T Rex – Electric Warrior
Fearing that the world is heading to hell in a handcart, John Scott takes refuge in T Rex’s Electric Warrior.
Music News
Frantique (BBR)
DISCO is big at Hifi Pig Towers and many a Saturday night is spent strutting our stuff around the listening room…there’s even talk of us getting a mirror-ball. So what better than this album by all girl three piece that had a huge hits in ’79 with Strut Your Funky Stuff (you’ll know it of […]
I’m A Freak, Baby : A Journey Through The British Heavy Psych And Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-72 (Cherry Red)
Out on the 29th July I’m A Freak Baby is really going to appeal to a certain kind of person…and I count myself in with this lot. As a teen I had hair down my back, wore an Afghan coat, stank of patchouli oil and listened to psych rock and heavy rock from the late […]
Let’s Eat Grandma – I, Gemini (Transgressive Records)
You may have recently read about two girls from Norfolk who look uncannily similar but are, in fact, unrelated. Rosa and Jenny are both 17, met when they were 4 years’ old and have been inseparable ever since. Together, they make music under the moniker Let’s Eat Grandma. Whether or not you enjoy their debut album […]
Here Comes The Summer
Summer is here, in the upper half of the hemisphere, at least. Time to bare some flesh – that’s enough, thank you – slap on the factor 30, pour a long drink, lie back and relax as John Scott provides the perfect summer playlist.
Scott Wainwright – Every Man Has His Critics
Scott Wainwright hails from Barnsley, as do I, and so I was really keen to give this album a listen. He describes himself on his Facebook profile as “Maverick Blues, Gospel and Hip Hop Musician. Husband and Father. Thinker, Optimist, Man of Faith” and if anything I’d have added “a bit quirky” to that list […]
Linton Kwesi Johnson – Bass Culture
John Scott makes the most of the sunshine (well, it was shining when he started to write this) and listens to Linton Kwesi Johnson’s 1980 reggae classic.
Fraser Anderson – Under The Cover Of Lightness
Fraser Anderson has been a father, a son, a brother and a husband. All of these relationships inform his songs as he sings about love, loss and loyalty. The ties that stretch and fray as they bind us to others. Anderson was born in Edinburgh and cut his musical teeth as a drummer in hip […]
John Martyn – Solid Air (Half Speed Master)
According to Howard Massey in his excellent book “The Great British Studios”, half speed mastering originally came about when John Lennon arrived in the Apple cutting room to master his new 45 “Power To The People” and wanted it “loud”. As a result the engineers came up with the ingenious idea of cutting the disc […]
Close To The Noisefloor – Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984
I’ve had this album on MP3 promo for a good while now and it’s a great piece of historical documentation of the underground, DIY electronic movement that took place between 75 and 84. It’s a sprawling four CD set with 61tracks and around 9000 words of sleevenotes by Dave Henderson of MOJO. You’ll know some […]
Nikki Lane – The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
Nikki Lane’s 2014 album All Or Nothin’ fused country songwriting with Spectoresque Be My Baby drums, glam rock handclaps and Muscle Shoals electric piano. Tonight, there are no drums, no piano; just Nikki and her Fender acoustic with back up from special guest Jonathan Tyler on guitar and harmonica but Lane’s rock and roll attitude […]
Sign O The Times – Prince
Following the recent tragic demise of Prince, John Scott takes a look at what he considers The Artist Formerly Known As’ masterpiece, Sign O The Times.
Madeline Bell – Blessed With Your Love (STS Digital, Reel to Reel)
There’s a bit of a buzz around reel to reel recordings at the moment and the number of audiophiles and music lovers taking up the format is clearly on the rise…and in response there are a growing number of companies offering up reel to reel recordings to cater to their needs. Step up to the […]
Paul Roland – In The Opium Den : The Early Recordings 1980-1987 (Cherry Red)
This dropped on my desk a couple of months ago and I really wasn’t expecting much of it. It’s from a period of music that wasn’t great in my opinion and from an artist I admit I’d heard nothing of previously. And so it stayed in its protective covering for longer than it really should. […]
Tangerine Dream – The Official Bootleg Series: Volume II (Reactive)
I like Tangerine Dream a lot and it’s fair to say they are probably the first music that wasn’t mainstream pop that I was exposed to in my early teens. I used to babysit for my cousin and her Father (my Uncle) Keith had an interesting record collection that I used to dip into whenever […]
Jimmy Somerville – Club Homage (Cherry Red)
Club Homage, out on the 29th April, follows on from Somerville’s (yes, he of Bronski Beat and The Communards fame) disco album of last year called “Homage”. Now I’m a bit of a sucker for disco and love some of the people who are involved in remixing some of the tracks from Homage for Club […]