The Vinyl Frontier - Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell

Two more gems recently entrusted to my care...

In 1969 Bob Dylan defied convention and instead of making a political statement - at the time there was much to protest about - he made Nashville Skyline, a sublime and quirky country-rock album.  Featuring Johnny Cash and a host of other great musicians there is much more to this than Lay Lady Lay, and Dylan's best album after Blood On The Tracks. This was the ultimate protest singer making the ultimate anti-protest album.

History really does repeat itself. I have the same feeling listening to Song To A Seagull, Joni Mitchell's wonderful début album, as I do with Laura Marling's Alas I Cannot Swim... The same idealistic lyrical craft mixed with swirling acoustic guitars in a simple, unruffled and raw production. Not many singers get away with a concept album as their first effort but Mitchell made her mark on the music world from the very first note. Her voice is both powerful and un-threatening, every song tells a story, while the strings add the atmospherics.

-- CS

The Vinyl Frontier - The Beatles

I am not a huge Beatles fan. I have my own favourite songs and I only own Revolver and the two anthologies (on CD)…until now. Recently, I inherited (with great privilege) some ‘old’ records including all twelve original Beatles LPs (thirteen if you include Magical Mystery Tour) plus a few other compilations and rarities collections.

Here they are: 

The Beatles’ albums cover a mere eight years, from the debut Please Please Me in 1963 to Let It Be in 1970. Often making two albums a year during this time, it is an incredible catalogue of music and culture. The development of the band’s music can be divided into four trilogies: Please Please Me, With The Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night is poster-boy jangly pop; Beatles For Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul is a band exploring and expanding; Revolver, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album is creativity, risks and reward; and Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road and Let It Be is the sound of self-indulgence, fractures and reflection – Abbey Road feels like the start of Harrison’s solo career with some of his best songs and Let It Be, mostly recorded before Abbey Road, doesn’t feel like a ‘break-up’ album although The Long And Winding Road always seems to be an obvious swansong.

For me, the height of The Beatles’ creativity and power was 1966. The reason I bought Revolver is that I still think it’s a masterpiece – although it does seem to divide fans somewhat – and listening to my new vinyl copy, even more so. The album has just about everything from the dark sad Eleanor Rigby to the playful nursery-rhyme Yellow Submarine, punchy Got To Get You Into My Life and the eclectic closer Tomorrow Never Knows. Vocals are shared and Harrison wrote three good songs. In comparison, the follow-up Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is overrated (but still very good). Having listened to the most of the earlier albums in full, A Hard Day’s Night is a highlight, with its fuzzy production and Lennon and McCartney writing together wonderfully.

I do recognise why and how The Beatles are so popular and why the songs and albums are iconic works of art, not only as part of British music but around the world. The song-writing partnership of Lennon and McCartney is still legendary and combined with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, one of the best-known and loved pop bands lives on.

-- CS

The Vinyl Frontier - The Cure, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Bruce Springsteen, Kirsty MacColl, Bob Dylan

The USR music fair at the Rivermead in Reading (UK) on Friday 18th April (Good Friday) was too good to miss this year... one of six biggest UK one-day events and a huge selection of records on offer.

First up, an album I've been waiting for... the limited edition gatefold of Automatic by The Jesus And Mary Chain. By no means the band's finest work, this is the transition between the feedback-strewn gloomy shoegaze of Darklands (and the mighty Psycho Candy début before) and the brilliant Honey's Dead. Fans loved this album, while the critics hated it (Q Magazine struggled to award 2 stars) and I remember listening my cassette copy over and over until it fell apart. And it still sounds great on vinyl today, especially Blues From A Gun and UV Ray.

I've always been a big fan of The Cure but never a big collector...until recently. I keep seeing copies of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me but never The Head On The Door - an album I've been seeking for ages. Boasting one of the band's most creative collection of songs, and the brilliant singles Close To Me and In Between Days, for me this has always been the prelude to their finest work, Disintegration. On side B, A Night Like This and closer Sinking are both the sound of a band coming of age.

I'm always on the lookout for records by Bruce Springsteen and Nebraska was high on my list. A truly challenging record of sparse, dark songwriting - a stopgap between The River and Born In The USA and an album that may have never existed. Springsteen originally recorded it with the E Street Band and then decided to release the 'demo' version. The result is haunting and desolate with piercing vocals and harmonica - Springsteen's folk album, made better by the occasional crackle and blip on the record. The production and songwriting are both superb.

A rose between two thorns, Kirsty MacColl's Kite is still one of my favourite albums of the eighties and a perfect example of an artist doing their own thing in time when so many musicians weren't. This is an eclectic mix of sounds and styles including the cover Days and turns from Johnny Marr and David Gilmour, and Steve Lillywhite on production. This is filled with witty observations, sharp and poignant lyrics, all brilliantly delivered by an artist who left us well before her time.

