What are you listening to in 2021 and why might anyone be interested

That was until it crackled all the way though after cleaning!!! Ffs

Atb
Kk

1 Like


The Washboard Union - Everbound

2 Likes

Brilliant album, my favourite of his.

1 Like

Richard Hawley - Lowedges (2003)
Sheffield’s own Richard Hawley… this man doesn’t get the credit he deserves… this album is a beautiful thing.

5 Likes

On CD:-

Tangerine Dream - Rubycon

12 Likes

Big fan and have seen her live on a number of occasions but am really struggling to like this

6 Likes

But this I just love. I know I have posted this recently but I think this is their finest work

9 Likes


Steely Dan - Can’t Buy a Thrill

22 Likes

First spin for this early 1980s spiritual jazz obscurity, first released on Nimbus West and now reissued in all its tumultuous glory by Pure Pleasure:

4 Likes

Danish String Quartet - Prism III
CD|2021
First listen.

6 Likes

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On original vinyl… :notes: :+1:t3:

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Alton Ellis - Mr Soul Of Jamaica (Music On Vinyl/Trojan)
An absolute gem recorded for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle Studio’s in the late sixties, one of the true greats in the history of Jamaican music Alton Ellis.
These recordings are never going to be on the lists of “audiophiles” but this MOV pressing is the best I’ve heard this record sound, miles better than my JA pressed Treasure Isle copy.


For anyone who might be interested Trojan have an expanded 2CD edition of the album, but as I’ve said before with these MOV’s really nice to have in its original format on a superb Record Industry pressing

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4 Likes

Not one to argue. But their best album given the polish it needed from a while back.
Totally captivating.

2 Likes

Toots & The Maytals - In The Dark (Music On Vinyl/Trojan)
See review below from reggae-vibes.com

MUSIC ON VINYL

The 1974 LP In The Dark is now re-released by Music On Vinyl. This well known Dutch reissue label (vinyl only!) has already released several Toots & The Maytals albums. Check Reggae Got Soul, From The Roots, Pass The Pipe, and Funky Kingston.

IN THE DARK

The set was the second LP that Chris Blackwell pushed to the international market. First, he issued Funky Kingston, then In The Dark and one year later he repackaged the two albums for a US release, aimed to introduce the group to a wider international audience. With a spiritual undertone and positive energy, From The Dark sounds more polished then previous albums such as From The Roots and Monkey Man. Lyrically, the opening track Got To Be There is undiluted gospel: “Got to be there, Just to answer to your name when the roll is called for your fate”. But there’s also room for a social commentary song like Time Tough: “I’ve got four hundred/month rent to pay, And I can’t find a job”. Outstanding song!

COVER

There’s an interesting cover version of John Denver’s world-wide country hit Take Me Home Country Roads. Toot’s solid version replaces ‘West Virginia’ with ‘West Jamaica’ in the lyrics. The inclusion of the late 1960s hit tune 54-46 Was My Number was a strong selling point. For the soul ballad fans, there’s Take A Look In The Mirror, not our cup of tea. The semi-autobiographical Having a Party is a soul-fueled track, the balladesque I See You sees Toots inna romantic mood. Fever vibrates with soul (listen to the horns) and funky grooves, a typical Toots & The Maytals dance tune! The album closer Sailing On is an obligate handclappin’ sing-a-long crossover song.
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7 Likes


Always worth a spin, love Mick Taylor’s contribution to the Stones, stellar guitar work.

12 Likes


St. Vincent - Masseducation

12 Likes

Toots & The Maytals - Unplugged On Strawberry Hill (Music On Vinyl)

I’ve not been familiar with this until now, really enjoyable and entertaining set, great fun to kick back with.
No DVD as per the original 2012 issue, but again a superb Record Industry pressing

BBC Review

These songs will never grow old, and this is Toots’ best album in years.

Angus Taylor 2012

Frederick “Toots” Hibbert is one of the great voices in popular music. His voice has remained timeless since he split from the golden harmonies of “Jerry” Matthias and “Raleigh” Gordon of the Maytals – even if the digital production of his later work has dated. But this acoustic revisit to his vintage hits is such an inspired idea that it’s a wonder no one thought of it before.

Recorded on Island patron Chris Blackwell’s colonial ex-plantation property Strawberry Hill, Unplugged marries the unique instrument that is Toots’ pipes with his own guitar plus percussion, bass and his daughter’s backing vocals. This being a scuffs-and-all live jam, Toots hangs loose with the lyrics, going off into revival-style exhortations and adlibs.

The mood is playful: Toots counts “one, two, nine, 10,” before the uplifting but foreboding Pressure Drop, and remarks that “This song is easy to play – not so easy to sing, though” of the mighty Monkey Man.

Even more recent material, like True Love Is Hard to Find (the title piece from 2004’s Grammy winning duet project), has a simple grit the studio cuts lack.

Also present are historic milestones: 1966 Jamaican Festival Song contest winner Bam Bam, and Do the Reggay (thought to be the debut use of the word on record – although Larry Marshall and Clancy Eccles have claims to the first tune in the style).

The major criticism is that, given it dovetails with 50 years of Jamaican Independence, more of the Maytals’ old ska numbers could have been included. The one example here, I’ll Never Grow Old, (with My New Name tacked on at the end) is a high point.

The album comes with a DVD containing three filmed recordings. There’s the Strawberry jam, a 1981 concert for German TV institution Rockpalast, and the informative – if uncritical – documentary Reggae Got Soul. Here, we hear that Toots wrote Monkey Man for then-producer Leslie Kong’s legendarily ugly brother.

Just as Toots’ fellow Kong label-mate Jimmy Cliff recently went back-to-basics and recorded a late landmark, Mr Hibbert has done the same. These songs will never grow old, and this is Toots’ best album in years.

Edit: the Reggae Got Soul doc has been broadcast by the BBC and on Iplayer, it’s also up on youtube

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6 Likes

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2019 remaster, on vinyl… :notes: :sunglasses:

13 Likes

Alanis Morissette - “havoc and bright lights” (2012)

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Barney Wilen’s landmark 1987 given the deluxe box set treatment by Elemental. Superb presentation, packaging, sound and, most importantly, music:

5 Likes