tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52373159379136648322024-02-19T07:16:35.568+00:00A CD A Day...Gradually reducing the 'unlistened CD' pile, one album at a time. Thoughts,that sort of thing.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-90075705151537304132010-08-04T17:11:00.000+01:002010-08-04T17:11:31.755+01:00Aug. 3rd: Trying to talk over the sound of rushing blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/k/karine-polwart/album-scribbled-in-chalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/k/karine-polwart/album-scribbled-in-chalk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<b>Karine Polwart- Scribbled In Chalk (2006, Spit & Polish)</b><br />
<br />
I don't know why it's taken me this long to <b> </b>listen to this album: I bought it <i>years </i>ago, I've seen Karine Polwart live about 3 times for various reasons, I knew I had this somewhere, and every time I thought 'you have to listen to that CD' but..didn't. Now she's come to my attention again as part of the Burns Unit 'folk supergroup' and I finally got off my arse and gave this album a shot.<br />
<br />
Polwart was the lead singer of Scots folk band Malinky, and has collaborated with various other folky people- the Battlefield Band, Lau, etc etc.Scribbled In Chalk is her second album, after 2004's Faultlines. She has a lovely, unmistakeably Scottish voice. The words that come to me listening to this are 'accessible folk'. In fact I'm wondering whether I'd categorise this as folk at all- but everyone else seems to be, so I guess I must be the odd one out. To me almost every track here could fit right in on the playlists of modern commercial radio, particularly Radio 2. The album is very much in the 'radio-friendly female singersongwriter' mould, albeit with the occasional bit of piano accordion. If you like Emma Pollock, or King Creosote's major label outings, you'll like this. Intelligent, adult pop-rock, basically. 'Hole In The Heart' and 'Baleerie Baloo'-about a Scots missionary killed at Auchwitz- are particular standouts, but it's all of a pretty high standard. 'Terminal Star' has a really great string arrangement, as does the aforementioned 'Hole...'<br />
I really can't knock this; there are other albums which move me, excite me, make me dance,whatever, more, but Scribbled In Chalk is a really nice listen, especially if you like distinctive voices.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-25521512233810235652010-07-14T22:37:00.000+01:002010-07-14T22:37:59.462+01:00July 14th: In love with second best<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/b/barenaked-ladies/album-maybe-you-should-drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/b/barenaked-ladies/album-maybe-you-should-drive.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<b>Barenaked Ladies- Maybe You Should Drive (1994,Sire)</b><br />
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We're back to the 'bought in a French record shop secondhand' pile... I love, love, love BNL's début album Gordon. There's not a dud on it, and it's full of genuinely affecting, well written songs- the big hit, 'If I Had A Million Dollars' isn't even in the top 5. 'Be My Yoko Ono', 'The Flag', 'Wrap Your Arms Around Me', 'Brian Wilson', 'What A Good Boy', etc etc are all excellent, and haven't dated at all (if you overlook the occasional Milli Vanilli reference). Unfortunately, the band have never really bettered it. They have had moments of occasional brilliance since- 'Break Your Heart' from 1996's Born On A Pirate Ship, for example- but have never had an another album with such a run of good songs.<br />
I bought Maybe You Should Drive expecting Gordon mk. 2. It just didn't happn.There is nothing which touches me to the degree that 'Blame It On Me' does...there is, more seriously, a serious lack of memorable tunes. With the exception of 'A', I can't see myself being able to hum any of this album by this time next week.<br />
It's not a complete damp squib;'Everything Old Is New Again' is a good example of Steven Page's talent for writing about tragic relationships; 'Great Provider''s production has stood the test of time well.<br />
<br />
Generally, the whole album just feels slightly empty. The inclusion of preppy pop songs like 'A'(complete with archetypal crap key change!) or 'Jane' jars with me...which is odd, because BNL are after all basically a pop band. <br />
I'm guessing mine is a minority opinion, but honestly, buy Gordon or Born On A Pirate Ship instead. They're less obviously commercial and the quality of song is far higher.<br />
I really like BNL. I just don't get this.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-87535722803655850732010-07-09T10:30:00.002+01:002010-07-14T10:39:49.492+01:00July 9th: Peu m'importe...On est comme deux Jackson Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://image.radio-france.fr/franceinter/_media/diff/395035021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://image.radio-france.fr/franceinter/_media/diff/395035021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div><b><b><br />
