will have to investigate quite a few of these artists once the track lists are posted. Thanks again
It’s about time I reviewed @kool_aid_wino ‘s compilation. I’ve had it in the car all week where many of the tracks work better than in a home environment, partly because some of the tracks started skipping on my main CD player at home. The recurring themes in this compilation seem to be, from my notes, counter-melodies in a number of the tracks (always a good thing) and tracks that might benefit from serious pruning. I’ve not spotted the space angle in more than half of them so I’m assuming the band names are the key here. I think I’ve only one definite identification of artist and track. I own none of this music so it has been a window on new music, most of which I’ve enjoyed a lot – more growers than decayers (or whatever the opposite might be).
(1) First track is a gentle introduction with guitar that initially reminded me of Bert Jansch then, as it sounds more modern, had me thinking Ryley Walker. I like it and it’s the sort of thing I listen to a lot of. Ultimately my best guess is that it might be one of the offshoot projects from the lads in Field Music.
(2) My favourite track on the compilation. I’d buy the album this came from if it’s anything like this. First thoughts were that it reminded me of Jason Falkner of Jellyfish non-fame (now playing in Beck’s band). Great guitar based power pop with catchy lyrics and clever production. Brilliant.
(3) I disliked this at first and dismissed it as just another worthy piano dirge by serious musicians but it has really grown on me. Lyrically mature and subtle, well-played and definitely encouraging me to check out more. Band wise it reminds me of Wilco or Dawes but might be Mercury Rev .
(4) This is an odd one. Catchy groove built around an infectious beat that sounds quite organic but the repetition is machine-like. Probably quite modern and I’m guessing they’re British. It works really well but would benefit from a fade-out at around three minutes as it doesn’t really go anywhere new in the subsequent almost three minutes. I think it would work very well either side of Track 10 on my CD.
(5) Not sure what to make of this. It sounds modern but there are clear T-Rex and Stones influences to be heard. The standout lyrics “inside of my pants like a handful of ants”, begs the question, are we talking about UK pants or US pants? I can’t say I like this one much and I can only assume that the guitarist(s) had final cut on the finished track because they are all over it without bringing much of note to the project. Welcome to the Stars!
(6) Lo-fi indie groove with lyrics low in the mix mean this track struggles to leave much of a mark. I’m not sure it has a chorus. Not much to recommend it.
(7) We’re into 60s pastiche soundtrack territory here – sci-fi or spy film but quite camp and kitsch. A suitable companion for @contraryarticle ās track 2. I like this but there’s something about it that suggests an earnestness and focus on authenticity that takes some of the fun out of it. Very well done but I see stern faces looking at sheet music and debates about which is the right Farfisa organ sound behind the jolliness of the tune.
(8) Loose and sloppy funk blues number. The guitar reminds me of the Rufus Thomas Funky Chicken but it could be anywhere between New Orleans funk and early 70s country rock when it messed around with funkiness. I like it a lot and will look for more in this vein.
(9) Lengthy instrumental with sitar-style noodling over quite a motorik beat. My knowledge of German 70s bands who might be involved is limited so my nearest point of reference is Stereolab. Again the attention to authenticity of sounds may be my imagination but this was one of those tracks that worked so much better in my car in the traffic jams of North Dublin rush hour than in a home setting. In spite of it’s repetition I like it.
(10) Cover version of a song that was on my long list in its original form. I thought it was likely to be too familiar. The pedant in me thinks some of the lyrics are off but I might check that once the IDs are revealed. It’s a lovely song and quite a reverential take. I’m glad they didn’t look to reproduce the bizarre synth-bagpipes solo in the original (!!!). Nice but not particularly distinctive female vocal. I’m not sure she adds much to the song but lovely all the same.
(11) Another lo-fi number that may have grown from a guitarist trying to get that How Soon is Now groove and writing over it. It never really takes off for me. It’s a bit too weedy and the lyrics don’t really register either. Someone I used to know would have referred to these as bedwetters or thumbsuckers.
(12) This is the one I think I know, more by name and reputation than having heard it much. Originating somewhere in the Big Star universe, as someone who arrived there backwards, I end up comparing it to Teenage Fanclub and it would rank as good Teenage Fanclub. A nice substantial track to finish the compilation.
Overall I’ve enjoyed playing this compilation over and over for the past few weeks. The tracks that have lodged are going straight onto my MP3 player for daily soundtracking. The CD will join my in-car collection. I’ve a few new avenues to explore so the whole purpose of these swaps has been fulfilled. Thanks so much @kool_aid_wino for putting this together.
Sorry lads, been slow to post my review. Every time I put some time aside to do it I seem to have one disaster or another happen in my life, so I havenāt been able to focus on this properly, but I have listened a fair few times so they have definitely undergone the Tiggs method of 6 listens +
@bamberās CD is a great mixture of all sorts of styles & a good dose of humour. I recognised a couple of the musicians, & glad to hear there are a few Irish acts in there, as I can guess from the accents. Look forward to finding out who they are.
1/ Great start! Loved track 1. A kickass start. My first thinking was that it is an Irish band, but Iām not really sure. A cd full oā thisād be great!
2/ A punky/ new wave track keeps the tempo up. Reminds me oā something youād hear in an alternative disco night in the local club. Danceable but forgettable. Has grown on me over hearings.
3/ Well yes. Perfect for a Space theme. Funkay! Goes on a bit though. Tended to skip this halfway through after the first couple oā listens.
4/ Ah, cover of a grunge classic. Thought ātwas William Shatner singinā first, but donāt think it is. And itās not Mike Flowers. Hmmmā¦. Makes me wish Iād put my version oā this by The Moog Cookbook, which I love on my mix.
5/ Oh, I like this! It sounds vaguely Nordic. I feel I should know who this is, but I donāt.
6/ Lost me a little on this āun. A bit 80ās torch singer. Voice reminds me a bit of Neil Hannon.
7/ Ah, I had a friend who was a big fan oā these, so I recognise Dan Hicks & His Red Hot Licks. Good track to lighten the mood after the previous one.
8/ And some nice Jonathon Richman to keep the mood buoyant.
9/ Ha! Well this has everything but the kitchen sink thrown into it & no bad thing. Sounds a bit 80ās Northern English. This has grown on me a lot. It tickles me. You can tell they had fun making it.
10/ Sounds very Simple Kid, but I donāt think itās him but I think itās an Irish act. Yeah, I like it.
11/ Definitely Norān Irish. Spent the first couple oā listens wondering what a Spizz Girl. Ha! I like it.
12/Aggghhh, I know that voice!! 80ās singer. Dammit! Will kick myself! Lovely song. Will deffo go for more oā this.
13/ Ahahaha. Great finish!! I love a bit oā cheese, & ye canāt get more cheesy than Mike Batt & his furry friends. Love it! Love the line āI was eating the cucumber sandwichesā in the middle oā the song. Great fun.
Thank you Bamber. I enjoyed yer CD very much, & thought it worked very well as a compilation. Look forward to finding out the tracks I didn’t know. This has been a great swap. Enjoyed muchly. Will post @kool_aid_wino ‘s review when I next get on the computer. (Hopefully Monday)
Here’s my tracklisting to put you out of your misery…
1 People of the Earth ā Graham Coxon. I’m no fan of Blur but the solo stuff from Graham Coxon is more my thing especially his more Stuart Adamson moments. This is dumb and punky but the perfect opener.
2 Missing in Action ā Comsat Angels…. meaning communication satellites so space enough for me. My friends were into this band and saw them in Dublin in ’83. I’ve only grown to appreciate them since rediscovering my vinyl. This track is the epitome of New Wave.
3 Also Sprach Zarathustra ā Deodato. Aka the theme from 2001. This succeeds by not repeating itself and being funky as f#*k. This could be my signature tune were I a wrestler/darts player/stripper.
4 Black Hole Sun ā Steve and Eddie. I found this on a compilation I bought in the States 20 years ago. My Stateside connections tell me they’re proper Vegas royalty, not camp merchants.
5 Spinning Away ā Eno and Cale. I love this tune and the descriptions of night skies warrant its inclusion here. The album it’s from is a peak for both artists.
6 Black Sun ā Dead Can Dance. An epic that sounds like Jim Morrison doing a Goth theme tune for Planet of the Apes. I wish they did more of this kind of thing.
7 Hell Iād Go ā Dan Hicks and the Acoustic Warriors. One of the first tunes I thought of. Just a bit of light relief but well played and genuinely witty.
8 Up in the Sky Sometime ā Jonathan Richman. I’ll always try to include some Jonathan. It was this or UFO Man. Harking back to his love of Doo-Wop from his finest album; Rockin’and’Romance.
9 Comet Theme Number 1 ā the Clint Boon Experience. A delightful oddity. I had no time for Inspiral Carpets but Clint Boon’s album is really enjoyable. This track is particularly uplifting.
10 Floating ā Jape. The verse about looking up at the stars is the space connection here. Good guesses folks. I haven’t really rated anything he’s done bar this gem. He’s doing the music for children’s TV show Becca’s Bunch nowadays.
11 Spacegirl ā Watercress. I know nothing of this band bar this. A fun slice of power pop that namechecks the Fortean Times to which I used to subscribe.
