Needle Time

Bill Pritchard - Half A Million [TMLP 23 UK 1988 24-Bit FLAC] On the subject of great British songwriters, here is one who never received the acclaim he truly deserved. Bill Pritchard came from Lichfield in Staffordshire, Half A Million was his second album - released on  Gary Levermore's Third Mind Records in 1988. Third Mind was essentially an electronic music label, however Pritchard's story-telling style earned him a bigger following outside the UK and led to a deal with another electronic label, Play It Again Sam in Belgium. His style remained very English, often compared to Morrissey in vocal style however with a francophone twist which resulted in a French language album shared with Danial Darc later in 1988. A1 Angelique A2 Born Blonde A3 Wednesday A4 Celia's Attic A5 Arboretum Romance A6 Arena Says A7 Cranley Gardens A8 I Wonder Why? B1 Homelessness B2 Bitter Green B3 Jerome K Jerome B4 Linda In Drag B5 Hélas B6...

The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again [RTT 192 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] I've always felt that Steven Patrick Morrissey wrote this song about himself, I'm sure that if he looks back at his career there may be a few things he would have done differently - especially in the past few years. The b-side, Money Changes Everything remains one of my personal favourites - and it is an instrumental! On the other hand, Unloveable represents one of Morrissey's finest lyrics. Message received loud and clear. A1 Bigmouth Strikes Again B1 Money Changes Everything B2 Unloveable

Care - Flaming Sword [KBIRD 122 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] A few weeks back, I posted a new rip of the debut Care single,  My Boyish Days (Drink To Me) , here is the follow-up single. Flaming Sword  which is pure pop magic, laden with hooks and a catchy whistling chorus. Arista couldn't chart the single, so it remains a lost pop classic but fond in the hearts of all those who loved it first time around. Ian Broudie was to revisit this pop formula some years later as his Lightning Seeds. A1 Flaming Sword B1 Miséricorde B2 On The White Cloud

Gammer And His Familiars - Rocket Ticket [GAMMER 4 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] I will happily admit that if it wasn't for Vini Reilly's gorgeous guitar then I would not own this album. Rocket Ship was one of two albums compiled from recording sessions at Graveyard Studios between 1979 and 1981. The eccentric Nigel Gammer has ploughed his trade for many years around the Manchester pubs & clubs - his quirky humour may not be to everybody's taste, however their is a unique wit here, bettered only by those other Manc eccentrics, Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. Reilly contributes his guitar on eight of ten tracks and is augmented by Richard Darbyshire (soon to be Living In A Box) on guitar. Reilly's style is so unique and instantly recognisable - the music is in a variety of styles from duff-disco through to folky prog-rock, all fronted by Nigel Gammer's lyrical wit and flute. As I said before this album won't be to everybody's taste, however well worthy of a list...

Boots For Dancing - Ooh Bop Sh'Bam [WHY 100 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] If you blinked between 1979 and 1982, you may well have missed Boots For Dancing - three singles, three Peel Sessions, an aborted album and then these Scottish post-punk funksters were gone. Fans of Fire Engines, Josef K, (early) A Certain Ratio and early Higsons should be all over this, their last single released on their own Repo-X Records label. A1 Ooh Bop Sh'Bam B1 Money (Is Thin On The Ground)

Nu Guinea ‎- Nuova Napoli [NG 01 ITA 2018 24-Bit FLAC] Kicking of what may well be a slow week, here is a fabulous album representing the best of the sound on Naples, Italy. Nuova Napoli came out back in 2018 and it has been so in demand that it is already on it's fifth repress. There three young Italians borrow afro-funk, disco and samba to blend them into an infectious mix. I know that I have mostly an alternative/indie audience on this blog, however I do occasionally like to slip gems like this into your ears from time to time. A1 Nuova Napoli A2 Je Vulesse A3 Ddoje Facce B1 Disco Sole B2 Stann Fore B3 'A Voce 'E Napule B4 Parev' Ajere

