Rocktrospectiva: The Magnificent "Sound Affects" Turns 45

Released on 28 November 1980 "Sound Affects" was the 5th., studio album by English rock band the Jam. It was the only Jam album to be co-produced by the band themselves, and contains the only album track co-written by the entire band, "Music for the Last Couple". The cover art is a pastiche of the artwork used on various Sound Effects records produced by the BBC during the 1970s.The album spawned two singles "Start!" & "That's Entertainment". 

Jam frontman Paul Weller has opined that Sound Affects is the Jam's best album. Unhappy with the slicker approach of Setting Sons, the Jam decided to go back to basics, using the direct, economic playing of All Mod Cons and "Going Underground," the simply brilliant single which preceded Sound Affects by a few months. Thematically, though, Paul Weller explored a more indirect path, leaving behind (for the most part) the story-song narratives in favor of more abstract dealings in spirituality and perception.

Musically, Weller drew upon Revolver-era Beatles as a primary source the bassline on "Start," which comes directly from "Taxman," being the most obvious occurrence, incorporating the occasional odd sound and echoed vocal, which implied psychedelia without succumbing to its excesses. From beginning to end, the songs are pure, clever, infectious pop -- probably their catchiest -- with "That's Entertainment" and the should-have-been-a-single "Man in the Corner Shop" standing out. "Pretty Green" includes a funk bass-line and rhythm with melodic guitar breaks and psychedelic sound effects.

Sound Affects was the Jam's magnus opera. From beginning to end, it was their most consistent and inventive album, filled as it is with compelling, mesmerizing songs. Here the Jam developped into a legitimate post-punk outfit, taking cues from contemporaries such as Wire, Joy Division and Gang of Four. The guitar and rhythm section sound were more jagged and menacing, while the production was near perfect, filled with surprising subtleties. Mixed with this fresh sounding development of their sound is the Jam's already familiar love for 60's music. 

Songs like "That's Entertainment" and "Monday" paint brilliantly vivid pictures of everyday working class life through a psychedelic lens. "Man in the Corner Shop" delivered biting social commentary to a gorgeous jangle-guitar tune. On the more post-punk side of things, there is "Music for the Last Couple" and "Scrape Away," where brilliantly unconventional production, jagged guitar licks and existential lyrics collide to awesome effect. The lyrics were up to the standard one would expect from Weller, which is to say they are completely brilliant. The ability of Weller as a young man to dissect the true nature of the world was always astounding, arguably on this album more than ever before. There is the usually scathing social commentary combined with a thoroughly existential, philosophical tone. Sound Affects is one of the greatest albums of all time, and arguably the best album The Jam ever made.

Sound Affects Track List: 

 

1. Pretty Green

2. Monday

3. But I'm Different Now

4. Set The House Ablaze

5. Start!

6. That's Entertainment

7. Dream Time 

8. Man In The Corner Shop

9. Music For The Last Couple

10. Boy About Town

11. Scrape Away

Rocktrospectiva: The Underrated And Misunderstood "Easy Pieces" Turns 40

Released on 22 November 1985 "Easy Pieces" was the second studio album by the British rock and pop band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. The album spawned three singles "Brand New Friend", "Lost Weekend" and "Cut Me Down". The title of the album derives from the American road drama film Five Easy Pieces (1970), which Cole described as "one of my very favourite films", saying, "I want to write at least five songs out of that film".

After the released of the acclaimed and succesfully "Rattlesnakes" the previous year, "Easy Pieces" became the band's fastest-selling album, selling more in its first two weeks than Rattlesnakes had managed in a whole year. It was also their highest charting album in the UK, peaking at number 5 propelled by the three singles which managed to reach the UK top 40 singles. However, despite Easy Pieces' commercial success, the reception from critics was lukewarm and the band themselves were unhappy with the end result.

Cole himself would later say, "It strikes me that there's something really fresh on the first album which has been dragged onto the second album, and the freshness is not there and something to replace the freshness is not there either".

Following promotion for Rattlesnakes, the band went back into the studio with Paul Hardiman again to record the follow-up. However, the relaxed atmosphere that had surrounded the recording of the first record was not replicated – Polydor had left the group alone while recording Rattlesnakes but now the band were well known and commercially successful, they took a more active interest and soon dismissed Hardiman, after the initial recording sessions did not immediately prove fruitful. Experienced producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, were drafted in to replace him. Unlike Hardiman, who had taken a hands-off approach, Langer and Winstanley made more suggestions during the recording process, which the Commotions didn't always agree with. Langer asked Cole to control the vibrato in his voice, which Cole had no idea how to do as it was his natural way of singing, and as a result he became self-conscious about his singing. 

Cole felt that they had been pushed into making a second record too quickly: "We didn't give ourselves time to step back and think. The record company was telling us 'this is your moment and you must take it now' – which is crap. People would have waited for us. We were insecure so we made the record too soon and the record company fired Paul Hardiman."

The band intended Easy Pieces to be more accessible than Rattlesnakes, with Cole saying, "We wanted the sound to be warmer, more luscious". He described the lead single "Brand New Friend" as being "about a character who's in a fairly pitiful position of being aware that he's not as happy as he once was, but not being sure what to do about it. He's also aware that he's verging on self-pity, which is also quite ridiculous. So it's quite funny too. He's aware it's a little cry for help." Cole would later disown some of his writing on the album, stating in 1990, "There are two terrible songs on Easy Pieces, one called "Grace" and another called "Minor Character" which is literally the worst lyric ever written. 