</b></b></div><b>Benjamin Biolay- Trash Yéyé (2007, Virgin France)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Benjamin Biolay is, basically, the new Gainsbourg. It may seem a lazy comparison but in this case, it's an apt one. Biolay is a singer-songwriter, sometime actor and record producer who is at the forefront of modern, intelligent, literate French pop. Trash Yéyé was his last album for Virgin/EMI before they dropped him after unsatisfactory sales (he then came back with a double LP on an independent label which got rave reviews, so EMI are probably kicking themselves).<br />
<br />
Take Gainsbourg. Remove the dirty-old-man element. Add even more talent for lyrical inventiveness. Voila- you've got Benjamin Biolay. His understated vocal style resembles a mix of Serge & Etienne Daho; his arrangements are full of lush strings, cinematic flourishes and 70s influences. You could go down a list of "essential bits for a chanson album" and most of them would be here. Although much is familiar, that's not to say that the album is clichéd; it does what it does very well. There are surprises along the way: 'Laissez Aboyer Les Chiens' which starts off like a French Portishead, the discoish arrangement of 'Rendez Vous Qui Sait'.....the utterly incongrous Bobby McFerrin sample at the end of 'Bien Avant'. Which shouldn't work, but does.<br />
<br />
There are various, numerous French artists doing chanson ("nouvelle" or otherwise) badly. Biolay isn't one of them. Anglophone countries' general rejection of foreign-language music will probably prevent him from getting the wider recognition he deserves.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-62493150933602800972010-07-09T01:09:00.000+01:002010-07-09T01:09:36.522+01:00July 8th: ...The most beautiful mistake of the year.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fencerecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/KING-CREOSOTE-450x444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://www.fencerecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/KING-CREOSOTE-450x444.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
<b>King Creosote- Radge Weekend Starts Here (Fence, 2001)</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote, is very probably Scotland's most prolific musician.I've lost count of how many albums he's put out by this point (50? Maybe?) and it's impossible to be sure, because you will never hear all or even most of them: the majority are limited-run CD-Rs on his own label, the acclaimed Fence Collective based in Fife, Scotland.<br />
In addition to his self--released CD-Rs and Fence LPs, KC has put out a couple of albums for Warners/679 and a fair few for Domino- these tend to include several songs rerecorded from rarer releases and are well worth a buy.<br />
Radge...is one of the limited-run albums, which i was lucky enough to pick up at a gig. Like all of KC's work, what holds it together is a) Kenny's frankly lovely voice and b) the quality of the songwriting. Radge...is relatively light on the dictaphone-tastic and spoken word tracks which characterise his CD-Rs, and includes at least 3 songs which stand up with the best of his work. Firstly, a cover of Lone Pigeon's 'Heaven Come Down Tonight' which takes an already beautiful song and rearranges it with amazing vocal harmonies; Handwashed, apparently the album's 'Calvinist disapproval' moment-sample lyric, "It's great that you hollow out canoes"- and my favourite track, 'Mantra-rap'. Ace arrangement, lovely vocals, clever yet affecting lyrics- there's no way to really go wrong with that.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
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</b>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-77329086662363189622010-07-09T00:28:00.000+01:002010-07-09T00:28:50.953+01:00*Ahem*So, sticking to the timescale of the 100 days project didn't happen, basically because life got in the way-and when I was signing up I forgot that I was moving a few thousand miles round the world midway through the 100 days. Um...not my most switched-on moment. However, there's still a large pile of unlistened stuff on my floor now I've come back from the temporary foreign exile, and it taunts me every time I walk past it. So I'm going to try and finish the pile, for my own satisfaction if nothing else. I can't promise daily updates, but this time I've got someone behind me to kick my arse if I get lazy, so hopefully I'll have no excuse...Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-49030842030822964892010-01-16T23:48:00.000+00:002010-01-16T23:48:44.086+00:00Dec. 20th: I read a magazine that said, 'by 17, your life is at an end'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Charlotte555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Charlotte555.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Charlotte Gainsbourg-5:55 (Because Music, 2006)</b><br />
<br />
Charlotte Gainsbourg is the daughter of Serge and Jane Birkin. Her first recording was called 'Lemon Incest'. A duet with her father. Cue controversy.<b> </b>5:55 is her first LP as an adult, and is mostly written by Gainsbourg fans Air, with input from Neil Hannon,Jarvis Cocker, and Nigel Godrich, amongst others. All but one track is in English.<br />
If Gainsbourg was attempting to make something distinct from the work of her parents, she pretty much fails: she sings with the same enunciated delivery as her mother, and the songs sound like Serge album tracks, particularly the swirling string arrangements. It makes the listening experience slightly unnerving; the material is unknown but also feels very familiar. This could easily have been released in 1971.<br />
