Setting out to be a “definitive career anthology,” Long Hot Summers: The Story of The Style Council is out now and we’ve been listening to it all weekend. It’s a three-LP set, on either coloured or black vinyl and – like anything of this stature and ambition – there’s a mixture of pros and cons to the finished product. Overall, the pros far outweigh the … Continue reading The Pros and Cons of The Style Council’s Long Hot Summers
So, how do you spend almost £30k on just 10 records? Simple, buy the 10 most expensive records sold on Discogs in August. And, if you did, as well as having one of the smallest and most expensive record collections in the world, you’d also have one of the most varied. Discogs’ ten highest hitters this month is a mixed back to say the least. … Continue reading How do you spend £29,105.58 on just 10 records?
Yazmin Lacey’s I’ll Never Stop Loving You is the latest 7″ vinyl from Blue Note Records, ahead of the label’s Re:imagined compilation, slated for 25 September. The 7″ is out now, and the compilation will be pressed on, of course, blue vinyl. Full tracklisting (and track-by-track provenance) after the album art. Shop Blue Note Re:imaged on Amazon. Jorja Smith “Rose Rouge” – from St Germain’s … Continue reading Yazmin Lacey on Blue Note Re:imagined
Gregory Porter has one of those voices which, as the cliché goes, could sing the telephone directory. Although 2017’s Nat King Cole & Me wasn’t exactly reaching for the Yellow Pages, it didn’t hit quite the same spot as his two previous self-penned mega-sellers Liquid Spirit and Take Me To The Alley. Fortunately for fans of his songwriting, All Rise is back to business, but … Continue reading Gregory Porter – All Rise
Along with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry released such classic albums as Something Else!!!!, Change Of The Century and Free Jazz… Gearbox Records have announced a 12″ of previously-unreleased material from renowned trumpeter Don Cherry for Record Store Day 2020. The new release, Cherry Jam, features rare pre-recordings from a performance on Danish national radio in 1965 – the same year he recorded his landmark album Complete Communion. … Continue reading EP of unreleased Don Cherry recordings announced for Record Store Day
Despite often costing far less than a regular LP, many samplers have become highly collectible. Surely a definitive list of 40 is impossible? Step forward Mark Sampson… The birth of the sampler album is generally attributed to Jac Holzman, the head of Elektra Records. With no budget for advertising, he looked for other ways of promoting his catalogue (then) of folk and world music. Always … Continue reading The Essential: Samplers
Some artists develop their sound over the course of a long career, working gradually towards a creative peak, while others hit the ground running and deliver a fully realised masterwork at the first time of asking. And it’s the latter group we pay tribute to here as Gary Tipp names vinyl’s greatest debut albums… Debut albums have several advantages over what follows in a band’s … Continue reading The 60 Greatest Debut Albums Of All Time
The women of garage rock, grunge pop and indie have been busy. Chris Parkin celebrates a slew of tremendous new vinyl releases. There’s only one rule concerning album announcements: don’t do it on the same day that Sleater-Kinney reveal to the world they’re recording a new album with Annie Clark (aka St Vincent). At least that’s the “note-to-self” that Mary Timony – Carrie Brownstein and … Continue reading Genre Hopping: Female-fronted pioneers
Legendary jazz label Blue Note continue to set a high bar with their subscription-only vinyl boxsets. This second volume, once again curated by Blue Note President Don Was, expands on the first, following subscriber feedback to include a second classic catalogue reissue album. Limited to 2,000 copies, there’s an exclusive 2LP 180g vinyl compilation showcasing the label’s drumming roster – highlights include the wonderful Brian … Continue reading Blue Note Review – Volume Two Spirit & Time
With its catalogue of funk, soul, jazz, Nina Simone, Afrobeat and more, Chris Parkin finds out how, for this Belgian reissue label, preserving music is a serious business… The driving force behind Belgium’s Tidal Waves Music has serious form when it comes to reissuing records. Sebastiaan Putseys started out reviving hardcore punk records in the late 90s before setting up One Way Static in 2012. … Continue reading The Big Reissue: Tidal Waves Music