12 In Orbit ā Roddy Frame. As with track 8 above, I’ll always try to include some Roddy – my man crush. Separating this from the album has made me appreciate it much more. It’s a beautiful uplifting song isn’t it?
13 (bonus track) Womble of the Universe ā the Wombles. This was the first track I thought of and I couldn’t bear to leave it off. A Wombles deep cut, a Space Oddity for children. I used to find this quite emotional when I was 10 years old.
Thanks for the kind comments @contraryarticle and @kool_aid_wino I’ve really enjoyed this exchange. Glad you’ve enjoyed my selection. I’d be happy to share any further info on the tracks if you need it.
Oh god, sorry @kool_aid_wino, I’m really not on the ball at the moment. Too much going on. Had it written out, just didn’t post it. Very poor show. Well better late than never….
Well we definitely have more in common musically than I do with Bamber as I own a few oā these tracks & recognised a fair few. Did have a few problems with the CD being very skippy in parts. Should’ve done what Bamber did, & tried playing it on an alternative CD player to see if it improved it any.
1/ Thought this was Midlake first but I wasnāt sure, then I was listening to this mix while out in the garden cutting the hedge & it came to me. Thatās Jim Oā Rourkeās voice. Dunno if itās one oā his solo tracks or one oā the various bands heās in.
2/ Even though I love a bit oā Power Pop this didnāt do it for me first, but it has grown on me. Great harmonies & a great summery track, perfect for listening to while gardening in the rain!
3/ Ah, Jeff Tweedyās dulcet tones. I donāt know this track though. I presume itās on his most recent solo album, which I never got around to listening to. Yet!
4/ Oh, I love this! Always been one oā my favourite tracks by the ex Beta Bandian. One oā my favourite feel good songs, which always reminds me of āOur Lips Are Sealedā (think itās the bass)
5/Well it works on the CD theme, but dunno if I would choose to listen to it outside of this again. Probably not.
6/ I feel like Iāve heard this before. On a film soundtrack? I recognise the voice slightly. I would definitely go for more oā this. I like it a lot.
7/ 70ās pastiche? Sounds like something thatād be on a cheesy James Bond movie soundtrack. This skips horribly on the CD so was hard to listen to.
8/ Ahh, funky. And very, very skippy. Shame, as I would probably have enjoyed it.
9/ Ah, a bit oā sitar noodling. Who doesnāt love that? Well, me, when it goes on just that bit too long.
10/ Well this one just washed over me. I just tended to zone out when it was on, other than the guitars reminded me slightly of a Cure song.
11/ I like how it starts out, that fuzzed out guitar, but was hoping for it to die out by 4 mins in. By 10 mins had switched my brain off. Sorry.
12/ Ah, Chris Bell. Love this. Good finish. Woke me outta my induced comatose state nicely.
Well. That was interesting. More in common musically, but ya lost me on the noodles. Think I prefer the first half o yer CD to the second, but some tracks that I genuinely love in there too. Just didnāt quite keep my attention all the way through, though ya did mix up the genres nicely, Thank you.
@kool_aid_wino tracklisting
“1) Fuzzy Sun – Jim O’Rourke
2) Closer To Mercury – Wheat
3) Venus Stop The Train – Wilco
4) I Walk The Earth – King Biscuit Time
5) The Port Of Mars – The Nectarine No.9
6) Lightning – Ultra Vivid Scene
7) Saturn In The Summertime – Barry Adamson
8) Midnight Sky – Can
9) Neptune City – Death In Vegas
10) Under The Milky Way – Nicole Atkins
11) Other Galaxies – The Field Mice
12) I Am The Cosmos (Extended Alternate Version)- Chris Bell”
Another vote for Neptune City! Yay!
Sorry @kid-dynamite. Had my tracklisting all written out & then buggered off on hols having forgotten to post it. I’m an idiot! Sorry. Anyhow. Finally. For @bamber & @kool_aid_wino. A tracklist!!
I decided to suit myself this time, & not even try & make an Afterword friendly mix, so glad it didnāt completely piss ye off. Yes, my tastes can be a bit odd sometimes. I like quirky.
1/ Is indeed Grandaddy, as recognised by @kool_aid_wino & Everything Beautiful Is Far Away
2/ Is Br. Cleve & His Lush Orchestra ā Dreamville from a Henri Mancini tribute album called Shots In The Dark, which has a great hodge podge of stuff on there.
3/ Indian Handcrafts ā Starcraft A Canadian band. Have no recollection of buying this album, but apparently I did. I found it a bit over the top & cheesy but thought it suited to mix up the genres. Thought it might be a bit much for yez. Sorry.
4/ Mikrokosmos ā The Seven Stars Aah, lovely little Christian āBicā Hayesās soloish project. Heās more usually known for playing in Levitation, & Dark Star, & the mighty, mighty Cardiacs. He also played guitar for the Pet Shop Boys on tour.
5/ Josephine Foster ā Oh Stars Am very fond oā Ms Foster & her somewhat quirky singing voice. Last I heard she went off & married some Spanish fella & they did a great, almost flamenco-ish album together. Think sheās releasing a new album soonish.
6/ Gerling ā Enter Space Capsule (radio disko remix) An Aussie band. This is nowt like their usual stuff, but Iāve always liked it. It is indeed from the 90ās.
7/ Kathy McCarthy ā Rocket Ship I love this. From an album she did of Daniel Johnson songs, & then she kind of disappeared. Pity. I was looking forward to her next project. She was gonna do an album of punky versions of old Irish folk songs. Where are ya Kathy??
8/ The Clean ā Stars New Zealand band, who were a huge influence on Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, so good guess Bamber.
9/ Earth Girl Helen Brown ā Story Of An Earth Girl Ha! This is indeed an oddity, & the 1st track that I knew was definitely going on this mix. I was sort of expecting ye to hate it, but I didnāt care.
10/ OP8 ā Lost In Space This was an odd CD that came out late 90ās with Lisa Germano, Howe Gelb & Joey & John from Calexico. Thatās Joey singinā, & it does indeed sound like Canāt Stand Losing You. Glad somebody else thinks so.
11/ The Long Winters ā The Commander Thinks Aloud Awww, this song breaks my heart. A song about the doomed Columbia space shuttle mission. What should have been a glorious experience for the crew ended in a tragedy. ā The crew compartmentās breaking upā
12/ David Corley ā Zero Moon Ah, I love olā Corley, & I love this song.
13/ Giant Sand ā Flying Around The Sun At Remarkable Speed Some Howe, indeed.
I see that @bamber has launched early, but here are the other tracklistings….
….except they’re not because I don’t seem to have them. I’m going to do a round up post at the end of all this, I’ll put the ats in there
@nigelT / @wilson-wilson / @Mike_H
@nigelT @Mike_H CDs finally in the post.
@Mike_H @Wilson-Wilson – in the final mastering stage and will be in the post on Tuesday!
Looking forward, @Wilson-Wilson & @NigelT.
I trust you’ve received mine O.K.
Yes Mike, thanks. I was holding off listening to it until mine was done, so itāll get its first spin tonight.
Yours arrived in today’s post.
Will be having a listen later.
Two listens in and a pretty favourable reaction. Nothing that I felt so annoyed by that I skipped it.
One more listen and then a review.
Yes, received @Mike_H ! Had one spin so far as I have been away a lot….think you may find mine a little more mainstream in comparison!
@NigelT, yours arrived this morning and has had it’s first spin. Mostly favourable reaction. Unexpectedly familiar choons on this one. The opener is one of my fave tracks from my fave Mojo coverdisc of 2016. Also featured on someone else’s CD further up the thread, I think.
Proper review after a couple more listens.
Okay.
Reviewing @NigelT‘s Cd first, purely because I found it easier to write about.
The Final Front Ear – A space compilation from NigelT
12 tracks, 52m33s total.
Basic cover art, which is more than my one got, so no disparagement from me.
1.) I know this one. One of the best ever tracks from a Mojo coverdisc. Sadly I didn’t find much else of interest from this band. A very “Classic Floyd”-y start with Richard Wright-style organ, echo-y guitar touches and a Nick Mason-style plod/shuffle rhythm, but vocally quite different with dual male and female voices. A Mellotron (or emulation of one) makes an appearance at the end of the first verse and it sounds like they used the “Moody Blues” setting, to rather good effect. Very fine, very long spacy guitar solo after some nice echo-y wordless vocalising. Off to a very good start indeed with this one.
2.) I recognised this one almost immediately too. A classic American band from “The Really Old”, caught just as they were leaving their pop/folk roots behind and getting all Psychedelic on the world. A bit ham-fistedly on this occasion, unfortunately. The tune is a sea shanty nicked from Trad Arr. “The Handsome Cabin Boy”, I think it is. There are some very ear-irritating frequencies present, a bit too much out of the background for comfort. Luckily it’s not a long track.
3.) A very distinctive singer that only a person lost in space for the last 50 years would fail to recognise. Not a song of his that I recognised, but the title was pretty evident and I then discovered that I have the album it’s from. Obviously I should give the album another play or two, because I liked the track. Nice middle-eastern style string ensemble bits over wah-guitar touches, sax-tootling and hard-driving drumming.
