ROBYN HITCHCOCK – ” The Man Downstairs Demos & Rarities “

Posted: August 8, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Man Upstairs released back in 2014, made with producer Joe Boyd (Nick Drake, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention) and was envisioned as “a kind of Judy Collins 1965-era album: half covers, half originals.” Robyn Hitchcock has now shared an album of outtakes from the record, naming it the  “The Man Downstairs Demos & Rarities” it is now available for download and limited edition CD exclusively through Bandcamp.

These songs were recorded by Charlie Francis and Jessica Corcoran in 2013 in the lead up to making “The Man Upstairs” album. These previously unreleased versions of “River Man”, “Arnold Layne” and “I Pray When I’m Drunk”, as well as demos for “All Love And No Peace” and “Cavendish Square” extending the concept of the original album.

“These songs were mostly recorded in 2013 as demos for ‘The Man Upstairs,'” says Robyn. ” in his attic, and in many cases didn’t survive being re-cut with Joe Boyd in London when it came to session time.” Listen to the whole thing below.

Robyn Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. After leading The Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the influential Underwater Moonlight, Hitchcock launched a prolific solo career. Robyn has also been selling some of his paintings online, and giving a portion of the proceeds to help touring musicians during COVID-19. The five he initially put up on Ebay have all sold but maybe there will be more.

Robyn also recently told us about the music, movies and books he’s been digging during pandemic lockdown.

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In the autumn of 2013 I moved into the upstairs apartment of a house in Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight. It was just along the road from the house in the photo (left). Charles and Emma Darwin had stayed there in 1859 and found it a tad damp and chilly, apparently. 154 years later, central heating had yet to arrive. I’d already been recording demos for the album I was scheduled to make with Joe Boyd producing, back in London, the week that I moved in. So I had a lot of quality time on trains and ferries, which was fun, in a slow, eternal way. By November the whole of “The Man Upstairs” was recorded – and a slew of other recordings too. Hence “The Man Downstairs: Demos & Rarities”, out now on Tiny Ghost Records, which is basically a companion piece to the album released on Yep Roc in 2014. Only one song overlaps, but the mood is pretty continuous, and I’m pleased to be able to share some performances that slipped away when Joe and I tried re-cutting them for the official album. RH.

You can also catch Robyn and his partner Emma Swift on their regular Stageit livestreams. Their next performances are August 12th at 5 PM Eastern and August 14th at 11 AM Eastern. Emma also has an album of Bob Dylan covers out August 14th.

All vocals: Robyn Hitchcock
All instruments: Robyn Hitchcock

LAUREL CANYON the Documentary

Posted: August 8, 2020 in MUSIC
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Laurel Canyon is a neighbourhood in Los Angeles, but for a lot of music fans it’s a time and place, and a shorthand for a mystical folk-rock sound that included Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Doors, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, the Eagles and many more. This two-part docu-series, made by Alison Ellwood (who also directed The Go-Go’s), gives an overview of the scene, the sound and the people who made the music. “Through a wealth of rare and newly unearthed footage and audio recordings, the series features an intimate portrait of the artists who created a musical revolution that changed popular culture. Uniquely immersive and experiential, this event takes us back in time to a place where a rustic canyon in the heart of Los Angeles became a musical petri dish.”

Pulling back the curtain on a mythical world and provide an up-close look at the lives of the musicians who inhabited it.

The BAND – ” Once Were Brothers “

Posted: August 8, 2020 in MUSIC
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If you loved The Last Waltz but want to know more about The Band and frontman Robbie Robertson, Once Were Brothers is the “confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robertson’s young life and the creation of one of the most enduring groups in the history of popular music, The Band. The film is a moving story of Robertson’s personal journey, overcoming adversity and finding camaraderie alongside the four other men who would become his brothers in music, together making their mark on music history.” It’s got interviews with Martin Scorsese, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and more.

ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND is a confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robertson’s young life and the creation of one of the most enduring groups in the history of popular music, The Band. The film is a moving story of Robertson’s personal journey, overcoming adversity and finding camaraderie alongside the four other men who would become his brothers in music, together making their mark on music history. ONCE WERE BROTHERS blends rare archival footage, photography, iconic songs and interviews with Robertson’s friends and collaborators including Martin Scorsese, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and more. Directed by Daniel Roher

XTC – ” Oranges and Lemons ” Reissue

Posted: August 7, 2020 in MUSIC
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XTC / Oranges and Lemons 2LP vinyl

XTC‘s 1989 album Oranges and Lemons is being made available on vinyl next month. The album, which features the singles ‘King For A Day’, ‘The Mayor of Simpleton’ and ‘The Loving’ is the eighth in a series of XTC Classics to be issued on a 200g vinyl edition. It has been mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering with input from Andy Partridge and is fully approved by XTC.

