Recommendations - March 2015

THIS ITALIAN THING:

I’ve had this a while and never taken much notice of it, and then one sold on ebay for shit loads and so I started listening to it and it’s pretty good actually and seems like quite an horrid film too. Like a peeping tom one.

THIS OTHER ITALIAN THING:

Yes, another LP I’ve had for years that all of a sudden goes for shit loads on eBay and I had no real idea why and than I played it out on the radio and realised it was all odd and a bit jazz and it seems to be on two labels and that’s what people seem to want this month, and it’s a library LP and it’s says the word Giallo on the back so I guess it ticks a lot of boxes at the moment too. I have listened a few times now. Quite clever Hitchcock silhouette on the front, and this LP also has one of the most stupid catalogue numbers I have ever seen.

MADHOUSE:

I have a feeling this has been on the rec pages before. No matter. Rotations of this started again after a brief Prince session. This was part of the Paisley Park gang (comprised I think if Prince’s backing group circa 1986) having a go at instrumentals and sort of funny experimental things. A bit hit and miss, and a breathtaking pair on the sleeve. Yes, a woman and a doggy.

MASARU SATOH:

This man is my new Japanese God, I might make a weird statue of him out of play-doh or blue tack or something and stick it on my desk just to remind me of what amazing people there are in the world. This man wee-wees over many contemporary composers, and possibly has pictures of himself doing just that on the walls of his music room.

GALACTIC NIGHTMARE:

I can say very little about this here as there is a lot more about it here.

THE WORLD OF MY DREAMS:

Insanely rare British film music written by a Polish man, in 1966. The same man who wrote the Remarkable Earth Making Machine. This is peaceful and weird and lovely and I can’t believe that after about 30 years of buying and searching out and buying more film music I’d never come across this before. I do love the world, it’s like it plays daft games with you, hiding things and stuff and people from you and waiting for you to find them or walk right into them.

RHYTHM IN THE SUN:

It’s been cold, it’s been dark but not in my front room. Yes, the Trunk turntable is warm and glowing with the sounds of Rhythms In The Sun. I put this on and we put the heating on and we all get our swimming costumes on and sit around the turntable on our towels and pretend we are somewhere hot and exotic (like Margate), and sometimes get a ball out and toss it to each other, making sure it bounces AWAY from the record player.

THE SOUND OF SHEFFIELD TRAMS:

And yes, why the fuck not.

MORE HAILU MERGIA:

So in the recommendations of last March I put up this Ethiopian LP that was originally only issued on cassette. And I still keep playing that loads and loads and then a few weeks ago (more like months now) I went into Honest Jon’s and on the wall they had this repress of a mega rare Ethiopian LP – the sort that sells for about $3000.  I’d seen it before in books as this “incredible thing” so I thought I’d give it a go, see what all the fuss was about, started listening at home and then the penny dropped, it was Hailu Mergia again, that bloke I really already love. Then I realized I was incredibly stupid for not realising in the shop when I was buying it. Really great record.

SAM THE MAN TAYLOR:

What a guy. Like what a guy. This was his first album, and I only came across him when I watched Abigail’s Party. There’s that great bit where Bev gets neighbour Tony up for a smoochy dance, claiming that it’s her husband’s favorite music. She puts on the record and this great bluesy sax begins. I started investigating and it led me to Sam “The Man” Taylor and this great record. Apparently Alison Steadman, who was in the original theatre production, had suggested the music to the director. So they used it in the play, but then on the TV they use something else…

CHAPPELL DANCE MUSIC VOLUME 1 / 594B:

…so then to carry on with the Abigail thingy, I found out that the original music from the play was changed for TV, because of various copyright laws and ease of clearance. So the music they actually played on the TV, and if you watch very carefully, Alison Steadman pics up ,the Chappell Library LP Dance Music Volume 1, and the cue they play is the amazing Blue Theme by Robert Farnon – Mike Leigh used a bit of library to keep the costs down and licensing to a minimum. Great record. If you want the yellow Chappell LP or 78rpm, you need to look for 594B. And here endeth the library lesson.

ANOTHER LIBRARY LP:

And here’s another library lesson. Do not go on line looking for library records you always wanted having just sold a heap of library you didn’t want that makes your little Paypal account bigger than normal and so you end up splurging more than you normally would on an LP as you realise you may never luck out and find that particular rare record in the wild for next to nothing and you’ve got the money at the moment so sod it. Yes, don’t do that. Like I did. Actually I did it a few times this week. This is just one of the ten inch ones what I bought.

ALL OF NED DOHENY:

Excuse the pun but yacht rock has been floating about these parts for some while. The Japanese are big on it (they compile it as smooth jazz, or soul freedom), and I have a feeling that this may well be the year that yacht rock starts sailing into the mainstream. The again it may just sail by again and not stop. Musically what we are dealing with is sort of rock with the edges smoothed off in a jazzy fashion, with (mainly) blokes with pleasant (nearly falsetto) voices singing lovely calming groovy songs. I reckon Ned D is the master of the genre – or certainly one of them. Buy his original LPs. They are awesome and still affordable. My kids love ‘em. but Mrs Trunk is not that sold on the whole trip which I find surprising as she is an aquarian.

ERIK TAGG:

This is another Yacht thingy that has been loitering, mainly for the opening cue to this LP. Like a lot of classic YR, much of it is by talented Americans but was pressed and enthused over buy Europeans and the Japanese. I am now going to start growing my hair, washing it regularly, splashing cologne everywhere and tucking my garish shirts into my pastel pleated slacks.  Bring it on. Also, note the k in Erik, not a c.

NIC DECARO:

I promise this is the final Yacht one, but Nic is a god, not just for all his string arrangements for A&M (Tommy Stupid told me he even did the strings for loads of sexy Claudine Longet LPs) but also for his solo work. Here’s one of his albums that no one bought at the time so you can pick it up for next to nothing. There is a killer version of Joni Mitchell’s All I Want on it.  Notice the c in Nic and not a k.

I START COUNTING:

It’s Basil Kirchin. It’s music to a spooky Bracknell based sex crime thriller thing. Coming your way soon.

THE SOUND OF JANET BEAT:

All the music written by a practically unknown British pioneer of electronic and electro-acoustic music. All started by one of her cues found on a very obscure Scottish composer compilation from the early 1980s. So there.

JACKIE AND ROY:

This is an album I got maybe ten years ago when I bought a box of funny cut-out jazz. It had remained sealed, unplayed, unloved and was ready to go to the school jumble sale. However, while waiting in the “last rights” queue, it was finally cracked open one recent evening and to my delight was both a bit odd and interesting. It did not go to the jumble.  Instead my old pants did.