4.) A bit of nice slide (possibly Hawaiian) guitar over a gentle shuffle with odds & sods of sampled vocals. The beat gets heavier then quiets down again before coming back harder with a pleasing sampled string ensemble motif. I liked it although it sort of petered out towards the end without really getting anywhere.
5.) I was pretty unimpressed with this. Typical crap whiny-guitar-sound indie. Uninteresting vocal. Nexxxt..
6.) Wild, silly fun stuff. Not my usual fare by any stretch but I enjoyed it as a palate-cleanser. The stolen roots reggae bit, the speeded-up repeated vocal sample and the spring-boing sample were just the sort of thing needed after the previous track.
7.) A weird electronic lounge jazz instrumental. Didn’t much like it on first play but it seems to be a grower. Doesn’t outstay it’s welcome either. Not a clue who this is.
8.) Another one from Old. Very typical of this band’s sound. I never much liked them, finding them a bit too sugary-smooth and processed compared to the bands I favoured back then. Outstanding production values for the time, of course. This is one of their better tracks and a not unpleasant listen.
9.) I really don’t like the way the singer’s voice has been processed here. Too much “shine” on it, put me off completely. Particularly noticeable at the beginning when the instrumentation is more sparse than later bit still irritating throughout. It reminds me of the way they recorded all those American singer-songwriters of the ’70s whose records I didn’t buy. The song itself didn’t impress enough to mitigate.
10.) This is the sort of Indie/Americana hybrid I like. Good voices with that sligtly yodelly twang/break that American ladies seem to specialise in. Good harmonies too.
11.) As soon as the distinctive harmonies came in over the heavily-emoting (somewhat overwrought) solo voice I realised who this was. Not a group I’ve ever felt moved to buy albums by, though I do appreciate their songwriting prowess and sheer craftsmanship. I have no idea which of their many albums this is from.
12.) She announced the title before the music even started. This is one that gets favourably referenced by all sorts of people. I think it’s rather a mess, myself, and not very good at all. They have done better.
Overall, a decent strike rate. tracks 1, 3, 7, 10 and 11 good. Tracks 4, 6 and 8 O.K. Tracks 2, 5, 9 and 12 get a thumbs down.
@Wilson-Wilson‘s “Space” CD will get reviewed later today.
Thanks @Mike_H ! I knew you would recognise some tracks and/or artists, but went for a mix of the known and unknown (I think this is because I do exactly that on the radio, so it’s hard to get out of that mindset). Track 11 is a B side and not on an album as far as I know, but has always been a favourite so I had to include it!
Review of @Wilson-Wilson‘s CD.
“Space” by Wilson Wilson
12 tracks, 57m29s
Simple “void of space” matt black cover art with star-silver hand lettering.
1.) Motorik-stomp rhythm with wobbly slightly out-of-tune guitar over thumping keyboards. Ensemble sung lyric with synth and slide guitar noises. Not bad. No idea who.
2.) Repetitive rather dull percussive intro eventually explodes into something a bit more interesting and then quickly ends. Peculiar and rather pointless, in my view.
3.) Competently sung and played rather nondescript song. Horrible too-busy drumming sounds like the cymbals have been heavily compressed to disguise mistakes. Thumbs down, overall.
4.) Lush strings, harp and synth melody over a busy rhythm which detracts rather. Pleasant.
5.) Nice driving shuffle rhythm with growly synth bass, heavily processed sax, woozy keys and synth stabs. Nice fairly simple chord progression. Longish but doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. I like this one. Interested to know who this is.
6.) Interesting juxtaposition of concertina and cello at the start. 2 singers male/female. Interestingly-structured song. I do wish the drummer could have found something more interesting to do than just pound away at his kit on the louder bits. Positive reaction, overall.
7.) I like the gamelan plus strings vibe of this. Little bit of glitchy stuff going on too. Very nice.
8.) Medium-low mellotron strings over sparse drumming and acoustic strumming. Mysterious-sounding song. Choir samples ramp it up nicely after a contrasting break. Sawing strings over another contrasting section to the end. A good one.
9.) Slow dirgey thing with plinky guitars over shimmery keyboards seems promising to start with but drifts rather while building in volume and then floating back down, having gone nowhere. This sort of thing works better live than on record, generally. OK.
10.) Recognised this one by style pretty quickly. Title is blatantly obvious as it’s the entirety of the vocal. A much-revered band who’ve never really clicked with me. OK
11.) Annoying repeated drum pattern changing to a different equally-annoying drum pattern and then finally stopping after about 3 minutes. Quiet interlude with heavily processed voice gives way to another EVEN MORE annoying drum pattern and some bombastic orchestral samples. What a relief when this track finished. F***ing horrible!
12.) I know and have this one. Soothing layered synthesized choral and pipe organ drones. Typical of a certain part of this artist’s oevre and quite lovely drifting, calming stuff.
Mostly unfamiliar stuff here.
One absolute stinker (11) Two disliked (2 and 3) Four OK (1, 4, 9 and 10). Rather liked three (6, 7 and 8) Really liked two (5 and 12). Not a bad strike rate.
Haha! I knew track 11 would be a love-it-or-hate-it one! The main artist (the one whoās singing, anyway) generally gets that reaction here. Your CD has had its three listens so my review is on its way. @NigelT your disc arrived today, Iāll get listening over the weekend.
Nothing wrong with his voice. Or the song, probably, if you delved deeply enough past the abominable arrangement.
Space by @Mike_H
Track 1: Sparse piano over a drone (trumpet?) Reminds me of some of the stuff on Nils Frahmās last album but donāt think itās him. Short, atmospheric and enigmatic. Feels like a taster and Iām interested to hear who it is. Good start!
Track 2: Drums like a pulse. Slow and stately. Woodwind, strings and choir. Very cinematic. At its lushest it made think of a Western for some reason. Occasional flashes of guitar. Long but didnāt outstay its welcome. Another good one.
Track 3: Tinny rattling percussion gives way to piano led jazz. Upbeat and pretty busy, somewhat atonal. Doesnāt do much for me to be honest.
Track 4: Starts with a double bass that gradually sounds more processed. Some busy programmed drums with a sax over the top. Itās jazzy but an interesting mix of the live and the sampled/programmed. Devolves into some aphex-y noise towards the end before the sax comes back in. Not bad.
Track 5: Reminds me of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts ā programmed drums, vocal samples, that weird processed bass. Then the very bright keyboards over the top playing a weird melody. The whole thing sounds slightly off-kilter. A bit David Lynch. Intiguing, but not sure how many more times Iāll be playing it.
Track 6: Skittering beats and church-y organ over which strings build and swell for 9 minutes This was naggingly familiar for ages before I placed it. An artist no longer with us, unfortunately. Love it, my favourite so far.
Track 7: Four on the floor beat and beeps at the start, quickly joined by funky bass and guitar, and vocals in French for the most part (I think). Another long one with a nice mix of live instruments and electronic, based on the same groove all the way through but doesnāt get boring. I really liked this.
Track 8: Ska instrumental. Brass led. Donāt know much about this type of music but this was pretty enjoyable. Every time I hear something like this I think I should get more of this stuff, but I havenāt yet.
Track 9: Jazz. Fast paced. I can imagine this soundtracking a chase scene. I liked this one a lot.
Track 10: More jazz. Far more recent than the last one. Sounds like a live recording (crowd noise, applause after solos). Pretty funky but everything sounds horrible. Electric piano. Is that wah-wah bass? And then shredding guitar for the last couple of minutes. My least favourite track.
Track 11. Prog. Hyperactive keyboard and guitar intro settles into driving keyboard verse with dual vocals and some nice drifty instrumental sections. Iām guessing proper early 70s prog. Not really my thing but I quite enjoyed this.
Track 12: I recognised the voice instantly but canāt place the song ā is this solo stuff from this artist? I was listening to her band earlier this week, although admittedly it was the earlier more trip-hoppy stuff. Atmospheric, sparse, swelling strings on the chorus. Fills out towards the end, with piano and drums, more of a live band feel. I really liked this, a good atmospheric ending.
All in all, pretty good ā a lot of stuff thatās new to me, most of which I enjoyed, a couple Iāll definitely explore further. Only one (track 10) that I really disliked.
Track 2 is from the soundtrack of a critically-panned blockbuster-type movie. No it isn’t a Western, but thinking that it was is a bit of a clue.
Your guess on Track 5’s artist is pretty warm.
I don’t think they’re singing in French on Track 7. Probably mostly in the (European) language of the country of origin. Something that I chanced upon, from a band I’d never previously heard of, so not really expecting it to be recognised, to be honest.
Track 11 is indeed yer genuine ’70s prog. Stalwarts of other later ’70s prog outfits are present.
The singer on Track 12 is a featured guest vocalist here, with a well-regarded-at-the-time (mid-Noughties) combo. One of a handful of distinguished vocalists they worked with over a short series of albums, although she’s credited as a co-writer here. It’s been a while since they released anything.
A not entirely negative review of a collection that I probably rushed a bit and regretted some of. Thanks.