That's not to say the album is a failure. It's a pretty good album, particulary the single 'Songs That We Sing'. It's perfectly competent; I just can't shake the feeling that I'm listening to a Jane 'n' Serge duets album from the 70s.I really can't,<br />
<b></b>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-9637782038140979872010-01-16T23:07:00.000+00:002010-01-16T23:07:37.971+00:00Dec.19th:You could have made my summer-I should have leapt upon you<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theskinny.co.uk/media/images/254/254_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.theskinny.co.uk/media/images/254/254_medium.jpg" width="317" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>James Yorkston- The Year of The Leopard (Domino,2006)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Confession time: I am a huge Fence Collective fan, of which James Yorkston forms a part-hell, it's through F<b>e</b>nce that I heard about the 100 Days project. Despite this, I don't know James Yorkston's work that well. I own most of the records, but haven't got round to listening to all of them properly. I've seen him live twice but still, only know a couple of albums properly. This is one I don't.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's pretty much the archetypal JY album; acoustic guitar, the occasional clarinet, accordions, fairly sedate. There are some really lovely songs on this- in particular 'I Awoke', in a less spartan arrangement than on his mini-album Hoopoe, the title track and 'Summer Song'. In a way, the album is strangely predictable. There are no huge surprises and the tracks pretty much flow into each other (except for the stream-of-conciousness vocal/electronic combo of 'Woozy With Cider'. That's not necessarily a bad thing; it makes for an album that works as a cohesive whole. Although this is a more immediately accessible collection, I'd still say that I prefer JY's 2002, Moving Up Country. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-18306952138437199622010-01-16T20:32:00.000+00:002010-01-16T20:32:02.782+00:00Dec. 18th: Tout seul dans l'arène je me suis perdu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lapeniche.net/magazine/public/Emma/mister-mystere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.lapeniche.net/magazine/public/Emma/mister-mystere.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>-M- -Mister Mystère (Barclay, 2009)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>-</b>M- is the pseudonym of Mathieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and son of French-Libanese chasonnier Louis Chedid (hence the pseudonym, to avoid pigeonholing, I think). Mister Mystère is his 4th vocal album; he also has one instrumental LP and a soundtrack to his name.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I may as well say it straight off- I love this album. I haven't heard much of his earlier stuff (yet- it's further down the pile) but what I have heard, I like. Stylistically the album's a bit of a mixture: straight chanson, arrangements strongly reminiscent of Malian pop, bank robberies in musical form (!), funk....particular favourites are 'Amssétou'-the Mali-esque one-'Est-ce c'est ça?',whose intro sounds weirdly identical to the Kook's 'Naive', and 'Le Roi des Ombres' which has a truly brilliant intro and arrangement,very atmospheric, almost 70s-esque.<b> </b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As far as I know Amazon UK don't have this yet. Amazon.fr do, obviously,and iTunes. It's worth seeking out, preferably in physical format:you get a DVD with extra songs as well. <b> </b> <br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-82425242207877827172010-01-16T19:40:00.000+00:002010-01-16T19:40:46.549+00:00Damn exams, and Christmas,and new year, and minibreaks...RIGHT. This is TERRIBLE, I know. I'm almost up to date- I have loads of days' worth written up,just not typed on blogger- SO. The plan in to type up a few at a time, and hopefully get up to date that way. To be honest the idea of it is scaring me slightly but we'll see how it goes....Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-60620586900408336862009-12-18T20:39:00.000+00:002009-12-18T20:39:05.375+00:00Dec. 17th: Dancing little marionette, are you happy now?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://onealbumaday.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/gold_ryan-adams1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://onealbumaday.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/gold_ryan-adams1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Ryan Adams-Gold (Lost Highway,2001)</b><br />
<br />
Gold is Ryan Adam's second solo album, after 2000's<b> </b>Heartbreaker. It was meant to be a double album but isn't, condensed onto a single disc (and a limited 5 track bonus side/CD) in order to allow the record label to pay him less money. It still lasts over 70 minutes; at 16 tracks the initial impression when I listened to it was 'it's overlong', and it is. There are undoubtedly a lot of good songs here but about halfway through my mind began to wander. It appears you really can have too much of a good thing.<br />