And last, but not least...the find of the day. For as long as I can remember I have been trying to find a decent copy of Blood On The Tracks. So when I spotted a 'VG' copy for a modest price, I had to investigate. Easily the best thing Bob Dylan has ever made; an album with so much poetry, poise and power doesn't come along too often. From opener Tangled Up In Blue to the vitriolic Idiot Wind, to Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts and the mighty Shelter From The Storm, this is now one of the best in my collection. And for a record that is nearly as old as I am, it sounds wonderful.

The Vinyl Frontier - Sugar, Carter USM and New Order

Another record fair today, this time in sunny Guildford at the wonderful (yet small and cold) Guildhall. It was the usual mix of old and new, boxes of ragged dog-eared Beatles and Rolling Stones, plenty of poor-quality Bob Dylan and Bowie, and a smattering of 'newer' music.

And for me, a real find: Sugar's Copper Blue, one of my favourite albums which kept me sane on many a bus journey to university in the early 90s. Like many records of this time, the pressing isn't perfect and slightly 'treble' heavy but in good condition. Two other albums caught my eye: 101 Damnations, the début from Carter, The Unstoppable Sex Machine - again, for an album that's 25 years old, it plays very well. This is a real angst-driven album of frustration and social-political songwriting which still sounds new and relevant today (and yes, Sheriff Fatman is forever magnificent). To complete the trio, Joe Jackson's Night and Day. I'm not a huge Joe Jackson fan but this is a great album; a deft blend of rough and smooth, paying homage to Cole Porter and New York City. Stepping Out is the undisputed classic but elsewhere there is astute observations and commentary.

I don't usually buy 12 inch singles these days but I couldn't let these go. I've always wanted a copy of New Order's Blue Monday and the FAC73 'seven and a half minute' original single (the 12" backed with The Beach) is the grandfather of all versions since ('88 and '95'). And it plays wonderfully. From the same year is Lovecats by The Cure, another brilliant song, and the 1998 re-issue 12" of Wild Wood by Paul Weller, originally released to promote the Modern Classics greatest hits, this is backed with The Sheared Wood (Portishead) remix and Science (with The Psychonauts - Lynch Mob remix). Try and find these on Spotify :)

The Vinyl Frontier - Crosby, Stills & Nash, Throwing Muses

My first record fair of the year (Southampton Solent University Conference Centre, Saturday 18th January), uncovered some interesting gems. First up is the début Crosby, Stills & Nash album, with gatefold sleeve featuring slightly out-of-focus photos of the band and lyric sheet, and is now the oldest vinyl recording I own (1969). It plays well on my Pro-Ject carbon, Kenwood amp and Q speakers, although the bass fights to come through and the production sounds a little fuzzy. It's a great album that hasn't aged too well in terms of song-writing but the combined vocals of CSN are without question, beautiful. Likewise, a German release of Harvest by Neil Young is equally lovely, the follow-up to the brilliant After The Goldrush and is always in its predecessor's shadow.

I am always looking out for 'cult' bands and artists from the 80s and 90s and whenever I frequent fairs and new record shops, I am instantly drawn to any boxes labelled 'punk/new wave' or 'alternative' (if there are any). One band's recently re-discovered catalogue is Throwing Muses (their album Purgatory/Paradise from late last year is a masterpiece) but I have never found any decent vinyl...until now. I wait years and two come along at once: Hunkpapa and Limbo - neither are the best Throwing Muses albums but great nonetheless, both in good condition and sound like they have hardly been played.

Three more to finish: Midnight Oil's breakthrough mid-eighties tribute/protest album Diesel and Dust (picked up at a new record shop I found on the way home from the record fair) - this has been well-played but has enough huge arrangements to hide any imperfections. The Echo & The Bunnymen singles collection Songs To Learn & Sing has plenty of great songs, although not a rarity. And lastly, the début Happy Head from The Mighty Lemon Drops - a band always second to The Teardrop Explodes for me but another great addition to my growing collection of vinyl.

Pie & Vinyl - record shop, pie shop, cool place

I don't normally plug shops but I recently discovered Pie & Vinyl in Southsea, Portsmouth. I can't speak for the Pie, but they have a decent stock of new records.

From their website:

"First of all I’ll talk about the music. We aim to specialise in new music and new artists. We have a rough policy of stocking albums released within the last two years, which will be available in all formats but predominantly vinyl.

Vinyl has come back in a big way, and not many people know that it’s become almost industry standard to include a free mp3 or cd of the album when purchasing  an LP. For us, this is the ultimate way to purchase music as you can hold the product tightly, admire the artwork whilst being able to play the music on your hardrive [sic] device. A little piece of history you own, with a story of how you bought it or maybe a memory attached to it forever.

Feel free to visit the Record Room at the back of the building. But before you do, take a moment to look around you… for the artwork of the vinyl records is as important as the music. Our new releases are found displayed on the wall as you enter pie & vinyl, while a selection of our current favourites are found towards the back room where we hold the majority of our collection."