Needle Time

Public Image Limited - Happy? [208 605 GER 1987 24-Bit FLAC] John Lydon and his ever rotating band of session  musicians stick the Public Image Limited name on what is essentially a polished eighties rock album. If it wasn't for the spiky ginger one's gritty and discordant monotone, Happy? could well be an album by any of a string of one-hit eighties bands. Vitamin Z ...anybody? I am not saying that this is a poor album, I'm just not disguising the fact that this really isn't PIL ...nor is it really a PIL album  ...however it does sound great when cranked up really loud, especially the riffs on The Body . John was to take a short sabbatical and return a few years later with a pop album, produced by Hooky's "mate" Stephen Hague. I am indebted to long time blog follower penguinflight for donating his German pressing of this album, ripped for you all in 24-bits of FLAC. A1 Seattle A2 Rules And Regulations A3 The Body A4 Save...

The Lounge Lizards - The Lounge Lizards [EGED 8 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] Last night I watched the final Parts Unknown by Anthony Bourdain who sadly took his own life earlier this year. Fittingly, the episode revolved around the personalities in his home neighborhood of the Lower East Side in New York City. Among the local luminaries (and not the not so so luminous ones) was local musician, artist and part-time actor John Lurie ....a true lounge lizard. Some avantgarde punk-jazz from New York's Lounge Lizards ripped from penguinflight 's immaculate original 1981 vinyl album. These lizards are saxophonist John Lurie and brother Evan on piano. Evan Lurie was later to record an album or two for Les Disques Du Crépuscule. Quirky guitarist Arto Lindsay (Ambitious Lovers and D.N.A.), bassist Steve Piccolo and percussionist Anton Fier make up the ensemble. This is jazz but not quite as we know it - with sharp suits and punk attitudes, The Lounge Lizards make an extraordinaril...

Joeboy - Joeboy In Rotterdam [BBR 004 NLD 1981 24-Bit FLAC] File under Tuxedomoon . Excuse the occasional light crackle, it's all part of the experience on this conceptual piece in a myriad of parts from Winston Tong & Tuxedomoon - aka Joeboy. What it all means, nobody knows (perhaps Winston does?), this is art for arts sake, four blokes fuckin' about in a studio in Holland, backed with four blokes and a tape machine fuckin' about in San Francisco. Wild Boys was allegedly a 1978 movie by Tux-collaborator Bruce Geduldig and deals heavily in Burroughs style loops and edits, some of which may well offend. I will say that the air raid siren loop is quite realistic. Duck and cover! A1  Joeboy In Rotterdam B1  Urban Leisure (A Suite In Four Parts) B2  Wild Boys (Soundtrack Of Live Movie)

Yip Yip Coyote - Fifi [ILP 014 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] Many will no doubt recall my love of Yip Yip Coyote ...expressed a few years ago on the old blog - it was very pleasing to see back then that I was not the only one. The cow-punk genre was very short lived and with thanks to Peel (and three hard to find radio sessions), Yip Yip Coyote hung around long enough to release a couple of singles and one album for IRS and Illegal Records (who also featured The Cramps on their roster). Cow-punk was seen back then as an extension to rockabilly, so with the sound of sagebrush blowing through a windy western desert, stirrups, stetsons and funky slap bass, Fifi and her Yips stood alone in their field ...or is that canyon?  Anyway, this is all very gimmicky and may not stand the test of time, plus some of the songs are just downright daft. The vinyl pressing is somewhat quiet and very crackly throughout. I've cleaned it up the best I can without damaging audio quality too much....

Fra Lippo Lippi ‎- In Silence [OS 35 BEL 2017 24-Bit FLAC] Originally released on a hard to find vinyl album on Uniton Records (UNITON 003) in 1981. It's bloody freezin' up in Norway so here is some very cold Norwegian new wave. A zillion miles from the sloppy poppy mid-eighties Fra Lippo Lippi, here is the first album limited edition reissue by the original line up for anybody out there who loves Movement -era New Order, early The Wake and Section 25.  A1 Out Of The Ruins A2 A Moment Like This A3 In Silence A4 Recession B1 The Inside Veil B2 I Know B3 Quiet B4 Lost

23 Skidoo - Tearing Up The Plans [FP 20 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] The sleeve confirms that this four track EP was recorded in January 1982 by 'reduced personnel'. In fact ...just three original members were involved: Fritz Caitlin on percussion, Sam Mills on piano and Tom Heslop on everything else. Heslop and Mills were never to record with 23 Skidoo again as the band side stepped from experimental tribalism in 1983 to hard rhythmic funk with the massive Coup single   and then back again for the remarkably non-commercial  Urban Gamelan album. A1 Tearing Up The Plans A2 Tearing Up The Plans B1 Just Like Everybody B2 Gregouka

