991.com Sleevenotes : A Blog about Collecting Rare Vinyl 7", 12" & LP Records, CDs, Memorabilia & Music

AC/DC 'Best Of' Cloaked As 'Iron Man 2 Soundtrack'

Three decades into their career and AC/DC continue to avoid the conventional 'Best Of' format, although their forthcoming soundtrack to the comic-book blockbuster movie looks set to contain a suspicious amount of AC/DC's finest work, spanning the years 1976-2008. Planet Rock confirm the tracklisting

An animated ATP this year

This month, Pitchfork media have been the bearers of good news, as the exciting line-up for this year's Matt Groening curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival at Butlins, Minehead in May, is unveiled.

Watchers Of Time

Where were you in '92? Those looking for a memento of Zermatt, Jean Michel Jarre's extravagant multimedia concert in Switzerland performed that year, need look no further. And don't be alarmed, if you're a fan and you weren't there, we have just the thing that will turn back the hands of time either way.

'92 was ‘Swatch the World’ time. For that was the year the Swiss watch-masters sold 100 million watches and celebrated their success in a sponsorship deal with the French keyboard wizard.

Now is the time to wake up and invest. Not only did Jarre design one of these beauts, he also composed the melody for the alarm in it. The future was now.

But the clock keeps ticking… we only have one complete set of limited edition ‘Musicall' wristwatches to give away, so don’t sleep. Alternatively, if the price is right, take 40 winks and you could rise and shine peacefully (and futuristically) to a ‘Chronologie' theme of your choice!

Blue Horizon revived for the digital era

Having first launched Fleetwood Mac's career over 40 years ago, industry veteran Seymour Stein - the man who signed Madonna, The Ramones and Talking Heads, no less - now plans to bring the prestigious Blue Horizon label back into action for 2010.

Borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered 80s...

Simon Reynolds, one of the most reliable voices on pop in journalism, is bang on the money once again in his latest 'Notes On The Noughties' article for The Guardian, as he tries to make sense of the last decade's retro revival.

Bring Me My Pipe And Slippers

Twice we've played the Lance Gambit Trio in the office. But it really took just one play for its sheer genius to sink in. They're a bit like a really good cup of tea or a nice chunk of wensleydale, only better.
 
Mockingly, they called it "loungecore". Hardcore lounge music for the armchair set, the dressing gown crowd, or, if you pardon our French, the sofa masturbator. Lance Gambit (and his other two chaps) is all those things and more.
 
You know the Vision On theme, otherwise called 'Left Bank 2'. That was them. Effortlessly lending a backdrop to Tony Hart and his magical crayon sketches of a neighbour's cat or the moonlight on some dustbins.
 
In 1999, at the height of the lounge revival, they reunited. Keeping it on the low but with exciting fresh new material to adapt in the era of Britpop, Lance (and his stiff upper lip) gave The Verve's 'The Drugs Don't Work' a leisurely walk down the park like no other.
 
Not afraid to approach the modern day hymn then - on their album they transform everything from 'Parklife' to 'Barbie Girl' into a wistful elegance - they remained strident devotees of the unequivocal lounge aesthetic.
 
Makes you proud to be British

Big Swifty

When it comes to some big name artists, the passion for the pen stroke of the famous can be everything.

Then again, for a true luminary, a one-off like no other in the world of music writing, a mere autograph is not enough.

Prepare to be dazzled.

Calling all Frank Zappa fans, we hereby present you, in all its baffling complexity, a four-page Piano/Keyboard score taken from 1972’s Waka/Jawaka masterpiece, hand written and transcribed personally by the Big Swifty himself.

This is a unique, fully authenticated, one-off piece of history that unlocks Zappa’s compositional secrets and places you right at the heart of the great man’s music. For our money, it knocks an autograph into a cocked hat!

Zombies Back In The Studio

News just in that The Zombies are back from the dead and in the studio recording a new album, following their hugely successful Odessey & Oracle 40th anniversary tour, Classic Rock magazine report.

Meanwhile, the dates confirmed for vocalist Colin Blunstone's solo tour are thus:

Feb. 4: Chislehurst Beaverwood Club

Feb. 5: Sutton Boom Boom Club

Feb. 6: Eastney The Cellars

Feb. 11: Bilston Robin 2

Feb. 12: Derby Flowerpot

Feb 13: Frome Cheese & Grain Feb 13

Feb. 14: Southampton The Brook

Feb 18: Cardiff The Globe

Feb. 19: London Oxford Street 100 Club

Albums That Destroyed Music

In an amusing new poll of the Top 10 albums that ruined music for everybody, Peter Frampton’s double live album Frampton Comes Alive earns top place [which you can't really argue with, can you?]. Planet Rock explain

The Tale Of Creation Records

Directed by Danny O'Connor, Upside Down is set to tell the warts'n'all story of Alan McGee's notorious record label, founded with Dick Green and Joe Foster in 1983. No doubt a whole lot of debauchery was involved, but what else? The Guardian elaborate...