When Adams is good, he's very good- see for example the much-covered 'When The Stars Are Blue', 'Answering Bell', 'Somehow, Someday'. My tolerance for alt. country rock wavered at the nearly 10-minute-long 'Nobody Girl' however....by the time 'Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd' rolled around I was pressing fastforward willing the Adams overdose to end. Which is a shame, really, because this is a genuinely great album, in small doses.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-78527182126085839372009-12-18T20:12:00.000+00:002009-12-18T20:12:15.746+00:00Dec. 16th: Turmoil! Carnage!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlYHm8of7q8zBF-qIwQpYFxoYCCUlRViFQRNTWteDy2gKVvdL7qQEGw9xOkri4FmIv5Z6gYVjgvYB57n3LDY1gAehOVnEurNrgZeEh8QOWfSJC9F9k3ZOpBLd2Uz2nE9Hr7y67NXqNy4/s1600/bjork_volta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlYHm8of7q8zBF-qIwQpYFxoYCCUlRViFQRNTWteDy2gKVvdL7qQEGw9xOkri4FmIv5Z6gYVjgvYB57n3LDY1gAehOVnEurNrgZeEh8QOWfSJC9F9k3ZOpBLd2Uz2nE9Hr7y67NXqNy4/s320/bjork_volta.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Bjork- Volta (One Little Indian, 2007)</b><br />
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I'll say it now. Mostly of the time I don't 'get' Bjork, past about 1993. Debut is great. I was 7 when Post came out and bought it on the strength of 'It's Oh So Quiet'...heh, yeah. Post was a surprise. Telegram isn't bad either....but Vespertine? Medulla? Nah, not my thing.Again, this was going for 8 euro in FNAC and I thought I'd listen to the reviews and buy it.<br />
Volta is not going to make me into a Bjork fan. It was billed as 'poppy', 'accessible', but well, it's not. It just sounds angry. The sheer noise of it makes my head hurt.<br />
This is an album full of collaborations- Timbaland, Antony Hegarty, etc etc. Timbaland + Bjork should = pop genius.It doesn't/ Out of their 3 collaborations, Innocence comes closest, but no cigar.<br />
Hmm, I don't know what more I could say about Volta. If I had to sum it up: Brass! Tribal! Squelchy!<br />
<br />
Sorry, Bjork. Maybe next time, eh?Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-72046155277196296382009-12-18T19:48:00.001+00:002009-12-18T19:48:00.094+00:00Dec. 15th: The police always come late, if they come at all<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://old.yoursonglyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fast-car-tracy-chapman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://old.yoursonglyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fast-car-tracy-chapman.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Tracy Chapman- Tracy Chapman ( Elektra, 1988)</b><br />
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This was another 'going cheap in a French record shop' buy, which I mainly bought for 'Talkin' Bout A Revolution' and 'Fast Car'. Those two songs have been overplayed to the point where the meaning was lost to me, but listening properly to the lyrics for the first time reminds how good Chapman actually is. The folk influences are more obvious to me over a whole album, and it's clear that 'Talkin'...' and 'Fast Car' aren't even the best songs on the LP. That honour probably goes to either 'For My Lover' or the frankly un-nerving unaccompanied 'Behind The Wall' which relates a domestic violence situation through the eyes of the couple's neighbour. Utterly despairing but absolutely beautiful. This album was something of a pleasant surprise.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-25737513546841022272009-12-18T19:46:00.000+00:002009-12-18T19:46:00.367+00:00Dec. 14th: How do I know you feel it? How do I know it's true?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://rockmyreligion.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/blue-nile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rockmyreligion.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/blue-nile.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <b>The Blue Nile-Hats (Linn Records, 1989)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Blue Nile are a not-terribly-prolific (4 albums in nearly 30 years) Scottish band, who so impressed a non-record-releasing hifi company with their songs that they set up a label in order to release their music.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love two Blue Nile songs- debut single 'I Love This Life', which is bloody impossible to find in any kind of physical format; it's on a 2004 single currently going for silly money on eBay but that's it- and 'The Downtown Lights', which is on this LP. I've never actually managed to listen all the way through.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On first listen the album is exceedingly 80s. It's almost entirely electronic and chockablock with synths but hasn't dated badly at all. TDW is still brilliant and definitely the best thing here, but there are songs of similar quality galore; 'Over The Hillside', 'Headlights On The Parade'...<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With over half the songs being more than 5 minutes long, this isn't a particularly instant or commercial album, and it requires concentration, but it is a rewarding listen. A couple of uptempos break up any possible monotony; Paul Buchanan's voice tends to sound mournful no matter what he sings.