Needle Time

  Parliament - Mothership Connection [CAL 2013 UK 1977 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] It took a while to decide who would get the honour of being the final post of 2022, so after some deliberation, following a year where we lost and possibly found a few icons, here is some George Clinton (I checked, he is still with us), Bootsy, Bernie and friends with their space-funk, p-funk classic Mothership Connection. I bought this album back in around 1985/86 from Collectors Records in Guildford, Surrey. This is the second UK pressing of an album first released on Casablanca Records in 1975 and it cost about a fiver then - it is worth a bit more these days. Unplayed for many a decade, it required two deep cleans in a Tergikleen solution before three full cycles in my ultrasonic cleaner. Apart from a small amount of groove wear, I hope the results speak for themselves. Pops and clicks were removed manually (there were a few) with Izotope, I've kept the volume levels comfortably below -1db, which combi...

  David Bowie (デビッド・ボウイー) -  The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (ジギー・スターダスト) [RPL- 2102 JPN 1982 24-Bit FLAC] This is one of my most requested re-ups, this will be the last in this series of re-posts and is exactly the same files posted to Needle Time in February 2021. Originally released as a vinyl album worldwide in 1972, here is the immaculate Japanese reissue from 1982, nicely pressed up by the RCA Victor Company. I guess everybody has a copy of this album in some format somewhere, some of you may have an original, I like most, initially made do with the UK RCA mid-price pressing on cheap vinyl. A few years back, I spent some time in Japan where my evening occupation was food & record stores, here is one of the souvenirs of that trip ripped to lush high resolution flac, at a comfortable level for both headphone listeners and home system streamers. Expect a high level of detail, space and enough warmth to heat up the cockles of your hearts. A...

  The Cars - The Cars [MFSL 1-274 USA 2009 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] What's this....? A Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab release which is genuinely cut directly from original analogue tape. I know there have been hundreds of such releases over the decades, however after what has been a difficult year for the high-end label, I thought we would end 2022 with one of their best releases. I was never really the biggest fan of The Cars, their self-titled debut album was recorded at AIR Studios in London in early 1978 and originally released on Elektra Records in June of that year. The album greatly benefits from the idea to send an American rock band to London to experience the British new wave scene and produced a couple of classic power-pop hit singles, the energetic  Just What I Needed and  My Best Friend's Girl . It was a stroke of genius to ask British producer Roy Thomas Baker (Bowie, Stones, Queen, Stranglers etc) to deal with studio matters, his production is tight, crisp a...

  A Blaze Colour - Against The Dark Trees Beyond [OS46 BEL 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Back in 1981/1982, Belgian synth-duo A Blaze Colour (from Leuven) released a cassette album, a twelve inch single and a seven inch single - all titled Against The Dark Trees Beyond , however all with differing track listings. These days, if you want to acquire these releases, you will have to part with well in excess of three figures as A Blaze Colour original product is high in demand and very difficult to find. Ludo Camberlin & Bam Saelemaekers should be considered as pioneers of both early-eighties minimal synthpop, the coldwave sound of Benelux and cassette tape culture. Using a Korg Delta and MS20, a Roland SH-2 and a Jupiter IV plus of course the essential Casio VL-1, their stripped back compositions were driven along with a very basic Boss DR55 drum machine. Their experimentation with rhythm and simple melody produced very familiar results, especially if you are familiar with...

  Snowy Red - Snowy Red [12 001 BEL 1981 24-Bit 48.0kHz FLAC] This is a re-post of a file originally ripped for Needle Time in July 2019. I know I said I would only be giving space to re-posts in the run up to Christmas, but I thought that many may have missed this first time around, and you should understand its significance with the very next post, later today, which will not be a re-post. Firstly, please do not confuse Snowy Red with drizzly eighties soft-rock artist Snowy White. Snowy Red was the Belgian electronic post-punk pioneer Marcel Thiel who released a barrage of minimal electronic albums & singles between 1981 and 1984 before moving into more collaborative work. This is his debut ripped from a very rare original pressing so please excuse the occasional light crackle in places.   There will be obvious comparisons with early Cabaret Voltaire, however under the pseudonym of Mikey Mike, this album was only recorded on a two-track reel-to-reel, check out the ...

  Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces Of A Man [XXQLP2 094 UK 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] The post-MoFaux world has thrown up more interest in the provenance of vinyl reissues and we are now seeing more and more labels using the source & process of their reissues as a selling point.  Late last year, this UK reissue of Gil Scott-Heron's classic 1971 album  Pieces Of A Man snuck out on the back of 'Black Friday' on BGP Records (the home of the Acid Jazz label). According to the press release, the original analogue master tapes were sent to Frank Merritt at The Carvery Mastering Studio in Leyton, East London who cut them on an all-analogue desk at 45rpm. The metalwork was despatched to GZ Media in the Czech Republic who pressed up this double 45rpm edition (hence the need for your blogger to spend two days declicking). Despite GZ Media's efforts, this release does sound amazing, and in a world where it is very difficult to find good clean OG pressings, this release was very much...

  Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas [MG VS-4042 USA 2021 24-Bit FLAC] A little swinging cheer to get everybody in the festive spirit. Originally released on Verve Records at Christmas 1960, cut by Ryan K. Smith from the original analogue master tape, pressed at Quality Record Pressings and re-released as part of the Verve Acoustic Sounds series for your yuletide pleasure. A1 Jingle Bells A2 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town A3 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas A4 What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? A5 Sleigh Ride A6 The Christmas Song B1 Good Morning Blues B2 Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! B3 Winter Wonderland B4 Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer B5 Frosty The Snow Man B6 White Christmas

  Basement 5 - 1965-1980 [PIAS 6580LP UK 2017 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Island Records as ILPS 9641 in the UK during 1980. This is a brand new 176.4kHz rip ...just for Christmas. Seminal punk-dub produced by Martin Hannett, engineered by Chris Nagle and mixed at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. After many line-up changes, a John Peel radio session and various support slots to the likes of Public Image and The Clash, Basement 5 final delivered this important post-punk dub long player. These heavy heavy bass lines and Hannett's signature spacious delayed snares, combined with angry political sentiment make this album one of the best but most overlooked albums from the post-punk generation. Guess we'll all be having some of this then! A1    Riot A2    No Ball Games A3    Hard Work A4    Immigration B1    Last White Christmas B2    Heavy Traffic B3    Union Games B4    Too Soon

  The Durutti Column - LC [FBN 10 UK 2016 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Very likely Vini Reilly's best known album, LC was recorded on a TEAC 4-track with Bruce Mitchell on percussion and Reilly on everything else. The album was first released on Factory Records (FACT 44) in November 1981. This is the Factory Benelux expanded set, mastered from digital sources and reissued in 2016. LC features some of Reilly's signature work including his tribute to his friend Ian Curtis,  The Missing Boy . Fans of the guitarists work will already appreciate  Jacqueline and Sketch For Dawn and this rip gives us the chance to rediscover some of Vini's other great compositions such as Messidor and Never Known . The bonus tracks on this release are taken from The Factory Quartet set, featuring ACR's Donald Johnson on drums, a limited single for Sordide Sentimental and the  Deux Triangles EP, plus an extra 7" single of two live tracks. If you don't know  For Belgian Friends...

  Blegger's Belief If it is okay, I would like a few moments of your time & attention to ask you to contemplate making a donation for the work I do here on Needle Time . I know things are tough for everybody these days - the time & financial investment needed for a high quality music site can be very high - every donation will go towards Needle Time , to replace the consumables needed for high resolution posts (usually cleaning products, file storage space and more especially the cartridge) but also to source the material for these posts. In January 2023, I will need to replace the current Hana Shibata cartridge and I am seeking out one with very similar specs but an even better frequency response. I also need to quadruple our storage space for files, as for every new post created, I need to delete the links for older posts. By upgrading the Needle Time hosting on Mega, I can ensure that links stay live for longer and focus on more ultra high resolution rips. We have many ...