This is the first time the record has been available on vinyl since the original release and a few improvements have been made, including reworking the sleeve to present the front cover image in all its psychedelic glory and making this a gatefold with song lyrics (the original was a single sleeve). Why the Mayor of Simpleton was not a bigger hit has always flummoxed me. Superbly catchy and Moulding’s bassline alone is a solid classic (apparently he was asked to join Pink Floyd around this time).

The single “Dear God” knocked loudly on the door of commercial acceptance in America, and after over a decade of making some of the best records of the era, it seemed that bigger success was just within reach as they released ‘Oranges & Lemons’ in 1989. The first single from the album, “The Mayor of Simpleton,” actually made the Billboard Hot 100 and checked in at No. 1 on the Modern Rock chart. The bright and buoyant track was but one gem among two LPs worth of great tunes. The only fault of the LP was its somewhat glossy ’90s production values. Fortunately, the songs are able to cut through the glare, for the most part.

XTC “Oranges & Lemons” released on 27 February 1989 in the U.K

“We always think in terms of a colour for each album. The last one, Skylarking, had a pastoral, paisley feel. This album is more aggressive. The songs are up and positive. I’m a pretty optimistic person myself, sometimes aggressively so… like jolly sandpaper. This album has a 1,000-watt bulb where there used to be a 40-watt. It’s fluorescent. Definitely bright colours.”
Andy Partridge

Extract from Oranges & Lemons Blu-ray 5.1 Surround, Filmed by West-One Television ,London ,16 January 1989
UK version directed by Nick Jones (as Ian Absentia)
Oranges And Lemons is the third in a series of expanded XTC album reissues, including 5.1 Surround mixes, new stereo mixes and High-Resolution stereo mixes by Steven Wilson, along with a wealth of extra audio and visual material.
Steven Wilson produced the mixes with the input of founder band member Andy Partridge and the full approval of the band. This cd/blu-ray edition is presented in special packaging with an expanded booklet and sleeve-notes by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory.

“Oranges & Lemons” is the third in a series of remixed & expanded XTC classics. The album has been mixed from the original studio masters by Steven Wilson with input from Andy Partridge, and is fully approved by XTC. The CD features a completely new stereo album mix, while the Blu-Ray features a wealth of content, continuing the “virtual box set on a single disc” concept of the first two releases in the series:

  • 5.1 Surround album mix in 24bit/96khz available in LPCM and DTS HD MA
  • a new stereo album mix in 24bit/96khz LPCM audio
  • instrumental versions of all new stereo mixes in 24bit/96khz LPCM audio
  • a flat transfer of the original stereo album mix in 24bit/96khz LPCM audio
  • 2 separate sets of demo & work tape sessions showing the evolution of the album and associated recordings
  • 1 set of pre-recording rehearsals, promos & ID links for radio stations & record companies
  • a collection of single mixes & XTC’s version of Captain Beefheart’s “Ella Guru”
  • promo films for “The Mayor of Simpleton” (3 versions), “King for a Day” and “The Road to Oranges & Lemons’, a rarely seen home-made film by the band explaining the album (and themselves!) to Geffen Records USA.

Presented in special packaging with expanded booklet and sleeve-notes by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding & Dave Gregory.

WASHED OUT – ” Purple Noon “

Posted: August 7, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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“Purple Noon” is Atlanta-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ernest Greene’s fourth full-length album, and it doesn’t disappoint. Mixed by long time collaborator, Ben H. Allen, “Purple Noon” delivers a lush, cinematic soundscape. There is a strong hint of Sade’s influence on this album both sonically and vocally. Not a bad thing.

Washed Out’s air conditioning still works, if “Purple Noon” is any indication. Vaporous and immersive, the airy new album from songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ernest Greene’s pet project is a cool, ultra-modern cave of powdery Chillwave luxury and leisure that harkens back to Washed Out’s debut EP, Life of Leisure. That record established the artistically restless Greene as one of the genre’s up-and-coming visionaries, before he started experimenting with stylish synth-pop, full-band psychedelia and hip-hop and samples, not to mention his creative adventures in audio/visual splendor and animation.