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This got huge critical acclaim when it came out (e.g. 5 star Q magazine review) and I'd probably agree with that. For an album which came out an eternity ago in music terms, it bears up to scrutiny very well<br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-53493306870899774162009-12-18T19:44:00.002+00:002009-12-18T19:44:00.214+00:00Dec. 13th: A string of pearls goes on forever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pascal.ledisque.free.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/variety.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://pascal.ledisque.free.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/variety.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <b>Les Rita Mitsouko- Variety (English Version) (Because Music, 2007)</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Les Rita Mitsouko were one of the biggest alternative bands in France of the 80s; a duo of Fred Chichin and Catherine Ringer who first formed and played in various Parisian art spaces in the early 80s. They were active until Chichin died of cancer in 2007-this was the last album credited to the band, an English version of their previous 2007 album Variéty.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am a big Catherine Ringer fan- more as a musician than as an occasional porn star, admittedly. To me, she's the French version of Annie Lennox: she has a strong, distinctive voice and personality, and just generally kicks ass. The English version of Variety doesn't do her justice, and isn't really a fitting legacy for Fred.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Musically, both versions aren't the best work LRM ever did. A bit heavy on the soft-rock, nowhere near as interesting as some of their earlier work. There are some great songs on the album though: 'Ding Dang Dong' and 'Ma Vielle Ville' particularly, I love- in the original language. Variety was the first LRM album recorded in an English version,and it shows. Lyrically it's somewhat lacking. 'Ding Dang Dong' becomes a straightforward party tune with no real emotion depth; 'Ma Vielle Ville' (retitled 'Paris (France)') changes from talking about homesickness and memory to what appears to be a musical advert for the Paris tourist board. Also, in my view Ringer just sounds better in French, like she actually means what she's singing.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Variety isn't a bad album,but it's not particularly good either. The French original is much better, as the musical shortfalls are compensated for by the lyrics. If you were to get one, I'd get that, preferably. Or even better, get Catherine Ringer Chante Les Rita Mitsouko and More à La Cigale, her post-Fred live CD of LRM songs and appropriate covers. It contains all of the good songs on Variéty, in French, and with much more energy than on disc<br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-38441788892253672152009-12-18T19:42:00.000+00:002009-12-18T19:42:00.059+00:00Dec, 12th: hanging like Christmas stars, from a golden vein<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.boomkat.com/images/187322/333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.boomkat.com/images/187322/333.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Antony & The Johnsons- The Crying Light (Rough Trade, 2009)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b> </b>The Crying Light is Antony & The Johnson<b>s' </b>third record, the follow up to their 2005 breakthrough, I Am A Bird Now. I bought TCR off the back of that album's Mercury Prize nomination and general hype. I'm not sure about it, if I'm honest.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It may just be that it's an album to admire rather than enjoy. I can see the talent and the quality that's evident, but Antony Hegarty's voice seems to have one tone whether he's happy or sad, and the constant tremolo is a bit of an acquired tast<b>e.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The focus of the album has shifted from I Am A Bird Now's almost autobiographical gender and identity-based songs to a broader, more environmental, nature-based feel (For example 'Another World' : "I need another world, this one's nearly gone...") <b> </b>which is at least a change, although the overall feel of despair still pervades the whole thing.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Listening to this album is a bit like being in a German cabaret with a depressed Nina Simone<b>. </b>It's nice enough for one of two songs, but over a whole CD's worth of baroque pop and emotional piano tinkling it gets slightly wearing.<b> </b> <br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-73248965458574745802009-12-15T11:20:00.000+00:002009-12-15T11:20:40.020+00:00Press pauseDue to exams happening NOW and me being not terribly confident, I'm pausing this until the 18th. The CDs are listened-to, but I don't have the luxury of time to write them up til then. Sadface. But I'm not giving up,oh no siree Bob.<br />
à bientôt...Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-90368711398215087382009-12-11T22:43:00.000+00:002009-12-11T22:43:35.065+00:00Dec. 11th: Somehow, I smothered rainbows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trip-hop.net/images/jacquettes/big/683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.trip-hop.net/images/jacquettes/big/683.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Sebastien Tellier-L'Incroyable Vérité (Record Makers, 2001)</b><br />