Clock DVA - Thirst [FR 2002 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] I thought I would revisit one of my favourite albums before Mute Records embark on a significant reissue campaign of Clock DVA material. This is my February 2015 rip of my original Fetish Records pressing released in 1981, I've balanced the channels, cleaning up some of the fuzz and crackle, then resampled to 24/48 flac. I also own the Doublevision 1985 repress, perhaps that also needs a rip for comparison purposes? I really hope Mute do this album justice when it gets reissued - it is a significant opportunity to obtain a wider audience for one of the most important post-punk albums of all time. After their early more experimental works, Thirst was a significant landmark in the development of Clock DVA - the sequence of Blue Tone , North Loop and 4 Hours is, in my opinion, one of the finest moments in alternative music. Post-industrial, post-punk, post-avant jazz, post-Beefheart blues - this album has it all - I put it right up t...

Tuxedomoon - Half-Mute [CBOY 1010LP BEL 2017 24-Bit FLAC] Originally released as an album on Ralph Records in 1980, here is the 2017 Belgian reprint of Half-Mute released on Crammed Discs. Likely one of the most important albums to come out of the USA in the early eighties, the original line-up of Steven Brown, Blaine Reininger and Peter Principle tease us with their unique eclectic mix of avant-garde electronica and post-punk .....before they began screwing about with Winston Tong.  I love what Tuxedomoon do in parts (you will find much of it among these pages), some of their early work is superb (like Eno went punk) but in later releases I have found them very sporadic, almost take it or leave it. Still these San Francisco boys have continually ploughed their creative furrow in music and released a plethora of work. This album and those early singles remain essential to this day. A1 Nazca A2 59 To 1 A3 Fifth Column A4 Tritone (Musica Diablo) A5 Loneliness A6...

Tony Allen & Jeff Mills - Tomorrow Comes The Harvest [778630-6 FRA 2018 24-Bit FLAC] Inspirational Nigerian drummer, Tony Allen sadly passed away in April this year. One of his final recordings was the 10" EP collaboration with Detroit techno-ologist, Jeff Mills which runs close to thirty minutes, so I would suggest it really clocks in as a mini-album.  Tomorrow Comes The Harvest is a splendid blend of the old and the new as Allen's afro-beats fill the left channel mixing into the multi-layers of Mills' electronic meanders - uncredited French musician, Jean-Philippe Dary adds touches of organ and synths. The two key tracks are the opening  Locked And Loaded and the closing The Seed which easily stand head and shoulders above the two other works which lack as much purpose. If it wasn't for Allen's presence then most (including me) would overlook one of the coolest afro-vibe meets future jazz records of the past few years. Put this on your audio system tonigh...

A Certain Ratio - Friends Around Us (Parts 1 & 2) [MUTE 615 UK 2020 24-Bit FLAC] 2020 sees the return of the mighty ACR to vinyl, with a new album ACR Loco expected in the Autumn, we got a preview with the limited release single Friends Around Us , pressed in only 500 copies. These have all been likely snapped up by the time you read this. Here is my rip from the marbled white vinyl, which if was extremely dusty straight out of the bag - I only hope that Mute pay a little more attention to quality control when the album sees the light of day. Send money for your own copy of ACR Loco here . A1 Friends Around Us (Part 1) AA Friends Around Us (Part 2)

Stephen Mallinder - Temperature Drop [FE 12 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] I can't help but notice that US label, Ice Machine Records, has reissued the Pow-Wow album by Cabaret Voltaire bassist Stephen Mallinder. I resisted the urge to splurge on the baby blue expanded double vinyl edition purely because I am becoming quite wary of current day vinyl remasters and until I hear good reports on the pressing quality, I stay clear of it. In the meantime, here is the original 1981 Fetish Records pressing of the accompanying single Temperature Drop as it was supposed to sound. A1 Temperature Drop B1 Cool Down