  Pharoah Sanders - Karma [A-9181 USA 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] On his inspirational third album, spiritual jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders takes jazz beyond anywhere it has been before. Recorded at the RCA Studios in New York in February of 1969 and first released on Impulse Records in May of the same year, this legendary album has been seen by many as a response to Coltrane's A Love Supreme - you will hear the similarities in melody during the more peaceful moments. This album is not easy listening, this is not cigar lounge jazz, if you do not know this record then be prepared for an assault on your senses. This new pressing was cut by Ryan K. Smith from the original master tapes, pressed at QRP and packaged up in a gorgeous high gloss tip-on gatefold jacket as part of Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series. A1 The Creator Has A Master Plan B1 The Creator Has A Master Plan (Part II) B2 Colors

  Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison [VMP-CW001 USA 2021 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Columbia Records (CS 9639) in 1968. Even if you are not an avid listener of country & western records, everybody must at least appreciate the dark humour and talent of the great Johnny Cash. Except for last week's hybrid country album by Elvis Costello, this is the only C&W album in my collection and it came courtesy of Vinyl Me Please. Cash's career was recovering from the doldrums and cocaine when he decided to play a series of prison shows, of which the sets at Folsom Prison in California were the first. Columbia Records released this album a few months later and it was to become a multi-million seller worldwide. This wonderfully packaged release marked the debut of the VMP Country series. Wrapped in a high gloss tip-on jacket with a booklet of reading notes and obi etc, it was cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound in Nashville, plated at QRP in Salina and then pressed...

  Nucleus - Under The Sun [BEWITH104LP UK 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on a hard to find vinyl album on Vertigo Records in 1974. Here is another album from Ian Carr's seventies funky-jazz-rock project Nucleus, reissued on one of my favourite labels, Be With Records. The label acquired the original master tapes from the Vertigo vaults which have been superbly remastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman. Pressing matters were dealt with the former CBS plant at Record Industry in The Netherlands. This albums cuts a serious funky-jazz groove, performed by eight British musicians at the top of their game, which is all brought to life by the quality of the mastering and pressing.  Enjoy. A1 In Procession A2 The Addison Trip A3 Pastoral Graffiti A4 New Life A5 A Taste Of Sarsaparilla B1 Theme 1 Sarsaparilla B2 Theme 2 Feast Alfresco B3 Theme 3 Rites Of Man

  Bill Evans - Trio 64 [V6-8578 USA 2021 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A couple of weeks back, I featured the Trio 65 album from a slightly different Bill Evans Trio, and promised this one before Christmas. It could have been around the same time but I felt that it was a little too early in the year to feature an album which featured an interpretation of  Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Originally recorded in New York on December 18th 1963, that's 59 years ago today, this gorgeously packaged remastered version was cut from the original analogue tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, pressed at Quality Record Pressings and released as part of the Verve/Acoustic Sounds Series. A1 Little Lulu A2 A Sleeping Bee A3 Always A4 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town B1 I'll See You Again B2 For Heaven's Sake B3 Dancing In The Dark B4 Everything Happens To Me

  John Scofield & Pat Metheny - I Can See Your House From Here [B0032260-01 USA 2021 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released as a compact disc only on Blue Note Records in 1994,  I Can See Your House From Here was recorded digitally at The Power Station, NYC in December 1993 by occasionally over indulgent jazz guitarists Pat Metheny and John Scofield. Given this, it is considered to be the finest contemporary jazz guitar album ever recorded. The double vinyl reissue was mastered a year or so back by Kevin Gray for the Blue Note Tone Poet Series of high quality jazz re-releases. A1 I Can See Your House From Here A2 The Red One A3 No Matter What B1 Everybody's Party B2 Message To My Friend B3 No Way Jose C1 Say The Brother's Name C2 S.C.O. C3 Quite Rising D1 One Way To Be D2 You Speak My Language

  808 State - Pacific [ZANG 1T UK 1989 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A brand new 176.4kHz rip of a single first posted to ESWA in April 2017. Possibly a rarity ....a Needle Time blog post on a Saturday night. Faced with a sofa night and Strictly (attached British male followers will known exactly what I mean), here is one of the most important electronic dance singles to come out of Manchester in 176.4kHz resolution. Written by A Guy Called Gerald before he went solo, here is the post-Biting Tongues disco monster from Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson  - I always preferred the less busy Quadrastate version, included here as Pacific State-Origin .  Another gem from the penguinflight archives, we haven't heard from penguin for a while - he was one of ESWA's biggest contributors - hope you are okay matey? A1 Pacific-202 A2 Pacific State-Origin B1 Pacific-303 B2 Cobra-Bora-Shortcut

