Just Played - On The Record #1
Like blogging, only via email.
I can’t help thinking that Belle and Sebastian might be on to something with their approach to ‘Late Developers’. Not only was it a second studio album in eight months, but it was announced on the Monday and available to buy four days later. No torturous social media campaign inflicted on the artist, no lingering teaser tracks, grammatically incorrect lyric videos or eight month long pre-order windows. Just some songs, if you wanted them. 2022’s ‘A Bit Of Previous’ is one of their very best, so more from that particular period was always going to be welcome. I’ll concede I’m only a few listens in at this point, but it’s growing on me rapidly. The first play didn’t fully convince, but by the third I was already humming along to ‘When We Were Very Young’ and getting lost in the lyrics. And it was exciting, because seven days before I lowered the needle to the groove I didn’t even know it existed.
Friday 13th was a pretty remarkable new release day considering years normally start slowly. As well as ‘Late Developers’, Billy Nomates, Rozi Plain and Margo Price all returned. James Yorkston & The Secondhand Orchestra teamed up with the inimitable Nina Persson for a bewitching set entitled ‘The Great White Sea Eagle’ and Gaz Coombes released his album again. If you’re in need of some new music, there’s plenty to get stuck into right there. Be sure to give Dave Rowntree’s solo album ‘Radio Songs’ a listen this weekend too - plenty to enjoy right there.
And, of course, this little project was launched at the weekend too. Thank you, quite sincerely, for signing up immediately. I’ll ramble, recommend and review in varying proportions each week and see if it gradually takes on a shape. I have a couple of ‘regular’ features below but let’s see how they land before carving them in stone, eh?
*Misc-Cogs*
Did you know that the Discogs app has a neat feature for the indecisive mind? When on the collection tab, give your phone a shake and it’ll select something at random from your library. Each week, I’ll flex my wrist and see which disc comes up. No censoring - if it’s Eternal’s ‘Always and Forever’, I’ll give you my thoughts on it.
John Martyn - ‘Solid Air’ (Abbey Road half-speed master)
There are those who don’t get on with the half-speed idea and some who outright hate anything cut that way without even listening to the things. They mainly spend their time posturing on YouTube. As with most vinyl releases, you have to go case by case and source by source. Some are fine and some are remarkable. The Scissor Sisters’ debut and Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ both benefitted enormously from the care taken by Miles Showell in preparing them for his process. Initially released at the height of the loudness wars, they needed some TLC before they could best occupy the grooves. Macca, The Who and Underworld have all been well-served by the method too. While I’d love to offer up a shootout between this copy of ‘Solid Air’ and a glistening Island original, such copies are out of my price range. And this sounds glorious to me, carved out in the space before me and with, ahem, air around the instrumentation. Could it sound better? Almost certainly. But that doesn’t make this bad. Far from it.
Universal are the latest to stick a few quid on most dealer prices, following Warner Music’s ongoing commitment to making back catalogue titles cost the same as a transatlantic flight. ‘Aladdin Sane’ picture disc LP? £40, as it’s you. Blur reissues? The same. My sources suggest that Universal are attributing the changes to their increasing costs, but several titles have actually got marginally cheaper. Others have skyrocketed - if you’re after it, I certainly wouldn’t wait to pick up The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’, for example.
An interesting recent piece picked over the model for vinyl pricing, but I don’t think pile it high and sell it super cheap is possible in the current circumstances. Sales are still pretty small in the main and costs are, undeniably, going up. While there is clearly some opportunistic testing of the waters occurring, indie label pricing tells you where things are right now. £22-25 is about standard now, having been closer to £16-20 about five years previous. It’s no surprise that record shop sales need to be in the 40% off ballpark to really start shifting units, as that brings prices down to just below where they were not all that long ago. The next few months could be pretty trying times for some record shops that are awash with stock and looking to plan for their RSD spend. And how secure is HMV’s high street presence?
That said, plenty have been saying “People will never pay that - the bubble will burst” for several years now, but up and up the prices go and still the records sell. With relatively small pressing numbers and a decent array of deep-pocketed purchasers still at work, things are unlikely to change too soon. This US piece suggests that everything’s about to come crashing down but, after two extraordinary and highly atypical years of people converting thwarted gig budgets to tangible product, it’s fairly incredible there was any growth at all.
Despite this, it’s hard to deny that there is definitely some testing of the market going on. Just how much will people shell out for a box set? The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ 4LP, 7” and book seemed steep at £170, while Neil Young’s £150 ‘Harvest’ set with two LPs, two DVDs and a 7” was roundly - and deservedly - derided. The next few months might give us a clearer picture, but hopefully it won’t be the indie stores paying the price.
First Look
Speaking of costly items, care to have a quick squizz at the latest New Order Definitive Edition? It’s ‘Low-Life’ this time and Jude Rogers has done the interviewing for the gorgeous hardback book. Below, you’ll get a little peak at a few pages, the digital discs and the replica LP sleeve alongside an original. Pricey? Oh yes, but a tempting, tactile object.
It’s out on January 27th, alongside reissues of the accompanying 12” singles from the era. Interestingly, the excellent ‘Power, Corruption & Lies’ set from this series is currently reduced on their own webshop, so patience may be a virtue on this latest edition.
Well, that’s nearly it for the first one. Thanks for reading and please do let me know your thoughts. I’m not wedded to a format for this and some editions will likely be a single, longer piece when the mood takes me. I’ll make sure there are some recommendations each time, so hopefully it’ll always be good for your ears.
Something for the ‘read all the way to the end’ folk:
Just before Christmas, Taken By Trees released a beautiful EP entitled ‘Another Year’ which features five Colin Blunstone covers and artwork which pays tribute to the original ‘One Year’ sleeve. Taken By Trees is the stage name for Victoria Bergsman, former lead singer of The Concretes, and her accompanying note about some reservations around the project and deep love for the songs is extraordinarily endearing. It’s a corking vinyl pressing - via Optimal - and the performances are a delight. Give it a listen, you’ll love it.
A really interesting read as always. Thanks Gareth.
You briefly mention HMV’s high street presence. It’s something that puzzles and fascinates me. How and why does the hedge fund-owned Waterstone’s get everything right that HMV, owned by a successful music retailer, gets wrong? Book buyers would mourn the loss of Waterstone’s, but if HMV disappeared tomorrow would music lovers care? Though profits are up, apparently. American sweets must sell better than we think.