Needle Time

  Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine [BAD 510 UK 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I last posted this EP back in February 2021, using the rip made for ESWA in November 2016. This needed a new rip, and oh boy....it sounds fantastic. From likely their most productive period, the Cocteaus released two twelve inch EPs in November 1985 before commencing the sessions for Victorialand and their collaboration with Harold Budd in 1986. Here is one of those EP's, Tiny Dynamine . A1 Pink Orange Red A2 Ribbed And Veined B1 Plain Tiger B2 Sultitan Itan

  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...

  Dif Juz - Extractions [CAD 505 UK 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A final one from me for about four weeks.... Whilst not strictly jazz, the Dif Juz interpretation of 'duff jazz' should appeal widely as it crosses over between jazz, instrumental rock, plus ambient and ethereal indie-pop. Please consider this a significant upgrade to any of my previous rips. The concept of melodic instrumental rock crossover music is not new, and kids these days have grown up on a diet of Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and a plethora of other so-named post-rock bands. Whereas the modern genre grew from a blend of modern progressive rock and late eighties 'wall-of-sound' shoegaze, Dif Juz were from a different era - a time where the mainstream and the alternative where millions of miles apart and blending simple shimmering melodic interludes performed on just bass, guitar & drums with occasional abstract jazz reflections from a lone saxophone wasn't quite so hip. Mogwai original viny...

  Cocteau Twins - Sunburst And Snowblind [BAD 314 UK 1983 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I often wonder if Guthrie & Fraser realised at the time how important these melodic delights would become when they first sat down at John Turner's Palladium Studios at home in Edinburgh to record them. This EP, the accompanying album Head Over Heel s and the follow up Treasure have to be their most inspirational works of art. This is the last of my brief rush of new Cocteau Twins rips, something very different to come tomorrow... A1   Sugar Hiccup A2   From The Flagstones B1   Hitherto B2   Because Of Whirl-Jack

  Cocteau Twins - Peppermint Pig [BAD 303 UK 1983 24-Bit 176.4kHz  FLAC] The single which marked the end of the Cocteau Twins early years with Will Heggie, and not named after a popular candy sweet or the book by Nina Bawden. The Cocteaus kicked off their journey through a world of intricate alliteration in song titles, personally  the carnivore in me prefers my pigs to taste of bacon. Another new high resolution rip, so please offload my previous attempts, this is the one... A1 Peppermint Pig B1 Laugh Lines B2 Hazel

  Cocteau Twins - Lullabies [BAD 213 UK 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I need revisit a few old twelves, firstly cleaning old vinyl with a Tergikleen mixture and then running through the ultrasonic cleaner. As a vinyl enthusiast and trader, I will say the HumminGuru is a solid investment which will quickly pay for itself.  This brand new high resolution rip of the debut Cocteau Twins EP on 4AD Records is a huge upgrade on anything I have been able to produce before. A1  Feathers-Oar-Blades A2  Alas Dies Laughing B1  It's All But An Ark Lark

  Cocteau Twins - Victorialand [CAD 602 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] Recorded without Simon Raymonde, Victorialand was the fourth Cocteau Twins album, released in the UK as a 45rpm pressing. My copy is an original and after a bout of deep groove cleaning, I now feel confident enough to produce a rip. This is the Scottish couple's most stripped back record, with very little percussion, drum machine or otherwise. I recall Rough Trade initially selling this in to dealers as an acoustic 'unplugged' album, it is actually far from acoustically unplugged, however Robin Guthrie's sonic constructions are amongst the band's very best, especially on delightful moments like Little Spacey . Enjoy! A1 Lazy Calm A2 Fluffy Tufts A3 Throughout The Dark Months Of April And May A4 Whales Tails B1 Oomingmak B2 Little Spacey B3 Feet-Like Fins B4 How To Bring A Blush To The Snow B5 The Thinner The Air

  Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels [CAD 313 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] I would like to start this post by offering my sincere gratitude to those who participated in last week's crowd funding drive and donated towards the cost of a replacement cartridge. After about three hours of fat fingered fumbling and stressful perspiration during installation and then rebalancing everything in my set-up, I've begun the 'burn in' process with some intensive listening. This album (from an original 1983 pressing) was in the mastering queue, ripped with the old Ortofon cart a few weeks back, however I was just not happy with how muddy it sounded. Last night, I thought I would produce a trial rip with the Hana Shibata SL to check there were no extraneous buzzes or glitches. I was so blown away by the huge improvement in sound quality that I could not resist the temptation to master the rip into a blog post. This morning, I was up at dawn levelling, de-clicking and other random general iZotope...

  Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea [BAD 501 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] I really screwed up my original ESWA rip of one of the Cocteau Twins' most gorgeous singles. The mastering to vinyl is really quite loud and I hadn't noticed some clipping and distortion. It is now time to put that right! This is a brand new rip at the perfect level, with space in the decibels for those who like to crank things up. I can now present one of 4AD's finest releases, lovingly re-ripped from a 36 year old slab of vinyl, kindly donated by long-time blog follower penguinflight .  A1 Aikea-Guinea A2 Kookaburra B1 Quisquose B2 Rococo

  Harold Budd ▪ Elizabeth Fraser ▪ Robin Guthrie ▪ Simon Raymonde ‎- The Moon And The Melodies [CAD 611 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] It's time to immerse yourself in an album which wraps itself around you like an ethereal fluffy duvet. Never credited to just The Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd - each artist is named in their own right, however to cut to the chase, The Moon And The Melodies is The Cocteau Twins accompanied by one of our times greatest composers, plus of course Richard Thomas from Dif Juz who gets a small credit for his sax and drums.  The results are of course more ambient than anything previously from the Grangemouth band, but there are numerous reference points to older Cocteau Twins work throughout. Four of the tracks do fit within the basic Cocteau formula -  The Moon And The Melodies  was recorded during their most prolific period. Should you seek further recommendations, the beautiful  The Ghost Has No Home is one of the most soothing composition...

  Cocteau Twins - Four-Calendar Café [518 259-1 UK 1990 24-Bit FLAC] The post-break up, pre-divorce album by the Cocteau Twins is possibly their most accessible, yet it feels like a highly personal album, a musical reflection on the relationships troubles between Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser's, with her vocals becoming almost intelligible. Fraser allegedly had a nervous breakdown during the album sessions and this record feels like two big arms aurally wrapped around the listener, assisted by Guthrie's production skills which were beginning to peak. The second album single, Bluebeard seems to sum up Fraser's feelings very well. This rip is from my promotional copy of the album complete with all associated bumph & paraphernalia, likely blagged from a sharp-dressed Phonogram rep. Back then it was all about compact disc sales and the majors were not really interested in vinyl returns, hence copies of worthy records quickly gaining some considerable value. My pressin...

  Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine [BAD 510 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] From likely their most productive period, the Cocteaus released two twelve inch EPs in November 1985 before commencing the sessions for Victorialand and their collaboration with Harold Budd in 1986. Here is one of those EP's, Tiny Dynamine . A1 Pink Orange Red A2 Ribbed And Veined B1 Plain Tiger B2 Sultitan Itan

  Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea [BAD 501 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] One of the Cocteau Twins' most gorgeous singles ripped lovingly from a 36 year old slab of vinyl, kindly donated by long-time blog follower penguinflight .  A1 Aikea-Guinea A2 Kookaburra B1 Quisquose B2 Rococo

  Cocteau Twins - Peppermint Pig [BAD 303 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] Likely the single which marked the end of the Cocteau Twins early stages with Will Heggie and not named after a popular candy sweet or the book by Nina Bawden. The Cocteaus kicked off their journey through a world of intricate alliteration in song titles, personally I prefer my pigs to taste of bacon. A1 Peppermint Pig B1 Laugh Lines B2 Hazel

  Cocteau Twins - Lullabies [BAD 213 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] I'd thought I re-up a few of my old Cocteau Twins rips before I move on to today's mainstream event. Here is their debut single ripped from penguinflight 's original vinyl, back in September 2016 with my old Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, I've cleaned it up a bit since my original post on ESWA. A1 Feathers-Oar-Blades A2 Alas Dies Laughing B1 It's All But An Ark Lark

 Cocteau Twins - Treasure [CAD 412 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] Ask me to pick one Cocteau Twins' album and I will pick two! My personal appreciation of the Grangemouth trio began in earnest with Head Over Heels , however I regularly flip between their second and third albums as a personal favourite. I've gone with Treasure today for many reasons, so here is a new 2021 rip of this old classic. I know many highlight Heaven Or Las Vegas these days, but for me this album evokes a particular period in my life, and a time where Cocteau Twins consistently broke new ground. The record builds up beautifully through the tracks, each lush and intricate track is wrapped up in its own little space, each one evoking the memory of listening to them for the first time back in 1984. Maybe it's an middle age thing, perhaps if I was in my mid-fifties back in 1984 I would have heard Treasure differently. Many will be tempted to dive straight into the majestic  Donimo , or maybe Ivo is your thing ...

Cocteau Twins - Garlands [4AD 0192LP UK 2020 24-Bit FLAC] 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. I have kept a little distant since Ivo went to the USA and changed the whole direction of his label, he has since abandoned the 4AD house altogether, leaving the kids in charge, since then my interest in 4AD has waxed & waned ...then vanished completely. I was attracted to this release because my own original copy is not in great shape and I passed on the Vinyl 180 pressing last decade. According to the hype sticker states this pressing is 24-Bit HD !! Oh please, gimme a break!! The label have also followed the current trend of using noisy recycled vinyl and it is sadly quite evident on the quiet sections of the record. I've been tinkering with the spectral noise reduction function on iZoptope RX7 and applied a little dab here and there. T...

Cocteau Twins - Sunburst And Snowblind [BAD 314 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] I often wonder if Guthrie & Fraser realised at the time how important these melodic delights would become when they first sat down at Palladium Studios in Edinburgh to record them. This EP, the accompanying album Head Over Heels and the follow up Treasure have to be their most inspiring works of art. Before anybody asks, this is a new rip and yes, if you are from Grangemouth, it is definitely heed! A1 Sugar Hiccup A2 From The Flagstones B1 Hitherto B2 Because Of Whirl-Jack