What's Playing Now

[Fritz The Cat]

I don't think this is a rare one in US. It's a rocky rockabilly style. Not in the style of the fifties as played by Brian Setzer. Later on, Billy was member of the Fleetwood Mac tour band and collaborated on their "Behind the mask".
Simple and driving dance music. Super US Pressing with good dynamics. Check B3 "One Night" and compare with Elvis' version on the 1968 NBC-TV Special comeback.

[Fritz The Cat]

Comparison of a swedish and an english pressing. The dynamics are not sufficient good on both. The UK pressing sounds not better at all. Does anybody own a US pressing? Is there also such a dull sound? Is it because of the pressing or the studio conditions? 6 different studios and such a bad sound?? In Europe there was big airplay for A1 "Tired of toein' the line" and A3 "Fallin' in love" in 1979. Featured here are Dave Edmunds, Billy Burnette, Mel Collins, Billy Walker and many others studio cracks from all over the world. Too much monkey business? With a questionable result. Mostly the simple way is the better. Luckily there are in my collection 3 other works of Rocky Burnette....(posts eventually later)

[Fritz The Cat]

Good dynamics. Compilation of the early hits in 56/57. From Memphis, but not on SUN records. And "The Train kept a rollin'".....Good Sound!

[Fritz The Cat]

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
(1973, Virgin) Spanish pressing












Listening to a recent pickup - a Spanish pressing. Too lazy, so recycling the turntable picture - which is from a previous spin of a UK Quad version.

Richard Branson started Virgin Records with this one. TB was sold over 5 million times. Today Rich.Rich.RICHard Branson is one of the RICHest men on earth and owns an Island called Necker Island. This is an island of......? Yesss Virgin Island. Granted, the first work of Mike was commercially an important one in these times. But is it also a good one? Does it touch your heart & soul? It has no humour at all. Did you know, that Mike was bass player in the Kevin Ayers Band? Cit: Wikipedia

[Fritz The Cat]

Have you checked the notice on the backcover on the left side below? "This stereo record cannot be played on old tin boxes no matter what they are fitted with. If you are in possession of such equipment please hand it to the nearest police station." Is this yet still a little piece of humour? Note: this LP was recorded in "Glorious Stereophonic Sound". Remarkable is the drummer: Steve Broughton from Edgar Broughton Band!

[Fritz The Cat]

Warning: A nice idea that comes out rather silly. Cit. AMG Bruce Eder. Too much Tubular Bells can be dangerous for your mental health.

[Fritz The Cat]

If you look at the sad man on the backcover: does he want to own an island? Or a virgin? He should be glad because of his musicians on that LP: Raphael Ravenscroft (Listen to Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street"), Andy Mackay (Listen to Roxy Music's "Virginia Plain"), Micky Moody (Listen to all the early Whitesnake LPs), Pierre Moerlen (Listen to all the Gong LP's with Pierre), and for the German HIFI Freaks Anita Hegerland (Listen to Roy Black and Anita "Schön ist es auf der Welt zu sein"). Anita Hegerland was his wife from 1987 until 1991. And now Mike wants also an Island as Richard Branson does......

[hjames]

After a reasonably cool day (August in the DC burbs, I know) doing yardwork,
it was time for a hot soak, wash my hair for the coming week, clean up, and generally chill out ...

I had put an ambient playlist together over the last 2 weeks, based on an article in LA Times.
http://www.laweekly.com/music/10-cla...mbient-5900508

I already had most of the music (Eno, The Orb, T.Dream, Wendy Carlos,etc), but I didn't know Gas, Tetsu, Global or The KEF ...
(The numbers are from the article, the very brief notes are mine)

1. Gas - Königsforst (1999) (still getting to know this)

2. Tetsu Inoue, Ambiant Otaku (1994) (still getting to know this)

3. Global Communication, 76:14 (1994)(still getting to know this)

4. The Orb, The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991)
A true classic - getting long in the tooth now, but still pulsing chill music

5. Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992)
Very nice chillout tracks - a variety

6. The KLF, Chill Out (1990)
Kind of an ambient road trip through the southern US - found radio samples and more

7. Brian Eno, Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)
Eno's first ambient album quiet piano noodlings - good stuff!