Unlike the widespread praise for Rattlesnakes, the reception for Easy Pieces was noticeably cooler by saying the songs sound second-hand , Cole's lyrics sound as though they were written to fit the metre rather than to say anything. Others observed that the solid production swells to leave no white space, and individually many of the tracks are opalescent, only Spint was far more enthusiastic saying: the promise reflected on their impressive debut album Rattlesnakes has been kept and the band wrote clean, crisp, guitar-oriented pop songs with addictive hook lines.

Easy Pieces Track List: 

 

1. Rich  

2. Why I Love Country Music

3. Pretty Gone

4. Grace

5. Cut Me Down

6. Brand New Friend

7. Lost Weekend 

8. James 

9. Minor Character 

10. Perfect Blue

11. Her Last Fling 

12. Big World 

13. Nevers End  

Rocktrospectiva: The Big And Massive "Hi Infidelity" Turns 45

Released on 21 November 1980 "Hi Infidelity" was the ninth studio album by US rock band REO Speedwagon. The album became a big hit in the United States, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200. It went on to become the biggest-selling album of 1981, spawning four singles "Take It On The Run", "Keep On Loving You", "In Your Letter", "Don't Let Him Go". 

The album title is a play on the term "in high fidelity," which used to appear on album covers. The album art is an illustration of this pun where an act of sexual infidelity is apparently occurring while the man is putting an LP record to play on the hi-fi stereo. While the band had previously released some successful recordings, none of them came close to what happened for them with Hi Infidelity.

It spawned several hit singles, including the first of two Number #1 hits they would have in their career. The album itself also made it to #1 on the charts. It would end up becoming the biggest-selling rock album of 1981.

Six songs from the album charted on the Billboard charts, including "Keep On Loving You" which was the band's first Number 1 hit, and "Take It on the Run", on the other hand "Tough Guys" was one of two songs from the album that charted on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart despite not being released as singles. 

The album opened with "Don't Let Him Go", a great rocking song for them to start the album with. Singer Kevin Cronin sounds fantastic, as do the rest of the band members. I especially love the playing of keyboardist Neal Doughty and guitarist Gary Richrath on this track, "Keep On Loving You" was the first single that eventually became the band's first No. 1 song and it become one of the most popular ballads of the 1980s. "Follow My Heart" many believe this song was a kinda of a filler but in the end it was another great rock and roll song criminally underrated, "In Your Letter" the 4th., single that made it onto the top 20, a song that was inspired by how keyboardist Neal Doughty found out that his wife was leaving him. He and the band had just finished a tour. Doughty returned to his home and found a “goodbye” letter from his wife in their kitchen, informing him that she had left him for another man. The man in question was actually a person who supplied the band members with illegal drugs. Now here it comes the masterpiece "Take It On The Run" was the second single released from the album and it was almost as successful as “Keep On Loving You,” reaching No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

The second part began with "Tough Guys" the song started with a short, fun clip of a classic scene from one of The Little Rascals short films, to turned into a great, rocking song with wesome music and vocals. "Out Of Season" this was another funny song to listening to, "Shakin' It Loose" another great cool rock song from the beginning and all the way to the end, Neil Doughty went into a great brief piano solo which sounds amazing…and then Gary Richrath rips into one of his best guitar solos ever. "Someone Tonight" on here the bassist Bruce Hall took the lead vocals, and finally "I Wish You Were There" a sort of a third ballad on the album, maybe not even as close as their biggest ballads, but indeed Cronin voice here was brilliant and sang with a lot of passion in his voice and it was ap erfect song to end this magnificent album and of the biggest of the 1980s.

 

Hi Infidelity Track List: 

 

1. Don't Let Him Go

2. Keep On Loving You

3. Follow My Heart

4. In Your Letter

5. Take It On The Run

6. Tough Guys

7. Out Of Season

8. Shakin' It Loose

9. Someone Tonight

10. I Wish You Were There

In Memoriam: The Legendary Gary "Mani" Mounfield Has Died Aged 63

Gary "Mani" Mounfield, bassist for The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, has died aged 63. The news was announced by his brother Greg on Facebook, in a statement that said: "It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce the sad passing of my brother Gary Mani Mounfield. RIP RKID."

He later added in the comments: “Reunited with his beautiful wife Imelda.”

A cause of death has yet to be disclosed.

Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown also confirmed the news, writing a brief tribute on X that said: “REST IN PEACE MANI X.”

Raised in Crumpsall, Manchester, Mounfield joined The Stone Roses in 1987, having previously been a member of rival band The Waterfront, and performed with the band until their split in 1996.He then teamed up with Primal Scream and was a full-time member of the band, finding a kindred spirit in guitarist Robert "Throb" Young, with whom he made a memorable appearance on the Scottish TV show Trout ‘n’ About in 2004. 

Talking about Primal Scream that band was "most of a democracy", whereas with the Stone Roses we were more looking over our shoulder seeing if Ian and John Squire were pleased. Because they were writing the songs and being touted as the Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards kind of thing. For me now there's a lot more freedom. 