Midnight Rags - The Werewolf Of London [ACE 013 UK 1980 24-Bit FLAC] One of my most popular rips from the old ESWA days was only in 16-bit, so I recently decided we all needed a 24-bit upgrade. Apart from a little bit of fuzz caused by a tiny pressing flaw, the only (and forty year old) album by Midnight Rags ripped really well and represents a fine facsimile of this very unusual long player. This record remains impossible to classify or pigeon-hole - the teenage Paul Roland dabbles in a multitude of influences and styles to produce a crazy, enjoyable cocktail of horror b-movie nostalgia, Numanesque synth-pop, early Stranglers-style pub rock, acoustic English folk and Bolan'ised glam. If only nineteen year old songwriters today were as good as Roland, music in the modern era could be credible. Blades Of Battenberg and Public Enemy were singles and Peel favourites at the time, Roland's unique form of English eccentrics began to build a respectable worldwide following when he ...

Cardiacs - Susannah's Still Alive [ALPH 009 UK 1988 24-Bit FLAC] We lost Tim Smith this week, I flicked through my paltry collection of Cardiacs' singles in tribute and thought this splendid Kinks' cover would be fitting. The b-side is pure pronk. You can find my other Cardiacs rips here . Rest in peace, Timmie....... A1 Susannah's Still Alive B1   Blind In Safety And Leafy In Love

Jorge Navarro ‎- Argentina Funk Special [MUKAT 066 UK 2019 24-Bit FLAC] With the current vinyl revival, there are a few modern labels which have become very collectible. One of those is London label Mukatsuku which focuses on obscure grooves from the depths of dance music history. Here is one of those singles by Argentinian jazz pianist Jorge Navarro .... Funk Yourself - which does exactly as it says in the title. A1 Funk Yourself B1 Repartamos El Funky

Broken Lamps - Kaleidoscope [ENM 007 USA 2019 24-Bit FLAC] Some of you may have enjoyed the recent Broken Lamps Metropolis album and it's retrospective  journey through the exotic world of library music. Here is last year's Kaleidoscope album which works as a tribute to sixties kitsch film soundtracks with funky psychedelic grooves and other weird shit. I love this kind of stuff ....it forms a good alternative to the current wave of drab modern indie and bedroom electronica. This album was released in 2019 on the Electric Nerve label in a very limited pressing of 200. Enjoy. A1 Strange Seasons A2 The Serpent and the Sparrow A3 Halls of Time A4 Catatonico A5 Room 411 B1 Heaven's Devils B2 Vertigo B3 Siegfried's Atomic Hat B4 The Ritual B5 Aperture

Pulsallama - Ungawa Pt.II (Way Out Guiana) [12Y 25 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] In these sensitive modern times, this single would not stand a chance. It didn't do that well back in 1982, however has a novelty value for those who enjoy obscure New York post-punk funk. Tis is my 2017 rip, tidied up and rebalanced. Pulsallama were a short-lived 12 piece bass and percussion band who ruled Manhattan nightlife for a brief period in 1981 and 1982. According to their Discogs page,  the band often fought with each other verbally and physically in the studio and at shows. The groups rowdy behavior, theatrical stage antics, props and costumes and awkward time signatures were what the New York underground loved most about them.  In 1982 Pulsallama opened for The Clash, where an adoring audience of 6000 showered them with coins, cups of beer and likely cups of anything else which came to hand.  For Donalds everywhere! A1 Ungawa Pt.II (Way Out Guiana) AA The Devil Lives In My Husb...

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Knock Me Down [MTPD 70 UK 1989 24-Bit FLAC] Please forgive me for this, this seven inch picdisc is in one of penguinflight 's boxes and I wanted to hear how bad it sounded. The answer is in the archive! Purely a marketing tool because desperate EMI executives who thought that pressing music onto two sheets of clear PVC pressed around a slice of coloured paper and then cut into funny shapes would be good for music. Eyes are rolling ...everywhere. A1 Knock Me Down B1 Punk Rock Classic B2 Pretty Little Ditty

Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts [EGLP 48 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] Okay, hands up who doesn't have a copy of My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts . This is one of those albums I have on both CD and vinyl after I went through a phase of buying Eno on CD. My vinyl copy is the original UK version on EG Records, including the sensitively removed track Qu'ran  missing from subsequent pressings. It was the use of loops and cut-ups which had me transfixed, whilst the technique was not that new, my personal fixation with the technique led me to buy a lot of records with loops and early samples - my school music teacher ran a lunch time class on electronics in music and allowed us to create 'music' using loops on a reel to reel. I actually bought this copy some years later at a record fare and am grateful to the original owner who clearly preserved his vinyl better than I did at the time. A1 America Is Waiting A2 Mea Culpa A3 Regiment A4 Help Me Somebody...

Flux - Uncarved Block [TP 1 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] A few weeks back, I ripped and posted an infamous album by A Flux Of Pink Indians. Two years later the band trimmed down to just Flux and released this excellent and much overlooked album. After many attempts at cleaning what was a much played record, here is my clean 24-bit rip from vinyl of Uncarved Block . The album appeared on the fledgling One Little Indian label (formed by Flux's own Tim Kelly) in a highly creative wrap-around envelope sleeve. Inside is a truly remarkable record on which Flux (as they were now known) had joined forces with Adrian Sherwood and Bonjo I (from African Headcharge).  The three key tracks are Youthful Immortal , Children Who Know and Footprints In The Snow - everything else is built around them to produce what is a unique amalgamation of powerful rhythms, horns, guitar riffs and slap bass where the tracks blend together seamlessly by using combination of simple hooksThe closing The Stonecutter is c...

Talking Heads - Remain In Light [SRK 6095 UK 1980 24-Bit FLAC] I have often praised the quality of early European Warners' pressings and this first UK pressing of Remain In Light is no different - to be honest, I think all European copies were pressed in Germany at the time. This album is one from a trio of my favourite Talking Heads albums released between 1979 and 1982. I know there are likely many who favour their first two long players, and many fewer who preferred their final three. Remain In Light and Fear Of Music were both produced with Brian Eno whose footprint is most notable on the darkest track, The Overload . Most of this album represents a funky pop groove, whereas the closer shimmers with echoes of Bowie's Low combined with the ghostly lyrical style of Ian Curtis.  I recall previous discussions online regarding David Byrne's interest in the post-punk funk sound of A Certain Ratio who supported Talking Heads on a number of dates in late 1979. These theor...

Television - Marquee Moon [K 12252 UK 1977 24-Bit FLAC] I have been spending a little time correcting issues with a few rushed rips from January 2017 of UK pressings of two twelve inch singles by Television. These were ripped with my old deck and an Ortofon 2M blue stylus and there was a little imbalance in the channels, I think I have fixed this just fine and cleaned up a few missed pops and crackles. Likely one of the most instantly recognisable riffs to come out of 1977 New York, Television pre-dated punk & were too technically competent to be considered punks, but still held enough attitude to stand above the other seventies drab-rock bands - here is their classic Marquee Moon backed with a mono version which was a bit of a challenge to get just right.  A1 Marquee Moon B1 Marquee Moon (Mono Version) Television - Foxhole [K 12287 UK 1978 24-Bit FLAC] Foxhole was the UK first single from the Adventure album, released in a choice of sleeve colours, all on red viny...

Kid Machine - Magico [RL 34 UK 2020 24-Bit FLAC] Kid Machine is the pseudonym of Manchester DJ and electronic artist, Mark Williamson who released Magico , his fifth album quite recently. This double platter consists of eight electronic workouts drawing heavy influence from the dance sounds of eighties New York and mainland Europe, including Italy (hence the title and unusual dodgy sleeve design). I adore the mix of new beat, italo-disco , early techno with a deft touch of Moroder and Arthur Baker - Williamson lays out an analogue-style groove which is preserved neatly onto a vinyl pressing at just the right volume. There is enough crossover potential here to appeal to fans of New Order, Vince Clarke and Pet Shop Boys, who prefer to just tap their toes rather than cut some shapes & get sweaty on the dancefloor. Enjoy! A1 Magico A2 Make Me Feel Alrite B1 S.D.M B2 You're Love C1 Ngaff C2 Muszic D1 Modera D2 The White Hotel

