Needle Time

  Trees Speak - Vertigo Of Flaws [SJR LP498 UK 2021 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Subtitled:  Emancipation Of The Dissonance And Temperaments In Irrational Waveforms We didn't have to wait too long for Tuscon's Trees Speak to follow-up last year's highlight PostHuman . Late last year Vertigo Of Flaws continued the development of one of the most productive bands since Sault. The Diaz duo are likely the most unexpected band on London's Soul Jazz Records and their innovative instrumental compositions deserve a wider audience. Vertigo Of Flaws features an expanded band line-up where acoustic drums and plucky bass lines mix in alongside oscillating waveforms, distortion and sequenced soundscapes. This original pressing includes an additional seven-inch single to deliver thirty-one tracks over nearly 3GB of full resolution cosmic audio. Posts are going to be less regular over the next few weeks as more important things take precedence, this album alone should keep you lot busy.  A...

  Joe Pass - For Django [ST-85 USA 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHZ FLAC] The defunct Pacific Jazz label back catelogue was acquired by Capitol Records in the nineties and blended into their Blue Note repertoire. In recent years, Blue Note has seen a significant revival, bolstered by the addition of more modern artists such as Norah Jones and Gregory Porter. Following a successful period of licensing high quality releases to brands within Chad Kassem's Acoustic Sounds empire, Blue Note capitalised on its historic back catelogue by launching two reissue divisions to run alongside its regular releases via Universal Music Group. The Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series was launched in 2020 to maintain sales at regular price points using the original analogue recordings remastered for 180gm vinyl by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio (amongst others) and then pressed by Optimal Media in Germany.  The Tone Poet Series was aimed at a slightly higher price point, again mastered from original analogue reco...

  The Teardrop Explodes ‎- Kilimanjaro [6359 035 UK 1981 24-Bit 88.2/176.4kHz FLAC] The combination of a flimsy Mercury Records pressing and a dodgy production, especially on the two Langer & Winstanley hit singles, conspired to make this new rip of this new wave classic somewhat troublesome. Most of the rest was produced by Bill Drummond & David Balfe and they did a little better on some tracks. Some years back, I used the 1984 'mid-price' vinyl variant, this time I upgraded to the 1981 repress in what I (likely to great howls of despair) believe is the better second cover. I think that I've nailed it, so much so that it deserves a 176.4kHz version. A1   Ha Ha I'm Drowning A2   Sleeping Gas A3   Treason A4   Second Head A5   Reward A6   Poppies In The Field B1   Went Crazy B2   Brave Boys Keep Their Promises B3   Bouncing Babies B4   Books B5   Thief Of Baghdad B6...

  Wire - Nine Sevens [PFS1-9 RSD2018 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] I was going to intersperse my recent Wire album posts with the singles from the early years, I don't have all the originals and those I have are worn in places. To make up for that, here is their RSD2018 collection of those six original Harvest seven inch singles (from 1977 - 1979) with the Rough Trade release Our Swimmer . To top things off you also get the bonus experimental EP which was included with original 154 pressings and the two tracks which adorned the flipside of the post-split Crazy About Love single.  A1 Mannequin B1 Feeling Called Love B2 12XU C1 I Am The Fly D1 Ex-Lion Tamer E1 Dot Dash F1 Options R G1 Outdoor Miner H1 Practice Makes Perfect I1 Question Of Degree J1 Former Airline K1 Map Ref 41°N 93°W L1 Go Ahead M1 Our Swimmer N1 Midnight Bahnhof Café O1   Song 1 O2 Get Down Parts 1&2 P1 Let's Panic Later P2 Small Electric Piece Q1 2nd Length (Our Sw...

  Blood, Sweat And Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [CS 9619 DEU 2007 24-Bit 176.4/88.2kHz FLAC] I own an original 1968 British pressing of this album, I attempted a rip about four years ago and contemplated a new attempt, however the years have not helped a record which is just a few years younger than I am. I am a huge fan of this album and its follow-up, so for just a few quid more than your regular modern day repress/remaster digital hatchet job on vinyl, you can pick-up this all analogue repress courtesy of the excellent Speakers Corner Records label, mastered and plated by Rainer Maillard at Emil Berliner Studios. The pressing was onto virgin vinyl by Schallplattenfabrik Pallas GmbH.  After their initial inception as a covers band, Blood Sweat and Tears released two fantastic albums before disintegrating into a shadow of their former selves with a succession of line-ups releasing dull jazz-rock albums. Child Is Father To The Man was their debut and ble...