A Certain Ratio - Do The Du (Casse) [FACUS 4 USA 1981 24-Bit FLAC] Wikipedia is your friend.... (with thanks to robM  ), Isidore Lucien Ducasse was a Uruguayan poet of French blood who wrote  Poésies and   Les Chants de Maldoror under the pseudonym Comte de Lautréamont. He was widely regarded as a major influence on the surrealist and situationist movements. That's part one of your history lesson over for today.... Part two.... ripped in 24bits from my original pressing purchased at Sleeves Records on the Cow Wynd in Falkirk in late (likely October) '81 ....funny how you remember your first purchase of a band who were to become one of your favourites. I was living south of Manchester at the time and returned to Scotland with my folks during what would probably have been the October half-term break from school.  Shack Up is obviously ACR's best known track and was included on this US EP five months after it's original Factory Ben...

Luxuria ‎- Unanswerable Lust [BEGA 90 UK 1988 24-Bit FLAC] Along with Wire's Ahead , Redneck by Luxuria sits up there in my personal rankings as one of the best singles of the late eighties, both tracks possibly marking the end of the genre which was the original and genuine post-punk. Wrapped inside a textured and pressed sleeve, this record displays all the pomp you would normally expect to find on a Devoto album, however with a glossier finish than any of the Magazine albums. The project itself only lasted a few years, however Noko adds a refined polish to the arrangements to distance Luxuria from any Magazine comparisons, however the other single, Public Highway borrows a few old McGeogh riffs to keep old school fans happy. Celebrity is another stand-out and should perhaps have been considered as a single. I recall seeing Luxuria play the Town and Country Club (now The Forum) in Kentish Town during 1988 and noted that Barry Adamson was bassist for the evenin...

Wire - Snakedrill [12 MUTE 53 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] Everybody loves a bit of Wire! Here, from the beginning of the second coming of Wire, is the most splendid Snakedrill E.P. which marked their reformation and their new relationship with Mute Records  which produced four immaculate studio albums and six magnificent singles. None of the tracks on Snakedrill were included on an album proper at the time. A1 "A Serious Of Snakes" A2 Drill B1 Advantage In Height B2 Up To The Sun

Minny Pops ‎- Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement [PLUREX 0900 NLD 1981 24-Bit FLAC] Originally released in 1979, my rare 1981 repress also includes a live 7" single ripped here in 24-bit high resolution for your listening pressure! Dutch electro-punks Minny Pops weird you out with their debut long player. Drastic Measures ... is an assemblage of monotone electronica, off-kilter loops and disturbingly twisted distortion. There are very few "proper" songs contained within these grooves, Dolphin's Spurt became a single on Factory Records in the UK however R.U. 21 is the stand-out with its fuzzed layers of  Fender. Things began to make more sense with the follow-up album on Factory Benelux.... A1 Springtime I A2 Minny Pops A3 Hologram A4 Total Confusion A5 Dolphin's Spurt A6 Motor City B1 Springtime II B2 Monica B3 Flash Goes The Eye B4 M.D. Mania B5 R.U. 21 B6 Mono B7 New Muzak C1 Kogel (Live) D1 Strale...

Neon - Rituals [SPITTLE 15LP ITA 2010 24-Bit FLAC] Originally released as a vinyl album on Kindergarten Records in 1985, ripped here from a 2010 repressing on Spittle Records. Marcello Michelotti's Neon came from Firenze in Tuscany, Italy and released ten singles & one album between 1980 and 1988. Here is their splendid 1985 darkness-tinged synthwave album Rituals in 24-bits of high resolution FLAC.  Revered as an Italian-wave classic, Neon hark back to a time when goth bands were beginning to peek out from behind the shadows and learn to embrace the synthesizer and a wider audience. The roots of Neon combine British post-punk and European darkwave, building in sequencer rhythms and synthetic strings, with a shift to more and more electronics as the years progressed. Rituals hits the middle ground and Last Chance especially is one of the three wonderful opening tracks which go a long way to hook in any fan of the genre. Some of you out there will really like t...

