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Archive 12
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276 - 300 ::
Here
you will gain exclusive access to my own personal record collection! I
try to bring you mp3s of rare tracks, deleted material, long forgotten
artists, total flops and down right obscure shit. Often, my choices were
only available on vinyl or were just plain unreleased, the aim being to
indulge an old fan or inspire a new one. I try not to post up
forthcoming releases or anything that's too readily available. Honest,
Gov!
There's a tenuous thread running through the tracks but
your requests are always welcome and I'll try and squeeze them in amongst my
own fancies... eventually.
Do read all the blurb, as there's often links to extra tracks lurking in
there... ; )
Tracks are only available for a 'limited
time' folks (sometimes months!), so get them while you can!
Now for the science bit! To access the music, please click on 'Download' and
you'll be whisked off to those nice people over at Sharebee.
Tracks are ripped at 192 kbps and wherever possible taken from the
highest quality source available. All of the music offered here has been
purchased by myself and is part of my own collection. Tracks are for
evaluation purposes only and wherever possible, purchasing is always
encouraged. If you own any of the material posted here or anywhere else
on this site and are very cross with me, please
email me with threats and such like...
Dave
Stewart worked under the pseudonym
BB
Watkins from time to time during the 1990s and this moniker can be
found in the credits of several, if not most, of his Anxious Records
label releases (as well as his wife Siobhan Fahey's
work with Shakespear's Sister). I guess he
didn't want to overshadow anyone's success with his own name and wanted any
acclaim to be attributed to the artists themselves but to be honest, there
wasn't much chance of that happening. The Anxious label didn't exactly
produce any acts able to achieve commercial or critical acclaim on their own. Of
the twenty-something strong roster, between 1987-94, it was only techo goth
geniuses Curve who made inroads to the UK
singles chart, music press and media. Other acts such as
Miss World, Starlings,
JC 001 and
Nan Vernon
were all left by the wayside. Ex-Spiritual Cowboy,
Nan Vernon is the obvious criminally
overlooked artist of the bunch, releasing 5 singles and a wonderful album called
'Manta Ray' between 1990-94. Her final single, 'Elvis Waits',
was featured here almost two years ago now and we thought it was time to
revisit. 'Treasure' can be found on 'Manta Ray' and
is a fine example of her recorded output, most of which can be found dead cheap
Vegas
were Dave Stewart (Eurythmics,
Spiritual Cowboys, beard-sporter) and
Terry Hall (The
Specials, Fun Boy Three, no
relation to Jerry). They recorded one album
in 1993 and released a trio of singles, one of which was 'Walk Into The
Wind'. 'Walk Into The Wind' featured
Stewart's then-wife, Siobhan Fahey
(Bananarama,
Shakespear's Sister, mascara abuser) on backing vocals and also in
the video (although she is not credited and her face is never clearly shown in
full, I think this was due to her contract with London Records at the
time which didn't allow her to record for other record labels,
Vegas not being on
the same one as her). 'Truth Is
Stranger Than Fiction' is the B-side to 'Walk Into The Wind'
and is very typical of their sound; light, electronic, melancholic, soulful
pop. There's another, more experimental B-Side on this single also, called 'Art Blind'
which I like. The project never ran to a follow up album and
Hall went on to collaborate with Tricky
and Damon Albarn before releasing
several solo albums (one of which was on Dave's
Anxious label) and Dave went through
a divorce with Siobhan, then recorded the
'Peace' album with Annie Lennox,
did a film with All Saints, did lots of
producing and also some of his own solo recordings. I recommend the
Vegas album, it's very smart intelligent pop. Pick up a copy
Eurythmics.
Great band. They stuffed a lot into the 10-ish years they were together. From
the early avant garde electronics, to the 80s synth pop, to the stadium rock,
they were terribly good and their videos were always rather interesting. Their
big fat box set, released in November 2005, was a welcome overhaul of all their
albums with bonus stuff stuck on the ends of each album. But it wasn't complete.
No. And you know how we like to moan.... so why did they not include all their
old B-sides and odds and ends? Sigh. There was a lovely little cassette tape
freebie called 'Step On The Beast' given away in 1983 with the
'Right By Your Side' 7" single which contained four interesting tracks.
