records

So many choices… or The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love

/ ds barrett / 1 Comment

axis1

The thing about Hendrix is that new fans are born every day. When I was at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame a few years back the Hendrix display was frequented by people of all ages, but especially those of the teenage persuasion. Like the Beatles, the star over Hendrix never dims.

However, when it comes to buying vinyl for Hendrix the choices are both vast and rather confusing. Axis: Bold as Love is a great case in point. Since its original 1967 release in the UK, there have been no less than 137 versions put out across multiple formats. Even its original release had variations from country to country whether it was mono vs. stereo or the cover art itself.

For some reason the French releases put out by Barclay’s all did different cover art for the official Hendrix releases. The French cover art is outstanding, but does add to a bit of confusion when you’re trying to find a definitive version. You need to do a bit of research if you are considering jumping into used copies as there are so many. Also, there have been a few colour vinyl releases of the Barclay cover version recently kicking around that are both unofficial and of questionable quality.

axisalt

As for the original cover, there have been a few recent options that would allow you to buy new quality vinyl. Sony had Axis: Bold as Love re-mastered in 2010 for re-release across multiple formats, and in 2013 they re-mastered the original mono version of the album. This 2013 release has been the basis for both 180 gram and 200 gram audiophile vinyl that is widely available now, with the original gatefold cover that opens up and unfolds as a big picture.

Even cooler, Newbury Comics has re-released the mono 200 gram vinyl edition in a limited (2500 foil numbered) translucent orange vinyl. It’s both great looking and great sounding.

axis2

If you are looking to buy some Hendrix on vinyl this is a great way to start. Hit your local record store for the black 200 gram vinyl, or you can click here for Newbury Comics.

THEY DID WHAT!!!! or Hollerado – 111 Songs

/ ds barrett / Leave a comment

FINAL111

Record Store Day 2015 provided lots of vinyl highlights, but with so much to choose from it can take a while for the dust to settle and appreciate what you might have got – and what you might have missed.

Fact is I missed the best damn thing released on Record Store Day. I saw it, but with so much stuff already in my hands I started counting my pennies and kept walking. However, curiosity got the better of me, and I streamed the single, and then realized what was really happening… this was “THE” thing to get. Sure Hollerado was releasing a single for “Firefly” in green glow in the dark vinyl that was epic looking, but the title 111 Songs wasn’t just a title – It was a statement of facts – there was actually a download card with the single for one hundred and eleven songs! How many bands give you over a hundred songs for the price of a vinyl single – no other band people… no other band ever!

hollergreen

Hollerado is a power-pop outfit whose home base is ‘now’ Toronto (they formed in Ottawa) and have been putting out quality tunes since 2007. They’ve been runner ups for Junos (Canadian Music Award) on three occasions. Their last record White Paint is filled with some serious harmonies and presents a level of word play that is missing from most of the rock oriented bands that have recently presented themselves. They have spent the last few years touring with The Flaming Lips, Weezer, Passion Pit, The Dead Weather and a few others.

111 Songs is a gift for fans who pre-ordered their last record with one song written for each person and completed in less than two years. It is ultimately a huge workload all the more incredible as guitarist Nixon Boyd was battling testicular cancer (he’s fine now).

Anyway, I’ve been calling a few of my local record stores with no luck, but… it can still be ordered… YAY! While the band site, and record label do not have it, there is still a place.

So, if you like to rock out and toss your hair around to the sounds of something worth getting excited about – order this… (and as Stan Lee would say) Nuff said!

Shadows Linger Longer Than The Torch Burns… or Violent Femmes – Eponymous

/ ds barrett / Leave a comment

vf1

Some bands can not escape themselves, and a song or album defines them before even they can wrap their head around it. Such was the case for the Violent Femmes and their debut album. It was, and remains, one of the greatest debut records to ever hit the streets, but it also set expectations for the band to fit into a mold they were not prepared to bake in. Even with further albums containing the same spirit thematically of the debut, the idea of musical experimentation at the heart of the band was lost on fans who merely wanted a sequel.

Regardless, Gordon Gano sang songs about how ridiculously awkward teenage life can be in a style that was acoustic punk, improvisational free-form jazz, and early rock ‘n’ roll all wrapped up  together. It was geek anger displayed in a way that made it hip to be socially inept and people responded.

A few years ago I wrote a wish list of albums I “had to have” on vinyl, and the first Violent Femmes was on the top of the list. It wasn’t hard to find, but what has surprised me is the lack of reverence and variety that it has been given. From 1983 until 2001 the album was basically just re-issued “as is” in multiple formats. In 2002, it was given special treatment as a CD that included the basic album, B-Sides and demos, as well as a second CD of live material.

vf3

The following year, Rhino released a re-mastered 180 gram vinyl edition of the album as it first appeared… and… well, that’s it. There is a great sounding 2003 audiophile vinyl and nothing more. That said the sound quality of this edition is top notch, which is essential when you have rocks most amazing xylophone solo ever, and it is very inexpensive to pick up at your local retailer.