Tirez Tirez - Etudes [OBJ 013 UK 1980 24-Bit FLAC ] Today, just listen to "Razorblade" and I then challenge you to find a more charming piece of melancholy rock music that you have likely have never heard before. Originally out of Kansas City, Missouri Tirez Tirez recorded a couple of very rare self-released new wave albums after tour support slots with Talking Heads in 1978. This prompted a move to New York where Etudes was recorded in the Spring of 1980. Lacking a US deal, the band found the credible Object Music label in Manchester to be willing to release this album. In essence, Etudes is a post-punk album following on from the two new wave self-released albums and a single, Scattered . Aura Records released the majestic  Razorblades as a single in 1981 and licensed Etudes for a limited re-press with unfortunately little impact. Front man Mikel Rowse found sanctuary in Brussels recording some of his solo experimental work for Les Disques Du Crépuscul...

Vee VV - ‎Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness [PAYLP 1 UK 1988 24-Bit FLAC] From the ashes of Factory Record's Tunnelvision, came Mancunian post-punks Vee VV. Their debut single was the splendidly packaged double A-sided delight on Robert King's Cathexis Recordings label.   Vee VV then released this mini album, Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness compiled from four tracks recorded for a session on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, a new recording of the excellent Romance Is Over, plus Love Canal which had been part of their live repertoire since 1983 and eventually found its way onto a single as part of the Constrictor Singles Series that same year. They released the album on their own Payola label, keeping studio costs down by using the session tracks rather than extra expensive studio time. The band's sound had changed, becoming more intricate and emotive, quite reminiscent of early Echo & The Bunnymen to these ears, especially on Shoot The...

XTC - English Settlement [2LP V2223 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] Here is my rip of English Settlement , the textured top-opening sleeve does not stand up to well to thirty five years in boxes and on shelves however the vinyl contained within remains in tip-top condition. This record should little introduction to most here, it was their turning point when they ceased to be cheeky punk-popsters and turned their hand to writing & producing (Steve Lillywhite was kicked into touch) fifteen well-crafted songs of britishness . Most of the rest of the world only got the abridged single album version, here it is in it’s full glory. A1 Runaways A2 Ball And Chain A3 Senses Working Overtime A4 Jason And The Argonauts B1 No Thugs In Our House B2 Yacht Dance B3 All Of A Sudden (It’s Too Late) C1 Melt The Guns C2 Leisure C3 It’s Nearly Africa C4 Knuckle Down D1 Fly On The Wall D2 Down In The Cockpit D3 English Roundabout D4 Snowman

Ike Yard - Ike Yard [FACT A SECOND USA 1982 24-Bit FLAC] Likely one of the most obscure artists on Factory Records, this rare album by electronic four-piece Ike Yard first appeared on the American off-shoot of the label in 1982. There was a subsequent European pressing but strangely not on Factory Benelux, this rip is from my original USA pressing.  Ike Yard were Stuart Argabright, Kenny Compton, Fred Szymanski and Michael Diekmann - their unique post-punk hybrid of electronic music could be deemed as close to mid-period Cabs however the Ike Yard sound is more intricate and hypnotic, augmented with the use of acoustic drums and percussion. They were the support act at New Order's videoed gig at at The Ukrainian National Home in New York in 1981, of which live recordings are know to circulate (somewhere). Modern day minimalists would learn much from this. A1 M. Kurtz A2 Loss A3 NCR B1 Kino B2 Cherish 8 B3 Half A God

Swans - E.P. #1 [YGEP 1 YK 1990 24-Bit FLAC] Dig deep into those uncomfortable places with Swans. Originally released in 1982, I am delighted to offer my top drawer rip of the 1990 re-release which the band re-eq'ed before release. I don't have the original but I do like the mastering on this, just listen to that familiar snare effect, those stabbing, jerky guitars and that plucky bass ....and Martin Hannett's services were not required. Sensitive Skin needs to be played loud ...very loud. Bloody brilliant! A1 Speak A2 Laugh B1 Sensitive Skin B2 Take Advantage With a huge thanks to penguinflight who donated huge piles of vinyl to the original ESWA blog, and this rip was never published on ESWA

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians ‎- Element Of Light [MOIST 3 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] The lost hero of eighties British psychedelia (move over Julian Cope), Hitchcock comfortably positions himself between Barrett and Dylan, then adds a dash of Lennon and gets about to burning bongos on his best received album from the mid-eighties. I bought Element Of Light off the back of strong NME reviews and a support slot I saw him and his Egyptians perform at the ICA in London. I spend the months following trying to decipher his obtuse lyrical meanderings ...something which I still ponder thirty or so years on. If you are enjoying this album for the first time today, I can guarantee you'll be doing the very same... A1 If You Were A Priest A2 Winchester A3 Somewhere Apart A4 Ted, Woody And Junior A5 The President B1 Raymond Chandler Evening B2 Bass B3 Airscape B4 Never Stop Bleeding B5 Lady Waters & The Hooded One