The Comsat Angels - Sleep No More [POLS 1038 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] Staying in Sheffield, here is my old ESWA rip of Sleep No More for those who may have missed it first time around. Likely one of post-punk's most overlooked acts, okay ...along with the similar The Sound. The Comsat Angels built up a strong following but never really kicked into worthy commercial success. Unusually second album syndrome delivered us their best work. Sleep No More is deep, dark and powerful - a creative high which they struggled to achieve with subsequent long players as they embraced a more commercial sound to their work. Ripped for your listening pleasure from penguinflight 's near mint first edition. A1 The Eye Dance A2 Sleep No More A3 Be Brave A4 Gone A5 Dark Parade B1 Diagram B2 Restless B3 Goat Of The West B4 Light Years B5 Our Secret

Cabaret Voltaire - Johnny Yesno (The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture) [DVR 1 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] Here is my rip of the original UK pressing on Doublevision of Cabaret Voltaire's soundtrack to the Peter Care short arthouse movie, Johnny Yesno. Recorded by the original three-man line-up at Western Works during 1981, this album stands out for the main piece, Taxi Music (in two versions) which is genuine classic Cabaret Voltaire, everything else remains incidental music for the movie. A few years back, Mute Records issued a redux version on compact disc which was greatly expanded with remixes and other works alongside a DVD of the original film and other shorts. Here is how is first sounded from near mint vinyl. A1 Taxi Music A2 Hallucination Sequence A3 D.T.'s A4 Cold Turkey B1 The Quarry (In The Wilderness) B2 Title Sequence B3 Taxi Music Dub

Youth Meets Jah Wobble - Acid Punk Dub Apocalypse [CADIZLP 184 UK 2020 24-Bit FLAC] Two legends meet for this excellent slab of post-punk dub released in very limited numbers a few weeks back. Both main protagonists should need very little introduction around here, however my lazy brain cannot immediately think of any other time they would have worked together on vinyl ....maybe I am wrong - answers on a postcard please. The list of collaborators will raise a few eyebrows, Rhiannon, Andrew Weatherall, Viv Goldman and Alex Paterson all worked on this album - Burnt Umber with The Orb's Alex Paterson is truly sublime and easily my stand-out. No other track sums up the album title as much as Panzer Dub with its stabbing rock-riffs and fuzzy guitars. Wobble and Glover may not be cool enough for today's kids and most will likely miss out on one of 2020's best albums as a consequence. Play loud ....it's time to shake the floorboards A1 Breaking Shells A2 Burnt Umber A3 ...

C Cat Trance - Jinniya [INK 1235 UK 1988 24-Bit FLAC] If you've been following Needle Time since the beginning, you'll be aware that I have posted the vast majority of the vinyl releases by John Rees Lewis' exotic ethnic-funk band C Cat Trance. All the older posts still have live links, here is my last, the evocative Jinniya single. These are all re-workings from  vinyl used for my ESWA blog posts many moons ago. Enjoy! A1 Jinniyya B1 Sudaniyya (Minimal Mix)

A Certain Ratio - Wild Party [FAC 128 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] An old favourite gets a new rip to kick off my next round of posts. Wild Party was the hardest of funk singles by A Certain Ratio, it is loud, brutal and as funky as hell. I recall a member of the band telling me at a London gig, earlier in 1985, that they wanted to find a harder edge and this single with its superb B-side certainly hits the mark. Both tracks remain live favourites to this day and mark a level which was rarely bettered by any other alternative dance band. In fact, A Certain Ratio were to move towards a slightly gentler sound with the following  Force album and the consequent A&M Records years. This is my original twelve inch pressing bought on day of release thirty-five years ago (almost to date). A1 Wild Party B1 Sounds Like Something Dirty