8. Cluster and Brian Eno, Cluster & Eno (1977)
Nice germanic synthy stuff, timely since the death of Dieter Moebius July 20

9. Tangerine Dream, Phaedra (1974)
(frankly, I'd recommend many of their other albums before this one - its old and pretty minimal - try Ricochet or the Soundtrack of Thief)

10. Wendy Carlos, Sonic Seasonings (1972)
A little dated but still a pleasant listen of early Moog fun from a pioneer ...

[loach71]

Heather:

I never thought you would be an ambient music enthusiast...

[hjames]

Heather:

I never thought you would be an ambient music enthusiast...

Thanks, I guess ...

Last week I was on a Bonnie Rait/Little Feat kick ...
found a UK CD of the first Bonnie Raitt show I saw in DC back in '73!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ou%20Love%20Me

But, I listen to LOTS of stuff ... [Even Sinatra and Melody Gardot]

[Fritz The Cat]

This LP was not for sale. It was for listening. But why did i have to pay 10 Swiss Franks for it? I know, i know.... The beautiful cover was painted by Margareta. Hey Vinylfreaks, who is Margareta? Where is Margareta? C'mon you americans know it. Tell me! Gruss Fritz

[Fritz The Cat]

I found this one this summer in a thrift store in Switzerland for 6 Franks. In mint condition. Vinyl and cover both. Where did it lie all these years. No smoke smell. It smells as new! But the pressing is from the early seventies. Heavy weight first quality vinyl. Sounds good. A gem? A wonderful one. Is this usual in US?

[hsosdrum]

WOW , are you lurking in my listening room somewhere ? YES , 1,2 & 3 were a huge improvement. Listening to 4 right now. It IS better , but less so than the first 3. "Levy" still knocks me over. sounds great

and YES again. I never had CODA , but last Wednesday picked up a pristine copy on vinyl. sounds fine , but the performance just wasn't up to par for LZ. Maybe on 2nd listening it will improve ?

OH YEAH ..on LZ 3 ..."Gallows Pole" ... WOW

I'm playing these on the Arcam Cd-23 FMJ deck. It has dual transformers and the renowned "Ring DAC" (a 16 pound deck) .... airy and 3d sound. My dubs to MD are coming out nearly perfect.

http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/251/

In the interest of full disclosure, I do all my music listening on my home theater on a Panasonic Blu-ray player (don't know the model—it was included free when I bought my 50" plasma TV 4 years ago), via a Lexicon DC-1 processor (CA 1998) in 5.1-channel mode with Logic 7 processing engaged. I do have a 25-year old Nakamichi CD Player 1 out in my former studio, which definitely does sound better playing CDs than the Blu-ray player does, but I'm out of room in my home theater furniture and have nowhere to put it.

In the 30+ years that I owned 2-channel systems I was never happy with plain 2-channel stereo (for years I listened on a 3-channel LCR system that added an L+R derived mono center and was a vast improvement over simple L/R), and once I got the Lexicon and discovered how much more fun it was to listen in full 5.1 all the time I never looked back. I guess this makes me a "former" audiophile (I sold my Linn and all my vinyl in 2001—hated vinyl worse than I disliked 2-channel), but I'm a much happier camper now, and am able to get much more thoroughly lost in the music than I ever could with just 2 speakers and piles of black vinyl. YMMV.

[dr_gallup]

If you look at the sad man on the backcover: does he want to own an island? Or a virgin? He should be glad because of his musicians on that LP: Raphael Ravenscroft (Listen to Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street"), Andy Mackay (Listen to Roxy Music's "Virginia Plain"), Micky Moody (Listen to all the early Whitesnake LPs), Pierre Moerlen (Listen to all the Gong LP's with Pierre), and for the German HIFI Freaks Anita Hegerland (Listen to Roy Black and Anita "Schön ist es auf der Welt zu sein"). Anita Hegerland was his wife from 1987 until 1991. And now Mike wants also an Island as Richard Branson does......

I can highly recommend owning an island. The peace and serenity of having a space free of electricity, internet, phones, cars etc. is wonderful. Mine is small and rather far north of the Virgin Islands but it is great to get out of the heat of South Carolina in the dog days of summer and go someplace where you still need a blanket to sleep at night while listening to loons calling and waves lapping the shore.

[Fritz The Cat]

Listen to track B2: "Somebody stole my synthesizer". Does humour belong to music? Yesss! Do synthesizers belong to Rocknroll, Blues, Rockmusic, Folkrock etc.?? This is a very funny song of a funny LP. Does anybody know the words of this song?