He rejoined The Stone Roses with core members Brown, John Squire and Alan  "Reni" Wren for their reunion shows between 2011 to 2017. Ed Power for The Independent noted how it was the recruitment of Mounfield that seemed to  "change" something for the band. Brown, Squire and drummer Reni were dreamers, he wrote.

Mani was a rocker. Now the tweeness that characterised early singles such as "Sally Cinnamon" evolved into something slicker, sleeker, groovier. Aside from music, Mounfield was a keen angler, having first started fishing as a boy around the canals of his native Manchester. 

Mounfield’s death comes almost two years to the day since his wife Imelda Mounfield died from cancer, on 18 November 2023. He and Imelda raised money for a cancer charity by organising auctions of memorabilia donated by friends including members of Oasis and David Beckham.

They shared twin sons, Gene Clarke and George Christopher, born in 2012.

Mounfield had also just announced that he would be embarking on a national in-conversation tour from September 2026, for talks in which he would reflect on his 40-year career in music.

Rocktrospectiva: The Cure Remixes Album "Mixed Up" Turns 35

Released on 20 November 1990 "Mixed Up" was a remix album by the English rock band the Cure. The songs included here were remixes of some of their hits, reflecting the popularity of remixing of existing songs and dance culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The album spawned three singles "Never Enough", "Close To Me (remix)", "A Forest (tree remix)".

Most of the songs were extended mixes. Several had been previously released on 12" singles, but some were completely remade, with Smith recutting vocals due to the original tapes not being available. The record closes with the extended version of a new single, "Never Enough". The remix of "Pictures of You" was originally released under the title "(Strange Mix)".  Robert Smith described the remix album as something "fun after the doom and gloom of Disintegration".

The Cure also released some other new mixes as the B-sides of the singles from Mixed Up: the first single, "Never Enough", featured a remix of "Let's Go to Bed", titled "Let's Go to Bed" (Milk Mix) on the 12", cassette and CD versions, as well as a new song, "Harold and Joe", while the second single, "Close to Me" (Remix) contained "Just Like Heaven" (Dizzy Mix) on all formats and "Primary" (Red Mix) on the 12", CD and cassette versions as B-sides; the third single, "A Forest" (Tree Mix), contained the original version of the song and "In Between Days" (Shiver Mix) only on 5-inch CD as B-sides

Critics were mixed at the time, several said and saw the band was trying to stay relevant and their attempt to join in the trendy dance style known as house music, and thought some of the songs were poor choices, saying they  really don't need the rhythmic charge they get from added drum tracks. Other said the remixes were quite radical and didn't add something relevant to the songs cause were pure oddities and rare tracks to satisfy fans, but on the hand the tunes were too specialized for casual listeners, so the album regarded as a pause that confused the band career well-known for the creativity.  

 

Mixed Up Track List:  

 

1. Lullaby

2. Close To Me

3. Fascination Street

4. The Walk

5. Lovesong

6. A Forest

7. Pictures Of You

8. Hot Hot Hot!!!

9. The Caterpillar

10. In Between Days

11. Never Enough

Rocktrospectiva: The Underrated Masterpiece "Rock A Little" Turns 40

Released on 18 November 1985 "Rock A Little" was the third solo studio album by US singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. It was released in late 1985 while Fleetwood Mac were still on a lengthy hiatus following their album Mirage (1982), Rock a Little hit the top 20 in its second week and peaked at No. 12 on the US Billboard 200, although sales did not match Nicks' earlier albums, Bella Donna (1981) and The Wild Heart (1983). The album spawned four singles "Talk To Me", "I Can't Wait" which were the two most succesful of the album,then "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" and "Imperial Hotel" for Australia only. 

The recording process for the album originally began in 1984. The initial sessions took place at a converted church studio in Dallas owned by Gordon Perry. By the end of those sessions, which lasted one month, Nicks emerged with around six tracks that she believed could be developed further.  Two of those songs were "Running Through the Garden" and "Mirror Mirror". However, Nicks scrapped these recordings and parted ways with long-time producer and romantic interest Jimmy Iovine, and in late 1984 began work on what is now we recognized as the Rock a Little project. Nicks later called the initial sessions with Iovine a "bad planning move" and that she put Iovine "in a very weird position" as she gave him little direction on how to approach her songs. Keith Olsen, Rick Nowels and Nicks herself took over production duties after Iovine's departure.

The album is reputed to have cost $1 million to record, also it was later revealed that Martin Page and Bernie Taupin had specially written the track "These Dreams" for inclusion on the album, but Nicks turned it down. The track was then recorded by the band Heart and became their first number 1 hit in 1986. Tom Petty and David A. Stewart also wrote "Don't Come Around Here No More" for the album, but after hearing Petty perform the vocals for her, she declined it as well, feeling she couldn't do the song justice. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would record and release the song on their 1985 album Southern Accents. Nicks' subsequent relationship with Eagles member Joe Walsh produced the ballad "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You". Nicks had recorded various other tracks prior to the album's release like the rock ballad "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star" was relegated to the B-side of the "Talk to Me" 

Stevie Nicks took a slicker, more high-tech approach on her third solo album. From the catchy "I Can't Wait" to the intense "No Spoken Word" to the dark "The Nightmare," everything on the rock was as honest as it is memorable, but unfortunately, combined with Nicks' growing addiction to cocaine at the time which hampered her tour performances, the album did not achieve sales or chart positions expected of Nicks at that time. Even thought it remains as a fan favourite. 