One of which, 'Satellite Of Love', a crystalline re-working of the
Lou Reed track (an early live set list
favourite) turned up on the 'Sweet Dreams' CD re-issue. But what of the other 3 tracks? Lost in time and dried out oxidised
old tape, that's what. So we're slapping another of the tracks on here. I've
never seen this tape on eBay but I bet it's highly collectable (despite
it probably not even playing anymore, if indeed anyone even has cassette decks
these days).
Aren't tapes horrible?
Annie
Lennox here with a kooky little track from the early part of her solo
career... if you can call it that. Between 1992 and 2007, that's 15 years,
La Lennox has only released 3 albums, one of
which, 'Medusa', was all other peoples songs. 2003's 'Bare'
wasn't a very strong album, in my opinion, but I did like the sleeve
(the one where she's covered her face in talcum powder/clay/puff pastry - nice).
Eurythmics managed, like, 10 albums in 10
years, but there was the two of them I suppose... and I've just remembered
Annie 'reformed'
Eurythmics with
Dave Stewart
somewhere in between the solo stuff for the 'Peace' album (which
is pretty nasty really) so I guess she's not the lazy old hag I was perhaps
suggesting. Anyway, all this text looks like I've really got something to say
about this track when actually I don't. Other than I like it. 'Keep Young
& Beautiful' (a 1920's 'standard') is the closing track of the CD format of
Annie's very good indeed debut solo album,
'Diva'. It's not on the LP or cassette. This longer version appeared as a
bonus track on the limited edition 2nd CD single of 'Why' (which
comes in a white over-sized plastic box with a postcard that has some lyrics on
it, if you please). It's also the version used in the
A classic single from
Carly Simon here, 'Why'
was a
flop in the USA! Can't believe that! Sense prevailed here in the UK however,
where it reached number 10 in 1982. It's taken from some film I aint never seen
or nothin' called 'Soup For One' and it was produced, arranged and
conducted by Nile Rodgers and
Bernard Edwards. I love it. This is the
extended version from the 12" vinyl, which I don't think has ever been included
on a CD? 
Aimee Mann's
earlier outfit Til Tuesday were wrought with
music industry struggles and disappointments. When she finally wriggled out of
her contract with Epic, it sadly wasn't long before similar problems were
to re-occur. Her debut album, 1993's 'Whatever', suffered from
under-promotion when her own label, Imago (an imprint on Geffen)
collapsed. 1995 saw a follow up on Geffen, 'I'm With Stupid',
and although critics were kind, sales were moderate. The third album, 'Bachelor No. 2', tipped the scales when it was rejected by
Geffen and Aimee finally put her foot
down and fought to have the album released. Thankfully, there was a heavenly
intervention of sorts when a friendship with film director
Paul Thomas Anderson lead to Mann
contributing 8 tracks to his 'Magnolia' film soundtrack. Featuring
some of her best work to date, including the Academy Award-nominated song,
'Save Me', 'Magnolia' gave
Aimee greater public recognition and the confidence to finally
release 'Bachelor No. 2' in 2000 on her own new label SuperEgo.
Future albums continue to garner impressive reviews and she remains a unique
singer songwriter who exists independent of any major label deal, something
which has earned her the respect of her musical peers. 'Driving With One
Hand On The Wheel' was a bonus track from the 'Long Shot'
single, from 1995. Official site
Til Tuesday
were an American new wave 80's band consisting of
Aimee Mann, Robert
Holmes, Joey Pesce and
Michael Hausman. The band formed in Boston in
1982 and had fallen apart by 1988. 'Voices Carry' was their 'big
hit', racking up a number eight position in the US chart in 1985. The track was
originally written from the point of view of the man, apparently, but as it was
a female, Mann, singing the lyrics, their
label Epic insisted it be re-written to avoid any quasi-lesbian lyrical
scandal. Nice. Anyhoo, the band were critically praised with each release (3
albums, 7 singles), but their record sales failed to follow suit and by 1988,
Aimee was essentially on her own, drafting
in various session performers to fill the gaps of departing members. Legal
problems with Epic preventing her recording under her own name meant
Aimee's first proper solo album,
'Whatever', would not see the light of day until 1993. 'Voices
Carry' kind've sounds like every other 80's teen movie soundtrack song.