The Final Front Ear by @NigelT
Track 1: Very Floyd-y, spacey guitar over organ. Doesnāt outstay its welcome even at 9 minutes. Reminds me of the New Zealand band The Phoenix Foundation, particularly in the last few minutes as keyboards become more prominent, although I canāt help but think theyād have taken it somewhere else completely. Still, a very good atmospheric opening.
Track 2: Late 60s/early 70s hippie-ish stuff I think, a folky melody over droney music. Vaguely mystical lyrics. Interesting at first but doesnāt really go anywhere. Feels longer than it actually is.
Track 3: I recognise this one, I think of this album as being relatively recent, but just checked and it came out 16 years ago! I like this a lot, a cover I think, with very sci-fi lyrics. I like the sax on the chorus, if I had any criticism itād be that the very filtered drum sound is a bit dated, but all in all a good one.
Track 4: A repeated vocal sample, kind of easy listening type sounds, slide guitar, then the beat comes in and continues to build as more samples are added. Didnāt this kind of thing used to be called āBig Beatā? It reminds me of Fatboy Slim, or Bentley Rhythm Ace, or anyone else who was releasing records on Skint in the late nineties. A thumbs up.
Track 5: Another familiar one, less sample heavy than some of his other work. He doesnāt have the most interesting voice, but I quite like this. Always thought the guitar on the chorus was a bit Fripp-on-Heroes.
Track 6: Flashback, and Iām 15, dancing awkwardly at the Boysā Club disco, probably having consumed a dangerous amount of Merrydown. An unholy mash up of rave, reggae, speeded up vocal samples and daft sound effects. Havenāt listened to this properly in years and it still sounds great.
Track 7: short atmospheric electronic instrumental, with maybe a touch of vocodered vocals? I kept expecting a voice to come in, it felt like an interlude. Somehow familiar but no idea what it is. I quite liked this one.
Track 8: Big, epic sounding track, late 60s/early 70s maybe? Driving acoustic guitar and flute at start. Choirs and strings by the chorus. It reminded me of Jeff Wayneās War of the Worlds. Not really my kind of thing but not terrible.
Track 9: Another one I know. I think this artist is pretty popular round here, and was much praised by The Word at the time of this album. I must admit I prefer some of his later, more electronic stuff, but this is good, a bit more singer-songwriter, mainly acoustic guitars and electric piano, and a nicely spacey keyboard solo.
Track 10: Modern Americana. Quite polished. Nice harmony vocals and I like her voice. Builds nicely. This was a grower.
Track 11: very quavery voice on the verses, but instantly recognisable harmonies on the chorus. Not really my thing at all but after a couple of listens the chorus had burrowed into my brain and I found myself humming this one! Iām guessing this one isnāt from this bandās peak period, maybe the 80s?
Track 12: And a strong finish with another track I love! I love how the vocals repeat and stack up while the music builds behind it.
All in all a pretty good listen. The songs I recognised were all things I liked, and there are a couple I didnāt know that Iāll follow up on (tracks 1, 4, 7 and 10 maybe). Even the ones I disliked I didnāt mind so much as part of a compilation.
Firstly, a huge apology to @Mike_H for taking so long to post my review. The reasons are many fold (unexpectedly being incredibly busy is one of them), but truthfully I wanted to give this the maximum time to experience. This is mainly because it isnāt, quite frankly, the sort of music I listen to, or maybe I should say it is music I am unaccustomed to listening to and therefore I found it challenging. Whatever….here are the results from the Exmouth jury….
1. A short introductory track of tinkly piano over a drone sound. It is pleasant, but understandably doesnāt really go anywhere much in 1.24 and I guess it isnāt meant to.
2. We are in orchestral territory here, almost classical. The pastoral sounding theme builds and we soon get a distant choral backing which comes and goes throughout. Given the Space theme, I keep thinking this could have been used as a score in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which makes me wonder if this is a film theme, especially given the length (nearly 8mins). About 5 minutes in, on every listen I keep wondering if this IS actually based on a classical piece that I half remember. Nice ā itās grown on me tremendously.
3. Some skittering percussion to open….this goes on a bit, and then we suddenly get a swerve into a very free form jazz piano piece (on two pianos?) over drums. Not my cup of tea, but it doesnāt outstay its welcome too long. Itās probably by some awfully famous jazz musician.
4. More jazzy stylings ā percussion and then sax over the top of the rhythm section. The theme develops quite nicely through the track and then some odd sounds at around 3.30 that donāt seem to fit at all. Iām really not a fan of this Iām afraid. Again, probably someone dreadfully well known and respected.
5. Another instrumental track. This is more my thing with some nice effects and much easier on the ear, although we are again in jazz territory. This is good.
6. A very quiet start and the piece slowly builds in audibility with blippy little percussive noises and a churchy organ, then an orchestral theme develops. Reminds me a little of a certain German synth band. Instrumental again, this does take its time, and could well be a film theme like track 2 may be. Probably wrong on both counts. This track does take a few listens, but is perfect for closing your eyes and drifting off somewhere pleasant – a thumbs up.
7. Almost an electro-pop opening, at last some vocals! Well….sort of. There are spoken words in Spanish (?) over the dancey rhythm. This goes on and on to an irritating extent to be honest; I wonder if it is a remix..? It is very long at 8.25. Not for me this.
8. A ska beat, but veers into jazz territory with a sax and trumpet soloing over the beat. Totally instrumental again, itās OK but I wouldnāt explore further.
9. Once more into the jazz breach dear friends. Piano drums and bass back a sax solo or two (Iām guessing two different saxes), and a piano, bass and drum solos taken as well. Perfect for a jazz club evening, this is actually not too bad for my rock/pop infected ears.
10. Nice opening ā guitar (??) and a shuffle beat. God knows how they are getting these sounds but itās interesting. The jazz theme continues with this track, and needless to say it is again entirely instrumental, and it becomes apparent this is live. I could imagine listening to an evening of this; it even has a guitar solo. Good stuff.
11. More guitar!! A more melodic track…and vocals!!! This is very prog with lots of time signature changes (like I know what Iām talking about!!) and all a bit 1969. Not for me really.
12. A ādreamyā female vocal start…this is unlike anything else on the CD as it is pretty much a conventional song, at least at first. A slow paced first half with the vocal then continues as a gentle instrumental melody ā somewhat electronic in feel with effects, then a stronger piano section, occasionally with what sounds like a cello, layered over the effects. This is interesting and intriguing.
Overall then ā tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 12 are definitely very interesting and I have enjoyed getting to know them. As is obvious from my comments, the jazz tracks really didnāt do it for me, but many thanks Mike!
Thanks for your comments. I am on rather a jazz kick lately, although Electronica is rearing it’s head just lately (too lately for this CD alas).
Track 1 was a mistake, really. It’s Pt. 1 of something and what I ought to have done was cheat a bit and let it segue into Pt. 2. You might not have liked Pt. 2 though because it’s more jazz, sad to say.
Track 2 is indeed a soundtrack by someone noted, even fĆŖted, for his soundtracks.
Track 5 is not a jazz musician, though the word Jazz appears in the title.
Glad you like Track 6. This guy is quite an AW favourite and quite right too.
Track 9 is early ’60s typical club jazz, by someone I’m not very familiar with myself. It does go along very nicely.
Track 10 was not liked at all by our third CD-swapper. Actually I’ve got a bit tired of it since choosing it.
Track 11 is some 1972 prog. Only album they made before going on to other better-known prog endeavours.
Track 12’s artists were quite a hot thing for a while in the Noughties before fading out of things at the turn of the decade. Vocalist was a guest, as was their custom when using vocalists.
40-something percent hit rate will do for me.
Cheers.
Apologies also to @Wilson-Wilson for taking so long! The CD arrived in a case with a hand drawn pencil on black title and a personal message inside ā a nice touch!
1. This is quite a good opener ā pretty straightforward rock track, it grabs your attention with the guitar riff. Iām sure I should know who this is, the vocals sounds a bit Dandy Warholish. Not bad, Iād be interested in more.
2. Instrumental with an insistent drum track over some dissonant sounds and then goes more upbeat with a riff. Not particularly grabbed by this.
3. Vocal comes right in with a careworn vocal about looking for astronauts. Sounds American. Nice string section comes in, but it does go on a bit too much about looking for bloominā astronauts, for reasons that remain unclear to me. The drums annoyed me for some reason.
4. Orchestral backing over more skitterry rhythms (bit of theme in this set so far), and then some more instrumental work over the top (no idea what this is being played on).
5. Spacey opening and then more unusual, jazzy drumming rhythms. A sax (?) solo being played over the top then comes in for the rest of the track with more spacey effects being introduced underneath. Itās too long for me, and just isnāt my sort of thing Iām afraid.
6. An opening spoken word intro, then a string quartet playing behind a male vocal. Again with the odd drumming ā is this a Wilsonion thing? A female vocal takes over and this is not too bad at all.
7. Gentle opening on what sounds like steel drums, then a backing becomes gradually apparent. Sounds a bit like an interlude track on an album.
