Ending the evening with one of my favourite bands:
I love the concept of what they did with the then three, now four albums regarding the geological and evolutionary history of the earth. Jonas Renske as a guest singer is just icing on the cake!
3 Likes
LP - Blue Note tone poet 2020 reissue : )
Bobby Hutcherson - Oblique
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Bobby Hutcherson - vibes, drums
Herbie Hancock - piano
Albert Stinson - bass
Joe Chambers - drums, tympani, gong
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on 21st July 1967
~ < < > > ~
18 Likes
Meat pie, sausage roll - Grandad Roberts and his son Elvis
Liam St John - Stripped Back deluxe set from a year or so back
2 Likes
Tenhi : Collected Works 2023 (2023 14LP Box Set Prophecy Productions)
I promised the next one I posted wouldn’t be Thrash Metal and this is far removed from that.
Tenhi are a Finnish band that play what I guess would be called Scandinavian NeoFolk.
Pretty much acoustic throughout the 8 albums in the set, with guitars, drums, piano, keys, violins, viola, flute, there is even some didgeridoo and Jew’s harp in there at times. Sung in Finnish in a low register (almost spoken in places), the vocals and the music in general has a melancholic air. While the odd track picks up the tempo, most is slow paced, and gives the albums a reflective and contemplative vibe that I find very relaxing. Some of the tracks would work as great soundtracks for those Scandi-Noir bleak TV shows.
This is music for listening late at night with a wee dram by your side.
I am not sure I own anything else quite like this so it’s hard to use another artist as a frame of reference. If someone knows another artist who is similar, I would be pleased to give them a try.
The box set spans their career from early demo tapes all the way to the 2023 album Valkama and is beautifully presented. All recordings up to 2011 have been remastered and all are on clear vinyl (and came in poly lined inners). All the albums sound phenomenal, quiet vinyl, great soundstage and superb instrument separation. A couple of mine have mild warps but nothing affecting play.
I normally wouldn’t go all in on a box set this size (I was just looking to get one album) but for some reason Jeff’s Amazing shop of wonders (Canadian Branch) had this at 70% off so it seemed too good to pass up, and I am glad I didn’t.
For the curious, the catalogue is on Qobuz (and I would guess Tidal). Kaski is probably not the best choice for a first time listen but the album Kauan is a good example of their early work and Saivo and Valkama would be good examples of their later releases and are probably their most “accessible” albums.
3 Likes
10 Likes
Kyuss - Blues For the Red Sun (1999 repress)
A classic for a reason. Blues For the Red Sun makes me think of Japanese noise merchants, Boris, not so much in sound but in ethos, i.e. Amplifier Worship as what you get is dense, feedback-haze of overdriven amps screeching out hosannas to distortion. Nothing too fancy or overwrought, it’s the kind of music made for dingy pub alcoves where the local band pumps out some head-noddin’ tunes at a decibel level to shatter the pint in your hand. Impossible not to grin when listening.
This is not an audiophile pressing by any stretch but it does what matters most here: get the sound of bass and distortion just right. There were moments that captured that live, in-your-face experience with an eerie realism. Play it loud and you shall be rewarded.
3 Likes