To see him assume the role of Bryan Ferry is an unexpected twist, as the young man’s fancy turns from escapism to widescreen romance on Purple Noon. “Too Late” is suave and seductive, with breathy vocals, gentle finger snaps and soft throbs setting the mood, as “Face Up” commits the sweetest taboo of slow dancing with Sade. Drinking in the breezy island grooves and languid beats of Ibiza, “Paralyzed” and “Time to Walk Away” lay around poolside, while the lush and dreamy “Hide” is pure ‘80s pop pleasure that tastes like New Order. Have a fruity cocktail. It’s Purple Noon somewhere.

Almost a week out from the release of Purple Noon, so I thought I’d share another snippet. This song is called “Hide” and its another one of the slightly darker moments on the album. While I wouldn’t go as far as saying that Purple Noon is a concept album, it does focus solely on one major theme. It basically examines the various stages of a love-affair – from an initial meeting, to early infatuation, all the way through the heartbreak of when things start to fall apart. “Hide” is about that place in a relationship where its unclear whether its best to just try harder to make it work or to just completely cut ties and move on…

Washed Out  the album “Purple Noon” (Release Date: 8/07/2020 on Sub Pop Records

RYAN and PONY – ” Moshi Moshi “

Posted: August 7, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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When Soul Asylum needed a new lead guitarist in 2016, Ryan Smith answered the call, indefinitely delaying the Ryan and Pony show in the process. Freed to work on side projects, having fulfilled his duties with the mangy Twin Cities alternative-rock curs on their strong 2020 knockout Hurry Up and Wait, Smith hooked up again with Pony, aka Kathie Hixon-Smith, for the sleek, fast-paced indie rock of Moshi Moshi, their debut LP.

Stuffed with tight hooks and bristling with propulsive, cyber-punk energy, it’s still an emotionally resonant, human record that’s timely and insightful, as the dark pulse of “First Night” races, the thumping, squeaky clean “Start Making Sense” lives with modern tension and “Starry Eyes” glazes over in a rushing dream-pop reverie. Slick, infectious EDM moves “Cinematic” and “Fast As I Can” glide along and groove, as Ryan and Pony take Prince’s “I Would Die 4 You” on a guitar-oriented, rock ‘n roll joy ride. Ryan And Pony is a brand-new project from two indie-rockers who have been kicking around the much-vaunted Minneapolis music scene for years. Their debut album Moshi Moshi was recorded at a variety of Minneapolis studios including Flight Simulator, Flowers, Master Mix, and The Kill Room with Ryan producing. 

Ryan is a workaholic multi-instrumentalist who has been playing lead guitar in Soul Asylum since 2016. Pony is a flamboyant performer and artist raised by deaf parents. Together they have made numerous albums and toured internationally leading The Melismatics. On Moshi Moshi they fuse Dream-Pop, post-Punk, Brit-rock, EDM, and good ol’ fashioned Rock ‘n’ Roll into a sound all their own; irony, weirdness, and melody are at its heart. Peter Anderson (The Ocean Blue, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs) adds his killer drum skills to the mix.

It’s even easier to fall for the sweet jangle-pop sparkler “Trouble in Mind” – song of the year candidate? – and the moonstruck, ’60s girl-group swoon of “Be Still My Baby.” Moshi Moshi doesn’t play hard to get.

Band Members:
Ryan-singing and stuff
Pony-singing and stuff
Featuring Peter Anderson on drums

LIAR FLOWER – ” Geiger Counter “

Posted: August 7, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Liar, Flower cvr

Considered one of the original “Riot Grrrls” by no less an authority than Courtney Love, the reclusive Katie Jane Garside is again ready for her close-up. Once the shrieking, whispering doll in dirty, ripped dresses who angrily fronted noisy indie-rock terrorists Daisy Chainsaw in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Garside has been collaborating more recently with partner Chris Whittingham as Ruby Throat, releasing four albums and an EP under that name.

Now going by Liar, Flower, the duo unveil the brilliantly arty and delightfully confounding alternate reality of “Geiger Counter”, where the wintry folk of “Baby Teeth,” the ethereal and haunting “Blood Berries” and an eerily quiet “Hole in My Hand” consort with the carnivalesque romp “Little Brown Shoes” and the radioactive, glam-rock euphoria of “My Brain is Lit Light an Airport.” A dirty bomb going off in an electrical storm, the latter surges forward on the strength of a magnetic, repeating guitar riff, just as the trashy, distorted blues of a crackling “Mud Stars” is sucked into glittery sonic quicksand. Often coy and alluring, with outbursts of witchy, bloody screams and squeals, the sheer diversity of Garside’s uniquely textured vocal mania is dramatic and dizzying, just like the fairy tale poetry of Geiger Counter.