  Isao Suzuki Trio / Quartet - Blow Up [TBM-15-45 USA 2017 24-Bit 88.2/176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on the Three Blind Mice label in Japan only during 1973. I mentioned a few weeks back that a local hi-fi dealer had secured stock of a good many high quality all analogue vinyl re-pressings. I have picked up a few (a slight under-exaggeration) recently, the Chet Baker album was the first to be ripped, as it's a Sunday ....here is another. The Three Blind Mice label in Japan is one of the most highly revered for jazz anywhere in the world, right up there with Blue Note, Impulse, Verve and Prestige. The TBM difference was their exceptional attention to detail with recording, mastering & pressing and of course, musicianship. If you've been following my occasional focus on Japanese music, its the latter in which they truly excel, especially with jazz. This double 45rpm vinyl edition was mastered in Japan at JVC from the original master tapes, and then pressed onto HQ-180gm...

  Funk Factory - Funk Factory [BEWITH016LP UK 2016 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] Originally released on Atlantic Records subsidiary ATCO Records in 1975, the only album by Funk Factory was picked up for a superb quality repress by Be With Records a few years back. Here is my rip and I think it sounds great! Essentially a conglomerate of session musicians, Funk Factory did exactly as their name suggests, and delivered oodles of high intensity seventies American funk.  Enjoy! A1 Watusi Dance A2 Horsing Around A3 Rien Ne Va Plus A4 After All The World Goes Home B1 Next Please B2 The Music In Me B3 Funk It B4 Lilliput B5 Sinkin' Low

 The Hood - Cooler Than Thou [TWI 753 BEL 1987 24-Bit FLAC] Best known for his contribution with the film title track and subsequent Factory Records single, Salvation, John Hood was a New York nightclub doorman turned promoter, who persuaded Les Disques Du Crépuscule and their US distributor, Giant Records to let him put out an album back in 1987. Best described as electro-industrial dance pop, Cooler Than Thou was accompanied by a 12" single,  Tough Guys Don't Dance , both produced by Ivan Ivan, and neither of which set the world alight. That should not prevent this album's interest as a musical artifact from the time when similar acts such as Ministry stopped making pop records, Sigue Sigue Sputnik had hyped themselves into obscurity and Brian Hugh Warner was still at school. A1 It Takes A Thief A2 Criminal Kiss A3 Tricks Are For Kids A4 Tough Guys Don't Dance B1 Cooler Than Thou B2 Book Is The Law B3 What She Keeps B4 Stand Apart

  Death In June - Nada Plus! [BADVC PLUS 13 USA 2011 24-Bit 88.2/176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released as a vinyl album on New European Recordings in the UK during 1985, this album has been one of my most requested re-posts. I don't really do re-posts, however from time to time, I do new rips. Nada! is an album which should need little introduction to original ESWA followers, however for the first time, here it is in 24-bit 176.4kHz FLAC ripped from the double vinyl edition released on Pylon Records in 2011. My original 1985 UK pressing has not stood up well to the passing of time, I also have a number of CD versions (some of which are loudly mastered), so this US gold vinyl pressing is a worthy source. This apocalyptic blend of dark post-punk synthwave, monastic chants, doom laden acoustic melancholy and spaghetti western drama has now been given the modern day tag of neo-folk, however it really represents a complex mix of influences and styles. The Nada! album was also to be the ...

  Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink [535 145-0 UK 2014 24-Bit 88.2kHZ FLAC] Originally released on Deram Records in 1971 and sporadically repressed over the years. I've used the 2014 Deram reissue on black vinyl, which sounds pretty okay despite it being a GZ Media Czech pressing.  The hype sticker on the front proudly confirms that the original analogue tapes were used as source material but what it doesn't indicate anywhere is who the remastering engineer was - usually a good sign there has been an element of digief*ckaboutary before the lacquer was cut. Regardless, I've compared it to a couple of other rips from early pressings and am really rather pleased how this version sounds. There has likely never been a more English album than In The Land Of Grey And Pink . Depending on which musical pigeonhole you would prefer to place Caravan, their first six albums are fairly essential listening for any music fan wanting to understand more about the Canterbury scene and i...

  Tony Martin - Barriers [BS 101T UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] There is a bit of a theme going today, it is all because I wanted to re-rip this single, which when first posted nearly two years ago, created a mild stir. This is a brand new & greatly improved rip, which I believe deserves a 176.4kHz post and a much wider audience. History (especially around the mid-eighties) is littered with one off singles which hold some 'vague' resemblance to Mancunian favourites New Order. Who could forget Kon Kan's I Beg Your Pardon , The Bridge's Love Dance , Boxcar's Freemason and perhaps even The Cure got in on the act with In Between Days . This is one of those tracks which evokes great memories of all those fabulous New Order singles. I've carefully checked the details on the reverse sleeve and I can see absolutely no credit to Hook, Sumner, Morris and Gilbert ...why on earth would I do that? Just listen to Tony Martin's Barriers (actually the instrumental version is...

  New Order - Thieves Like Us [FAC 103 UK 1984 24-Bit 88.2/176.4kHz FLAC] For me, New Order's best moments came along in the years between (and including) the Power, Corruption & Lies and Low-Life albums. Thieves Like Us was the first single since Confusion  (hardly their greatest effort) and marked the beginning a move to more cohesive song writing period with Low-Life at it's peak.  Up to a point in time, New Order made great b-sides and this single has one of their very best, so much so that Lonesome Tonight could well have been a hit single in its own right. The art of the b-side is from a time long gone - Manchester's finest were one of the greatest exponents of the craft. I've ripped this original single before, however I thought now it deserved a proper clean and then a post in a choice of resolutions.  A1 Thieves Like Us B1 Lonesome Tonight Barnie & His Bum Notes live at The Hacienda

  Invisible Limits - Love Will Tear Us Apart [POP 3909 DEU 1988 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] German electro-goths, Invisible Limits slap on the black eye liner, head down to the Berlin u-bahn and totally müller Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart in two mixes backed with an original composition, the high energy dark disco stomp of  Supplying Demand. You really want this ....don't you? A1 Love Will Tear Us Apart (Extended Mix) B1 Love Will Tear Us Apart (Singlemix) B2 Supplying Demand

  Raposa Velha - Raposa Velha [MAR046 PRT 2021 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] As it is Sunday evening in my part of the world, here is some jazz - actually make that some highly obscure Brazilian experimental jazz courtesy of an officially licensed repress of  the only album by avant-garde four piece Raposa Velha, originally self-released in 1981.  A1 Vitor A2 Luiza A3 Tema Da Luz B1 Passagem B2 Triunfo Da Luz B3 Vinheta

  Wire - Chairs Missing [PF12LP UK 2018 24-Bit 88.2/176.4kHz FLAC] The difficult second album ...fear ye not! The first three Wire albums are classics - it seems a while since I posted my rips of Pink Flag and 154 , so at last I present Chairs Missing .  Less punky than the debut and less arty than the next, Chairs Missing is an aural assault on your senses, topped off by an uncompromising remaster for this 2018 Optimal Media repress. I have the original 1978 Harvest pressing too, however the years have taken their tool with wear & tear and this version is a much better listen. I Am The Fly and Outdoor Miner are highly revered classics, however this fan adores Used To with its subtle harmonies and that bass sound on Being Sucked In Again .  Enjoy! A1   Practice Makes Perfect A2   French Film Blurred A3   Another The Letter A4   Men 2nd A5   Marooned A6   Sand In My Joints A7   Being Sucked In ...

