OK, first off that's not a typo. The title really is "The Pnakotic Demos". I can only give 4 stars for this one. It's rather a patchy release and as its title suggests is mainly demos. In fact, the first 4 tracks are really strong. You can listen to track 2 "Marching Homewards"here. The other three takes I really rate are "From Shores Forsaken", "The White Ship" and "The Hidden Folk". Tracks 5-8 are less successful with a couple featuring original vocalist Phil Swanson and different takes of "The Hidden Folk" and "Marching Homeward".
I started this blog back in April with a review of the band's first real album,The Golden Bough , a real 5-star release. Buy that one first - the demo album is nice to have, but hardly essential.
What a fantastic album this is. Australian psychedelic rockers The Church are hardly know here in Europe. Maybe that's why they've abandoned us. They recently played a headline gig (with orchestra) at Sydney Opera House but a lot of the time seem to waste themselves on playing winebars and cafes in Australia and NZ. What they need is to get some management that will put them on a few festival bills where they will blow the audiences away. They could still be contenders but they are in an under-achieving rut.
This is their 2004 album. There are at least 22 others. But this one is unsurpassed with 14 gems. At least, that's my opinion. With so many releases, everyone seems to have a different favourite. This one includes the single "Song In Space" and other classics like "Nothing Seeker", "Sealine" and "The Theatre And Its Double". The twin guitars of Marty Willson-Piper (also known for his work with All About Eve) and Peter Koppes are endlessly fascinating. The vocals of Steve Kilbey are hypnotic and have shades of Robyn Hitchcock. He is also a mean bass player. On drums you will find Tim Powles, a later addition to the band but again a fascinating musician.
This album is still in print and can be obtained from the label athttp://cookingvinyl.com/artists/the-church/ . There was also a double-sided "Dual Disc" version which is out of print and which I regret not buying as it had surround mix of the album. Also released was Beside Yourself, an album of b-sides etc but like so much Church product not easy to find. The lesson here, as with a lot of the stuff I review, is if you see it and fancy it, buy it while you can.
I can't resist linking to this footage of a recent awards show performance of an earlier Church song. Not as lyrically interesting as their later stuff but the guitar work is exceptional:
I was never a big Hawkwind fan, but this 1977 album is sheer genius - the pinnacle of the Bob Calvert era. Psychedelic yes, but with lashings of wit and humour. The album harks back to '50s sci-fi in places and the sleeve art is apparently based on the interior of Battersea Power station. In a sense then, this could be seen as a companion to Pink Floyd's "Animals" album - although I would say the Hawkwind album is the better of the two. The ploddy Dave Brock guitar sound is buried here in a swathe of Simon House's synths and violin. This album has always sounded fantastic and this is my third copy. I still have the original Charisma LP and had a rather shoddy Virgin CD. The original album had 8 tracks - this splendid re-issue on the Atomhenge label has 21. In truth the original album was rather short at 37 minutes. This version is well over three times that length. Indeed, there was a CD re-issue a while back which squeezed the album and its rather good predecessor "Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music" onto one CD. That version is long deleted though. But to prove it existed here is a picture:
Initially I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of extra material on this new 2CD version. There are 3 live tracks from 1977 and various demos and alternative takes. Don't let unpromising titles like "A Minor Jam Session" and "Hash Cake Cut" put you off because these are slabs of prime Hawkwind.
This album has been in and out of print over the years, so if you want a copy now is the time to get one - in expanded glory! Remember what has happened with the Soft Boys classic "Underwater Moonlight" album here - the 2CD version is out of print and only crappy mp3s of the extra material are available. Don't miss out on this Hawkwind twinset. Here are some pictures I took of the 2CD version:
I have to thank my friend and ex-colleague Barry for introducing me to this album. I have always loved Duane's twangy sound which I hear echoes of in so many of my favourite records - Argus, Underwater Moonlight et al.
This new album is a revelation because it is so well recorded and produced. It's beautiful. I don't know who Richard Hawley is, but we have him (and his manager) to thank for masterminding this project. All 11 tracks are instrumentals. The album is just 40 minutes long, but that is an optimum length for this sort of album. Of course, there is a vinyl edition.
Some of this is almost middle of the road (trip) but what a classy sound Duane gives us. My favourite here is Track 5, the piano led "Bleaklow Air", ironically because in a lot of ways it is the track least like a classic Eddy number. "Road Trip" itself and "The Attack Of The Duck Billed Platypus" are more uptempo and fun.
I feel inspired by this album which is a real breath of fresh air. Duane's guitar sounds more "alive" than ever before. I will be getting my Squier Strat (Hank Marvin model) out and practicing a few chords! I guess that's what it's all about.
Who can forget the Verve and their incendiary headline performance at Glastonbury? Well, Richard Ashcroft seems to be able to. The Verve are no more once again and what we have here is ostensibly a new band fronted by Richard. This is a very good album indeed, inevitably it sounds a bit like the Verve, but this time with some world music thrown in. OK, I know that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but on the whole it works well. At its worst this can be pretty dire as in the bluesy "How Deep Is Your Man?" which loses the album half a star. But at it's best there is terrific stuff here like the extended "Are You Ready?" with its wah-wah guitar (a bit Mick Taylor "Gimme Shelter"-ish) and strings sounding very much like the old band. I particularly like the (sampled?) female vocal on "Beatitudes" and the whole feel of the tracks "This Thing Called Life" and "Born Again". I suspect that this album is a grower. It hasn't sold well I think, but don't pass it by.
This is another of the "Original Album Classics" box sets. I have already reviewed the one by Kansashere and no doubt will post about myBlue Oyster Cult and Psychedelic Furs boxes in due course.
This one is bit different as it is a slimmer box containing just 3 albums by AOR kings Journey. Despite a few rockist moments and some dreadful boogie piano, it's hard to argue with the songwriting and performances here. Neal Schon's guitarwork is often underrated, while Steve Perry's vocals have never been matched since he left the band. The albums in this set are "Departure", "Escape" and "Frontiers". These 3 albums contain numerous US Top 30 hits. Here in the UK, Journey have never done big business until one of the TV talent shows picked up on the song "Don't Stop Believin'". The band, or what's left of it, has recently toured here along with the remnants of Foreigner and Styx.
The three albums are presented in "vinyl replica" cardboard sleeves. I rather like this format. The track-listings on the individual sleeves are those of the original vinyl versions and hence we even get advised that the "Frontiers" album is "ALSO ON CASSETTE". Thanks, but no thanks! In truth, these albums are the remastered versions where the vocals and drums are much clearer. The vocals do not suffer from that phasey quality you often hear when Journey are on the radio or on a compilation album. There are also 10 bonus tracks including 3 live hits. All in all, quite a bargain.