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Sebastien Tellier reminds me of Rasputin. A French Rasputin admittedly, but still. I've just realised. I've never really 'got' his music, apart from 'La Ritournelle', his best-known song. He's French (the name might be a clue...), he's a friend of Air and he makes Air-ish music, and the occasional Eurovision entry. L'Incroyable Vérité (The Incredible Truth) is a mostly instrumental album of almost stereotypically French moody noodling. It's grouped into loose 'trilogies', has an arty cover and is probably aiming to be profound; listening to it all the way through brings to mind Elton John's 'Funeral For A Friend', except about 4 times as long, with some bossa nova trumpet. I'm predisposed against this sort of thing because personally, I hate pointless noodling. And that's what this album sounds like to me: It doesn't go anywhere and doesn't really suit active listening. Maybe I should have an arty dinner party and stick it on in the background, it might work better there. The one surprising thing about this record is the scream at the end; somebody gives birth about 7/8ths of the way through,loudly. That was unexpected.<br />
Overall: meh. C'est mood music à la francaise, something Air and many others do better than this.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-36505407443161077902009-12-10T00:00:00.000+00:002009-12-10T00:00:01.662+00:00Dec, 10th:...y que poquito dinero me pagan por mi sudor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://music.tonnel.ru/music/172404507_172404507forumtonnel.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://music.tonnel.ru/music/172404507_172404507forumtonnel.gif" /></a><br />
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<b>Afro-Cuban All Sta</b>r<b>s-Distinto, Diferente (World Circuit, 1999)</b><br />
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The All Stars are the project of Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, who was partly behind Buena Vista Social <b> </b>Club, and included many of the same musicians (Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén Gonzalez, Guajiro Mirabal). This is their second album, a follow-up to A Todo Cuba Le Gusta. The title is apt, since Distinto..is,well, different from their debut, seemingly aiming for a more pan-hispanic, crossover sound, more jazzy and with a lounge feel in places. The playing is still olympic and the talent undeniable, but it feels as if some of the rougher edges have been smoothed over; nothing here really matches their version of 'Amor Verdadero' for me. 'Al Vaivén De Mi Carreta' comes close,but no cigar.<br />
The standout elements of what is a very good ensemble effort are, for me, Ferrer's wonderfully expressive voice and the lively trumpet of Guajiro Mirabal. Buy Distinto... by all means, but buy A Todo... and BVSC at the same time, to experience just how good these musicians can be.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-5084063531290106132009-12-09T00:00:00.002+00:002009-12-09T00:00:00.488+00:00Dec. 9th: Ne te mouche pas dans ma robe, pas cette fois. Relève-toi...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dbrock.net/artistes/albums/covers_1076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dbrock.net/artistes/albums/covers_1076.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><b>Cali- L'amour Parfait (Labels, 2004)<br />
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<b> </b>Cali is a French singer and erstwhile rugby player, who'd been in various punk and alternative bands before releasing this, his first solo album, in 2004. The album's big hit, 'Elle M'a Dit' (She Told Me) is still being played on the radio, 5 years later. It was <i>everywhere</i> last year; I couldn't go to a supermarket without hearing it over the PA. There's a reason it was the album's biggest hit; it's by far the best song here. The rest of it is pretty much your standard French-language chanson-influenced adult pop; Cali's voice is pleasant, there are bits of viola and saxophone to inject a little bit of personality, it sounds like he's been listening to a lot of Radio 2. It's not awful, it's perfectly passable, but there are 1001 French singers doing the same thing. If the lyrics were at the level of the chanson music he claims as an influence, this would be lovely. But they're the usual 'I love you, you don't love me, occasional French existential metaphor, I am so lonely without you' and therefore the album's stuck with James Morrison and Katie Melua as competition.<br />
On the other hand, musically 'Le Grand Jour' is basically a baroque piano prelude followed by a great Handel-esque string arrangement, and 'Fais De Moi Ce Que Tu Veux' is orchestrated very well, again with a great string section.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-270939805974895422009-12-08T00:00:00.003+00:002009-12-08T00:00:03.521+00:00Dec, 8th: I was lonely 'til I found the reason; the reason was me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4121rG2EwIL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4121rG2EwIL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Felt- Stains On A Decade (Cherry Red,2003)</b><br />
