1537 vs. April

A great lyrical genius, quite probably me, once said that ‘life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans’. Too true, me, too true.

So after a brief cessation for all manner of work, family stuff, fence-erecting*, decorating, paving and other middle-aged excitements here I am again with that easiest of creatures the look-what-I-done-brought-recently post, which is one of my very favourites to read on others’ blogs too**.

Incidentally folks, did anyone bother much with RSD 2023? I have bought a couple of reasonably priced things on line today^, but I was too busy erecting fencey things to go.

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Funkadelic – Free Your Mind, And Your Ass Will Follow

Hehehe Beavis, there’s a butt on the back cover. George Clinton and his hyper-talented crew decide to see whether it is possible to make an LP whilst entirely off their collective gourds on acid. The answer is yes and it is fantastically weird.

Laurel Canyon

Heard it playing in Probe Records one lunchtime, guess the rest. Harsh, tunefully visceral grungy LP from this new Philadelphia band. I really like this band, especially on red vinyl.

Sledgehammer

The label on the LP said ‘Rare 1984 heavy metal from Slough’ – let’s face it, that wasn’t going to get left in the shop. Come friendly NWOBHMs fall on Slough, to paraphrase Lemmy’s old drinking mate John Betjeman … ^^

Mothership

This is clearly the month where I buy self-titled LPs to excess. This Texan stoner trio are absolutely superb. Great tunes, big ROCK moments, white vinyl and space boobs. Like Nebula jamming with Molly Hatchet, with space boobs; poorly drawn space boobs, but space boobs nonetheless.

Sonny Rollins/Oliver Nelson – Alfie

I can’t afford to go round to my friend Martin’s house anymore, every time I do he plays me at least one LP I end up buying before I get home. This is a wonderful tuneful, bright album. Rollins plays it easy and melodic but without compromise. I’ve never seen the film.

Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of the Moon (Live 1974)

I really enjoy this one, partly for the clever packaging I admit, but mostly for a great performance of a classic album. There are enough small incidental differences and sonic details here to make it rewarding for those of us who may have heard the studio version 492,000,000 times. Great sounding release too.

Colosseum – Valentyne Suite

Bruce said it far better than I could. Great prog.

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I am having a wall of shelves built next month to house them all. It would be a damn lot easier if I collected MP3s.

1177 Down (still).

PS: Two vids, overlapping music:

*any excuse to use the ‘e’ word, even as a hyphenate.

**you can read my 6000 word hot take on the Bolivian ambient thrash gamelan scene next week.

^releases by the Donnas, Gong, Joan Jett, Miles Davis and Tori Amos. Don’t tell Mrs 1537 please.

^^thanks HMO for the Betjeman idea, hopefully nobody reads these footnotes so everyone thinks I am the cultured clever clogs around here.