However, I’m still looking forward to a day when some double coloured vinyl with gatefold cover and bonus live material gets released; not that it will happen, but damn it would be nice.

Oh Beautiful Desolation! or Elliott Smith – Eponymous

/ ds barrett / 1 Comment

es1

Some albums just seem timeless by their very nature, and such is the case with Elliott Smith and his eponymous record. What made Smith unique was his ability to be a singer/songwriter playing music in a way reminiscent of Nick Drake but with a sensibility that came from his own life and the darker era of the 1990’s. Call it grunge without a Fender Jaguar to scream emotions in your face. Instead he used light strumming on an acoustic guitar mixed with a thin voice that always seemed like it was on the cusp of breaking. He was heartbreaking and mesmerizing in the same breath. He was better off without the bombast of the era as is proven in his earlier band Heatmiser, which often times seemed like just another band trying to be the ‘flavour of the month,’ because, as hindsight has shown us, he was so much more.

So last night I’m sitting down at the computer to do some writing and I throw Elliott Smith onto Spotify… and I stop before “Needle In the Hay” is even half way finished. I shut down the computer and put the vinyl version on… everything opens up. Streaming just doesn’t capture the depth of low notes and emotional resonance; which is important with Smith or you miss out on the actual desolation being presented in the most beautiful of ways.

es2

My advice, get a physical copy on CD or preferably vinyl, and let the music take you somewhere. The thing is you have quite a few choices. Since its original release in 1995 Kill Rock Stars in the US and Domino in the UK have released nine separate versions of this record. Early copies were on standard vinyl, but starting in starting in 2005 it has been released more in audiophile vinyl with two pressings in 180 Gram.

es3

The first is standard black and is widely available at your local record retailers, while the second is a limited (1000) blue vinyl edition that can be ordered from Newbury Comics.

There is also an orange copy floating around out there but I couldn’t find a vinyl weight or release date for it.

es5

Anyway, get a copy, listen, enjoy!

Legendary and Under Appreciated! or Paul Westerberg – 14 Songs

/ ds barrett / 1 Comment

west1

How do you walk away from something as monumental as the Replacements and create music that can be appreciated on its own merits.

You can’t. Ask any Beatle that question… you can’t do it. Everything you do will be judged through the lens of a very large shadow. So now, you have Paul Westerberg circa 1993, nowhere near retirement age with a dump load of songs and no outlet unless he does the unthinkable – release solo records.

This is my theory; even a masterpiece would have been hated by most critics and diehard Replacement fans. Hence the critical under appreciation of 14 Songs the solo debut released by  Westerberg in ‘93.

west2

It’s a shame because it really is an awesome record that delivers a different kind of observation than anything Westerberg could have accomplished within the band setting. You get a sense of growing maturity as if he looks back at himself and realizes the mistakes that got him to this place. It rocks at times, is confessional and subdued at others, while keeping a wry and sarcastic tone throughout.

Yes I love the Replacements, but I also have a huge fondness for Westerberg’s solo work. So imagine my surprise when I started searching for his stuff on vinyl a few years back, only to discover there was none.

Zero

Zilch

Until just last year you could only get 14 Songs on CD or cassette. In fact, according to discogs, Sire had not done any sort of re-release since it came out in ’93.

That changed last June when Plain Recordings released 14 Songs on 180 Gram black vinyl with a gatefold cover that had a new design. It sounds great, the packaging is sparse yet cool, and my kids are now familiar with the great sounds of Westerberg as I spin records on Saturday.

You can find it at all your finer record retailers both brick and mortar or online.

New thing is the same as the old thing… or Everclear – Black Is The New Black

/ ds barrett / Leave a comment

everclear

It’s one thing to lead a charge into a glorious new music wave and be seen in terms of trail blazer, but it is a whole different thing when you come on the second, or worse, third wave. The early nineties were ripe with finding the “next big thing.” Great bands got lumped into grunge when their sound wasn’t even close to it (Posies, Teenage Fanclub) and when second generation bands hit the airwaves (Stone Temple Pilots, Bush etc) they were hailed as posers or keepers of a flame – there wasn’t much in between. Believe me, I worked in a record store back in ’94 – ’95 and the used bins were filled with the promise of stardom fallen short.

Then there was Everclear.

