THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

Hatful Of Hollow - The Smiths

I like this more than their eponymous debut. Ostensibly a collection of their Radio 1 sessions, with a couple of singles thrown in for good measure. Yet another moment in time for me. There’s no way I could listen to this without instantly being back in our first flat. Their debut, to go a bit musio, is really thin. There's no bottom end on it. I.E. no bass. I guess being that the majority of the tracks were recorded for Radio 1, there was less time to mess around in the studio. Go in, bang out four songs, and you’re listening to them a few days later, while pressing play/record on your cassette. The bass is fuller on this, and the drums are a bit more ragged. More of a live prospect.

Best track, Reel Around The Fountain I can't find the version from Hatful Of Hollow, so here's the version from The Smiths instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR74fG0 ... s&index=16

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When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.

Lazer Guided Melodies - Spiritualized

I’ve seen Spiritualized a fair few times, twice in Milton Keynes incidentally, and they’re the single loudest band I’ve ever heard. When we saw them at The Pitz it was actually painful. I have tinnitus, which comes and goes in severity, and I genuinely believe that watching them that evening damaged my hearing beyond repair. Wasn’t so stupid after that, and wore earplugs to combat the aural assault.

The expression ‘everything including the kitchen sink’ was probably coined to describe them. It’s layered sounds which eventually come together (pun intended for those in the know) to form the most wonderful sound.

Spiritualized is basically ex-Spacemen 3 member Jason Pierce, who employs various musicians as and when required. However on this they were a band. Having recently left the aforementioned Spacemen 3, Pierce took fellow Spacemen Will Carruthers and Mark Refoy, along with Pierce’s then girlfriend Kate Radley and formed Spiritualized. It’s a brilliant record, and contains Pierce’s best work. Their most famous release is obviously Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, but however much I love them, their debut is the one I constantly return to.

Recorded in budget studios in Rugby and Northampton, it’s a tribute to Pierce’s vision that they managed to get such a full sound in such limited surroundings.

They’re still a going concern to this day. Occasionally putting an album out every four or five years, which out of duty I’ll buy, but they’ve never bettered this.

Best track, If I Were With Her Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi016ZvkMFM

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When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.

An album that had an immediate impact on me many many years ago was U2's 'Boy'.
It may not strictly speaking be 'an all time favourite' but what the heck....Fine set of tracks from a band that was obviously 'going places' - although I'm not so keen on recent stuff.
Saw them on that tour as well in 1980....Yup, 1980, not a typo.
Great voice, good songs, nice clear distinctive guitar, overall well produced.
Listening to that now - haven't done so for about 30 years.

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

I Just Can't Stop It by The Beat (1980)
#3 UK album

The best of all the Two-Tone bands imho, and a debut album that was even better than the rest too.
No filler, and you just can't stop your feet from moving to the beat.

Favourite track: Twist & Crawl

"Are we really happy?
Or maybe just pretending?
I can't tell the difference..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgCPeW_ZglM

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P46_ _W _D _L PTS
07/08 29 10 _7 97 PI 1st
14/15 27 10 _9 91 KR 2nd
21/22 26 11 _9 89 LM 3rd
05/06 12 14 20 50 DW 22nd R
22/23 11 12 23 45 lm/MJ 21st R
17/18 11 12 23 45 rn/DM 23rd R
15/16 _9 12 25 39 KR 23rd R
LS: A rocky start, that's all it is.

Love that album. Two Swords is my favourite.

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When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.

Firstly - can I just say that there are some cracking albums being posted on here. Great fun reading (and listening to) this thread.

Next:

Sweetheart of the Rodeo - The Byrds

The album that invented Country Rock (but please don't blame it for The Eagles). Country & Western for a rock audience. That's it. And it's a joyous thing.

As y'all will know, The Byrds were already a successful group, playing pop-folk and then pop-psychedelia, with lots of Dylan covers along the way. And Roger McGuinn's playing of his 12 string Rickenbacker influenced so many later bands including The Jam and The Smiths. But with this album, they'd just hired Gram Parsons and Gram loved Country and he convinced the group to make this. But due to tensions within the band (but blamed on contract issues) some of Gram's lead vocals were erased and rerecorded by McGuinn. Parsons left the band soon after. It's worth reading the whole story on wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetheart_of_the_Rodeo

I prefer the so called Legacy Edition of the album, as it contains the original release plus loads of out-takes and rehearsals, so you get all the Gram stuff and some of the songs that never made the final playlist. From that, I give you this outtake, which, due to my constant playing of it, has caused a lifelong love of Gram Parsons in one of my lads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGh2EmNoxps

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

This album is rubbish. and I'm sick and tired of continually listening to it.

If you don't know anything about Parsons, firstly shame on you, secondly check out The Flying Burrito Brothers, and thirdly his solo stuff. His version of Wild Horses is wonderful. I could be wrong, but I'm sure it came out before The Stones' version. I wanted to call one of my dogs Gram once, but was overruled by a higher authority (The Current Mrs Gers)

He was hanging around when The Stones made Exile On Main Street, much to Jagger's intense annoyance. There's a great picture somewhere of Parsons, Keef and Mick sitting around a table during those sessions, and if looks could kill...

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When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.

I've a (very) vague recollection they were one of the supports for Bowie in 1983 at The Bowl. I certainly saw them live at some point years ago and very good they were too.

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) by Simple Minds (1982)
#3 UK album

Their zenith as a band, never to be reached again.
A brilliant track from a brilliant album: Someone Somewhere in Summertime

"Brilliant days, wake up on brilliant days,
Shadows of brilliant ways, will change all the time..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkfkT_u7n9I

_________________
P46_ _W _D _L PTS
07/08 29 10 _7 97 PI 1st
14/15 27 10 _9 91 KR 2nd
21/22 26 11 _9 89 LM 3rd
05/06 12 14 20 50 DW 22nd R
22/23 11 12 23 45 lm/MJ 21st R
17/18 11 12 23 45 rn/DM 23rd R
15/16 _9 12 25 39 KR 23rd R
LS: A rocky start, that's all it is.

Glittering Prize randomly came on my phone at the weekend by coincidence. It's a brilliant song, I think it's their best. It's a great album, one which I bought on the day it came out, and like you say, they never came close to those heights again. Both me and The Current Mrs Gers love their earlier stuff, The American, Love Song, I Travel, that sort of thing, but it's this album that is the gold standard, pun intended.

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When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.