The Ambassadors – Somewhere To Hide
by I have been meaning to write up the notes I had on this mini album for quite some time. I love small run, self funded …
Category: Random Release
Band’its At 10 O’Clock
The 101 Club in Clapham, South London, was a hugely popular and influential venue for music in the 70s and 80s and a lot of up and coming bands found their way on to the stage here. Alas, as can be seen below, it has long since closed down.
The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love
The interviewer was incredulous that an ambitious concept album, let alone a rock opera of all things, had been considered a good idea for release in these modern times. I think he used the word ‘brave’ a lot.
Manic Street Preachers – The Ultra Vivid Lament
The first thing to mention is this was written after Nicky Wire lost both of his parents just before the pandemic, and continuing into lockdown the album, or at least its lyrics, reflects sadness, insecurities and loneliness. The loneliness of being an orphan is real even well into middle age. Been there myself. But more than that it makes you reflect on and see the world altogether differently, probably due to the heightened sense of your own mortality.
Pete Townshend – Scoop
We kick off with an acoustic version of So Sad About Us, complete with intro by Pete himself. A lovely demonstration of Townshend’s guitar prowess. But, alas, at 2:26 it abruptly stops and heads straight into Brr. Brr is a great piece of music that sounds like it would fit on Rough Mix (1977) quite happily but I’d have preferred it if the entirety of So Sad had survived. Zelda is a standout from side one for me, it reminded me of Michael Nyman (reviewed here too) with the ‘heartbeat’ of violin going through the entire track, and as far as I know, appeared nowhere else other than this compilation. I couldn’t see it on any Who album but it would have played nicely with other solo stuff I think.
Wishbone Ash – Front Page News
Released in 1977, Front Page News definitely rates as early Wishbone, but even so this is what they call the Mk 2 lineup and there seems to be a consensus they were passed their best by then. I hadn’t realised they had been so prolific latterly either, with regular releases well into the 2010s.
Uppers On The South Downs
Having lived through, and been very much a part of the Mod Revival scene in the late 70s and early 80s, the only band I’d seen live or really heard of from this collection was Purple Hearts. They were quite popular at the time among my friends, and they recorded several fairly iconic albums such as Beat That and Head On Collision Time, featuring the Mod classic Frustration.
Echo And The Bunnymen – Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here was released on Korova in 1981 and was, by all measures, a success – a top 10 album in the UK, an entry in the US Billboard album charts, and it spawned two singles, A Promise and Over The Wall.
Dollar Brand Trio – Anatomy Of A South African Village
Just a shade under 15 minutes, Anatamoy starts off with a single piano playing traditional jazz style over the thrumb of mingling voices in the audience. You can almost smell the cigarette smoke.
Michael Nyman – The Kiss and Other Movements
Imagine a Peter Greenaway movie, personified, going into Pete Townshend’s Lifehouse. The result would be the biorhythm and undulating classical melody of Michael Nyman.