I moved down to London from Birmingham in 1982 and was fortunate enough to fall in with a great bunch of people, some of whom are still friends over 40 years later.
Amongst those folks was a guy called Terry who is a couple of years older than the rest of us and who, even back then, had an awesome record collection. At the time of the release of this album he was living in a bed sit in Notting Hill. This was before the eponymous film came out and made the place trendy and priced out the locals but don’t get me started on that.
Anyway, Terry’s flat was literally a bed, a record player, speakers and his record collection.
At the time Notting Hill had more record shops than you could shake a stick at, top of the list then, as it still is today, was Rough Trade West. Always a great place to visit, chat, meet people and buy the occasional album.
Terry was a frequent visitor and one afternoon we ended up at his flat and he said that he’d been recommended an album by a new US band. He put it on and wow, it was like nothing we had ever heard,
Incoherent vocals and a sound that grabbed you from the first listen. Little did we know that they would go on to become the biggest band in the world. They were our secret back then. Changed my music listening habits from that point on.
This album brought various artists into my world like, The Wipers, Dream Syndicate, Bob Mould (Sugar, Husker Du), Rain Parade and many others
Pretty easy choice from this album. One of my all time favourite R.E.M. tracks
Hey, man...good to see you here again! Howya been? _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Hey, man...good to see you here again! Howya been?
I'm good, Dino - I spent 18 months surveying the dive bars and honky-tonks of Austin, Texas, before upping sticks and heading for Brooklyn 15 months ago.
My wife and I are expecting our first (a boy) in October - though, thus far, she has steadfastly pushed back on my attempts to name him Ornette.
Life is good, although I have far less time to listen to new music than I once did. And even less time, sadly, to talk about it on the internet.
How are you? Keeping well?
Johnnyo wrote:
my word, where do i start.
Nice choices. Those first four Sabbath albums are unimpeachable.
However, I must say that I much prefer the first Steel Pulse record to anything UB40 ever did.
Thoughts on Felt? Broadcast? Pram? Au Pairs? The unfortunately forgotten Novak?
I'd also chuck Dexy's into the mix, especially those first two albums.
And, on the rap/hip-hop/grime/drill end, obviously The Streets - but, more importantly, I think Provisional License by M1llionz is the best Birmingham album in years and years and years.
And Surgeon is a hero, if you're into that sort of industrial techno. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Hey, man...good to see you here again! Howya been?
I'm good, Dino - I spent 18 months surveying the dive bars and honky-tonks of Austin, Texas, before upping sticks and heading for Brooklyn 15 months ago.
My wife and I are expecting our first (a boy) in October - though, thus far, she has steadfastly pushed back on my attempts to name him Ornette.
Life is good, although I have far less time to listen to new music than I once did. And even less time, sadly, to talk about it on the internet.
How are you? Keeping well?
Nice choices. Those first four Sabbath albums are unimpeachable.
However, I must say that I much prefer the first Steel Pulse record to anything UB40 ever did.
Thoughts on Felt? Broadcast? Pram? Au Pairs? The unfortunately forgotten Novak?
I'd also chuck Dexy's into the mix, especially those first two albums.
And, on the rap/hip-hop/grime/drill end, obviously The Streets - but, more importantly, I think Provisional License by M1llionz is the best Birmingham album in years and years and years.
And Surgeon is a hero, if you're into that sort of industrial techno.
So many to choose from. Joan Armatrading is a bit of a heroine of mine.
Agree on Steel Pulse being great. The UB40 albums resonated with me at the time.
Swell Maps and Malkit Singh are also great Brummie acts and don't forget The Beat. Oooh and Nick Drake (from Tanworth I know but went to school in Brum)
I feel a whole new thread coming up at some point.
when it was released. I was into Pixies and Stone Roses and Bob Mould had just release Workbook. All was well in my musical universe.
I was at a friends house and we were picking alternate albums to play. He said that he had just got the new Neil young and I though, OK, I’ll endure this for the next 30 minutes or so. Then Rockin In The Free World came bursting out of the speakers. My world had changed again. Neil was back. We played the album all the way through and I headed off to my local record shop the next day and bought the album.
What was so pleasing was that this was not a one off. The Godfather of Grunge followed Freedom with a string of great albums, Ragged Glory, Weld, Harvest Moon to name just the next three. Neil was firmly back in my musical firmament.
Hey, man...good to see you here again! Howya been?
I'm good, Dino - I spent 18 months surveying the dive bars and honky-tonks of Austin, Texas, before upping sticks and heading for Brooklyn 15 months ago.
My wife and I are expecting our first (a boy) in October - though, thus far, she has steadfastly pushed back on my attempts to name him Ornette.
Life is good, although I have far less time to listen to new music than I once did. And even less time, sadly, to talk about it on the internet.
I'm good. Holding down the Colorado front. Very good to hear that life is treating you so well! I'm pulling for you on the Ornette front! _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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Skinny
Romanelli
Parnoid, Black Sabbath and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath are essential albums