 

Rock A Little Track List:  

 

1. I Can't Wait

2. Rock A Little (Go Ahead Lily)

3. Sister Honey

4. I Sing For The Things

5. Imperial Hotel 

6. Some Become Strangers

7. Talk To Me

8. The Nightmare

9. If I Were You

10. No Spoken Word

11. Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You? 

Rocktrospectiva: The Incredible Timeless "So Red The Rose" Turns 40

Released on 18 November 1985 "So Red The Rose" was the only studio album by the Duran Duran-spinoff group Arcadia. It included the singles "Election Day", "The Promise", "Goodbye Is Forever" and "The Flame". The album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200 in January 1986 and at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart in December 1985. There were many musical guests on the album, including David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Herbie Hancock, Grace Jones, and Sting who provided backing vocals on "The Promise".

The album's artwork featured painted ink drawings by fashion illustrator Tony Viramontes of fashion model Violeta Sanchez as well as an innovative "light space" photograph of the band by Dean Chamberlain, who also directed the video for the song "Missing".

The story began when Duran Duran took a break in the mid-80s, the band split cleanly into two camps – bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor joined The Power Station with Robert Palmer, while singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and drummer Roger Taylor wisely avoided any Robert Palmers and formed their own band, Arcadia. 

Arcadia had a better appeal than The Power Station, after all it was Simon Le Bon's charismatic and emotionally resonant vocals, and the synthesizer wizardry of Nick Rhodes and then Andy Taylor who provided the guitar parts. Arcadia kept the heart and soul of what made Duran Duran one of the greatest pop bands of its time, and indeed certain critics called the album the best Duran never made.

So Red the Rose had a slick production, there were all kinds of cool synthesizer sounds representing the climax of the synth pop in the 80's if you carefully listen. The music is incredibly textured and with incredible better effects than Duran Duran albums before, the album indeed had a natural, organic sound, despite being so based in the digital as opposed to the analog sound at the time, and the mix was another remarkable thing. 

The music was formidable "Missing" was a beautiful song built on a sound collage, with its rich variety of sounds popping in and out, even thought the entire album was filled with fun, unexpected sounds and a intense variety, that provided the listener a truly astral experience. The opener "Election Day" was the jewel ofthe crown, Le Bon gaves us a typically passionate vocal that more than makes up for whatever nonsense the lyrics are going on about and then Grace Jones cool interlude, but the theme never missed a beat, it had a catchy melody and truly one of the most intense singles ever released at the time, indee "Missing" and "Election Day" were the two best songs on the album, another highlight was "El Diablo"  isn’t far behind. A snatch of whirling Gypsy violin leads into sumptuous slice of pan pipe heaven, until Le Bon pulled another irresistibly passionate and catchy chorus on the song definitely the track was another mini-masterpiece.

Then you had the slinky guitar riff, engaging melody, and falsetto jump in the chorus that powered "Goodbye is Forever", the alluring pop of "Keep Me in the Dark", and the supremely catchy "The Flame", all of which boasted the sterling production and interesting soundscapes found on the rest of the album.  "The Promise" boasted some typically exceptional guitar playing by guest David Gilmour, and had backing vocals by Sting if you’re the kind of person who’s impressed by that, and another catchy falsetto drenched chorus: "Heaven hide your eyes/Heaven's eyes will never dry".  

Phenomenal production courtesy of Alex Sadkin, his production work on the album was great and what a way to remember him caused he died tragically in a car crash a couple of short years later at the age of 38. 

 

So Red The Rose Track List:

 

1. Election Day

2. Keep Me In The Dark

3. Goodbye Is Forever

4. The Flame

5. Missing

6. Rose Arcana

7. The Promise

8. El Diablo

9. Lady Ice  

Rocktrospectiva: The Heavily Influential "Psychocandy" Turns 40

Released on 18 November 1985 "Psychocandy" was the debut studio album by Scottish rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain. The album was considered a landmark recording: its combination of guitar feedback and noise with traditional pop melody and structure proved influential on the forthcoming shoegaze genre and alternative rock in general. The album spawned three singles "Never Understand", "You Trip Me Up" and "Just Like Honey". 

After quitting their jobs in 1980, brothers Jim and William Reid formed the Jesus and Mary Chain with bass player Douglas Hart. Taking inspiration from German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, girl group the Shangri-Las, and the album The Velvet Underground & Nico, they bought a Portastudio multitrack recorder in 1983 when their father lost his job in a local factory and gave the brothers £300 from his redundancy money. The band recorded a demo tape containing the songs "Upside Down" and "Never Understand" which was heard by Glaswegian musician Bobby Gillespie, who in turn passed it on to his friend Alan McGee of Creation Records. McGee was impressed with the tape and invited the band to play at a Creation Records showcase event in London, becoming the band's manager shortly afterwards.

