Happy Jolly Tape Thing

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded sometime in 1992.

 

I've been avoiding the obvious and posting a mixtape opening with Sunday morning on a Sunday morning for a while. However, as this selection also features April Skies and it's April, not to mention a couple of mentions of an impending summer (of love), what can I do? 

I compiled this for my girlfriend, in what I'm guessing were the early weeks and months of our relationship. Her birthday's in September so I'm assuming from the song themes that it was prior to this, in the spring/summer. We'd met at college, studying A-Levels and with a shared love of art, and it was a very happy time, as the mixtape title suggests.

 

I have an unconditional love for all of these songs, they're each associated with good memories, not just this relationship but other happy times and events in my life. I've seen five of the artists live in concert - The Psychedelic Furs, The The, Julian Cope, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Blondie - six if you count Ian McNabb's solo gig at The Phoenix Festival, and they were all brilliantly memorable gigs.

 

Summer Of Love and Poised On The Edge Of Forever only made it as B-sides in the UK, whilst Forever Now and Four Flights Up are album cuts that really should have been singles. 

 

As for the singles themselves, it's all killer, no filler in my not-very-humble opinion. Just hearing This Is The Day followed by Eve's Volcano followed by April Skies struck a real chord when I heard it again.

 

Benchtop is the possible anomaly here, as it was only released in Australia in December 1990 as the lead song from the Resisting Calm EP. I was living and working there at the time and Benchtop was heavily played by radio station Triple J. I was hooked, ended up tracking down a copy on 12" vinyl and shipping it back to the UK. It remains one of my most treasured EPs. Melanie Oxley and Chris Abrahams were previously in a band together, Sparklers; Abrahams is perhaps better known these days as part of experimental jazz trio The Necks.

I hope you're having a good weekend, whether you're observing Easter or just taking a brief respite from the crazy world we're living in. Hopefully the sun's shining wherever you are and today's selection will put a big smile on your face.

Love to you all and thanks for visiting!

1) Sunday Morning (Album Version): The Velvet Underground (1967) 

2) Forever Now (Album Version By Todd Rundgren): The Psychedelic Furs (1982)

3) Summer Of Love (Single Edit By Shep Pettibone): The B-52's (1986)

4) Poised On The Edge Of Forever (Single Version): The Dream Academy (1985)

5) Oblivious (Single Version): Aztec Camera (1983)

6) This Is The Day (Extended Version): The The (1983)

7) Eve's Volcano 'Covered In Sin' (Single Remix By Tom Lord-Alge): Julian Cope (1987)

8) April Skies (Single Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain (1987)

9) All The Daughters (Of Her Father's House) (Long Version): The Icicle Works (1985)

10) Here Comes The Summer (Single Version): The Undertones (1979)

11) Denis (Album Version) (Cover of 'Denise' by Randy & The Rainbows): Blondie (1977)

12) Benchtop (Single Version): Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams (1990)

13) Four Flights Up (Album Version): Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (1984)

Side One (46:02) (Box) (Mega)