8. Crowd noises, then a gentle guitar gives way to some mellotron-like sounds. Vocals then arrive ā again, rather world weary sounding lyrics in this one. Interesting, busy arrangement, this is unusual, with some more electronic noise joining in later on as the whole track grows. Not much of an actual choon going on, and it does go on a bit, but certainly worthy of a deeper dive.
9. Gentle opening ā an unusual drum pattern again (!) which then disappears and we get more slow, spacey effects in a track which is very slow paced throughout. This would make a good background track in an art gallery, but doesnāt really hold my attention. Perfectly pleasant.
10. Oh, this must be those German synth blokes. Pretty unmistakable. Iām not a particular fan (assuming it is them), but this is good ā nice simple riff and build with a pulsing electronic backing. I liked this.
11. The start is a bit āWe Will Rock Youā, but pretty soon a rather fey vocal comes in over the top but itās hard to hear the lyrics as it is mixed quite low, and also treated with some Sparkyās Magic Piano effects at times. Some electronic widdly diddly comes to the fore every now and again. Builds further towards the end into a grand finale, but I still canāt make out the lyrics ā maybe that isnāt the point. They certainly threw the kitchen sink at this, itās OK, but itās too long.
12. Dreamy, spacey opening, this is very ambient and stays that way. This could be a soundtrack..? It isnāt over produced or too busy ā it allows lots of breathing space for the sounds. Rather good, I like this a lot.
So, in summary, the Exmouth jury gives this a thumbs up overall, with particular gold stars given to 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and an extra star to 12. A couple I found very hard going (3 and 5) and 11 was way over produced for my liking.
Thanks Nigel, not a bad hit rate! The unusual rhythm thing hadnāt occurred to me, but I do play the drums so maybe thatās what appeals to me about some of these songs. Track 2 I chose in part because I liked the way it flowed from the previous track, but itās maybe not a great stand alone. Track 3 is one of my favourite bands, but perhaps not their best. And āambientā and āsoundtrackā are both good words to describe 12. Looking forward to the big reveal!
more tracklistings for the curious and unwary
@mike_H wiped out the dinosaurs by crashing the following into them:
1) Stealing Space I ā Jon Balke & Oslo 13 ā āNonsentrationā
2) A Heart Beats In Space ā Ennio Morricone ā āMission To Mars OSTā
3) Chromatic Universe Pt. 1 ā George Russell & His Orchestra feat. Bill Evans ā āJazz In The Space Ageā
4) It Aināt Rocket Science ā Flanger ā āOuter Space/Inner Spaceā
5) Ju Ju Space Jazz ā Brian Eno ā āNerve Netā
6) Melodia (Guidelines For A Space Propulsion Device Based On Heimās Quantum Theory) ā JĆ³hann JĆ³hannsson ā āFordlandiaā
7) Moonshrine ā Spaceboys ā āSonic Fictionā
8) Out Of Space ā Tommy McCook & The Supersonics ā āTrojan Ska Box Set Vol. 2ā
9) Race For Space ā Curtis Counce Quintet ā āIntrospection: Neglected Jazz Figures Of The ā50s & Early ā60sā
10) Space Camel ā Tribal Tech ā āRocket Science Tour ā Tokyo November 26th 2000ā
11) Stargazers ā Khan ā āSpace Shantiesā
12) Time & Space ā Cinematic Orchestra feat. Lou Rhodes ā āMa Fleurā
@NigelT went mining in the asteroids and extracted:
1. Space To Bakersfield ā Black Mountain.
2. Space Odyssey ā The Byrds
3. I Took A Trip In A Gemini Spaceship ā David Bowie
4. Space Farm ā Mint Royale
5. We Are All Made Of Stars ā Moby
6. Out Of Space ā The Prodigy
7. Spacewalker ā Depeche Mode
8. Gypsy ā The Moody Blues
9. Outer Space ā John Grant
10. We Are Stars ā The Pierces
11. Rings Around The Moon ā The Bee Gees
12. Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space ā Spiritualized
(looking at that tracklisting, I think one of these might have been on @timtunes‘ mix, you know)
and @wilson-wilson flew through the monolith orbiting Jupiter and found:
1. Hail Bop by Django Django
2. Infinite Orbit by Explosions in the Sky
3. Looking for Astronauts by The National
4. In Space by Rƶyksopp
5. Journey Through the Asteroid Belt by The Comet is Coming
6. Your Ex-Lover is Dead by Stars
7. First Sleep by Cliff Martinez (from Solaris OST)
8. One Advice, Space by dEUS
9. Thank You Space Expert by Mogwai
10. Spacelab by Kraftwerk
11. Jupiter by Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhley and James McAlister
12. An Ending (Ascent) by Brian Eno, from Apollo Atmospheres and Soundtracks
@tinysuns / @lemonhope / @craig42blue
@craig42blue went into innerspace with Dennis Quaid and found:
Black Mountain ā Space to Bakersfield ā IV
David Gilmour ā Thereās No Way Out Of Here ā David Gilmour
Tangerine Dream ā 3am at the border of the marsh from okefenokee ā Stratosfear
Camel ā Lunar Sea (live) ā Moonmadness (bonus track)
Steve Mason ā Boys Outside ā Boys Outside
Soft Machine ā Panoramania ā Land of Cockayne
Lindi Ortega ā Every Mile Of The Ride ā Cigarettes and Truckstops
Blame ā Revival ā LTJ Bukem Earth volume 1
Dream English Kid ā Swim In The Shallow ā https://dreamenglishkid.bandcamp.com/
Robert Fripp ā Exposure ā Exposure (alt version)
Roy Harper ā The Enemy ā Man & Myth
Katherine Williams ā The Known ā Crown Electric
@tinysuns threw a bone up in the air, and in a stunning jump cut, it turned into:
01. Blast Off! ā The Monks
02. Rocketship ā Kathy McCarty
03. Space Journey ā Coldcut
04. Planet Sizes ā Steve Mason
05. Tarkovsky (The Second Stop Is Jupiter) ā Patti Smith
06. Planet ā Four Tet
07. The Black Hit Of Space ā The Human League
08. The Sun A Small Star ā The Servants
09. Sickle Moon ā X-Mal Deutschland
10. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois ā Sufjan Stevens
11. A Comet Appears ā The Shins
12. The Space Program ā A Tribe Called Quest
signal from @lemonhope was unfortunately lost just after takeoff. Trying to reestablish.
Mine was sent to @moselymoles – but here it is
1. Space [Consciousness] ~ Any Sense Of Space Is Gone – [f/Eckhart Tolle] Lemonhope remix – Itās Immaterial
2. International Space Station – British Sea Power
3. Symmetry – Wye Oak
4. Norway – Beach House
5. All My Stars Aligned – St. Vincent
6. Cosmic American – AnaĆÆs Mitchell
7. Over Rainbows and Rainier – Damien Jurado
[interlude 1] – Snippet of Rocket Man by Stewie Griffin [off of family Guy]
8. Intelligentactile 101 – Jesca Hoop
[interlude 2] – Orgalorg Origin – Adventure Time
9. Drunk And On A Star – Kevin Morby
10. Under Cold Blue Stars – Josh Rouse
11. Venus Again – David Mead
12. Arrival – 1 Giant Leap [Feat. Alanis Morrisette, Eckhart Tolle, Eugene Hutz, Al Tanbura & Aida Samb]
Then after a short gap there is a snippet of dialogue from Adventure Time [again].
Finally, we have the ābonusā track āGoodbye Moonmenā from Rick And Morty, sung by Jermaine Clement [Flight of The Conchords]
Thousand apologies @lemonhope but here is your track listing with all its liner notes, blimey even longer than mine:
1. Space [Consciousness] ~ Any Sense Of Space Is Gone ā [f/Eckhart Tolle] Lemonhope remix ā Itās Immaterial
I took the vocal and instrumental versions of this classic 80ās track and made a new track thatās mostly instrumental and part vocal, then in the instrumental sections I dropped spoken word wisdom from the gnomelike German bestselling author and āspiritualā teacher Eckhart Tolle.
2. International Space Station ā British Sea Power
A stonking great track. This was languishing my iTunes library. I thought I knew what it sounded like and was passing it over but decided to give it a spin. Iām going on record as saying that itās one of the best tracks in the Rock/Pop genre released by a British band in the last ten years. Yes, itās that good.
3. Symmetry ā Wye Oak
The first incarnation of this compilation had too many slow tracks. So I started again. I started looking at lyrics to find something from the last year or so that I could use that would balance up the slower tracks. This album by Wye Oak [The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs] had more than one that was suitable. This one worked better with the preceding track [lyrics ā āThe infinite
We started fromā ā āAnd my whole life Is in that space, After the cut Before the pain, I might as well Believe that they, Received the world And shy awayā] so I used this, but it could have been any of the others as they are all terrific [Itās a great album]
4. Norway ā Beach House
I wanted to use this track on the previous āColdā CD Swap, but it got dropped at the last minute. I admit itās been shoehorned in on the flimsiest of premiseās, based solely on this lyric āHeās a hunter for a lonely heart, In the season of the sunā ā but I love it so much that I donāt care
5. All My Stars Aligned ā St. Vincent
[with a little snippet of Eltonās Rocket Man 2003 remix at the start]
Made the initial list for the title and made the final cut because itās a freakin gorgeous song.