Following more London concerts, the Jesus and Mary Chain entered Alaska Studios in Waterloo, South London, and recorded their debut single, "Upside Down". Released by Creation Records in November 1984 and featuring a B-side produced by Slaughter Joe, "Upside Down" sold out its initial pressing and ended the year by being placed at number 37 in John Peel's Festive Fifty. After recruiting Gillespie as their drummer in late 1984, the Jesus and Mary Chain signed to the WEA subsidiary label Blanco y Negro, which had been established by Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis. 

The band entered Island Studios to record with engineer Stephen Street but the sessions proved to be fruitless and the band returned to Alaska Studios for the recording of their second single, "Never Understand". The single was released by Blanco y Negro in February 1985, and in March that year they began recording their debut album with engineer John Loder at Southern Studios in Wood Green, North London. Psychocandy was recorded in six weeks.

Psychocandy had fourteen tracks with a total running time of thirty-nine minutes. The music has been described as "bubblegum pop drowned in feedback, that fused "melody with obnoxious bursts of white noise, the sound was a moving away from the squealing feedback that characterised the band's early live shows and leaning more towards classic 60s pop. It was like a interesting blending between 1960s pop groups such as the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones, with rock bands as the Velvet Underground, the Stooges and Suicide. Lead vocals are handled by Jim Reid on this album, with the exception of "It's So Hard", sung by William Reid.

On release Psychocandy received favourable reviews describing the album as a great searing citadel of beauty whose wall of noise, once scaled, offers access to endless vistas of melody and emotion, over the years, the album has frequently appeared in "best ever" album lists, one of the most influentials cause it helped establish the style of distortion-laden fogginess that would eventually become the foundation for shoegaze.

 

Psychocandy Track List: 

 

1. Just Like Honey

2. The Living End

3. Taste The Floor

4. The Hardest Walk

5. Cut Dead

6. In A Hole

7. Taste Of Cindy 

8. Never Understand

9. Inside Me

10. Sowing Seeds

11. My Little Underground

12. You Trip Me Up

13. Something's Wrong

14. It's So Hard

Rocktrospectiva: The Exceptional "Cake" Turns 35

 

Released on 25 June 1990 "Cake" was the debut studio album by Scottish pop/rock band the Trash Can Sinatras, the album spawned three singles "Obscurity Knocks", "Only Tongue Can Tell" & "Circling The Circumference". The album peaked at No. 74 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was recorded at Shabby Road, the band's studio that was paid for with their record advance. 

Considered a pioneers, the Trashcan Sinatras were hailing long time before Travis with their enchanted college-aged anglophiles with their jangly brand of emotive Brit-pop. Unfortunately they've seen as a fluff for fans early in the 90s before the grunge revolution and then criminally ignored by late-'90s post-Nirvana alternative. 

Their debut album mixed intricately intertwined guitars, in the spirit of a more charming, less gritty Johnny Marr, with lush strings and sophisticated harmonies. Touchingly clever wordplay propelled by the clean production necessary for such elaborate orchestration that led into a warm and inviting sound. 

The band released cool singles like "Obscurity Knocks" and "Only Tongue Will Tell" as well as "Maybe I Should Drive"  these proved to be the tastiest pieces of pure pop pleasure, the bittersweet and laced as on "Thrupenny Tears" and "You Made Me Feel." But regardless of the relative mood, this debut is noticeably devoid of musical missteps. Cake was as filled and digestibled album that meant to be the precursor to early 21st century Brit-pop.

Critics were mixed but praised the album considered it full of  lush, layered guitars that strum and chime and also noted the "sharp-witted lyrics" which are "over-running with inspired metaphores and word-play, with a pristine sound and a certain light brush of cool jazz, loaded with bright splashes of guitar and vocal harmonies, the five-member Scottish group Trash Can Sinatras’ debut album was breezy pop with a backbeat and mercifully little attitude. Despite the band was crafting elegant neo-pop soundscapes from little more than vocal harmonies and chiming semi-acoustic guitar riffs and strums, they could not achieved mainstream success. 

 

Cake Track List: 

 

1. Obscurity Knocks

2. Maybe I Should Drive

3. Thrupenny Tears

4. Even The Odd

5. The Best Man's Fall

6. Circling The Circumference

7. Funny

8. Only Tongue Can Tell

9. You Made Me Feel

10. January's Little Joke

Books: Georg Baselitz

From existential paintings and motifs painted upside-down to rough-hewn wooden sculptures and remixes of earlier paintings—the art of Georg Baselitz is consistently challenging. With 400+ images from 1960 to the present, this updated monograph presents the full range of his work in stunning depth and detail.

First published as a signed Collector’s Edition, now available in an unlimited edition

The paintings and sculptures of Georg Baselitz. Known for the audaciously simple but game-changing strategy of painting the motif on its head, Georg Baselitz has been a consistently challenging artist since the start of the 1960s. His work is always highly charged but surprisingly diverse, beginning with the raw, existential male figures famously removed from his first solo exhibition for indecency, and the series of "Heroes" that portrayed disabled and exposed figures in a destroyed landscape. During this development, the picture space became more and more fractured, and by the end of the decade the artist fully turned the world upside down: trees, factories, eagles, or nude self-portraits actually painted on their heads. This soon allowed him to freely paint and to engage with conceptual color schemes or off-beat themes, such as men eating oranges, Soviet propaganda paintings, or more recently so-called remixes in a reengagement with his own earlier work as a dialogue in time. Already a master of drawing, woodcut, and engraving, from 1980 on Baselitz also created rough sculptures hewn from wood with axe and chainsaw, then adding bronze to his materials in the late 2000s.