Art Alexakis wasn’t just a guy who talked a good game and wrote lyrics about other people’s experiences. He had fallen, picked himself up and wrote music about it. Sparkle & Fade wasn’t him acting like a 90’s rock star to gain fame, he was the real deal… except… well, he was clean and ambitious. Alexakis worked his way into rock stardom in a time when it was supposed to “appear by accident” and stars were supposed to be indifferent. Worse, the sound he was using was derivative of the 90’s biggest star (Nirvana) and filtered through second generation guitar rock bands. Still, I play that debut from time to time and still enjoy it. However…

The rest is history, by the third record hipsters sold their CD’s to ‘used’ music stores, and the regular public just stopped paying attention. Everclear wasn’t doing anything that expand on their original promise.

Now it’s 2015, Everclear have been headlining nostalgia tours of other mid-late 90’s bands, and they’re still putting out music. Cool right?

Not so much.

Alexakis hasn’t grown as a songwriter. He started writing music about broken people and tragic lives and, he still does, in the exact same way he always has. Black Is The New Black could be the follow up to Sparkle & Fade or any other in the successive number of albums; it just doesn’t go anywhere new, and it seems dated out of the gate.

It’s really too bad. I wanted to like this record, but it just doesn’t offer anything I haven’t heard from them before.

Better Late Than Expensive! or Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

/ ds barrett / 1 Comment

caseflood

One of my disappointments from Record Store Day 2015 was the absence of the promised Neko Case and her incredible Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. No one seemed to have it and if ever there was a record that was meant to be put on vinyl – this is it. I mean cripes, her backing musicians on this record include members of The Band, Giant Sand, Calexico and The Sadies. So imagine my feeling when I see a tweet from one of my favorite record stores stating it just arrived, days after RSD15. Well a quick phone call and a drive later, this beautiful piece of red vinyl spins on the turntable. Originally released in 2006, I have no idea how many vinyl copies were pressed, but it couldn’t have been many as the current surge in vinyl sales had yet to happen. It was re-released two years later in the U.S. with a gatefold cover in blue vinyl. I couldn’t find official information on how many were produced (although I saw a number of only 500 on a resale site) with a current asking price of over $200.00.

case2

In 2009, a Canadian release of Fox Confessor Brings The Flood came out. It seems that 25 test pressings hit the streets as well as an undetermined amount on red vinyl. It is likely that it was another 500, but again, I couldn’t find any official figure. In fact I couldn’t even find any for sale, although record sites and chat rooms sure had a lot of people hunting for it.

Anyway, it’s been six years and there were more than a few people waiting to get this record. It is once again in red vinyl, includes a download card and a special RSD turntable slipmat.

case3 case4

Well – RUN PEOPLE!!!! Call your local record store and see if they have it. The e-bay users are already asking more than $70.00 and you shouldn’t pay that. Pick it up from a local retailer for one third that price.

Fallen Into a Black Hole? or Hole – Live Through This

/ ds barrett / Leave a comment

hole1

Four days after Kurt Cobain was found dead and Live Through This hit the streets, the grand bashing of Courtney Love went into overdrive. Gone was the trash of calling her some kind of “Yoko Ono” (I never understood that one. I mean really, is every woman married to a rock star supposed to be a Yoko?) and in its place were the conspiracy theories that started with crap about “who REALLY wrote the music” and finished with “who really killed…” you know what, I’m not even going to finish the sentence… the whole idea was to fucking stupid to repeat. All I will say is this – If cops can’t find a reason to arrest one of the most vilified persons on the planet, there is NO reason to arrest them. Oh, and as for writing credits – they’re in the liner notes of the album.

The only thing anyone should have been talking about was her music, and for several years, her and her compatriots in Hole put out some fantastic music. In fact, Live Through This is not only one of the greatest albums to come out of the 90’s, but is in fact one of the greatest all-time.

So why the hell can’t it be found on vinyl?

Well, actually, it can… if you like counterfeits made in Europe from a CD source.

E-Bay has dump loads being sold as “Imports” without any place listed as having made them. Discogs on the other hand have a time and place listed for this album. In 2014, an unofficial version was released by a “mystery” company in Germany, (or rumoured France) due to the fact that fans really want to get their hands on it. It can be found for around 20 dollars and those that have it seem to like it. However, I wouldn’t touch it.

What I would like is the cash to buy the original pressing or for DGC and Love to put out a cool anniversary edition.

Back in 1994, City Slang put out two editions of Live Through This on vinyl, one black and the other white. The white vinyl has an asking price of nearly $300.00 (only 3000 made) while the regular vinyl goes for just over $100.00 on discogs. This is pretty damn funny considering people are asking for as much as $60.00 + shipping for the counterfeit on E-Bay.

hole2 hole3

All this information and I remain confused. No official reissue on either CD or vinyl – WHY?