This is a good thing. Watch the
Scarlet
originally consisted of three glum school friends
Cheryl Parker (vocals, guitar),
Joanna
Fox (vocals, flute) and Joanne
(or Jo) Youle
(piano, keyboards). They met at school in their hometown of Hull (Beautiful
South, Everything But The Girl)
and began writing songs together at the age of 16. Signed to indie label Haven after winning a local talent competition,
'Piccadilly In The
Rain' was their debut single in 1992. It was produced and co-written by
Boo Hewerdine (Eddi
Reader, Hepburn), and a second
single, 'Shine On Me Now', followed later that same year. The
girls then got noticed by WEA and moved to London after getting a record
deal out of them. This is where they loose a member for unknown reasons (perhaps
WEA thought a duo was more marketable?). Anyway,
Joanna left the band, although she is credited for backing vocals
on their debut album, 'Naked'. The band, now reduced to a duo, had
a worldwide Top 10 single on their hands with 'Independent Love Song',
which featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 Christian
Slater movie, 'Bed Of Roses'
(that's not the one where
he's a monk and you get to see his arse, that was 'The Name Of The Rose').
Further singles ('I Wanna Be Free', 'Love Hangover',
'Bad Girl') were less successful and WEA eventually dropped
Scarlet
after a second album, 'Chemistry', in 1996. 'Stupid Thing'
is their cover
version of the Aimee Mann
track which was a
B-side to the 'Bad Girl' single. Fansite
Disco 2000
were Cressida Cauty
(Mrs KLF co-founder
Jimmy Cauty) and
June Montana,
A.K.A. Mo (former Brilliant
vocalist). They were an unashamed pop band (tongue in
cheek, do we think?) who are notable as a side project of
The KLF. They were the only act not fronted by
KLF main men
Bill
and Jimmy themselves to be
released on the KLF Communications label.
Between 1987 and 1989, Disco 2000 released
three singles ('I Gotta CD', 'One Nation' and 'Uptight (Everything's Alright)' -
a cover of Stevie Wonder's hit), none of which entered the UK Singles Chart. A
final track entitled 'Feel This' was contributed to the
'Eternity Project One' compilation in 1989, compiled by former
Brilliant member
Martin 'Youth' Glover, under the name
Discotec 2000.
Cressida and
Jimmy later set up home in a squat that also
housed the KLF Communications recording
studio, Trancentral. As
The KLF took off,
Cressida
took on an organisational role for the duo, in addition to
design and choreography work. In 2005, 'International DJ' magazine
ranked Disco 2000's 'Uptight
(Everything's Alright)' amongst the twenty "worst cover versions in
the history of dance music". However, 'Trouser Press' magazine
said, "like Bananarama
on a rap tip", of the
track. Check out the video
Brilliant
were not. Brilliant, that is. Not commercially successful at all and
slated by the press, they remain infamous because of the personnel involved.
Jimmy Cauty, later to find fame and fortune
as one half of The Orb and
The KLF; Vocalist
June Montana, later to became half of pop duo
Disco 2000 on the
KLF's own
label; Martin Glover (A.K.A.
Youth) was previously a member of
Killing Joke and went on to produce and
remix a wealth of pop acts; and (prior to the band signing with major label WEA)
Ben Watkins (A.K.A.
Juno Reactor). Backing vocals even came from
Pepsi & Shirlie and
Princess!
Then there was the management (David Balfe),
their record company A&R manager (Bill Drummond)
and finally, it was all tarted up by production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
Brilliant released seven singles and one mediocre soul-pop album called
'Kiss
The Lips Of Life' between 1983-86, splitting up shortly afterwards.
'Somebody' is one of the better tracks from the album and made no. 67
in the UK charts when it was released as a single. This is the album version.
