Rock - what are you listening to?

[cybot]

A German band from the late sixties much lauded by those in the know. Not earth shaking but they were one of the earliest Europeans to perform long free form sets of instrumental guitar based music suffused with keyboard embellishments and the like. The first album shows off their eastern bent after a tour in the Middle East.....

Absolutely stunning sounding reissues from the MIG label......

[mcq]

Listening to Julia Jacklin's debut album, Don't Let The Kids Win.  Jacklin is a dryly observational songwriter whose songs are based in the commonplace everyday and derive their power from their understated delivery and subtly reflective lyrical content.  Her voice is beautiful and pure, echoing country-folk greats of the past.

Best of all is the title track which is perfectly sequenced at the end of the album. This song encapsulates beautifully the album's common theme of the importance of absorbing life's lessons and identifying the importance of just who and what matters in our lives.

"And I've got a feeling 
That this won't ever change
We're gonna keep on getting older
It's gonna keep on feeling strange

And after a late one
I don't know anything
Except the more I keep on talking
The less breath I got left to sing"














And finally, Jacklin's cover of Big Thief's Paul.  The tortured anguish of Adrienne Lenker's vocal is absent, to be replaced by Jacklin's plainspoken directness which, in its own way, yields to the listener just about all of the bittersweet melancholy that lies at the heart of this great song.  Phrasing aside, she does not attempt to emulate Lenker in any way but, rather, channels her own life experiences into the performance to produce something that is personal to her. The pace is slower and there is a real sense of Jacklin savouring and reflecting upon every word.

[cybot]

Always been a fan of Tony and his cronies. This vinyl copy is from a long time ago and one of my favourites alongside the acknowledged Split which incidentally missed out on the #1 spot due to Billboard discrepancies.....

Great recording too with everything mixed just so. I always loved the way he got his voice recording perfect.....

[cybot]

Spoke about this earlier. From 1978 on Rounder Records. Listen to his re-entry after the organ solo around the 4.05 mark. Bliss!

[cybot]

Another bone fide classic from the Hogs. Love the sleeve/title. The second pic is just there purely for fun. Wonder is it the same guy? Great title too :)

[Sloop John B]

The mighty Undertones...............

Here Comes the summer..................


.sjb

[Sloop John B]

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Listening to the Stars of Heaven this evening, a great collection of their work.








.sjb

[cybot]

Vinyl double from the best incarnation of the band.....

[mcq]

Listening this afternoon to Aimee Mann's recent, very beautiful album entitled Mental Illness. The prevailing mood here is wistfulness, the songs themselves a series of long, lingering looks back at chances missed and loves lost and an overriding sense of simply trying to make sense of it all, as if caught rudderless in life. Mann's voice is a gorgeously affecting instrument which cuts straight to your heart, its plangent timbre setting the tone even before you stop to think about the lyrical content.  A remarkably cohesive suite of songs, delicate and nuanced, yet lyrically understated.  A very satisfying album and one of the best of Mann's career.



Mann recently performed a selection of these songs for one of NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.  Her songs benefit a great deal from a stripped-down, acoustic environment where their emotional content is unharnessed and given free rein.  I do think, however, that Mann feels more exposed in this environment and this is reflected in the nervous intensity in her face.  Between songs the banter is relaxed and witty but she does get very intense once the songs begin.  There is an added edge here which you don't hear on the album.

[cybot]

Reacquainting with an old warrior this evening. I'm grinning from ear to ear as, not only does it sound as it should, but despite the misgivings of the critics on his so called below par performance, it still delivers on every level. For me at least. Live, raw and vulnerable. 18 days later he was gone to his eternal gig in the sky. God bless you Jimi.....