Honestly, I can’t figure out why Live Through This hasn’t had a re-release and been given the respect that it is due. With the plethora of box sets and special editions on the market for every other important band (and some not so important bands) that blazed trails during that era, where is Hole?

Fog covered Neon or Blur – The Magic Whip

/ ds barrett / Leave a comment

blurmagicwhip

Blur had one of the most anti-climatic breakups in recent history. I’m not even sure it really was a break-up… more a trial separation between the lead guitarist (Graham Coxon) and vocalist (Damon Albarn). Coxon may not have been on the last Blur record, but neither was my attention. Think Tank to me is kind of what the Hindu Love Gods were to REM – a side project with three quarters of a band. I mean it was interesting as an exploration of a different style, but it wasn’t really Blur.

So the real gift to gift to music fans wasn’t the reunion of Blur but rather the fact that they started to record again as a “full band.” Spurred on by years of gigs here and there, we get The Magic Whip, which is more than a return to form, but not quite the monumental achievement die-hard fans were looking for. Let’s face facts, the bar is set very high and fans want something they can point to and say “see – they’re still the greatest!”

That doesn’t mean this isn’t a “really damn fine” record, because it is. All the elements that put them on top of the Brit-pop Mountain are still there, but perhaps their new relaxed attitude has taken them to those ‘shoegaze’ roots where a good riff is meant to be taken for a rather long joyride. At very least that is how the record opens up as “Lonesome Street” slips into the subconscious as a wry testament of urban existence. It’s all sarcastic and poppy with a sense of foreboding that plays out as the needle continues to spin. That of course is Blur’s general modus operandi, pop-rock/brit-pop sounds set to observational lyrics and discourse about dreary times and places. All the neon coloured streets of their Asian inspired surroundings can’t hide the descending British fog. Even a song titled “Ice Cream Man” comes off with malaise and desolation. It isn’t until late in the album that some feelings of hope brighten the skies with Coxon’s best jangly guitar work on “Ong Ong.” Still, that is more a respite in an otherwise dark venture.

The Magic Whip is not an easy listen filled with hum along songs and a sing along chorus; instead it is an exploration in the contradictions of a seedy city living with no hope emanating from the bright coloured neon. If you were looking for the Blur of the 1990’s, The Magic Whip isn’t it; they’ve grown older, wiser and far more jaded to be that band ever again. What you have now is a Blur that can explore the depths of humanity and create an incredibly brilliant story. It might not “RAWK”, but it certainly entertains on a far more daring level than anything they’ve done before. Hence, I’m paying attention now.

You can find The Magic Whip at all your better record retailers and it has a double 180 gram vinyl release for all you people who like your music to spin.

In a land built on “Bullets & Rocks” or Calexico – Edge Of The Sun

/ ds barrett / 1 Comment

calex1 

Some of the most beautiful music has drifted from the desert into my imagination and consciousness. Even without the understanding of specific lyrics a visual can be created of open sky, run down saloons, dusty boots and people who are thirsty, broken and are in search of escape. Such is the landscape that Calexico creates in its musical atmosphere. It isn’t enough for them to write a bunch of singular songs that are placed together to create an album. They carefully craft a soundtrack that puts together music for an emotional response. Their blend of Mariachi-Americana brings up a south-west location, but the camera then pans towards the setting sun and you’re hooked.

They may be rooted in a folk tradition, but they never stay wrapped in it long enough to be indebted. Instead they surround themselves with players that can pull sounds and influences from the world over and use them create grand landscapes of music.

Now I know what you’re thinking, this is old hat for Calexico, this sounds like what they’ve been doing for years.

True

This time however is the masterpiece. While their records have always been rather beautiful and stunning, Edge of the Sun opens and closes as a complete story that leaves you wondering what the hell you can play next. “Falling From The Sky” opens in familiar territory with a guitar armed protagonist in search of lost ‘meaning.’ Quickly this is followed by action as we learn that the future is built on “Bullets and Rocks.”

Like the two opening numbers each song comes out with a story that rolls the images and music along creating both desolation and hope in their own time. By the time that “Follow The River” sends out its final notes your left with the impression that life has no simple resolution. Yes our hero has been successful in their search, but while this chapter closes, the story itself continues long afterward.

Released only a couple weeks back, you can find three different vinyl versions of Edge Of The Sun.

Regular black vinyl

180 gram black vinyl

Limited (2500) two coloured vinyl discs in blue and turquoise… but good luck on this, numerous on sale in Europe, but here it’s already got an asking price over $75.00

(P.S. – If interested, you might try ordering through Rough Trade. They may have a couple copies left.)

calexicocolour