None of Brilliant's material has ever
appeared on CD. There's one video
The Orb
are the longest running UK ambient group, if you please, and were originally
formed by Jimmy Cauty (The
KLF) and Alex Paterson. They're
pretty much single-handedly responsible for the early-90's ambient house scene
and subsequent chill out genre. Cauty
had
already split from the group prior to the release of 'Blue Room'
in 1990 to pursue his KLF Communications
label, which
Paterson didn't want
The Orb
to be associated with. This here is
the complete original version of 'Blue Room', which is not
actually available on anything anymore. There are various edits on a few CDs
(the album 'U.F.Orb' has a version which runs to 17:34) but the
original clocks in at 39:58. I think it's meant to be 40:00 precisely but not on
my CD! Due to it's length, it's not exactly practical for compilations and the
like. It originally came out as a one track CD single in 1992 (there was also a
three track second CD aswell) and I can remember clear as day holding the CD in
my hands in Asda (where it was stocked in their singles chart believe it or not
- it got to number 8) and marvelling at the artwork and design that had gone
into the packaging. Anyway, it's very long, obviously, so we've stuck it on Sendspace... no 'right-click' required!
The Orb
appeared 'performing' the track on 'Top Of The Tops', which I'd
dearly love to see again and I can't believe it's not on YouTube! The
performance consisted of two astronauts (Paterson
and then-member Kris Weston) playing chess
amidst projections of dolphin footage and a lot of ultra violet lighting. If
you're new to The Orb, I recommend avoiding
'U.F.Off - The Best Of The Orb' as it's butchered to death (though if you must buy, try and
find the limited edition with the bonus remix CD) and instead head for 1991's
debut album 'Adventure's Beyond The Ultraworld' or even 'Live 93'. All the info you could want
Another epic, pop masterpiece from
KLF Communications, this time their
re-working of their own 1990 trance anthem 'What Time Is Love?'.
'America: What Time Is Love?' got to number 4 in 1992 and was their last
appearance in the UK top 10. This is my most favourite KLF release - it's full of OTT effects, rock madness and Viking
nonsense, not to mention enough pomposity to destroy a small country. This is
the 'uncensored' version which is 9 minutes in length. It really does deserve to
be played LOUD so please do adjust your volume settings as necessary. This track
completes our KLF-related trilogy.
Unfortunately, The KLF
back catalogue is not
very well preserved at all, when really, there should be a quality package
constantly in print and stocked in every shop at all times! It should be a
decent retrospective, too, gathering complete singles from all aliases, rare
remixes and a bonus DVD featuring all their legendary visuals and it should be
put into production immediately. Fat chance. They remain one of my
all-time favourite bands and one of the most inspiring and exciting acts to ever
attack to the music charts.
'It's Grim Up North'
was originally a one-sided grey vinyl 12", issued to clubs in December 1990, by
The JAMs
(The
Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu) with Pete Wylie
on vocals. Ten months later, in 1991, the track was released
commercially (minus Wylie) and it reached
number 10 in the UK singles chart. The 10 minute (exactly) track consists of a
list of towns or cities in Northern England, set to a pounding, nose
bleed-inducing industrial techno beat, which after about 7 minutes, segues into
an orchestral instrumental of the hymn 'Jerusalem'. It's utter
genius... Here are the complete lyrics; (First verse) Bolton, Barnsley,
Nelson, Colne, Burnley, Bradford, Buxton, Crewe, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan,
Leeds, Northwich, Nantwich, Knutsford, Hull, Sale, Salford, Southport, Leigh,
Kirby, Kearsley, Keighley, Maghull, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Oldham, Lancs,
Grimsby, Glossop, Hebden Bridge, (Second verse) Brighouse, Bootle, Featherstone,
Speke, Runcorn, Rotherham, Rochdale, Barrow, Morecambe, Macclesfield, Lytham St.
Annes, Clitheroe, Cleethorpes, the M62, (Third verse) Pendlebury, Prestwich,
Preston, York, Skipton, Scunthorpe, Scarborough-on-Sea, Chester, Chorley,
Cheadle Hulme, Ormskirk, Accrington, Stanley, Ossett, Otley, Ilkley Moor,
Sheffield, Manchester, Castleford, Skem, Doncaster, Dewsbury, Halifax, Bingley,
Bramhall. Makes you proud to be from the North.
