Old Man Riva

World Leader Pretend - REM

I was lucky enough to see VH on their first UK tour in 1978 supporting Black Sabbath. They absolutely blew Sabbath off the stage. Out with the old and in with the new. From the young, wide-eyed and impressionable like myself, through to the dyed in the wool rockers, the audience were aware something special was taking place. It’s not a stretch to say that no one had ever seen anything like it before. They came on stage with a handful of people in attendance and by the time they’d finished the theatre bars were empty and the place was packed - almost unheard of for a support act! As I lost touch with a lot of the bands I liked in my youth, VH were someone I always went back to, mainly due to the smile I know they’d put on my face. In your face rock ‘n’ roll, but in a fun and joyous way, with tongue firmly in cheek! There’s a really good piece by Michael Hann in today’s Guardian where he not only praises Eddie’s unique talent and game-changing approach to the guitar, but also highlights the often overlooked (pop-like) quality of their songs, and Eddie’s songwriting. In it there is a link to The Bird and the Bee, and their reworking of VH songs, which is definitely worth a listen and showcases the pop sensibilities that EVH and DLR brought to the band. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/07/eddie-van-halen-was-the-heir-to-hendrix-electric-guitar

Marvellous early 80s cover of the wonderful Ben E King track...

A blast from the past... great live, too. A much overlooked band and bass player... Get your groove on!!

S-S-S Single Bed - Fox

As soon as I started my first job one of the first things I set my heart on was a decent HiFi set up, so off I went... (on HP, with my dad as guarantor!). I took advice and ended up getting a Dual 404 turntable, Mordaunt Short MS10s, an Arcam Alpha amp, and an Aiwa cassette deck (can’t remember which one). As vinyl has been stored away over the years due to (lack of) space I’ve ended up with a NAD C350 amp, a Marantz 6004 CD player, and a pair of B&W 685 S2 speakers. I’ve had the NAD amp for years now. The Marantz is a few years old (it has an input for digital devices, which is why I changed from a previous Marantz model I’d had for over 20 years - the older one developed a fault with the laser just outside the first year warranty and Marantz replaced it and it was then fine for two decades!). The B&W speakers were an upgrade on a previous set of B&Ws, and for me they are my perfect speaker. Headphones-wise I’ve gone a bit mad over recent years and have a couple of sets of B&W (wired and wireless) and a pair of Sennheiser wireless earbuds. I really miss the whole physical interaction with vinyl, but unfortunately, given a toss-up between having the LPs or somewhere to sit, I’ve been outvoted!

https://www.loudersound.com/news/ross-halfin-to-publish-photographic-celebration-of-ufos-pete-way

Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On...

... and I’ll add: the inclusion of Stone Roses and Oasis but no Happy Mondays. No Roxy Music debut. No Aladdin Sane. Hejira and Sign ‘o’ the Times ranked way too low. No New Boots & Panties. Back in Black vs. Powerage or Highway to Hell? No Tricky or Blue Nile? And as daft as these types of lists are it’s absurd to include compilation/best of albums - if you’re going down that route where are the Beatles’ blue and red albums? Apart from that it’s excellent!! (I’ll admit now that there’s every chance that all of the above are included and I’ve missed them!)

Yes, they were on OGWT. Remember thinking they were such a cool band. Nobody looked like Devoto! I've just Googled and watched it again! I saw them in Coventry in '79, with a young Simple Minds supporting. I was blown away by both bands - though in those days it didn't take much! Re. Pooka etc. I'm so pleased that you're diggin' them! I've since warmed to the second album - I still much prefer their debut, but after a few more listens the follow up has some really nice moments...

I’ve always had a soft spot for this track. There’s something otherworldly and joyous about it. This version/approach is wonderful...

Loved this back then, still excites me to hear it today... That bass!!

That’s great info! Hadn’t realised the full Rock Bottom story - I’ll check out the 6:34 point! I always assumed it was the choice of gig rather than such a detailed gripe that Schenker had. I imagine Nevison would have had his work cut out keeping everyone happy. Agree with On With the Action. The live version on the EP is such a good version. On a (semi) related note, I’ve been obsessing with the two Thunderbirds currently on Andy Baxter’s site (not able to post a link). Definitely couldn’t afford one but it’s great to window shop!

They’re stunning versions. A band right on top of their game. Do you know if they recorded other tracks? I have it in my head that they recorded more than the two mentioned above, but that may just be wishful thinking!

Talk of Portishead has led me to my favourite of the ‘Bristol’ artists, Tricky. Blue Lines was a game changer when it was released but, for me, Tricky has always been the true maverick. Maxinquaye is still one of my favourite albums.

I never really minded that the two tracks weren’t actually from the shows. Seems odd to think about it now! Yes, around that time they were sharing the bill with some really good bands - along with Rush they (co?) headlined with Cheap Trick, which is a gig that I would have loved to have seen. There’s been a fair bit of shenanigans with live albums over the years - someone once told me (and I have no reason to doubt them given how close they were to the project!) that most of the crowd noise on Live and Dangerous is actually from live Bowie recordings/gigs - obviously not the bit where they’re chanting “Lizzy”!

I saw that. All the recorded gigs for the album - and neither Mother Mary or This Kids appear on the set lists! There was talk once upon a time that the studio sessions for the two tracks would be part of any deluxe release but that looks like it’s fallen by the wayside. Schenker’s big gripe with the album (and allegedly the final tipping point for his departure) is the version that Ron Nevison and the band chose of Rock Bottom (“poor Rock Bottom”) so we’ll now get to hear the other options!

This is a good watch...

Until I stumbled across this today I don’t think I’d even seen a pic of one! It’s some collection that Geddy has... good luck to him!

As referenced above, matching head stocks on Precisions were extremely rare but I was leafing through the Geddy Lee bass book today and found this entry. It’s a ‘59 Precision with a matching headstock and interesting story. Hopefully the pics do it justice!

Thank you so much, these have made my day, sir! In turn they led me to John Smith ‘The Girl Chewing Gum, which in turn led me to John Smith ‘The Black Tower’, which in turn...

That’s wonderful, Frank! I used to live just off Seven Sisters Road so I wish I’d known of Ogmios back then...

Maybe the various algorithms don’t recognise the letter ‘b’ on your computer?

Played this ‘Album’ this morning for the first time in years. Much derided by the Lydon purists when it came out (1986), but I absolutely loved it. It was the first time I’d heard Steve Vai, so that was a bit of an eye opener. (It was produced by Bill Laswell, who produced the Sly & Robbie album Language Barrier from a year earlier that I also loved at the time) Again, it just felt completely different to anything else around at the time... If you’re not aware of Album then it’s definitely worth a listen, and if you are aware but haven’t visited it in a while, then it’s definitely worth going back to! Take it away, John..!