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<b> </b>This was another indie-fresher-you-have-to-hear-this purchase, on the same day as the Pastels CD, and again, one which sounds much better 4 years down the line. Felt were effectively the project of one man, Lawrence (no surname was ever given on their record sleeves), who released 10 albums and 10 singles in 10 years, then disbanded. Possibly the 1980s' definitive cult indie band, they released on both Cherry Red and Creation, moving back to Cherry Red after Creation were unable to release their final album until 1990, which would have messed up the 10 year masterplan. Stains On A Decade is a compilation of their singles and B-sides from both labels, which handily traces the changing styles of the band on one CD, from baroque pop to acid-jazz inflected pieces via jangly indie. It includes Primitive Painters, featuring Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Frazer, probably the band's most well-known track, Penelope Tree, Ballad Of The Band and many others.<br />
Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian is a Felt fan, and it's possible to hear similarities between his and Lawrence's vocal styles- and the 'one man's band' idea which applied initially to both B&S and Felt.<br />
Stains On A Decade is a pretty much essential buy for anyone interested in 80s indie or fey, intricate pop in general.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-91882357425332333672009-12-07T00:00:00.001+00:002009-12-07T00:00:00.313+00:00Dec. 7th: Look around for someone lying in the sunshine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Basket-of-light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Basket-of-light.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Pentangle- Basket Of Light (Transatlantic, 1969)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Basket Of Light was Pentangle's most commercially successful album, largely due to the use of 'Light Flight' as the theme tune of 70s BBC drama Take Three Girls. 'Light Flight' opens the album<b> </b>and has one of the best intros to a folk song I've ever heard. Time signatures all over the place, jazz inflections: amazing. The rest of the album is just as good- sitar solos! Train imitations! Bowed bass! . There are so many 'high points' of Pentangle, Jacqui McShee's voice, Bert and John's playing, the rhythm section- that the description becomes a bit meaningless, because it's all good. A definite classic folk album.<br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-58654396994266091572009-12-06T00:00:00.001+00:002009-12-06T00:00:02.787+00:00Dec. 6th; This state of emergency; how beautiful to be<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FzWLtOzNL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FzWLtOzNL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Rory Campbell-Intrepid (Vertical,2007)</b><br />
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Rory Campbell is a Scottish piper, singer and songwriter. He's played in a fair number of current Scottish folk bands: Old Blind Dogs, Deaf Shepherd (see what they did there?), The Big Spree, etc. Intrepid is a mix of traditional Gaelic songs given the modern fusion treatment, traditional and modern pipe and whistle tunes, self-penned songs and something else we'll get to in a minute.<b> </b><br />
Of the songs, there is a nicely-done version of 'Oran Nan Mogaisean' (Song Of The Mocassins), where a man sings the praises of his (badly made) shoes, and two English songs, of which 'Dreams' would fit nicely into any Radio 2 or adult contemporary playlist. The tunes, including some written for his son and wife, flow over an effective acoustic-guitar-and- percussion backing; I'm not a piper so I can't comment on the technically proficiency, but it sounds great to me.<br />
And then I read the tracklist. Track 5: Joga. It can't be the Bjork song, can it? Well, actually, it can. A Scottish folk musician singing a song by an Icelandic female pop star. It shouldn't work, but it does, and quite successfully too, turning it into a laidback acoustic ballad which Campbell's voice suits well.<br />
It's the most surprising thing about Intrepid. A seeming disparate mix of pipe tunes old and new, English original songs, traditional Gaelic (and Bjork) shouldn't go together, but this collection doesLisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-52897246074377968332009-12-05T00:00:00.001+00:002009-12-05T00:00:01.515+00:00Dec. 5th: F.N., souffrance, qu'on est bien en France<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Noir_Desir_-_666.667_Club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Noir_Desir_-_666.667_Club.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Noir Désir- 666.667 Club (Barclay, 1996)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fr<b>e</b>nch rock is awful, right? The French have a reputation for their recent pop music being almost uniformly dire-and by recent i mean anything from about 1971 to the present. Most of the time, this reputation isn't entirely deserved. The language barrier is definitely to blame- a lot of French music focuses on the quality of the lyrics far more than the English equivalent would, but if you don't understand them, it doesn't matter how brilliant they are. Noir Désir (Black Desire) are probably France's premier rock band, have been active for decades and now have a rock'n' roll scandal to go with that: their frontman Bernard Cantat has just been released from prison, after serving time for murdering his girlfriend as the result of an argument.