  The Lightning Seeds - Cloudcuckooland [GHETT 3 UK 1989 24-Bit FLAC] I've been meaning to re-rip this album for a while, my first was a bit clicky, however I think this new 176.4kHz rip sounds fabulous. To me, the compact disc version sounds very sterile, the vinyl version should be a revelation to all fans of the purest in indie-pop. If there was ever a flawless pop record from the late eighties then perhaps it was Cloudcuckooland . This was Ian Broudie as a solo artist (he played all instruments except the sax) following on from his career as a producer of Echo & The Bunnymen and member of Care and Big In Japan. The vinyl edition of his debut album was only pressed in a limited run - so here it is in 24bits of gorgeous pop loveliness. I am sure we all the recall the borrowed Love Vigilantes 'hook' on Pure with great fondness.  Play Loud ....Enjoy! A1    All I Want A2    Bound In A Nutshell A3    Pure A4    Sweet Dreams A5 ...

  The Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky [MFSL 2-500 USA 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Was it always wrong to think of The Alan Parsons Project as over-sophisticated, intelligent rock music for geography & science lecturers? - if Steely Dan were yacht-rock, the The Alan Parsons Project must have been cardigan & corduroy-rock. Is it now okay, as I 'mature' ungracefully to admit having an ALP album in my collection? I thought if I could get away with ELO last week, then why not ALP this. Occasionally an album is well worth the listen for the quality of composition, musicianship and production value, that is my excuse and I am going to stick with it. This Mobile Fidelity 2022 remaster came cheaply my way to replace a five pound charity shop purchase from decades ago and ripped quite well. It certainly sounds good on playback through the hi-fi from my media drive. Fans of American basketball will recognize (sic) the opening Sirius , the title track was a worldwide soft-rock...

  The Pretty Things - Closed Restaurant Blues [KIRI 032 UK 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Despite many changes of musical direction and the band disintegration, The Pretty Things survived most of the sixties and seventies as a musical entity, best known for their sixties psyche opus  S. F. Sorrow , this splendid album from the important Bam Caruso Records label gathers up tracks from their formative years between 1964 & 1967. This is a fine compilation of The Pretty Things recordings in a mix of mono & stereo during their early R&B into mod-period, though as you would expect with Bam-Caruso, with lots of groovy psychedelic tinges. There is not one duff track on this well mastered and excellently pressed album, however if you are looking for some highlights, seek out  £.S.D. ,  Death Of A Socialite and the fuzzy  Buzz The Jerk . A1 Come See Me A2 House Of Ten A3 One Long Glance A4 Progress A5 Can't Stand The Pain A6 Me Needing You A7 ...

  Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Almost Blue [FB 58 392 NLD 1981 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I've covered many genres over the years, after all my main motivation for blogging was the 'degenrefication' of music. Whilst we started with specific rock genres like post-punk which crossed into electronic industrial and other experimental sounds. Indie, alternative rock and synthpop have also featured heavily over the years before I have eventually dipped into more classic rock, mainstream and quite a lot of jazz.  The hype sticker on Elvis Costello's Almost Blue album tells/warns you exactly what you are about to hear on this record. Let's call this my first dip into country, there won't be much more however there is one album by one very important country music performer in the ripping pipeline.  Recorded in Nashville TN with famed country music producer Billy Sherrill, Almost Blue was a collection of covered standards by the bespectacled one and his band of mer...

  Cocteau Twins - Garlands [4AD0192LP UK 2020 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I ripped & posted the 2020 digital to vinyl remaster of the Cocteau Twins debut long player from 1982 back in May 2020, but was never happy with the results. It was initially hampered by the limitations of a less dynamic Ortofon moving coil cartridge and a cheaper phono amp, and then there was also the label's choice of somewhat noisy vinyl. Back then I applied a few dabs of tinkering in an attempt to control that noise floor - on this new rip (with significantly better kit) those were not needed. This is a record we should all know, it was a precursor to the delights which were to follow, once Grangemouth's finest had shaken off the Siouxsie shackles, of course. This is the Cocteau's at their rawest, Garlands is a much darker and more gothic rock album than those which followed. I have kept a little distant from 4AD product since Ivo went to the USA and changed the whole direction of the 4AD label, he...