6. Cosmic American ā AnaĆÆs Mitchell
The āCosmicā in the title is the link, of course. This is a sparse but beautiful track. Itās the re-recorded version from her XOA album
7. Over Rainbows and Rainier ā Damien Jurado
Probably my favourite album of the year [and is now also one of the best albums I own] is āThe Horizon Just Laughedā by Damien Jurado. Itās just a beautiful song and it also has a simple yet equally beautiful video. The Ranier of the title is Mount Ranier in Seattle which is in his home state of Washington.
Apart from itās other qualities, it was chosen for this line
āLet your cries be of joy
May it always and forever fill the void
And allow my heart some room
May it be so that youāll one day need me soonā
[interlude] ā Snippet of Rocket Man by Stewie Griffin [off of family Guy]
8. Intelligentactile 101 ā Jesca Hoop
After three slow songs it was time to pick up the pace. Jesca Hoop has been making fine records for around ten years. This track is from her āKismetā album from 2008. The lyrics make this obvious why it got in. A clever and interesting track. āIntelligentactile 101ā tells the story of a baby floating around before itās born, gathering together all of its body parts and getting ready to travel to earth.
[interlude 2] ā Orgalorg Origin ā Adventure Time
9. Drunk And On A Star ā Kevin Morby
Obvious link to space. Morby is someone Iām growing to love. And this is the second track of his Iāve placed on one of these swap discs, and I make no apology for it.
10. Under Cold Blue Stars ā Josh Rouse
Another obvious link, here. My love of Rouse is well documented [pay attention] This has a lovely soul vibe [think Marvin Gaye lite] It flows nicely from the previous track, I think.
11. Venus Again ā David Mead
Mead seems to have stopped recording back in 2010. He never quite made the leap from good to great, but this track from his excellent 2001 album āMine And Yoursā was a Bob Harris favourite at the time and thatās where I first heard it.
12. Arrival ā 1 Giant Leap [Feat. Alanis Morrisette, Eckhart Tolle, Eugene Hutz, Al Tanbura & Aida Samb]
The final [official] track brings us full circle. This has Eckhart Tolle on the actual tack [not inserted by me, folks] It starts slowly, but builds into a pounding mix of sounds and artists from around the world. And as Alanis Morissette says in the last line āIāll arrive at the same place as I beganā . It gets the nod by virtue of having the same title as the 2016 movie, which is a good enough Space link for me.
At the start of the track there is a sample from Hello Earth by Kate Bush [āGo to sleep, little earthā] that I added [just to get a bit of Kate in there]
Then after a short gap there is a snippet of dialogue from Adventure Time [again].
Finally, we have the ābonusā track āGoodbye Moonmenā from Rick And Morty, sung by Jermaine Clement [Flight of The Conchords] He played a fart cloud in the episode and sings the song to Morty. Itās an affectionate Bowie pastiche and seemed to be a fitting end to the disc.
Morning All
I just need an address for lemonhope and the cds will be on their way.
@lemonhope
@tinysuns
I have just received your cd. Thanks that is my listening for tonight sorted out!
@tinysuns I have reviewed this after one listen but will return to play again. I will blank out the tracks I know so as not to spoil anything for lemonhope.
Space
1: Music played by elektrik gypsy hippies ā sort of sounds like āThe Magic Roundaboutā at the wrong speed. Might be called āBlast Offā and sung by a John Cale sound-alike. I kinda like thisā¦ 3 stars ***.
2: Song called āRocketshipā ? The riff goes a tad ad nauseam ā vocals a bit Grace Slick?? OK-ish but dull. Only 2 / 5 **
3: Getting funky now ā funky drums and funky keys + some scratching ā sounds-likeā¦?..?. The Clangers go Hip-Hop. ***
4: I love this. S***** M***** is one of my favourite current artists ā with his āhitā P***** S*****. 5 stars.
5: Intro is a bit Gamelan ā Female spoken vocal ā great lyrics/poetry ā sounds to me like Patti Smith.
The lyric ā āThe Boy, the Beast, the Butterflyā might be called āMercuryā or else that is the āSpaceā link. 4 stars
6: Starts with an electro-dub sound ā āSpaceā sang with a slight Scottish lilt?? This is reminiscent of Roisin Murphy (Moloko) with an African contributor – beautiful Kora playing ā 4 / 5 stars.
7: Dub intro again ā then merged with 80s Ultravox ā the vox could well be Phil Oakey and backed by a new collaborator e.g. a reformed Tubeway Army ā I like this ****.
8: English male vocal ā band sound like āThe Clienteleā ?? Lunar Days ?? More shoe gazing than space gazing! But its another I like so ****
9: Intro appears as a forgotten 80s Goth hit ā female vocal sounds like a twee Siouxsie ā could it be an ex member of The Slits? ***
10: Instantly recognised as ****** ******* ā I have the album ā not sure if it from āI******ā ā if so is it the one about the UFO sighting? ****
11: Male vox this time ā a touch of Colin from The Decemberists ?? New wave of Folk circa 2015?
Quite pastoral ā I have not a clue – ***
12: This is total head f**k ā not usually my kinda thing but a glorious mix of styles ā jazzy hip-hop meets the Mothership (Parliament/Funkadelic) ā 2 rappers with contrasting styles ā sounds somewhat Nu-Yorican Soul and mentions a āspace program for Ni***zā and exits with Gene Wilder ā doing āDahlā āā this will be a grower for me ā ****.
THANKS tinysuns ā lots to revisit later!
Ha, I enjoyed your review more than my mix; it turns out I have a lot of space-related songs that are boring or a bit unexciting, so I’m glad a few things out of the best of the bunch piqued your curiosity.
Iāve messaged you Craig, let me know if you donāt get it
Thanks Lemonhope. The CD is on its way down the M6.
@lemonhope @tinysuns The cd I sent is not so much Outer Space themed but also to do with personal space and the great outdoors. I hope you enjoy some of it?
Great, look forward to it. I haven’t received anything yet…
Thanks to you both, @tinysuns, @craig42blue, both discs have now arrived. Once I have finished compiling mine I will give them both a spin. I expect to have completion tomorrow and get them in the mail by the deadline !!
@tinysuns, @craig42blue, my selection is in the post. Apologies for my tardiness, Iām not usually this slow š¤
Here we go, then.
Starting with, in order they arrived…
@tinysuns Space themed disc
1. Twangy surf guitar, slightly atonal keyboards minimal drum and percussion. Mostly instrumental save for spoken ā5-4-3-2-1 blastoff!ā . Itās like a less shambolic [and therefore, less enjoyable] Cramps. An ok start.
2. When the vocal first appeared I thought it was Debbie Harry, but then it sounded more English, kind of folky. Musically itās more in keeping with the first track, so a nice bit of sequencing there, slightly too long at four minutes [3 was enough] but it did grow on me with repeated plays.
3. Funk-ish drumming, squelchy keyboards playing a familiar riff [but I canāt place it – !] followed by more jazz/funk keyboards and enjoyable funky percussion. During the first three plays I found this to be too long also, but thereafter didnāt mind the extra 30 seconds or so.
So three [mostly] instrumental tracks and Iām now ready for a vocalā¦
4. Right on cue, the first proper āsongā, and the first track that I recognise. I like this a lot and itās already in my iTunes, I think itās from his most recent album? Excellent track.
5. Plinky-plonky intro, and I think itās going to be another instrumental [Amiina come to mind] but then a vocal! If I had to guess I would say itās P**** S****, although I wouldnāt want to bet my house on it. But I love this track, very very good and probably my favourite track on the disc.
6. Pulsing electronica intro for track 6, sounds like F*** T*t – again I wouldnāt bet the farm, but the sort of plucked harp like sound reminded me of his track āTwo Thousand and Seventeenā I like this a lot, so if Iām right Iām going to have to get a hold of the album. But either way, further investigation will be made. Very good.
7. Non more eighties sounding intro and then a vocal that could only be one singer [if Iām wrong Iām going to feel very silly] I guess it must be from their earlier incarnation, before the other two went off to form H***** *7? Am I warm? [I donāt know why Iām redacting the artist names when Craig has already reviewed this disc !!] Another grower.
8. Still in the eighties? Or just a retro sounding modern band? Jangly guitars, weak [but ok] male vocal reminiscent of the Railway Children [although I donāt think itās them] Not bad, but not up to the last few tracks.
9. More eighties sounds. Better than the last track by virtue of the punchy chorus. Another three star track.
10. Lovely piano intro that sounds familiar and then a flute! I love a flute! By the time the vocal appears itās unmistakeably the Afterwordās favourite sensitive singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, boy wonder, Sufjan āShakingā Stevens. Beautiful track that already sits in my library and makes a most welcome appearance. Five stars.
11. Followed by another gorgeous track. These two tracks flowed beautifully into one another and once again, a track I already have. Five stars again.
12. Then we came to the end. Hip-Hop/rap to end on. Itās slightly out of place against what has come before, but just about works as itās the last track and is very good. No idea who it is, but itās funky, catchy and seems to have the bass line from a Stevie Wonder track – Sir Duke? Possibly not, but very good either way. Nice way to end.