The
Timelords (furthermore known as The JAMs/The
KLF) were Time Boy (Bill
Drummond), Lord Rock (Jimmy
Cauty) and Ford Timelord (Cauty's
much-loved 1968 Ford Galaxie American police car!). Ford Timelord was the star of the artwork ("Hi! I'm Ford Timelord. I'm a car and I've made a record")
and the promotional video, seen
The
Chameleons was the name under which David
Balfe and Bill Drummond produced
and recorded. Lori is a mysterious blond
vocalist (pictured on the reverse of the 7" sleeve) with an equally cute and
deadpan voice. This single, 'Touch', (like
Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Hong Kong Garden'
meets
The Rah Band's 'Clouds Across The
Moon' down the disco) was released in 1979 (!!!), which is remarkable
given it's timeless shiny sound today. It came out on Balfe's Liverpool-based indie label
Zoo! Records, which had a
vision to only release singles, never albums... To this end, there's no
Lori & The Chameleons LP. In fact, there was
only ever one more single, 'The Lonely Spy' which came out in 1980
on Korova. The track recently turned up on
Long before
The Pipettes adopted the polka dot as their
second skin, Rose McDowell
and
Jill Bryson were doing their own version of
polka-pop with the much celebrated Strawberry
Switchblade. The track 'Secrets' is taken from their
one and only (self-titled) album, which was released on the Korova label
(a subsidiary of WEA) in 1985. The album was met with mixed responses and
some heavy criticism from the media, suggesting it was over-produced,
lightweight and disposable. These were, after all, two girls prominent on the
Glasgow punk scene. But whatever... I personally love the album and was very
much into what Strawberry Switchblade were
all about; from their melancholy sound, pastoral harmonies and lyrics, to their
hair, clothes and artwork (especially those strawberry-shaped picture discs!)...
who knew then that behind the scenes, a wealth of pop talent past and future,
had their hands in the Strawberry Switchblade
pie? There was manager and producer David Balfe
(The man behind Food Records who went on to sign Blur) and
Bill Drummond
(half
of The KLF) who signed them. Then there was
Roddy Frame (Aztec
Camera), Boris Williams (Cure)
and Mark Bedford and
Woody (both Madness, and then
later Voice Of The Beehive) who all played
on their records. Small world! There's a wonderful Strawberry Switchblade shrine
Dolly
Parton's signature tune get's a dub-reggae makeover here courtesy of
Dot Allison's old band, ambient dance pop
outfit One Dove. This track was released as
the B-side to their final single, 'Why Don't You Take Me?' (a
dreamy space-pop spaghetti western steel drum torch song!) in 1993 on
Andrew Weatherall's Boy's Own label.
You'll need to give the track about a minute and a half to get going as the
intro is a bit trippy and drawn out but once it kicks in, it's pretty groovy. It
sounds a bit like an impromptu jam session, actually, as it's pretty amateurish
and fun. Dot Allison
should have her third
solo album out in 2007, a taster for which arrived in the form of the
'Under The Ivy' EP a few months back which you can still get
Completing our trio of 'Popstars
with big boobies' mini-series, we present Country-Pop crossover, white trash
Queen Dolly Parton! 'False Eyelashes'
is from her second solo album (her first for RCA
Records) 'Just Because I'm A Woman', which was released in 1968! It was
recently covered by Australian indie rock outfit Howling Bells, hence we dug it out and dusted it off. We've been
rootin' and tootin' round the living room to Dolly
ever since. 'Here You Come Again' has always been a
touchstone, actually. Anyway, she's, like, a legend and has said many hilarious
quotable things like... "The reason I have a small waist and small feet is
that nothing grows well in the shade", and, "I would have burned my bra
in the 60s, but it would have taken the fire department three days to put it
out". Arf! Of course, the true mark of an icon is when they have a tourist
attraction created in their honour... Why not visit
Page Three stunner,
Samantha Fox here. Her talents (both of them) got her a record deal
in 1986 - the year she retired from page three modelling at the ripe old age of
20. This track is the B-side to her 1987 ballad 'True Devotion' and