  The Art Of Noise - Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise? [206 492 DEU 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] The shy musical trio of Dudley, Langan, Jeczalik were able to hide behind the pestiferous persona of Mancunian NME scribe Paul Morley and the bespectacled 'buggle'ish' Trevor Horn for a few years as part of the ZTT empire. Their early ZTT works should always be regarded as among the most important electronic music releases of all-time. Who's Afraid Of? was their first album, originally released on ZTT in the UK in 1984 - my copy is a 1985 German Sonopress reissue and despite its age, it ripped really rather well. These Kings (& Queen) of the Fairlight eventually became sick of Morley's inane  wank-speak and jumped the ZTT ship for Chrysalis Records offshoot China Records where they then had some of their biggest pop chart hits.  For me, it will always be those three fabulous ZTT singles,  Beat Box ,  Close (To The Edit) and the immortal  Moments In Lo...

  Miles Davis - E.S.P. [IMP6018 USA 2014 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Imagine Ron Carter on bass and Herbie Hancock's piano in the far left corner of the room, Tony Williams is busy on the far right laying down a syncopation, Miles Davis' shrill and muffled trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax are right in front of you. Miles Davis' transient work E.S.P. has been critiqued for its perceived unusual recording quality, perhaps maybe those who critique this album expect hard bop jazz in a more straightforward format with balanced performances across the sound stage, however that is not what this album is about - the distant bass, piano and drums remain distant and constant throughout, normality is only restored when the brass attacks from the centre ground.  You need to hear the percussion heavy Agitation and the album's brandy & cigar moment, Mood to understand more of what this record is really about. Originally recorded over three days in January 1965 by Irving Townse...

  The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince) - The Gold Experience [19439953161 RSD2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Out-of-print since around time of release in 1995, The Gold Experience was finally repressed as a replica of the double LP US promo edition for Record Store Day in 2022. Initially the victim of an Italian appeal judge's bizarre decision that the Purple One had plagiarised a previously unknown Ital-disco single,  Takin' Me To Paradise by Raynard J.       Possibly my favourite Prince album since Sign Of The Times, and likely his raunchiest since The Black Album , original copies had been fetching high numbers on the secondary market. This double gold vinyl edition was mastered by Daniel Krieger at SST and pressed at Pallas in Germany. A1 P Control A2 NPG Operator #1 A3 Endorphinmachine A4 Shhh A5 We March B1 NPG Operator #2 B2 The Most Beautiful Girl In The World B3 Dolphin B4 NPG Operator #3 B5 Now B6 NPG Operator #4 B...

  Disco Bits - Night Freak EP [DBS1004 UK 2017 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC A1 Love Affair A2 Night Freak B1 House Of Music (Soca Boat) B2 Let's Get Down In A Funky Lifetime Disco Bits - Party Time EP [DBS1006 UK 2018 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] A1 Party Time A2 Wicked And Lazy B1 Ain't No Cruel Intentions B2 Jubilation Disco Bits - Funk Freak EP [DBS1008 UK 2018 24-Bit 88.2kHz FLAC] A1 Funk Freak A2 What You Want B1 Dance On B2 A Thousand Megatons Here are three highly entertaining disco EPs in the style of eighties cut-up & dance singles by Scottish mixologists, Disco Bits. Expect to encounter Chaka Khan, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Nitro Deluxe and rappers Stezo mixed into many others during a journey through the dance genres from soca to afro, from disco to funk and well & truly beyond.

  Freeez - Southern Freeez [BEG 51T UK 1981 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A few years before they persuaded Arthur Baker to remold and update their brit-funk sound, John Rocca and Peter Maas were responsible for one of the brightest, tightest and funkiest singles ever to come out of the London dance scene. Signing with Kingston-Upon-Thames indie record shop label Beggars Banquet Records gave the band extra credibility among many who initially used to shy away from dance music. A1 Southern Freeez B1 Southern Freeez (Version)

  Michael Jackson - Thriller [ UD1S 1-042 USA 2022 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A controversial release for many reasons and most who follow the quality audio forums, will know the MoFi Thriller  remains the source of a few untruths and further speculation. The biggest selling album of all time was first released on November 29th 1982, therefore making this year its fortieth anniversary. Sony have chosen to repackage a compressed 2016 digitally sourced remaster for its commemoration and also allow Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab to make a DSD256 transfer from the original master recording for this nicely packaged 'limited edition' of 40,000. Some will be up in arms believing that MoFi have remixed or eq'd the transfers (it is a known fact that you can't EQ DSD) for their one-step package, however they have not and the DSD transfer reveals how the Quincy Jones master tapes really sounded before the 1982 pop-chart compression was applied to the final mastering by Bernie Grundman for ...