Very pleased to say that all of the tracks I didnāt already have grew on me. A good range of styles, without veering in too many directions, so it didnāt feel gratuitous. I enjoyed replaying it and will be adding most of the tracks to iTunes.
Thanks Tinysuns.
And now,
@craig42blue ās [Inner] Space themed disc.
1. Moody intro to track one. I like the sound of this. It sounds very Floyd-y to me, I know itās not, but they must be fans. Very atmospheric and I feel like I know this, or have at least heard it before, especially when the vocal comes in, sounds like heās singing āSpace to Bakersfieldā? And at slightly over 9 minutes it didnāt outstay itās welcome. A strong start has me very optimisticā¦
2. Which is promptly smashed by track 2! Haha – Iām exaggerating. Track one was such a strong start that track 2 is slightly disappointing by comparison. Again, itās another Floyd-esq track, could it be Dave Gilmour? The guitar sounds like him. I liked this more with each play. Strong first two tracks.
3. A sort of radar plink opens this next track, an eighties synth sound followed by a harmonica wail. Slow build up, nearly two minutes pass before anything else happens. Ah, we seem to be in Soundtrack territory, or if not it should be. Vangelis? Not a lot happens and then it takes almost two minutes to leave. How rude. Ok, but not one I look forward to hearing again.
4. Ooh, a whistle tells me itās a live track! Swirling synth sounds. A definite prog vibe starting to form on this disc. Not a genre I spend much time in, bar a short dalliance in the early eighties [if you count early Genesis and DSOTM era Pink Floyd as prog?] Santana-ish guitar noodling and Chester Thompson on drums? Haha. Iām floundering. Keyboards that could be from Seconds Out, [is this a former Genesis member? Itās keyboard heavy, so maybe Tony Banks?] Itās ok, but a little too much noodling spoiled the good bits.
5. A swift shift of genre and a track I recognise. Another track from an artist on Tinysunās disc – but from a different album. Lovely. No idea what heās on about though.
6. Right, thatās enough short songs! Another very long track, but this one very much outstays its welcome! It says everything it has to say in the first minute and then repeats itself for another six minutes. Sounds like a theme to a seventies cop show that never got past the pilot. And like most theme choons is best heard as a thirty second snippet. Not for me and the weakest track on offer.
7. A lady! Hurrah! No idea who this is, but I like it a lot. A cosmic Americana vibe, all echoey production and twangy guitars. I look forward to hearing more from this artist.
8. Jazz funk intro. Ooh, wait, moving into drum and bass now. Swirly synths and I guess this is going to be another instrumental. Then the beat drops out and we have a vocodered vocal. And the beat kicks back in. I like this, there is enough going on to keep my attention over another 7 minute plus track – You sure like the long tracks, donāt you!
9. In a similar vein to track 7, we are back to a lady vocalist and a song!, but this goes in a slightly more epic rock direction than track 7. Is it a Dangermouse production? Itās got that groove that he likes, metronomic drums high in the mix and a twangy walking bass line. Nice. I like it.
10. Wobbly synth intro and a sampled spoken vocal lead us into an eighties sounding track. The singer seems to be emoting the word āExposureā over and over. Mercifully short. It probably works well on the album from whence it came, but here it just drags.
11. This is better. A singer I feel like I know. Is he Scottish? Or Irish maybe? Limited range, but he sounds like he means it. The only issue is that itās too long. It repeats itself. And then once more for good measure. At seven and a half minutes itās four minutes too long. Shame.
12. This is nice. Fender Rhodes [?] intro, breathy female vocal, tasteful drums. Instantly recognisable singer. I have a couple of her albums, but donāt know this track which is exciting as it means there is more of her stuff worth discovering. Lovely track and a great way to end the compilation.
Overall, I enjoyed this disc, apart from a couple of tracks that are not to my taste it was an enjoyable listen and I look forward to the reveal. Thanks Craig
@craig42blue This had a strong unifying sense of calm and tasteful vibes really congruent with the personal space focus you flagged early on.
01. Electronic and spacey with hints of Morricone. Spacey vox that are distinctly Floydy. āSpace to Bakersfield, are you listening?ā This could have been made any time since the mid-seventies, then at about 2 minutes female vox come in and I start to think this is Black Mountain, who I love but more when theyāre doing their Sabbath/Zeppelin-esque retro thing. Iāll definitely go back to the album this is from to revisit – Iāve tended to repeat listen to a small selection of their stuff rather than fall in love with a whole album, though I have them all. It reminds me a of a wet Sunday afternoon in the 70s confined to the house with my parents blaring music. Hugely comforting. Nevertheless a nine minute plus opener is a bold and demanding move, I admit Iām getting a little bit impatient by the end.
02. This next one starts scratchily (is that a harmonica?) and with similar pace and vibe, but itās somehow wimpier. A thin voice and plodding backing with occasional tasteful guitar soloing never really takes off, I just wanted everyone to cut loose a bit.
03. Starts with electronic blips like a signal from deepest space. Then a raygun wibble mimics the burble of running water, then a bit more Morricone-esque squelching and bending, followed by swelling strings. A good start, where are we heading? Oh, a big orchestral swell, and, andā¦. now we go VERY Vangelis mixing space and pastoral vibes. I presume this must be a soundtrack, but maybe to a scene where they are drifting through a quiet part of the story. I love the intrigue and imagination of the first two minutes and last 30 seconds, but probably wouldnāt listen to the rest of it again.
04. A whistle and swelling synths, very much in the vein of whatās come before. I feel Iām in for another long ride ā yup 9:50. Bring it onā¦ OK some jazzy drum and bass drums kick in, but then the proggy keyboard lead line says we are more in the 70s than 90s. Four minutes in and itās got one of those crunchy, reedy Rick Wakeman journeying to the centre of the Earth leads that sounds so much of its time. Ok 5:45 in and it beefs up a bit with some wild drumming and lip-pursing electric guitar soloing rising in pitch. Late in the day it finds a bit more of a rock edge with a zeppy solo, finishing off with the swelling synths we began with and evoking wind sweeping across a desolate planet Mars. Quite a ride.
05. Back in my comfort zone here with my track 4 artist, but a different song. Lovely, mellow and gentle, he has the sweetest voice, and the tunes to go with it. Delightful.
06. Ok, I’m back where Iām not sure I belong. A ābrassā noodly riff with some jazzy blah. I hated this on first listen, second time round itās more tolerable, until two minutes in when it sets my nerves on edge again. It goes on and on and on. Sorry this isnāt for me.
07. Chilled female vox ā a bit Mazzy Star, a bit Drugstore but more delicate. Lovely, not quite country, folk or indie but pitched somewhere exquisitely in-between. Iāll definitely check out more by her, whoever she is.
08. More languid, woozy electronic rock with a spacey edge and an extended intro. Eventually a beat eases in as the backing swells and floats over the top, with some background trills and washes. A heavily treated voice mutters something indefinable and then is gone. This has intrigue and drama; Iām guessing itās something off Ninja Tune?
09. Elegant trip hoppy intro and a female vocal ā is it Beth Gibbons in a poppier than usual mood? This is easy to like.
10. Wobbling intro with sampled dialogue, and then it quickly sounds like Peter Gabriel fronting a laid back INXS. Itās ok but desperately needs something to break it up, thereās a lot of repetition ā the riff, the sample, the singing. For a two minute interlude on a concept album that might be great but for a 4:28 song it doesnāt really go anywhere so my initial interest fades away.
11. Lovely strummed acoustic into, with minimal electric lines overlaid. The singer sounds familiar, might it be Jackie Leven? It feels like a well-executed British attempt at one of those long Dylan narrative epics, though arguably there’s not enough to say to merit seven and a half long minutes. When the guitar solo kicks in a minute from the end itās really welcome.
12. Gentle female voice, a more conventional Stina Nordenstam, but, I think, British. Unfortunately a minute or so in I get massive crackles, skipping and then the track stops and the disc refuses to play any more.
More of a mixed bag for me than lemonhope’s, simply because there were a couple from a genre I struggle to get on with, but the one’s I liked I *really* liked and will definitely investigate more. Especially numbers 7, 9 and 12 which I loved.
I may have been in need of calming music when this was put together. Interesting to compare reviews of the mix-cd. I’m glad you both found somethings to like. Sorry @tinysuns I did have problems burning cds ( many burned but few playable). Intrigued that you thought of Peter Gabriel – maybe no co-incidence!
The tracks seem to suit @lemonhope more – dare I suggest this may be either a gender or an age thing? Thanks for all your comments.
@lemonhope
Again my comments are made after a single listen, but I will be drawn back for more. Excellent DeeJaying skills Mr Lemonhope; there is a lovely flow to the compilation (with hidden treats).
SPACE āØ
1: Topically about the absence of space (a theme picked up by an early Pink Floyd on Point Me At The Sky); this sounds like David Byrne but with an English accent.. Could it be Public Service Broadcasting?? I like thisā¦ 4*.
