Seventy four tracks is an awful lot to sift through. It helps that this is laid out in chronological order. It’s a little like a history lesson but you can almost hear the blues developing as a genre as you work your way through the box set.

You can hear how John Lee’s voice deepens as you work your way through the 4 CD box set. For once it’s all about the songs and not the production. These early ’40s and ’50s recordings stand on their own without any studio techniques or cleanups.

The pace picks up as we enter into the 70s. The guitar picking here is superb, with the rhythm being kept by the strings alone. I’d normally swerve any 4 CD box set but this is worthy of repeated plays.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I couldn’t resist a quick dig around the CD shelves of the wonderful Oxfam whilst passing through Herne Hill on Saturday. I always enter here with expectation, I never leave with disappointment. Not to mention some new additions to the collection.

Saturday was no exception.

“Give me five minutes, five minutes max.”

…I uttered to my Herne Hill walking partner. True to my word I gave it a quick shifty from left to right and then down the three CD shelves and immediately homed in on Saint Etienne’s excellent Fox Base Alpha debut.

My Herne Hill walking partner owned this on cassette back in the day. It hadn’t been played for around two decades or so, even though we both loved the album. She agreed to allow me to sell it for 20 quid or so on eBay.

We’ve come full circle now with the CD now being bought for cheapo cheapo three quid at Herne Hill.

It’s a fantastic album. In particular the Neil Young cover of Only Love Can Break Your Heart is just pop perfection. I only came to the Neil Young original after hearing the Saint Etienne cover, which I assumed was the original recording for 20 years or so.

I did ponder over a few other bits and pieces at Oxfam in Herne Hill, mainly of the PONCE clothing variety. You get a particular type of PONCE walking the mean streets of Herne Hill

But five minutes was what was promised and five minutes was delivered.

Only Herne Hill can break your heart etc.

Mingus at Antibes.

I’m pretty much only listening to jazz at the moment. That’s been the theme for the past two or three months. It’s just so easy going yet still challenging if that’s what you want. Plus it’s perfect for multi tasking. I’m a multi tasking type of guy.

I’ve yet to stray into the full on jazz snob type territory. The highlights of recent months, however, have been attending the Weird Wiv Music Mix jazz sessions each month. Give me some live jazz and a bottle of red and I’m yours for the taking.

Mingus at Antibes was an album of the day a few weeks back. It’s been on my eBay radar search ever since. This one landed for £4 all in. I’ll have a bit of that.

What I like about Mingus is that he has that jazz purist thing running through him, yet he’s also not afraid to experiment with soul, folk, and a little bit more funkiness all round.

This CD landed this morning in a cardboard insert as well. No jewel case nonsense. Jazz is the new sustainability, right?

Buskers.

⭐

GAWD bless Stonewall Records in Sunny Colch. It’s become one of my regular routine stop off points whenever I’m in the half-town, half-city.

There’s a well stocked vinyl section, plus, tucked away in a corner, some incredibly cheapo cheapo CDs. Each time I go there I remind the fine chap behind the counter that these are shamelessly underpriced.

Today I walked out with some Small Faces, Snuff, Courtney Pine, and George Benson. You’re not going to find those four artists segued together on any UK radio station.

Surprisingly I’ve not got any Small Faces. Their debut 1966 album should be as good a starting point as any.

Whereas The Who were musicians that wanted to be mods, I love the idea of The Small Faces being mods who wanted to be musicians.

I knew little about Snuff until around 1990, when one of the slightly older faces I used to run around with back in the Fair City regularly sent me mixtapes.

Snuff featured happily and I’ve bloody love them ever since. I’m surprised they don’t get more of a look in, given the recent revival with bands such as Half Man Half Biscuit.

I can listen to anything by Courtney Pine and feel instantly relaxed. This man has vibes.

Likewise for George Benson. I was unaware of this album. I prefer his jazzier early guitar work to the smooching George.

Here we have an album of covers and some half decent ones at that. It’s quite a leap of faith from The Small Faces down to George B.

Erm… I’m listening to this tone deaf. I have no concept of how to assess or appreciate classical music. Apologies to all the purists, it’s just noise, right? There we go, destroying centuries of culture in one throwaway hit and miss shit sentence.

But honestly it is just noise to me: pleasant noise but noise all the same. I can’t distinguish between this and other classical music. That says more about me than the medium. I think I’ll line up some Sleaford fucking Mods next.

⭐ ⭐

Talk Talk’s debut, The Party’s Over. It’s only taken me 44 years to own a copy of this. Blimey.

And that completes my Talk Talk collection: five albums over a nine year period for the band. Blimey, I never really considered they were as prolific as that.

I can’t say I’ve actually played The Party’s Over. All I’m familiar with are the singles.

At the time I think I pigeonholed them as second division new romantics. It must have been the name: Duran Duran, Talk Talk, etc.

Oh how they flourished, oh how the other half diminished.

There are a few early signs in the singles as to where Mark Hollis would take the direction of the band. But it’s still one hell of a leap from the lead single Talk Talk to where we ended up with Laughing Stock in 1991.

Music is pretty cool like that: you never stand still, always move forward.

Another album, another artist completely new to me. This is clearly ambitious, although running at over one hour long did lead to a bit of an eye roll moment for me. It almost sounds like The Big Brother for the Daisy Age: a lot harsher, a lot more critical, but still something of a swagger to break up the beats. It did get a little nauseating half an hour in, mind.

⭐ ⭐

This is such a sophisticated listen from the Cool Ruler. His voice is so smooth. It captures an age where reggae was on the cusp of all the digi developments just around the corner. It shows what’s possible with pure roots and a soulful voice. The album title Soon Forward hints at what is to come. But for now this is a charming timepiece that allows the music rather than the bragging to be presented.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I really wanted to dislike this but begrudgingly I’ve got a soft spot for digi reggae. Sure it’s past its peak here. I much prefer the Greensleeves era from the early 80s to the mid-80s. I know all about Banton and his questionable lyrics. I listened to this far too early for it not to filter through. I’m sure there are some pretty shitty homophobic rants taking place and I know that’s no excuse for justifying it. I tried to block out the lyrics and just listen to the beats, which kind of worked for me.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