Latest Purchase - The Dirtbombs

The Dirtbombs - Dangerous Magical Noise (In The Red Recordings) 

 

More joyous noise from the Dirtbombs. I reckon this a set of original songs, but I'm not 100% certain there are no covers considering the band's history, plus some songs sound strangely familiar. I can't find any credits for song writers anywhere about the record or sleeve, so no clues there.

There are a number of tunes I keep returning to on this record and it sounds good from start to finish, so what more could you ask for?

Latest Purchase - Spencer Davis Group

Spencer Davis Group - Best Of (Island Records)

It has to be said from the outset that the majority of this record is not great, but there are couple of songs that I have a bit of history with. 

The first ever regular DJing I did was in Potterrow Student Union in Edinburgh, almost 20 years ago. I used to get an hour to spin with my mate on their Friday indie night. You were supposed to play the records that were in racks in the DJ booth and this Spencer Davis Group album was tucked away in there. My friend and I used to get melted before we played and would always bring bags of our own tunes. This meant we could get a little far out for a Friday night student crowd, but we could always bring it back by playing one of the crowd pleasers off this record. It would always be either I'm A Man or Keep On Running that would save our skins and I've liked them ever since.

I found myself a bargain price copy on the internet, from Amazon again. It seems to be a better place to buy records all the time as the collection, including second hand stuff keeps growing and the postage is SO cheap. 

I reckon it could be the influence of tv that has made me decide to pick these up now. I've seen stuff about Steve Winwood on telly recently and there is a shit advert on just now that uses another of the songs from the album. I didn't realise the tv commercial thing until I told a friend what I'd bought and he mocked me for buying the tunes from adverts.

Latest Purchase - Neu!

Neu! - Neu! 75 (Gronland Records)

 

I bought this on the same impulse that caught me the Marvin Gaye from the last entry. I've picked up a couple of Neu! records before, but I had never heard this one. Nevertheless I bought it, unplayed and sealed from a shop in Manchester. I guess I must have thought I had money to play wirh.

I'm glad I did. Obviously with having the 2 albums before this I had an idea what I was getting and my mate Declan (Uter) suggested this might be the best of the 'proper' Neu! albums. I don't always take his word on things, but he may be right this time. It is definitely better than the half baked 2nd record and I generally only play the first side of the first record, whereas both sides usually get an airing with this effort. For now at least.

Richer and more varied than the earlier records, there is a lot I like here and some stuff I'm just puzzled by.

Latest Purchase - Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (Tamla)

 

Surely I don't need to explain who Marvin Gaye is, or much about this record.  Maybe I should explain that the reason I didn't already own this already is because I'm not sure I like it that much. Sure, it has an a couple of awesome songs which make it worth picking up, but I don't enjoy listening to it from start to finish, which kind of wrecked my plan of growing to love this as an album by repeatedly playing the record through as an album.   

Great as parts of this record are, buying this album seems more like a gap-filling or box-ticking exercise to me than than a glaring omission rectfied after playing this new purchase through a few times and hoping for the whole thing to click.

Latest Purchase - DFA Remixes

VA - DFA Remixes Chapter 2 (DFA)

A cheeky wee cheapo that I picked up on my trip to Manchester. My version is a stickered white label with no cover, but its got all the songs and cost less than a regular single, so I'm fine with that.

I've written before about other DFA records that I've bought and have blethered on about how much I like James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem, so it should be no surprise that I was interested in this collection of remixes, despite the odd selection of original acts. I was familiar with a couple of them before, Shake yr Coconuts and Destination Overdrive so I was totally confident that this was good deal and didn't need to listen to any more before I got it home.

Rothko and I worked out an instrumental edit of the Destination Overdrive remix which I like more than the official version and this is the first hint of a small problem for the whole collection. Every song has great things about it, but they usually tend to have something a little shit going on too. Sometimes all the bad is at the start and I'd be happy to play the last 2/3 of the tune. I generally blame whatever has been drawn from the original source songs and since its normally vocals, I guess that's fair. There is easily more good than bad about this record though. However, I should maybe mention that I repeatedly didn't buy this record when I saw it at full price.







 

Latest Purchase - Dub Narcotic Sound System

Dub Narcotic Sound System - Fuck Shit Up (K)

I've been after this particular piece of weirdness for ages now. I first heard it from a friend in Edinburgh years ago who was good enough to give me a recording of the single. I'd been a fan of Calvin Johnson since getting into his earlier group Beat Happening and liked the idea of a funkier sound from him. I've picked up the odd single by Dub Narcotic Sound System, but hadn't seen an affordable copy of this single.


I found a copy on Discogs and ordered it, only to realise it was from a store I know in Manchester and I coincidentally already had plans that would take me to the city visiting friends. I arranged to pick this up in person, giving me an excuse to check out what else they had in Vinyl Exchange and a few other shops in the area, while also dodging a few quid on postage.

The track itself is a blast of odd punky organ and bass driven funk with stupid lyrics that I find a lot of fun. I've played this from the copy of this a lot, so I'm happy to have it on plastic at last. I reckon I might throw this in the bag to play out some time and see if anyone else enjoys this oddball masterpiece.