  The Jesus And Mary Chain - Darklands [BYN 11 UK 1987 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I've succumbed to pressure, so here is a brand new 176.4kHz rip.... White Light White Heat met Pets Sounds on Darklands and its associated singles, as those Mary Chain brothers get all melodic. This more of a sonic flower groove than their former drummer could ever produce - in fact, he was replaced by a drum machine. Looking back I do still prefer this album to Psychocandy , however I do appreciate how important the debut was in comparison.  Play loud and sing along folks to some of the most tuneful, catchy noise & feedback from one of the best Scottish bands of the mid-eighties.  A1 Darklands A2 Deep One Perfect Morning A3 Happy When It Rains A4 Down On Me A5 Nine Million Rainy Days B1 April Skies B2 Fall B3 Cherry Came Too B4 On The Wall B5 About You

  The Durutti Column - Amigos Em Portugal [LOTTA001 UK 2016 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] In 1983, Vini Reilly was invited by Miguel Esteves Cardoso to Portugal to record a single for small Portuguese independent label, Fundação Atlântica. In a matter of days, in a recording studio in the small town of Paço D'Arcos - armed with his guitar & drum machine, borrowing a local grand piano, Reilly recorded a full albums worth of material in a matter of a few days. This was subsequently released as the now hard to find album,  Amigos Em Portugal . The tracks on side two of the original album are called  Dedications For Jacqueline . Recorded after Reilly's Another Setting , these compositions revealed a shift towards classical elements in his composition but still his uniquely fluid guitar style shone through. In his return to Manchester, Tony Wilson was so enamored by these tracks that he persuaded Reilly to develop new works for Factory Records using extra musicians from...

  The Smiths - The Smiths [ROUGH 61 NLD 1984 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I still recall buying the UK pressing of the debut album from The Smiths at HMV in Manchester on the day of release back in February 1984. Having spent many years in the city, I was wrapped up in the anticipation for this release, having already seen the band several times live and owning all of the first few singles. I was a little underwhelmed, and despite numerous attempts to get into this record, it was only the two singles (including the new mix of Hand In Glove ), Reel Around The Fountain and Suffer Little Children   which stood out to me. You may be (un)surprised to know that I never bought another Smiths album and only a smattering of singles since. I foolishly sold my first pressing a few years later, A1/B1s with the orange text on the labels fetch a tidy sums these days. Late last year, I was about to pull the trigger on a £60 Japanese pressing (complete with flexi) when in the same trade's box of d...

  Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly [APP 107 / CRL 57210 USA 2017 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Coral Records in 1958. With a very brief career, cut short at the age of just 22, Buddy Holly still is one of the most influential performers to come from the fifties rock'n'roll period. When I was a young lad, Buddy Holly songs would regularly be heard at home as my mother was a big fan, so this is music I am very familiar with. Holly only released three albums, this self-titled, That'll Be The Day and The Chirping Crickets (with The Crickets) before he chartered a Beechcraft 35 Bonanza light aircraft from Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa to fly himself, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson Jr) to their next show in Minnesota. Waylon Jennings was originally supposed to be on the flight, however he gave up his seat to The Big Bopper. Unknown to the three musicians, the pilot of the Bonanza was not instrument flight rules qualified and in the ...

  The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy [BYN 7 UK 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] One of my most requested re-ups gets a brand new rip in 176.4kHz. The original post was ripped with an old Ortofon 2M Blue, switch to the Hana Shibata SL and we reach a whole new level - have a look at the spectrograms below for evidence, then let your ears loose. This rip should be clean enough for both headphone or hi-fi listening, however I always suggest your best room speakers for the best audio experience. Nobody makes records like this anymore, and whilst many may refer to later albums from the likes of Radiohead or The Strokes, I doubt any other band has release such an important debut since the feedback drenched surf-rock debut  Psychocandy . With all the hype flying around about The Jesus & Mary Chain in 1984/85, Warners/WEA were set-up to fail as many a major had struggled to build on the credibility of the indie acts they lured with big fat advances. However under the careful guidanc...