Freeez - Southern Freeez [BEGA 22 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] On the inner gatefold of this 1981 Beggars Banquet pressing, the label proudly declare Freeez as "new wave jazz funk". You can never be sure if they are trying to sell the band as the new wave of jazz-funk, or the label's highly regarded new wave, post-punk attitude. When you realise that this is actually a repress of the the band's self-released 1980 debut, you delve deeper into what Freeez were about. In reality, the original incarnation of Freeez dressed in a close cropped, Fred Perry -styling closer associated with the mod or ska scenes ....in fact they were bloody cool. Whereas the jazz-funk tag may be enough to scare away any post-punkster, it's the latter's attitude rather than the dull genre which shines through here.  This is the cool groove which A Certain Ratio attempted (and possibly failed) in 1982-1983, this is the style and virtuosity which Level 42 abandoned in search of ma...

Public Image Limited - Commercial Zone Limited Edition [XYZ-007 USA 1984 24-Bit FLAC] Viewed by many as the last true PIL album, Commercial Zone was released by the departing Keith Levene on his split from the band. The review of the album in Melody Maker upon release sums it up perfectly and is copied below.... THIS is not a bootleg, this is the real alternative to that other record, a private view of the Public Image, a strictly import-only insight into the way they were. This record sets the record straight from the Keith Levene point of view, a collection of original PiL ephemera which puts the tin lid on Levene's involvement in the band up to the acrimonious parting of the ways last summer. Five of the eight tracks on This Is What You Want ... appear here in embryonic form, accompanied by one or two Levene works and a couple of apparently unreleased Lydon/Atkins/Levene efforts. Of the exclusives, Bad Night (no relation to Bad Life) is the most intriguing item, L...

Mighty Ballistics High Power - Here Come The Blues [CRI MLP 131 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] In times of strife and political confusion I reach for dub-punk, so as we are currently heading into an abyss, I'll let Mighty Ballistics High Power do the talking. It was a joy to let this incredible record boom from the stereo again ...It must have been nearly thirty years since I last played this and it stands up well against the test of time, except for the occasional pop & crackle. I recall both Peel & Kershaw tapped into MBHP's energy for their late night radio shows. The dub-punk influence of The Clash will be evident, but this hard hitting stuff, mixing agit-pop, old English protest folk, heavy dub reggae and punk in a great Simon Templar-style sleeve. MBHP were not around for long with just one album and one single in 1986 (plus an Andy Kershaw radio session), however they used that tiny window of opportunity to clearly make their point. A1 Here Come The Blue...

Various Artists - The Industrial Records Story [JAMS 39 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] I moved to the peace & tranquility of rural Surrey over the Summer of 1984 from the cold harsh post-industrial north. Finding a good source for my music purchases proved difficult at first, however tucked away in a little back street in the small town of Godalming was Record Corner.  The store was tiny, split into two and run by a father & son team. Dad ran the front of house which specialised in classical and jazz music, whereas the rear of the store (accessed by another external door) was a treasure trove of independent and alternative music delights with many obscure rarities stocked with many unsold as clearly they had a very limited market in what was very conservative stockbroker-belt Surrey. Most of my industrial and obscure stuff came from the original Piccadilly Records in Manchester ....and the back room of Record Corner in Godalming, Surrey where the racks full of arcane phot...

Soft Verdict - For Amusement Only [TWI 049 BEL 1982 24-Bit FLAC] The sound of pinball machines. After a brief hiatus from the world of blogging, here is something very different which should appeal to all those who appreciate experimental electronica. Soft Verdict were originally the experimental duo of Wim Mertens and Gust De Meyer. For Amusement Only was their debut for Les Disques Du Crépuscule recorded in May 1981 and released on cassette and vinyl. Subsequent reissues have been on compact disc. listed as Mertens' solo work.  The sleeve notes tell you exactly what to expect... For Amusement Only is using electronical potential of pinball machines' micro-processors as a creative force of music, structuring the sound produced by the course of a pinball into an original electronical language. For Amusement Only is the extension of the consumer's attitude towards entertainment games.... An aesthetic experience taking pleasures out of their context and giv...