Now available in an updated unlimited edition, this book features large-format reproductions of more than 400 works in all media plus installation views and portrait shots. Texts approach the subject from different perspectives: there is a portrait of Baselitz and his dark sense of humor by long-time connoisseur Richard Shiff, an essay on the formation of his art and development as a painter by critic Jonathan Jones, on the sculptural work since his scandalous success at the Venice Biennale 1980 by art historian Eva Mongi-Vollmer, on his artistic strategies by art historian Carla Schulz-Hoffmann, a collection of literary vignettes relating to the artist’s use of myth and history by author and director Alexander Kluge, and a studio conversation with art journalist Cornelius Tittel. Statements from the artist and an illustrated biography complete this unprecedented exploration of Georg Baselitz’s work.

Title: Georg Baselitz

Edition: Multilingual (English/German/French)

Publisher: Taschen 

Hardcover, 25 x 33.4 cm, 3.45 kg,  

Pages: 616

New Music: Be The Reason

           

Bryan Adams released his uplifting new track "Be The Reason" taking from his brand new album "Roll With The Punches" a typical Adams song with a nice meaning and a kind message needed in today's dark world, the only thing probably is the using of AI in the making of this video under Bryan Adams himself and Markus Ehinger as a directors. 

Rocktrospectiva: The New Romantic's Fine Creation "Visage" Turns 45

Released on 14 November 1980 "Visage" was the debut studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage. It was recorded at Genetic Sound Studios in Reading, Berkshire and released in November 1980.

Visage emerged when party hosts Steve Strange and Rusty Egan were hosting their New Romantic Bowie and Roxy Music inspired nights at Billy’s nightclub in London's Soho. This was a precursor to The Blitz Club, the two would found, as well as The New Romantic cultural movement.

Following Strange's stints in the punk/new wave bands The Moors Murderers and The Photons, and Egan membership in the group The Rich Kids, the pair decided to create their own music to play during their club night. Egan recruited Midge Ure from the Rich Kids to join them, and the trio recorded a demo which included a cover of the Zager and Evans hit "In the Year 2525".

Visage's completed line-up included Ultravox keyboardist Billy Currie and most of the post-punk band Magazine such as guitarist John McGeoch, keyboardist Dave Formula and bassist Barry Adamso

This was a sort of supergroup in reverse, as everyone in the band went onto legendary bands afterward, such as Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Siouxsie and the Banshees, & Ultravox. Adamson however, was only an official member of Visage for the group’s debut single "Tar", performing as a session musician on the rest of the album. "Fade to Grey" was Visage's second single released on the same day as the album. The music video became one of the first videoclips that 10cc’s Kevin Godley and Lol Creme directed.

Appearing with Steve Strange in one version of the video was his friend Julia Fodor, who mimed the French lyrics during the clip. There is another version, however, that featured Strange's friend Perry Lister, known for her performances with the Hot Gossip dance troop on Top of The Pops, and being the girlfriend to Billy Idol. The third single from the album was "Mind of a Toy". The theme of the video was the children’s book Little Lord Fauntleroy, a novel by the English-American writer Frances Hodgson Burnett. The final single and the album’s title track "Visage", includes footage shot at the legendary Blitz nightclub in London’s Covent Garden.

The critics about the album were mixed, althought some commented that certain track such as "Moon over Moscow" and "Blocks on Blocks" were perfect examples of Visage at its best, even thought this album was not the band's best effort, however this records is regarded as the one that best represents the short-lived but always underrated new romantic movement.

 

Visage Track List: 

 

1. Visage

2. Blocks On Blocks

3. The Dancer

4. Tar

5. Fade To Grey

6. Malpaso Man

7. Mind Of A Toy

8. Moon Over Moscow

9. Visa-age

10. The Steps 

Rocktrospectiva: The Well-Received "Gala" Turns 35

Released on 13 November 1990 "Gala" was the debut  compilation album by the English alternative rock band Lush, it was released by 4AD as an introduction to the US and Japanese markets, comprising the band's earliest releases in reverse chronological order, plus two additional tracks. The album spawned the single "De-Luxe" which was released as a promotional single in the US and received considerable radio airplay placing in the Billboeard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album received a limited-edition release in the UK. In support of the album, Lush toured in both the US and Japan. 

Gala was compiled by Lush's record label, 4AD, as an introduction to the United States and Japanese markets. For that reason, the album features the band's debut mini album Scar (1989) and Mad Love and Sweetness and Light extended plays (1990) in reverse chronological order. A cover version of ABBA's 1975 song "Hey Hey Helen"—which had been recorded for an abandoned anti-poll tax compilation—was included, as well as a rerecording of Scar song "Scarlet" that had been previously released on the Melody Maker compilation Gigantic! 2 in March 1990.