Put A Strut In Your Walk

Box upon box of records we've stashed here at 991 since the dawn of time means that every so often we pull a wildcard out the hat. It could be a future holy grail. It could be an undercover elephant.

Af-Tab’s. Known by few, owned by even fewer. The Af-Tab’s were just one of countless acts in the sixties to press a record locally, and offer a small piece of the jigsaw that made up the entire funk movement.

Af-Tab’s did their bit to keep the continuum of the scene alive, now it's your turn.

Currently the only copy of The Broom 7" - the original rare-as-rocking-horse... Jet label issue - available on the world wide web, grab this and gain instant access to any number of exclusive funk 45 owners clubs, be led VIP-style to the best funk booth in town and, generally, be a right smug one

Jazz Goes To College

Recent pickings in The Guardian's ongoing series of  ‘50 Greatest Moments’ in music include an in-depth reappraisal of Dave Brubeck’s classic 1953 live album, Jazz At Oberlin, which gave a new lease of life to American jazz, firmly linking the cool movement with a fresh student crowd keen for inspiration and musical brain food for those advanced degrees. Enough to make you sick!

Wednesday's Forthcoming Releases [Part I]

HOT CHIP ‘One Life Stand’ [Release Date 01/02/2010]
CD: http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=495459

CD/DVD: http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=495462

Hot Chip are back with the stunning fourth studio album 'One Life Stand' released 1st February 2010 on Parlophone records.

'One Life Stand' is a full-blooded leap into the unknown, an album that is awash with Hot Chip's trademark creative bravery and a searing emotional intensity from first track to last. Indeed, 'One Life Stand' is by far and away Hot Chip's most complete body of work to date, an album that is more cohesive and more soulful than 2007's ambidextrous 'Made In The Dark' and more ambitious than 2005's Mercury nominated and Grammy award nominated 'The Warning', 'One Life Stand' is an album that establishes Hot Chip as one of the most relevant and creative bands of our era.

With Joe Goddard, Alexis Taylor, Felix Martin, Al Doyle and Owen Clarke at the helm it is no surprise that they borrow, create and take inspiration from a plethora of influences. 'One Life Stand' sees a proliferation of influences as diverse as the burgeoning UK funky scene to soul music, modern R&B, Northern Soul, Gospel, Golden Age Electronica, Detroit House, Southern soul, the sounds of Arthur Russell, Prince and Theo Parish, and they all sit effortlessly alongside the band's signature pop aesthetics, wild electronics, off kilter beats and intoxicating musical experimentation in a way that only Hot Chip can execute.

The songs for 'One Life Stand' were largely written around the piano, the Wurlitzer, or the Prophet keyboard, and demoed at Alexis' and Joe's respective home studios. They were then taken to Lanark Studio which Al and Felix own and run, to be fully produced and fleshed out with the three remaining band members. In addition, recording contributions from legendary innovators of their respective fields Charles Hayward (This Heat), and Fimber Bravo (Steel n' Skin), as well as newer musicians Leo Taylor (The Invisible), and string arrangers and experimental composers Emma Smith and Vince Sipprell (Geese), were added to elevate the record further.

The finished record is Hot Chip's most up-front, coherent and melodically bold record to date; an uncluttered, warm and soulful, uplifting and heart-on-sleeve collection. Featuring the archetypal Hot Chip song, title track and first single, 'One Life Stand', built on a metronomic but pulsing groove, and reaching up to a joyously simple/naive chorus of monogamous embracement, the album is from start to finish one of love - euphoric, nostalgic, brotherly, realistic even. It is mainly a sequence of club classic stompers - from the anthemic 'Hand Me Down Your Love' to the life-affirming absurdist black humour of 'I Feel Better' - tempered with the contemplative, tender realism of 'Slush', and the romantic melancholy of 'Alley Cats'. Take it in, if you will; it's all for you.

Hendrix New Album Unveiled

As confirmed by Planet Rock, Valleys Of Neptune is to be released on March 8th, and is said to contain 12 tracks of previously unheard Jimi Hendrix studio recordings from 1969-70, with the original Experience line-up and bassist Billy Cox making his then debut. Click the link for full details.