2: Now a more strident song, power pop. Vox reminiscent of Tom Robinson or Ian McNabbā¦I like this equally ā¦ could this be PSB? Didnāt they do a Space themed album? (oh and no, I donāt mean the Pet Shop Boys) 4*.
3: Great a female vocal & electronica ā¦ I like but only a 3*. Has a dash of St Vincent about it?
4: Gloom Rock ā I feel I know the voice but I prefer the backing to the vocal; it has a nice tribal beat and more electronica ā but no I donāt recognise the song 3 or 4 *.
5: I like this very much, it has a reflective feel that I am naturally drawn toā¦ Classy, chilled vox; could this one be S* V******?
6: Again a lady sings.. U.S.? Indie? Absolutely no idea here but I love it 4*.
7: Acoustic guitar opener this time, again I feel I know the (US male) voice. āOver Rainbows and Rainā sang crystalline. This was for me okay 3*.
8: (Lemonhopeās bonus track?) Spoken US English male ā Rocket Man (excerpt) ā itās not Sellers so it must be W****** S****** ?* Prefer Kateās recitationā¦
9: I know thisā¦ I know I have thisā¦ Itās on the tip of my tongue, āon my tongue, I put my fingersā¦.ā Yes its Garveyās heroine J**** H*** but which version? From the āK**m**ā ep? 5*
10: A spoken (loony tunes) male vox intro this time ā āKing of Marsā ā and now another unfamiliar male singing. A tad dull at first but builds nicely after 2ā30ā āSounds a bit like a UK Lenny Cohen or The Clienteleā I have not a clue – 3*
11: A seventies synth and then voice I know from 1974 (sic) the excellent J*** R**** from the album from which this song takes its name – UCBS – 4*
12: āWhen you gonna leave me aloneā sings another unfamiliar voice. This could be Wilco but the voice is not quite Tweedy. Venusian and lunar referencesā¦. I have no idea!? Pleasant though 3*.
13a: Like the track12 on Tinysuns cd ā āthis is total head f**k ā but a glorious mix of stylesā ā
A beautiful haunting intro, une tres modern femme fatale ā does France have their own Bjork? My schoolboy French lets me down here. Classy touch of violin and North African music creeps in and all combines and builds into a funky swirl incorporating spoken word and a rap, the female vox switching to English. Pretty Or8a5m1c 5*.
13b: An appropriate sketch on the joys of mix-tapes š you witty thing youā¦
13c: Cosmic acoustic guitar, US vocals a parody, a joke on which to close
Merci Beaucoup
THANKS lemonhope ā lots to investigate further!
@lemonhope Fabulous to have so many women represented. Some sampled segues into tracks, none of which I recognise. An enjoyable selection with some nice unsettling touches!
01. Spoken word intro with plinky 80s synths kicking in quickly. Lots of wan sung repetition of āspaceā as well as it being spoken in a posh old school BBC voice and then a really familiar voice kicks in. It sounds like Driving Away From Home, so I assume Itās Immaterial, but they sound heavily influenced by the Pet Shop Boys on this one. I like it, because I like his voice.
02. 80s sounding electro-pop with whooshes and a voice that sounds like Tom Robinson gone anthemic pop. Lots of rhymes to keep up the driving rhythm of the music. It has a U2 vibe but most certainly isnāt them. I do like a bit of spelling out in songs and this has it, āBetween the M.O.O.N.A.N.D.S.T.A.R.Sā Not bad, not something Iād ordinarily listen to, but if this came up on the radio Iād tap my toes to it
03. More 80s synth vibes then the voice makes me think weāre more recent after all. Female vocal against a rubber band twanging bassline. Itās okā¦. Has a forward thrust to it, but lacks a hook, tune or memorable line to catch onto. Is it Goldfrapp? I donāt have synaesthesia, but this made me strongly feel the sensation of scrunched up newspapers ā very weird.
04. More female vox over synths. Dreamy and woozy like everything goes out of tune and then just rescues itself, unsettling. I like her voice but that dissonant backing is make me wobbly. Do I have a migraine coming on?
05. Another woman singer with a pretty, pretty voice and a tinkling, slightly jazzy piano. No idea who it is, but itās nice.
06. Ah, lovely Anais Mitchell, this made my longlist too but didnāt make the final cut, as I basically put her on every mix I make so I was challenging myself not to this time. I love, love, love her and this is great.
07. Now this is androgynous and sounds like Tracey Chapman doing Dylan. I genuinely canāt tell if this is a male or female voice but it doesnāt matter as itās very pretty
08. Spoken interlude – not sure what’s happening here
09. Perky indie, pizzicato backing, chorus has a bit of Lilly Allen about it but itās hard to see which may have influenced which – I think itās someone indier and 90āser. Pretty sure Iāll kick myself when I find out who this is but right now itās buried so deep I canāt place her.
10. Gentle electric folk/country with a lovely mellifluous bass and strings. I slightly prefer it when he isnāt singing, but his voice sounds like an elegant and youthful Leonard Cohen. No idea who this is but it brings a real sense of calm and soothing.
11. Seamless segue into track 11 and it sounds like Lambchop but isnāt. Spacey keyboard vibes over a mellow funky guitar, Iām undecided about this one, perhaps at this stage in the mix Iām craving a bit more energy. For me it sticks around for longer than necessary.
12. Ok some heftier drums lead to more strummy guitar with a slightly strangled male vocal ā McCartney-esque. And I donāt like McCartney. Itās a naggingly familiar Beatles/Beach Boys inflected rocker but I donāt think Iāve heard it before ā there are plenty of bands over the years that have done this kind of thing. Thereās nothing wrong with it, but this just isnāt really my cup of tea. Good use of theremin though.
13. Oh. An elegant string intro ā leading into fingerpicked guitar. French female vox that suddenly spike into English. Confusing, are we in Canada? Then a Male voiceover about insanity and nightmares. She kicks back in, but in English, or maybe it’s someone else altogether. It takes a sudden folky turn and then some Gypsy Kings guitars and a flute line arrive. What a mish-mash! Now a rap line – this must be some kind of international supergroup, an Iberian Imagined Village? Oh, now thereās some Teutonic style ranty rap about how you hate our guts, then Middle Eastern inflected rhythms and Arabic singing. I certainly feel this picked me up and shook me around so I’ll listen again and really intrigued about who/what the hell it is! Bonus Track/Outro ā film dialogue I can’t identify followed by a lispy singer with dramatic/histrionic faux Bowie delivery. A bit tuneless, is it a joke? It ends with an insult, so presumably yes.
Nice work, this was quite a ride and even the things I liked less than others held some intrigue. Looking forward to finding out who’s who, and what’s what, especially the final rollercoaster of a track!
@lemonhope and @tinysums
Mr L. Hope Thanks for the “remastered” Space cd…. loving it!
Haha – āremasteredā, I like it. – the Steven Wilson 5.1 mix is imminent š
Mine came today – unexpectedly! Admirable attention to detail @Lemonhope!
I was under the impression that no track IDs were to be revealed until everybody’s “blind” reviews were in, when full listings of everything would be published by @Kid_Dynamite.
That is how it’s intended to operate, certainly. š
I think that it’s difficult to set a hard and fast rule, but people inevitably reach for names to describe somehting. so guesses as to the band if you don’t know them are I think of:
‘ooh discoey, new wavey, definitely late seventies. Can’t help but thing Giorgio Moroder had a hand in it.’ is ok.
It’s Call Me by Blondie. Not ok really.
Always think about the person posting the review after you, there should be some space left for them to comment too.
thanks then to everyone who took part. I need to do a bit of chasing to sign everything off, so please see below. Apologies if I am mistakenly ascribing slackness to you, but this is what my notes say…
@contraryarticle, @arthur-cowslip, @johnny-99, @kool-aid-wino, @lemonhope – I don’t have tracklists from you. It’s possible @moseleymoles has them, in which case I’m sure he will put them up. (MM should also have the listings for @timtunes (still waiting one review from Winterish) and @winterish). Otherwise, either send them to me, or post them yourselves. All the reviews are in, so there’s no fear of spoilers.
@vulpes-vulpes needs to post his reviews of the discs received, and also provide a tracklist now his has been fully reviewed, while @bogart just needs to put up his review of @retropath2‘s offering to finish that one off and allow me to reveal what exactly was going on there.
Cheers all!
that would be @johnny99 and @kool_aid_wino of course. I blame cosmic rays.
I thought @bogart did?
I can’t see it up there ā
I could be wrong of course…
Maybe not. I just wish old @vulpes-vulpes would post so I can see what everything was/is.
Yes, not like him. Hope all is okay with our foxy friend
I sent mine to @moseleymoles
And posted, thanks for the reminder.
Cheers – you guys are working wonders with this whole swap thingy, so it’s almost inevitable that something falls through the cracks. Keep up the good work – I’m looking forward to the next one already š
Ok, @kool_aid_wino @lemonhope and @timtunes your listings are now retreived and posted. @kid-dynamite I think that is everyone I have. Had a good look for @winterish but nothing sent to me. Can everyone who is outstanding post them up. And let your group know so they can scoff/marvel.
Thanks guys for organizing this splendid shebang! Already looking forward to the next one! š