Bland as fuck.

⭐

Solitude Standing was absolutely everywhere for me during the summer of ‘87. It was pretty much played on repeat as I worked the summer at the local Virgin Megastore, plus it was then wall to wall with even album tracks being played on daytime Radio Trent.

It captures a moment for me, rather than being a peak musical performance. That being said it’s still something pretty special. I find it difficult to listen to Tom’s Diner without wanting the Soul II Soul style back beat. Luca and its social importance is well documented. I’ve forgotten what a glorious song Gypsy is.

This is a very, very classy album. It was a pleasure to revisit it once again.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Endless Summer is pretty much Beach Boys by numbers. There’s nothing wrong with that. All killer, no filler, etc. This compilation was a new one on me. The very ropey cover art suggested something a little different but no, it’s just hit after hit after hit. These songs are built so deep into your conscience that there’s not a lot new going off. It’s an album that only really works as summertime listening. You wouldn’t put this on in the dark, deep months of December. They’ve always been a joyous band. Four stars for what the album represents, rather than the musical content.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

The new album from Haircut 100 is a hell of a lot of fun. Boxing the Compass is 44 years in the making. These boys make The Stone Roses appear almost hyper-productive.

Back in the day and a jazz samba rhythm was always at the heart of The Haircuts. Sure, they felt the need to add in some pop perfection in order to gatecrash the charts.

Unboxing the Compass retains the classic Haircuts horn section. This is sunshine music that leaves you with no other option but to smile.

The lead single The Unloving Plum seemed to have dropped over an age ago. The wait for the remaining tracks was worth it.

Pelican West was absolute perfection from The Haircuts. The new record, almost half a Century later, picks up the pieces.

The foppish good looks and persona from the band back in 1982 may have weathered slightly. Nick Heywood, however still retains a certain schoolboy charm.

The Haircuts haven’t lost it.

Hurrah!

I bloody love The Fall - even though I can never decipher the lyrics and haven’t got a clue what he’s banging on about. The Wonderful and Frightening World is nominative determinism personified. This is a collision of sounds with guitar rackets crashing in and the double drums trying to drown out all the nonsense from yer frontman. It leads to an inner desire to dance - not in a rhythmic way but more of a stomp, chanting out random Mark E Smith mantras as you go along. There is nothing like them. It’s highly unfashionable music yet in some circles it remains almost peak hipster. I just love the experimentation, yet still being grounded in traditional meat ‘n’ two veg guitar sounds.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I don’t want to become something of a Pink Floyd completist but I’m going down the line of becoming something of a Pink Floyd completist.

Atom Heart Mother is an album that I’m surprised it’s taken me 56 years of age to become familiar with. I was already bored of Dark Side by the time I hit 21.

Atom Heart slots into the Pink Floyd discography four years or so ahead of Dark Side. It’s that moment in time where Pink Floyd hadn’t shaken off all the hippy shit, but were starting to blossom to become something else.

It’s quite a diverse album as well - that is if you can describe late 60s prog and experimentation as being diverse.

It starts with some rather theatrical music hall and then ends with the more acoustic peace and shit that you tend to associate with Pink Floyd.

I wouldn’t say the best thing about it is the cover art but I do like the simplicity of the cow. The late 60s were very, very odd.

You know where you are with a Van Morrison album, right from the start. A Van album is a Van album. Sure, the times may change with different styles and tastes coming and going. Van takes snippets of these, but ultimately he knows what direction he is going in. This sounds like an album recorded in 1986 – which is no surprise seeing as though it was an album… recorded in 1986. It’s the welcome inclusion of the oboe on this album which adds a little extra something to his usual Sunday afternoon laid-back jazz soul vibes. This album works best when Van takes on his softly, softly, understated role. He strips everything back and calms the experience down. It can get quite intense at times, despite very little going on.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This album represents a turning point in hip-hop. It straddles that age where the crudeness of the samples and beat boxes fused together with what was possible from the genre. The rap and delivery take it to another level. It’s a fun exercise in spotting the samples, but ultimately it’s the lyrics which hold your attention.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Ozric Tentacles' Become the Other CD.

I bloody love The Ozrics. Psychedelic space prog rock wasn’t exactly cool back in the day. It’s aged even less so thirty-odd years later.

There’s still something about the old hippie in me that gets me reaching for the tie-dye whenever a new Ozrics CD arrives. Let’s not go there.

I don’t even keep track of the entire Ozrics back catalogue. I doubt if the Ozrics do themselves. I think they’re one of those DIY bands where there’s endless cassette-only releases and CD-Rs doing the rounds. I do have my own Ozrics list of what I’ve got just to make sure there are no duplicates.

I’ve not even heard Become the Other to be honest. It just appeared on eBay at a half-decent price. It’s not unknown for Ozrics CDs to go as high as £50 these days. They’re simply not being pressed up.

The artwork is as space-cadet shit as you can imagine. I’m hoping the music will match it.

Back in the day you needed to be under the influence of something rather strong in the herb department to appreciate the Ozrics. A strong cup of tea works for me these days.

Sometimes I long for good old-fashioned analogue music. Other mornings start with a desire to go all digital. The Chemical Brothers and Surrender fitted the brave new world that I craved for on Monday morning. It was straight in with Music: Response. This could quite easily be the theme music for Night Rider.

The Chems were bloody great back in the day. They knew how to hit the button perfectly to convince jaded indie kids in search of something a little more exciting over to the other side. Buzzing off yer tits with the Chems rather than shoe-gazing was where all the fun was at. Surrender is perhaps the last great album by the pair. It still leaves me grinning. And dancing.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