Monday's Forthcoming Releases [Part I]

HAWKWIND
‘Treworgey Tree Fayre 1989’ [Release Date 08/02/2010]
2CD: http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=494899

Hawkwind formed in 1969 forming part of the Ladbroke Grove artistic community. Hawkwind first appeared as Group X or Hawkwind Zoo before finally shortening the name to Hawkwind and securing a recording deal with Liberty Records. The band were led by former busker Dave Brock and whilst many other members have come and gone over the bands thirty six year existence Dave Brock remains in sole command of the band that blazed a trail for what became known as Space Rock.

Initially the band built up an underground following by appearing free at many high profile festivals and events. The band enjoyed massive success both here and in America during the seventies with hit singles like 'Silver Machine' and albums such as 'Space Ritual' and 'Quark Strangeness and Charm' and managed to almost reinvent themselves at the end of the seventies briefly as the Hawklords before reverting back to Hawkwind for the eighties and beyond.

This show was filmed and recorded at the Treworgy Tree Fayre in July 1989 and the band line up at the time included Dave Brock, Simon House, Richard Chadwick, Harvey Bainbridge and Alan Davey. Special guests include Bridget Wishart and Steve Barnard. This 2-CD set is the soundtrack to the live DVD released in 2008 which contains the full audio portion of the concert and amongst the set list, the band performs key tracks such as 'Hassan I Sabha', 'Damnation Alley', 'Needle Gun', 'Ejection', 'The Golden Void' and 'Brainstorm'.

Wild Winds Are Blowing

No, not an update on the current freezing temperatures in 991 towers, but something far more important... another prize collectible to add to your already impressive 45 stash.

Prior to their reputation as being one of the loudest glam rock groups on the planet, both aurally and visually, Slade were no less bold in their early years. Cropped hair, braces, Doc Marten boots… these cheeky chaps were the ‘bovver boys’ of their day.

Now big on the collectors market, Wild Winds Are Blowing is a stomping, non-album single. But you’ll need your boots on for it – it might just blow your socks off!

Best Art Vinyl 2009 - The Winners

Today Art Vinyl is pleased to announce the winners of the Best Art Vinyl 2009 Award. To see all the year’s final 50, please visit their web page dedicated to the best sleeves of 2009 http://www.artvinyl.com/en/nominate/nominations.html

 

Classic album covers issued as stamps

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8444156.stm

Classic album covers issued as stamps

The stamps feature covers from artists including Primal Scream and David Bowie

A series of classic album covers including Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells and Parklife by Blur has been issued as a set of stamps by the Royal Mail.

Other well-known record sleeves to have been made into first-class stamps include Pink Floyd's Division Bell.

The design on each of the 10 stamps shows a vinyl record coming out of its recognisable album cover.

The Post Office said the issues had transformed each record sleeve into "miniature works of art".

Julietta Edgar, Royal Mail's head of special stamps, said: "This issue celebrates this unique art form and some of its greatest examples."

Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin's enigmatic cover for IV

Thousands of album covers from the past four decades were scrutinised before the final 10 were chosen.

The artwork, and not necessarily the music on the album, was at the forefront of the selectors' minds.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who helped design the cover for the band's album IV - now transformed into a postage stamp - helped launch the new issues in London.

Page spoke about IV's cover, which features an old man weighed down by a bundle of sticks.

"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him.

"That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time," he said.

The album did not mention the band's name on the cover.

The Rolling Stones' 1969 album Let It Bleed, meanwhile, features a cake on the cover which was baked by a then unknown Delia Smith

Tuesday's Forthcoming Releases [Part I]

EELS ‘End Times’ [Release Date 18/01/2010]
CD: http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=494232

2CD: http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=494233

The eighth EELS studio album, 'End Times,' is the sound of an artist growing older in uncertain times. An artist who has lost his great love while struggling with his faith in an increasingly hostile world teetering on self-destruction. Largely self-recorded on an old four track tape machine by EELS leader Mark Oliver Everett [aka E] in his Los Angeles basement, it's a "divorce album" with a modern twist: the artist equates his personal loss with the world he lives in losing its integrity. When Everett finds comfort "in a dying world," the 'End Times' he speaks of isn't about "Mayan calendar conspiracy theory bullshit," he says, but, "the state of the desperate times we live in. The bottom line-ness of it all. The end of common decency. The loss of caring about doing a good job. These are tough times. Who can you trust? Walter Cronkite is just a ghost."

While the last EELS album, Hombre Lobo tackled the subject of desire, "the before, the spark that ignites everything," Everett says, 'End Times' is about the other side: the after. And while 'Hombre Lobo' was written from the point of view of a fictional character, 'End Times' is pure real life.

Brutally unblinking, 'End Times' may be the 'Electro-Shock Blues' of break-up albums. While the 1998 EELS album 'Electro-Shock Blues' dealt with the untimely deaths of Everett's mother, father and sister, 'End Times' takes a hard look at losing love.