Side 2 of a mix CD-R, originally
compiled for my brother and burned on 4th December 2006.
The previous post was described as the 'downtempo side'. Side 2 is definitely more upbeat, musically at least, even if the lyrics poke at the festering sore of humanity on occasion.
Adding to Side 1's sole album release from 2006 (Scritti Politti), there are three more on this side. I don't listen Writer's Block by Peter, Björn & John that often and I probably should as, hype at the time around Young Folks aside, I remember it being a pretty good album. Sparks are in constant rotation so and I have a lot but not all of their albums, so Hello Young Lovers (and Lil' Beethoven, also represented here) get regular airings at Casa K.
Charlotte Gainsbourg's 2006 album 5:55 (her belated second) was already in the bargain bin when I bought it on CD later that year but it was a revelation. The album seemed to have a bit of a Marmite reaction from reviewers at the time as I recall but it was an immediate winner for me. When you've got AIR, Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon working with you on your songs and Nigel Godrich, can you go wrong? I didn't think so. The Swede posted about ten go-to albums on his blog Unthought Of, Though, Somehow last week. Deliberately avoiding the big hitters, it threw up some interesting choices. 5:55 by Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of my go-to album, a "musical comfort blanket", as The Swede so brilliantly describes it.
I'd been trying and failing to get hold of Kevin Shields' wonderful remix of Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo for a while, when it became one of my very first internet downloads (dial-up on a custom-made PC, so you can imagine that it took a fair while just to get a nine-minute track. It was a fairly ropy rip as I recall. Thankfully, both Yo La Tengo and their label Matador agreed as it finally got a re-release in 2005 as part of the superb Prisoners Of Love collection...well, the limited edition 3CD set, at least. This is a perfect marriage of artists that makes me wish they had done more together.
The opening pair of songs came from cover mounted cassettes with Select magazine, so will come with some quality limitations given the source. Positive I.D. originally appeared on Renegade Soundwave's second album and was released in multiple remixes as a single. This is my favourite mix of them all, making the most of the Bryan Ferry sample.
Don't Fight It Feel It by Primal Scream is good in any version that I've heard, but this version amply demonstrates their ability to inject the funk and ratchet up the guitar for a live audience. Denise Johnson takes it all in her stride and delivers a powerful vocal. I wish I'd been able to experience her magnificence in person.
Fosbury by Tahiti 80 was another chance bargain bin discovery - I think I paid 50p for this one in the Virgin Megastore in Bristol. The 'special edition' with two bonus songs, no less. It's a great album, and introduction to the band, not least with Big Day. As good a statement of intent as you could wish for. I'm not kept pace with Tahiti 80, to be honest, though I see that they're still a going concern. One for the next Bandcamp Friday shopping list.
I closed things off with Chris Morris, with a one-off release for Warp Records in 2003 and following up their collaboration on the Blue Jam album (2000) and My Wrongs 8245–8249 & 117 short film (2002). Bushwhacked 2 as you might guess, featured chopped up snippets of speech from then-incumbent White House cretin George 'Dubya' Bush. This compilation featured the original 'Raw Feed' version but I've opted to swap it for Adrian Sutton's orchestral rework, which I think works a little better in context. Sadly, with the Orange Baby previously in post and threatening to do so again, no editing and rearranging needed as he says similar stuff of his own volition. What times we live in!
1) Positive I.D. (Security Analysis Remix): Renegade Soundwave (1994)
2) Don't Fight It Feel It (Alive In Tokyo): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson (1994)
3) Big Day: Tahiti 80 (2004)
4) Suburban Homeboy: Sparks (2002)
5) AF607105 (Album Version By Nigel Godrich): Charlotte Gainsbourg (2006)
6) Autumn Sweater (Remixed By Kevin Shields): Yo La Tengo (1997)
7) Metaphor: Sparks (2006)
8) Amsterdam: Peter, Björn & John (2006)
9) Bushwhacked 2 (Adrian Sutton Mounting - Orchestral Mix): Chris Morris (2003)
1994: Secret Tracks (Select magazine promo cassette): 1
1994: Secret Tracks 2 (Select magazine promo cassette): 2
1997: Autumn Sweater EP: 6
2002: Lil' Beethoven: 4
2003: Bushwhacked EP: 9
2004: Fosbury: 3
2006: 5:55: 5
2006: Hello Young Lovers: 7
2006: Writer's Block: 8
Side One here