 





 

Latest Purchase - Virgo Four

Virgo Four - Resurrection (Rush Hour Recordings)

This is a sweet set made up of five records in a textured box. Each record is themed in the colours of sleeve and label. Each record has 6 tracks covering a career of work from 1984 to 1990. I'm certain I would have bought each of the individual records as singles, making this box all the more special.

I've ranted at length before about VIrgo Four, but I'll recap quickly. I love Virgo Four based on the single i got years ago and was always sure there must be other tracks of the same standard by these boys. This box set makes it apparent that the songs were many, they just never got released. I reckon if more of these tracks had come out at the time then there would be another indisputable giant name in the Chicago House pantheon. 

There is a wide variety of sounds covered on this compilation, ranging from the familiar lush house sound like the old single, through Detroit sounding instrumental techno and there are also a few unusual and surprising sounds. The tracks generally sound very fresh, despite their age although there are couple which have not aged so well, but are still an interesting document of the range of Virgo Four. I've had this set for a couple of weeks now and it has taken this long to get a proper idea of range and quality of the songs it contains.


I'll add videos for some of my favourite tracks, although for the moment it seems that only songs from the CD are available, which is a shame as the CD only has about half of the songs and many of my favourites are not included. Never mind though, there are enough quality songs available to demonstrate the quality of this set.






 

Latest Purchase - Function

Function - Feed-Forward Versions (Sandwell District)

The picture above shows the lovely vinyl this record is pressed on. It isn't the same as mine, which is typical with the marbled plastic, as each one is unique. Combine this with a sleeve that is matt charcoal on the outside with printed versions of a variety of familiar Sandwell images on the inside and you have a lovely package all in. 

I was half way to buying it before I'd even heard any of the tunes, simply because of the gorgeous presentation and the fact that this is the latest in a string of hot releases from Sandwell District.

The record is a pair of reworks of key tracks from the Feed-Forward album. The versions are credited to Function this time and carry on developing the distinctive Sandwell sound. Excellent stuff all round, although one of the tracks (Falling the Same Way) has an added crackle sound that has started to grate a little on repeat listens. Could just be my shit gear though.


Hear some samples

Latest Purchase - Luv Jam

Luv Jam - Mature Oak (Phonica White)

 

I got very excited when i saw that there was something new out from Cottam. Apparently I got number 317 of only 444 copies. It seems a shame if there really are so few of these considering how good it is.

Luv Jam's original version is pretty good. I reckon if I'd heard it many years ago it could possibly have been a contender. All the sounds are spot on but I don't think this track does enough for me these days.

The Cottam mix on the flip is a different matter entirely. Although Cottam is still playing with basically the same tried and tested set of sounds, I'm much more taken by this side. Instantly identifiable Cottam rhythms, maybe faster than usual with quality acid tweaks and strings/washes that are determined to drag me away from the computer with my arms in the air. I know it's still early but this could be a release of the year for me.

If this is as limited as is claimed, it probably means the links I can offer will be relatively poor, but as always I'll upgrade if possible.

Hear Some Samples

 

Latest Purchase - Funkystepz

Funkystepz - Fuller/Hurricane Riddim (Hyperdub)

Latest offering from Hyperdub. I had no idea who Funkystepz were but I gave it a spin in rubadub from the racks as I always do when I see a new release on this imprint.

I was immediately tickled by elements of both sides, although on repeat plays I favour the lead track.

I have a bit of a I love/hate thing with the strings from Hurricane Riddim now and I'm not sure about their need to regularly name check themselves, but the strange rhythmed techno of Fuller makes this well worthwhile.

Latest Purchase - James Brown's Funky People Vol 2

VA - James Brown's Funky People Volume 2 (Urban)

More solid funk and soul selections from James Brown's People Records label. A fair few male copies of James and some excellent female vocals, all backed by versions of the JBs line up. More duplicates from the antholgies, but enough new favourites to make this well worth it.

Seems like this particular record might have been cheaper than usual because of a poorly, partially removed sticker on the cover. Big scabby bit of sticker backing in the corner of the front, but that doesn't matter as the record is all that matters to me. Same thing I say to myself if a cover gets beer on it....

I look forward to getting a chance to play some of these out.

Latest Purchase - Twist & Shout Compilation

Twist & Shout At The Campden Palace (Impact Records)

 

I had no idea that this low rent mid 80's compilation of 60's tunes existed until Rothko showed me the copy he'd picked up second hand in a real live shop in Glasgow. In the main it is a little unremarkable, about half of it is good but there are a couple of simply awesome tunes in this selection. More importantly these are songs that I didn't have elsewhere.

The primary cause of interest for Rothko and me was Jackie Wilson's Higher and Higher which has been a favourite of ours for a long time now. For me, the fact that The Kingsmen's Louie Louie was here as well made me go right out and find another copy immediately.   

Add in two cheesy novelty records also featured that I've had a hankering to pick up for a while, the fact I was able to get it delivered to my door through Discogs for the price of a regular 12" and you've got a situation that resolved itself in a flash.






I like these weird videos I found for these tracks. It had just never crossed my mind to make a video of myself playing a rare record. Still probably won't do it, but these were the least annoying videos with the 'best' sound that I could be arsed finding.