it's a case of stripped down, rather than stripped off. 'Even In The
Darkest Hours' is a fairly subtle, downbeat, mellow track - a style
Sam occasionally returned to between the
innuendo-laden 80's pop-rock and SAW-produced stuff (see also the moody
'Dream City' and a quite ghostly 'Confession'). I guess no
one expects a 'glamour model' to come up with something quite so delicate or
fragile but let's be honest, her target audience was always 'The Sun'
readers, an audience not known for being in touch with it's sensitive side. My
favourite Samantha Fox
single has always
been 1988's 'Love House', wherein she tackles acid house, sampling
and a bit of French ("Bonjour! Ici Samantha!"). Have a look at the video
over
Clea
were four rejects from 'Popstars: The Rivals' who got together and
formed their own group in 2003. Their name is made up of the first initial of
each member (Chloe,
Lynsey, Emma,
Aimee) and they released two singles on
1967 Records; 'Download It' (#21 in 2003) and
'Stuck In
The Middle' (#23 in 2004). Their debut album, 'Identity Crisis',
was in the bag and was even released in Russia and Asia, but ultimately here in
the UK, it got shelved. By the end of 2004, Chloe
had made her escape and the remaining 3 members (Lea?)
found themselves without a label. Not to be discouraged, the girls hooked up
with Da Playaz to dispense a dance-pop
re-working of Jermaine Stewart's 80's
classic 'We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off', now with Upside Records. It made #35 in the charts and was followed by
'Lucky
Like That' (#55) and their 'second' album 'Trinity'. This
was a collection of some old songs re-done as a three-piece and a bunch of new,
more upbeat, poppy tunes, like 'I Surrender', which is apparently their next
single. Latest on the group is that
Lynsey has now done a bunk (Ea?)
but an as-yet unnamed replacement has been drafted in... Hmmm. I hope she's
called Tina, then we can call the group
Tea. Anyhoo, 'A Guy Like You'
is taken from 'Identity Crisis' which is hard to come by on CD...
you can, however, download it legally
Javine
Hylton was this close to being 1/5 of the UK's biggest pop
phenomena, Girls Aloud, when she made it
through to the final of 'Popstars: The Rivals'. She just missed
out to Sarah Harding (thankfully) but got
herself a little solo deal anyway. Hot on the heels of her 2003 debut single,
'Real Things' (which received a number 4 chart placing),
Javine showed up on
Richard X's album providing vocals on the
Jam & Lewis-penned, 80's funk flavoured 'You Used To'
(originally by Thelma Houston). The
track was readied for single release in November but due to lacklustre interest
from her management and label, not to mention the media, the single was pulled
at the last minute. For further details on the release, read
Richard's comments
It's
Nadine!
Cheryl! Nicola!
Sarah! Kimberly!
Yes, Girls Aloud! Saviours of pop and
Queen's of the UK top 10! Hard to believe when you consider they formed via a UK
reality talent show, just like Michelle McManus
(who?) or Gareth Gates (who??) or
Steve Brookstein (who???). The
difference is, Girls Aloud own the shit and
then some. I can honestly say they are one of the finest pop groups this country
has ever produced. With production team Xenomania
over-seeing their every move, they have single-handedly revitalised the girl
group genre, dragging the charts into the 21st century and tirelessly pummelling
the ears of the nation with track after track of fresh, energetic, original
music. I wont have a word said against them and their longevity is testament to
their sheer exuberant brilliance. As we speak, Girls
Aloud are on their 14th top 10 single, have a best selling greatest
hits album sitting pretty in the top 10 album chart, a 2007 arena tour just
about sold out and their 4th studio album due imminently. To celebrate their
utter genius, we bring you 'Androgynous Girls', which was the
B-Side to number 2 hit 'Love Machine'. It's high on our list of
their best tracks and is as good as any of the material on their 'What
Will The Neighbours Say?' album from the same year. I think the lyrics
are about vanity/plastic surgery but whatever they're singing about, the point
is it's brilliant! And they say "shit'll happen" in the chorus several
times, too! Viva Girls Aloud!