Prince soundalike , Kevin Paige had this minor US Hit back in 1990. Pretty boy with a good voice shocker! Oh, and I mighty fine head of hair. It is a funky little number and the 12″ contains one of the best sustained mixes I think ‘ve heard at over eleven and a half minutes. I love finding an expected gem. Everything but the kitchen sink is thrown in to the mix to make it as funky as his obvious idol, James Brown. Weirdly he is now a minister and gospel singer, along with his wife.
From 1987/8 on the Champion Records label (One Step Ahead) comes this weird party mix. We find dance music starting to produce cover’s of it’s own tracks (I blame Jive Bunny & The Mixmaster’s), this contains music and samples from ‘Jingo’, ‘Axel F.’, ‘Fill The Floor’ and ‘Can U Dance’ in a sort of copy rather than an exact sample from the originals. Produced and mixed by Hard Time Productions and Mixmaster B, it is delightfully dated. All the mixes are quite similar, “Part 3” being my favourite. Did people actually use the word “Jack” ?
Into the Party season with some stuff from the discotheque.
First up is the seminal hip-hop track from Grandmaster Flash, from 1987. A much loved and played track from my DJ mates, Woody and Gripper from home. Big beats, lots of scratches and I just wish they kept the horn section that kicks in at the end a little longer without fading it out. B-side is has even more scratching and was off the album “Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang” that you can pick up on CD with loads of added extras.
These guys are reforming to do a few gigs next year, a lot of people are happy about this. Me, I arrived at the Ride party when there was only Malibu left so have been trying t catch up every since. Godfather’s of Shoegaze this was their 3rd E.P. , a 4 tracker from 1990, recorded at the famous Blackwing Studio’s with Alan Moulder on mixing duties (he later went on to do a load of stuff with Curve and Depeche Mode) The famous wall of guitars is here with the dreamy vocals swapped between Andy Bell and Mark Gardner. My favourite is the very weird , almost experimental “Nowhere” dark with a random harmonica going on the background, it simmers away.
So quite a rare and expensive bit of vinyl that I treated my self from the guys at Endless Records up in Prestwich, I try and pop in there at least once a month. (Whatta blatent Plug!)
Obscure release of the month and a band that was named after an action figure and has no trace on the Internet. A 1989 Pop Rock release on the major RCA, Old rockers Graham Bonnet and Mike Gregovich have a hand in the mixing and writing respectively. I’m thinking in the style of Euro Rockers Roxette, female vocals and a bit of technology to enhance the AOR sound. It’s sung by Aussie, Sally Boyden. Obscure………. certainly ! (I even had to upload this image of the sleeve on the radiator!)
Another overlooked Scottish Band and a classic slice of Del Amitri, with the folky , Celtic “Spit In The Rain” , a classic break up song with some great acoustic strumming and accordion. Strong and rockier B-sides, “Scared To Live” has some excellent lyrics. “Maggie Brown” is a slightly different version than the one on the B-sides compilation, with more guitars.
Watched BBC Sport’s Personality Of The Year Award the other night and watched Simple Minds perform “Water Front” (which was Superb!) as the “best ever ” Scottish Band. Okay, okay but what about Deacon Blue, they were quite massive (Big Country as well, the list could go on) so I bet Ricky Ross was a bit pissed off.
So here with one of their big bangers is DBlue ,from 1989, at the height of their powers. The Extended version is an alternative and full take on the original.
The B-side is a slightly festive slow, ballad. Most Deacon Blue B-sides were of great quality, no filler.
I really like this, my favourite 12″ of the month. From 1989 and the much overlooked , ex-Bauhaus frontman Murphy released this from his highly recommended album, “Deep”. Weaving a gothic tale of wonder of jagged guitar it drives along with the album version and a 12″ mix. The additional track , “Strange Kind Of Love” is another melancholic story, quicker than the album version that weaves around and sticks in the memory, love it.
(Fellow respected blogger RA Feutz on “Blogging The Mainstream” posted this nearly 2 months earlier, he does have good taste ;))
From 1987 and we find Mr. Bowie in full on rock mode with the second single from the album “Never Let Me Down” A environmental message and spawned about hearing about Chernobyl, Bowie penned one of his stronger tracks in what was a barren period for him, the late 80’s. The “Dance Mix” simply amps up the drums and brings up the bass. B-side “Girls” is a slow ballad, written with Erdal Kizilcay , a forgotten classic.
Lately I’ve been getting into songs with orchestral backing, John Grant’s current album with the Northern Philharmonic and Visages “Classical ” spring to mind. Out of the original, orchestrated classics, “Vienna” by Ultravox, “Waves” by Blancmange and “Breakfast” by The Associates are all in my Top 30 songs.
Powerful , melancholic and memorable, Billy shows off his full, passionate range. This is the full version complete with the instrumental “Alone” beautifully produced by Martin Rushent. Of more interest is a B-side, Kites. A cover version of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound’s Psychedelic masterpiece from the 60’s. It is given a new wave club feel which really works.
Prince soundalike , Kevin Paige had this minor US Hit back in 1990. Pretty boy with a good voice shocker! Oh, and I mighty fine head of hair. It is a funky little number and the 12″ contains one of the best sustained mixes I think ‘ve heard at over eleven and a half minutes. I love finding an expected gem. Everything but the kitchen sink is thrown in to the mix to make it as funky as his obvious idol, James Brown. Weirdly he is now a minister and gospel singer, along with his wife.
Another overlooked Scottish Band and a classic slice of Del Amitri, with the folky , Celtic “Spit In The Rain” , a classic break up song with some great acoustic strumming and accordion. Strong and rockier B-sides, “Scared To Live” has some excellent lyrics. “Maggie Brown” is a slightly different version than the one on the B-sides compilation, with more guitars.
myvinyldreams 