Thursday, June 26, 2014

Deep Purple - Made In Japan (Vinyl Box Set) - #170

Deep Purple - Made In Japan (Vinyl Box Set)

I treated myself to this 9-LP monster, because a) I do like box sets, b) to get all the Japanese live shows from 1972 in one go is just to tempting and c) at least the early Deep Purple outfits (up to around "Burn") are right up my alley. I don't go into the importance of these recordings. This is like carrying water into the river Rhine.


In fact, this is me whining about the set. The CD box comes with a DVD and I can't understand for the life of me, why those cheapskates couldn't include this here as well. Don't give me the word about costs, what with a box set that costs around EUR 130.00 in your average local record dealer's shop. I admit, I probably wouldn't have sat down watching interviews, but this is the public being led around the block with a ring through their nose.

Cheers

Devon

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Imelda May - Tribal - #169

Imelda May - Tribal

A new CD by the Irish Rockabilly singer is always welcome. Especially since it's been a while since the last album was thrown ioto the market. Actually, I wanted to wait for the vinyl release that's coming out at the beginning of August, but the CD was in the racks of a local record store and I still can, and probably will, buy the two versions. Just one word, Imelda, if you're thinking again about re-issuing the same album in a fortnight with a few additional songs tucked to the original album, forget it! You did this before and this is nothing but scalping your fans.

I've read a few reviews re this CD and what can I say, around 70% are negative, starting with the songs not being up to scratch and moving over to the loudness war and the awful mix for the MP3 generation and extremely bad sound on this offering. Sometimes even guessing that this is a radio friendly mix. Bollocks! The album sounds excellent on my stereo and the songs are what I'd expect from Imelda May. No idea where some folks got their opinion about a wall of noise from (they must listen on equipment I wouldn't touch with a pole). The tracks are well crafted and leave nothing to be desired.


Having said that, I'm still very interested to hear the vinyl version in August, actually expecting the same mix, but who knows. There're a few ballads on offer, which she delivers extremely well. As always, I have to add. But there's also the Rockabilly bit, of which there's no shortage. If you're in to listen to a contemporary Rockabilly artist, check the M section at your local dealer. Imelda May doesn't pretend her songs date from the 50's, this is modern stuff, although I do not condemn artists doing it the retro way. It's just so you know.

Cheers

Devon

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Wilko Johnson / Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home (7") - #168

Wilko Johnson / Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home (7")

It's the year 2014 and, no, this is not about a village in the Normandy fighting the Romans, we get a Wilko 7". New! Vinyl! Who would have thought? I can't remember when the last regular 7" was issued, but at a guess, it must have been "Red Hot Rockin' Blues" in Japan. That was, well, ages ago. O.K., there was, more recently, the "Help Me Jesus" 7" by the Urban Voodoo Machine featuring Wilko Johnson. Anyway, when this here arrived a few days earlier, I was in paradise.


You might argue that this is exactly the same as can be found on the recent album, but this is not something I'd be paying any attention to. This comes, btw, with a jukebox strip, which had me wondering, does anyone still know what jukeboxes were? You know, those big monsters playing those very same 7"s? Nice touch, but my copy will not end up in my Wurlitzer, which, I suppose, has about a ton of pressure on the needle. I'm not sacrificing a Wilko Johnson release.

Cheers

Devon