“Little Brown Shoe” from the album ‘Geiger Counter’ by: Liar Flower

DAVID BOWIE – ” Something In The Air ” Live Paris 1999

Posted: August 7, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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On August. 14th, the David Bowie estate will drop a new Live record, showcasing the late rock legend’s 14th October 1999 performance in Paris, France. Bowie was in particularly good spirits that night at the the Elysée Montmarte, having been awarded the country’s highest artistic honour – the Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres – earlier that day.

The Bowie’s rarities-filled concert in 1999 Paris will serve as the next installment in an ongoing series of digital releases dedicated to the music icon’s Nineties concert work.

“Something in the Air (Live Paris 99)” — one of a handful of full-concert promotional performances Bowie made following the release of 1999’s Hours. To stoke excitement for the release, fans can now view a live clip from the show, marking Bowie’s first performance of  Aladdin Sane track “Drive-In Saturday” in 25 years. That night Bowie responded with a set that journeyed into the less-travelled corners of his back catalogue.

The 15-song concert featured “Can’t Help Thinking About Me,” a single he recorded in 1965 and hadn’t performed live in over 30 years, plus revived renditions of Station to Station’s “Word on a Wing,” and the live debut of Hours’ “Something in the Air.”

While three of the concert’s recordings were used for “Hours” B-sides, the other 12 tracks remained unreleased. Something in the Air (Live Paris 99) will debut on streaming services on August 15th. The live LP follows the similar digital-only releases of an Earthling era live collection, LiveandWell.com as well as Ouvrez Le Chien (Live Dallas 95).

Something in the Air (Live Paris 99) will be available via all steaming platforms on August. 14th.

L.A SALAMI – ” The Cause of Doubt & a Reason to Have Faith “

Posted: August 7, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Lookman Adekunle Salami -aka ‘L.A. Salami’ – is a rare breed of musician that the world has been craving since the height of storytelling legends like Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and Neil Young. Not quite folk, not quite indy, not quite common and certainly not boring, L.A. Salami’s lyricism and voice are hypnotic, His new album ‘The Cause of Doubt & A Reason To Have Faith’ is out now,

The LP  sees Lookman explore experimental ground, touching on a bit of everything from rap to psychedelic folk, and sultry grooves which venture into extended hypnotic jams. This isn’t the music of a virtuoso: it’s explorative, daring, meditative and wild.  Lookman describes the inspiration behind his new album,  “I love the deliberateness, cleanness and colour of modern music, but I also miss the complete chaos of old, like some Captain Beefheart and Velvet Underground records, or even 90s HipHop records with the peaking 808s and static compressed vocals al la Wu Tang, or blues records like Robert Johnson’s. Somewhere in there is the carnival I’ve been searching for. This entire album could very well be a love letter to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground.”

Lookman began writing poetry at a very early age, which then evolved into writing lyrics and he taught himself the guitar aged 21. Fostered from birth, Lookman was periodically re-united with his birth mother from the age of 5, which he describes as being emotionally confusing, “I find it rears its ugly head consistently in my life, and music became one of the easiest ways to release that pressure valve every so often.”

L.A. Salami’s two albums to date, ‘Dancing With Bad Grammar’ (2016) and ‘The City of Bootmakers’ (2018), have seen the London-based artist present a singular vision. His evocative, poetic lyrics span everything from grand existential questions to vignettes of everyday life as well as the affairs and anxieties of modern Britain.

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Released July 17th, 2020

KYLE CRAFT – ” Rising Sign “

Posted: August 7, 2020 in MUSIC
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This may need a little explaining… so back when everything first started with the pandemic, I was wrapping up the tracking of what would be my 4th album. It’s a pretty groovy spin, maybe some of my best yet? That record is done and I’m very excited for you to hear it, but that IS NOT this record. This is Sugar Water... an odd little collection of songs that will be out in early September. Songs about witches, Greyhounds, real hounds, the best singer in Abilene (also a hound), evil motorcycle riding grandmothers, and the best Hummingbird nectar on the market.

Typically when announcing an album, you have a track list and it’s all finished; however, that isn’t the case here. Right now, there are 7 songs. My hope is to write and record 3 more between now and September. Here’s the first single! It’s called Rising Sign and it isn’t anything at all about the subject matter I mentioned earlier… Cheers Sugar Water... my 5th album… out before the 4th one.

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This song is the first single for Sugar Water… An album that will likely be out in early September.
Released August 7th, 2020
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