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">666.667 Club went double platinum in France, and was very well received. In addition to the basic grunge template, there are gypsy violins and free jazz saxophone, amongst other things. In my opinion the band are at their best in their more politically or culturally aware songs, such as 'Un Jour En France', ridiculing the adulation of a golden-age postwar France ('les trentes années glorieuses' of modern French history) which never really was, and the slow rise of fascism (particularly that of the National Front, or F.N.) which was beginning at the time of this album. Perhaps tellingly, much of the criticism in a song which is almost 14 years old still applies to France today.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The slightly redundant English-language track which seemed to be obligatory at the time is indeed present; 'Prayer For A Wanker' (or 'woncur' as it ends up) but overall this is a very good album, musically tight and lyrically dextrous, and it even has one properly good English track, 'Lazy'. 'Un Homme Pressé' and 'Un Jour...' are the best songs by far but there is plenty here worth investigating.<br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-10591488387448935592009-12-04T00:00:00.000+00:002009-12-04T00:00:02.912+00:00Dec. 4th: And all for no reason, just one piece of lead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fazendavirtual.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/johnny_cash_iv3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://fazendavirtual.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/johnny_cash_iv3.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Johnny Cash- American IV: The Man Comes Around (American, 2002)</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The fourth of Cash's collaborations with Rick Rubin, The Man Comes Around is a mix of carefully chosen covers, a couple of originals and some re-recordings of <b> </b>older Cash songs (1957's 'Streets Of Laredo', 'Sam Hall'). The title track is a new song which came from a dream Johnny had involving the Book Of Revelations, the four horses of the Apocalypse and Queen Elizabeth II, as you do. Of the covers, some of the most potentially disastrous work best: here 'Danny Boy 'is almost enough to make you forget the myriad heinous Daniel O' Donnell (and sub-Daniel O' Donnell...) versions; just Cash and a pipe organ, and nothing else. 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' featuring Fiona Apple doesn't quite match the original but almost, nearly makes it.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">'I Hung My Head', from Sting's original, shows Cash's talent as a storyteller; the tension is racheted up to an emotional climax, where you almost feel as much for the criminal as for the victim.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The CD's crowning achievement, however, is the cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt'. Given Cash's history of addiction, it's one song he's entitled to sing, and he injects an affecting pathos into a song already full of pain and self-disgust. It's enough to put anyone off drugs for life.<br />
</div>Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5237315937913664832.post-52421053000398219102009-12-03T00:00:00.001+00:002009-12-03T00:00:01.486+00:00Dec. 3rd: If I wish upon a star, take you just the way you are<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOw2Jl8eMR65RYg6ODDoR8s_pDLB_e85e-5ZWW6K49Yvyhbd7W2U9sz45_x8zlglswtR98APAU51dEuUy7qE93YrOWt1V2W1u4G6JpzSWiBBH4VwacfmKJSB15wV7_z-BtR1OdkJSU1s/s1600/THE+PASTELS+-+%27UP+FOR+A+BIT+WITH...THE+PASTELS%27+F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOw2Jl8eMR65RYg6ODDoR8s_pDLB_e85e-5ZWW6K49Yvyhbd7W2U9sz45_x8zlglswtR98APAU51dEuUy7qE93YrOWt1V2W1u4G6JpzSWiBBH4VwacfmKJSB15wV7_z-BtR1OdkJSU1s/s320/THE+PASTELS+-+%27UP+FOR+A+BIT+WITH...THE+PASTELS%27+F.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>The Pastels-Up For A Bit With... (Fire Records, 1991/2002)</b><br />
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The Pastels are Scottish indie legends, a cult band who've operated under the radar for various labels and with various lineups since 1982. This record, originally released in 1986, has one of the earlier incarnations.<br />
It's been in my collection for a few years, since I came up to Glasgow Uni as a Fresher and someone said 'you like Belle & Sebastian? You have to buy these records', of which Up For A Bit...was one. I listened the first track with my fresher's ears and thought 'dear God, the production's all sludgy' and put it away. I was wrong. I finally got to see the Pastels live on Friday night and they were great. Up For A Bit... includes Pastels classics like 'Crawl Babies', 'Get 'Round Town' and the brilliant 'Baby Honey'. The band are typical of c86, 'shamblepop' indie, accompanying Stephen Pastel (né McRobbie)'s laid-back vocals. The production <i>is</i> of its time but there are some great songs, and the album is a good introduction to the Pastels' fairly large and wideranging (it now includes film soundtracks, remix album and other projects) work.Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09143823014502302929noreply@blogger.com0