The album was released on 13 November 1990 on 4AD/Reprise in the US and on 21 November on 4AD/Nippon Columbia in Japan. Both releases were only made available on CD. Upon the album's limited release in the United Kingdom on 3 December, it was made available on CD, LP and cassette. In the US, "De-Luxe" was released as a promotional-only radio single to promote Gala's release; it featured the album version of the track, as well as two separate single edits as its B-side. The song peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Lush lyrics on this album were spiky, snarky, and not apt to suffer fools gladly, as Gala songs like "Bitter" and "Leaves Me Cold" underscore on matters personal and passionate. Berenyi and Anderson sung these with sweet individual and harmony performances, adding in odd time signatures and eccentric flourishes

The album was well received by critics, considered a collection of the bands first two glorious years and a promising start for the band, especially cause Miki and Emma loop hazy vocals through hard-edged fractured melodies, evoking an unstructured sense of bliss even for the most jaded listener, in the years to come, the album would be listed as one of the best 50 shoegaze albums of all time. 

 

Gala Track List:  

 

1. Sweetness And Light (from Sweetness and Light 1990)

2. Sunbathing (from Sweetness and Light 1990)

3. Breeze (from Sweetness and Light 1990)

4. De-Luxe (from Mad Love 1990)

5. Leaves Me Cold (from Mad Love 1990)

6. Downer (from Mad Love 1990)

7. Thoughtforms (second version from Mad Love 1990)

8. Baby Talk (from Scar 1989)

9. Thoughtforms (original version from Scar 1989) 

10. Scarlet (original version from Scar 1989)

11. Bitter (from Scar 1989)

12. Second Sight (from Scar 1989)

13.  Ehteriel (from Scar 1989)

14. Hey Hey Helen (ABBA cover 1990)

15. Scarlet (longer version 1990)

News: Obscure Pet Shop Boys/Volume

The Pet Shop Boys have announced a five-show run in London dedicated to the most obscure corners of their catalog. Aptly titled "Obscure Pet Shop Boys", the shows at Camden's 1,500-cap Electric Ballroom will see Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant perform non-album singles, B-sides and other deep cuts. 

 

The residency runs from April 6th through 10th next year, and all profits from the April 8th show will go to War Child. In a statement, Lowe and Tennant said they're "very excited at the prospect of going deeper into our song catalogue in these shows." 

The run follows Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits tour in 2023, which saw the duo play in Glasgow, Manchester, Belfast and more last year. Their July 2023 show at Copenhagen's Royal Arena was turned into a concert film, Dreamworld, which premiered in August 2024.

Also, marking the 40th., anniversary of the release of their first album, Please, in 1986,  the beloved Pet Heads are announcing "Pet Shop Boys Volume" which is the definitive retrospective and complete visual record of the duo’s career, presented year by year in a contemporary literary format. The limited edition of 750 is now sold out.

Pet Shop Boys:  Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, including No. 1 hits ‘West End girls’, ‘It’s a sin’ and ‘Always on my mind’, and platinum-selling albums Please, Actually, and Very. Uniquely spanning the worlds of music, art, film, theatre, design, and fashion, Pet Shop Boys have forged an identity as unforgettable as their sound. From the seminal graphic design of their record sleeves to their groundbreaking videos and innovative stage shows, they have set the bar for the visual presentation of pop.

Expanding upon Pet Shop Boys Catalogue, published two decades ago, this book presents their entire visual output to date year by brilliant year. Sleeve artworks and packaging, stills from every video, film, and performance, stage sets and costume designs, photoshoots, publications and even Christmas cards all feature, as does every collaboration with luminaries including Mark Farrow, Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr, Bruce Weber, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Scott King, Zaha Hadid, Tom Scutt and Es Devlin.

Concise commentaries by Chris Heath and Philip Hoare provide illuminating insights into the genesis of each project. Hoare’s original introduction is accompanied by a new introduction from Libby Sellers, who considers the importance of Pet Shop Boys within the history of design, while a new foreword by Jeremy Deller reflects on the enduring impact of their music and image. 

With a cover and slipcase designed by Farrow and a brand-new conversation between Heath, Tennant and Lowe, Pet Shop Boys Volume is a visual feast and a sumptuous tribute to four decades of creative innovation.

Specification:

234 × 156 mm
592 pages
Hardback
Slipcase

Rocktrospectiva: The Beautiful "Being Boring" Turns 35

Released on 12 November 1990 "Being Boring" was the se second single from the Pet Shop Boys fourth studio album "Behaviour", the song was written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, and produced by them with German producer Harold Faltermeyer. It reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the duo's first single to miss the top 10 since "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" in 1986. Its music video was directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber.

The song was concerned with the idea of growing up and how people's perceptions and values change as they grow older. The title originated from a Japanese review that accused the duo of being boring, in reference to their "famously deadpan presentation". The phrase reminded Neil Tennant of a 1922 quotation by Zelda Fitzgerald, "she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn't boring", which had been paraphrased on a party invitation from his friend Christopher Dowell in the 1970s. As teenagers in Newcastle, they had agreed that they wouldn't settle for boring lives.

In a 1993 interview, Tennant described "Being Boring" as "one of the best songs that we've written", and said that "For me it is a personal song because it's about a friend of mine who died of AIDS, and so it's about our lives when we were teenagers and how we moved to London, and I suppose me becoming successful and him becoming ill".