  Akiko Yano - Tadaima  [WWSLP16 2018 FRA 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] The Japanese Girl who found fame following her debut album with American rock band Little Feat in 1976 as a teenager, returned with her popular synthpop album Tadaimo (meaning 'I am home') in 1981. This time recorded with her husband Ryuichi Sakamoto, the two other members of Yellow Magic Orchestra plus YMO programming genius Hideki Matsutake. Most of the tracks are in Japanese, however served up with some great tunes, Yano delivered an important and enjoyably catchy work of Japanese synthpop. She was to melt Japanese hearts with the hit title track single, backed with the English language, I Sing . The album also features some experimental work, for instance the very dark  Iranaimon and the expansive nine minute  Taiyo No Onara which is listed as a nine track cabaret medley on the original Japanese release. The final track,  Rose Garden  is a particular favourite on my turntable. ...

  Dif Juz - Who Says So? [RFM 24 UK 1983 24-Bit 176.4/88.2 kHz FLAC] All my Dif Juz links were deleted a while back, however the band's albums have been among the most requested reposts since I began this site. As I hinted to one follower, re-rips were on the way, so here is the first in a choice of higher end resolutions, just because that seems to be the way we like things around here. Between releases as part of the 4AD roster, Dif Juz released Who Says So? on the Red Flame label in 1983. I never acquired a copy back then, consequently it was on my 'wants list' for many a year. I was delighted to pick up this mint copy with the assistance of your blog donations. Unwisely overlooked since release, this album is another mostly instrumental journey through the jazz-punk-dub experimental creativity of this remarkable band who retired from music in 1986. PiL fans may especially enjoy the dubby delights of a Wobble inspired The Dub Song . Surprisingly Who Says So? has never...

  The Cult - The Mail Must Go Through [MAR037 PRT 2021 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] Originally released on Starburst Records (SLT-500) in a choice of sleeves - this rerelease version using the much less  risqué , but ever so slightly dodgy alternative sleeve. The particular Cult do not come from Bradford and they did not start out as a tribal-punk indie band who evolved into hairy rockers. This particular Cult came from Las Vegas and made psychedelic funk & soul. This was there only album and originals can fetch a tidy sum ....if you can find them.  I have a few albums by rarity rerelease label Mad About Records and have seen the debate elsewhere online about a different album and it's dubious lineage. I agree with those findings, however this particular album seems okay following close scrutiny of its spectrogram. Mad About Records are a small Portuguese boutique label specialising in sourcing original masters of very rare & obscure albums and securing release rights. T...

  John Foxx - The Garden [V 2194 UK 1981 24-Bit 176.4/88.2kHz FLAC] Remastered & re-released in late 2021, forget that ....let's hear how good a brand new rip with a decent cart of an original UK pressing can sound after a thorough clean. I reckon it sounds bloody good - you decide! Mr. Foxx didn't enjoy the same commercial success as his former band mates in Ultravox, however he did maintain the credibility grounds with a string of quality releases including his, very much of it's time - second album which should be highly revered by all.  More pristine vinyl ripped from  Penguinflight 's boxes of delights. A1  Europe After The Rain A2  Systems Of Romance A3  When I Was A Man And You Were A Woman A4  Dancing Like A Gun A5  Pater Noster B1  Night Suit B2  You Were There B3  Fusion / Fission B4  Walk Away B5  The Garden

  Various - Somewhere Between [LITA 183 FRA/USA 2021 24-Bit FLAC] Subtitled as  Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds Of Japan 1980-1988 The subtitle should reveal exactly what to expect on this splendid double 45rpm set, released about a year back as part of Seattle label Light In The Attic's Japan Archival Series. My copy is a clear vinyl version from a French distributor, pressed in the Czech Republic.  The compilation style is very similar to those Les Disques Du Crépuscule releases from the early-mid eighties, however with highly nipponic leanings. The majority of artists will be relatively unknown to western ears, however I do recall the elegant Sonoko whose vocal style is close to Liz Fraser and her excellent  La Débutante album found its way onto Crammed Discs in 1987. A1 Noriko Miyamoto - Arrows & Eyes A2 Mishio Ogawa - Hikari No Ito Kin No Ito A3 Yoshio Ojima - Days Man B1 Mkwaju Ensemble - Tira-Rin B2 R.N.A-Organis...