"Being Boring" was written between 1989 and 1990. The track was originally demoed in a studio in West Glasgow, where the music for "My October Symphony", "The End of the World" and the unreleased "Love and War" were also written. Chris Lowe decided that the music should emulate Stock Aitken Waterman by going up a semitone into the chorus, to give it an uplifting feeling. The verse ends on G and goes up to A-flat instead of C for the chorus.

The lyrics for the first verse, about the 1920s quote on the party invitation, and the second verse, about leaving Newcastle for London in the 1970s, had materialised by that point. Tennant wrote the final verse in 1990, in a rented room in Munich, wishing that his friend was still there. Tennant has called "Being Boring" an autobiographical elegy for his friend, Dowell, who died in 1989.

The demo was presented to producer Harold Faltermeyer at Red Deer Studios, Munich, whose expertise in analog synthesizers came to the forefront in the song's production. The basis of the song was laid with Roland TR-808 and Roland TR-909 drum machines, plus a Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer. Synthesizers used included a Roland Jupiter-8 (which makes up the layered textures in the introduction and the melody line throughout), an Oberheim OB-8 (which was blended with the Jupiter-8 for the main melody) and a Synclavier (for the harp glissandos). 

Further work was done at Sarm West Studios in London with Julian Mendelsohn; the "wakka-wakka" guitar line by J.J. Belle (influenced by Isaac Hayes's Theme from Shaft (1971)) was recorded there, among a few other parts.

"Being Boring" debuted at number 36 and peaked at number 20 the following week. At the time, it was the least successful Pet Shop Boys single in the period since "West End Girls" had become their first hit.

In 2024, Pet Shop Boys released a new recording of "Being Boring" on Furthermore, the bonus EP with the two-disc version of their fifteenth album, Nonetheless. In the middle of the song, Tennant says the words that are written at the beginning of the music video.

The single cover (pictured) was designed by Mark Farrow with photographs by the Douglas Brothers. The layout is essentially the same as the album cover of Behaviour. The quote attributed to Zelda Fitzgerald was included on the back cover.

Critices called the song "wistful",  "Hardly boring, but certainly one of their most gently-handled tracks. The Scandal-style productions puts the emphasis on the charming lyrics which deliver the Tennant muse in oblique phrases, not unlike those found in a New Order song. As usual its appeal is enhanced with each airing and, equally, it will enjoy a sustained chart performance." In 2023, The Guardian named "Being Boring" as the best Pet Shop Boys song: "Not just one of the greatest songs about the Aids epidemic, but one of the greatest songs written about mortality and memory".

The song was not initially played on the 1991 Performance tour, leading many fans, including Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, to complain about its omission. As a result, it was added as an encore late in the tour, with the band commenting that it "invariably got the best reception of the night".

Track List:

 

7-inch, cassette and mini CD Single

 

1. Being Boring

2. We All Feel Better in the Dark

 

12-inch single: 

 

A. Being Boring (extended mix)

B. We All Feel Better in the Dark 

 

12-inch remix single:

 

A1. Being Boring (Marshall Jefferson remix)

B1. We All Feel Better in the Dark (After Hours Climax)

B2. We All Feel Better in the dark (Ambient)

 

CD Single:

 

1. Being Boring

2. We All Feel Better in the Dark

3. Being Boring (extended mix) 

Rocktrospectiva: The Massive "Play Deep" Turns 40

Released on 12 November 1985 "Play Deep" was the debut studio album by English rock band the Outfield. The album received widespread popularity with the success of their debut single, "Say It Isn't So" (a regional number-one hit), which reached number 18 on the U.S. rock chart, and the follow-up single, "Your Love", which reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. Play Deep peaked at number 9 on the U.S. albums chart. In total, four of the tracks reached the charts: the aforementioned two, along with "Everytime You Cry" and "All the Love". 

Play Deep, contained a couple of singles that settled quite nicely into mid-'80s radio. Guided by Tony Lewis' airborne vocals and John Spinks' regimented guitar bluster, they managed to place two of the album's best songs within Billboard's Top 20. "Your Love" made it all the way to the number six spot, thanks to Lewis' high-pitched holler that dominates the opening of the song and a harmonious chorus that is overly smooth and rock savvy, "All the Love in the World" was an unblemished rock tune with an effectively echoed vocal track, again highlighting the band's sweet-sounding consonance mixed in with rugged guitar work. The uncharted material sounds just as fluent and was anything but filler, especially efforts like "Say It Isn't So" and "I Don't Need Her," along with slower songs like "Everytime You Cry."

The album was a worthy first release from this British trio, led by a novel guitar and vocal concoction, on the other hand, the band wasn't too succesful in ther native UK, the singles, "Your Love" and "All the Love", reached numbers 83 and 96, respectively, on the UK Singles Chart.

The album is considered nowadays a masterpiece for its genre with nary a bad track to be found and made its niche within the pantheon of mid 80's Pop Rock music and bands. Fortunately, this band shined so bright and created an album that you considered classic on its own, the perfect epitaph for Tony Lewis and John Spinks.

 

Play Deep Track List: 

 

1. Say It Isn't So

2. Your Love

3. I Don't Need Her

4. Everytime You Cry

5. 61 Seconds

6. Mystery Man

7. All The Love

8. Taking My Chances

9. Nervous Alibi