When the first CD player to break the $1000 price barrier went on sale in 1986 for $500 I could at last afford one thanks to Yamaha. But I had a dilemma. With virtually all of my available cash spent on the player I had very little left to purchase some CD’s to play on it. I had just enough to purchase 2 CD’s so I had to choose carefully. I wanted my first CD’s to have a … [Read more...]
So – Peter Gabriel
There was a period through the mid 80’s and into the 90’s where Daniel Lanois was responsible for producing some of the most sonically majestic records of that era. He crafted memorable albums for a diverse range of artists including Bob Dylan (Oh Mercy); The Neville Brothers (Yellow Moon); Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball); and with Brian Eno a string of U2 albums (Unforgettable … [Read more...]
The Kick Inside – Kate Bush
The idiosyncratic, mercurial, talented and tenacious Kate Bush. An acquired taste for some, a musical goddess for many others. Her debut album The Kick Inside was released in 1978 when she was still only 19, but its origins were laid years before with some of these songs written when she was just thirteen. The story goes that Kate’s family helped her produce a demo while … [Read more...]
Couldn’t Stand The Weather – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
When you’re talking blues guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan is the crème de la crème - one of the most incredibly expressive and dynamic players of all time. When it comes to electric blues there’s no shortage of axe men who can tear up a fret board with scintillating riffs executed with dexterity and technique, but so very few can do it with such feel. As Jimi Hendrix said: “The … [Read more...]
Sticky Fingers – Rolling Stones
Man I love this album. Yeah, I know that every hard core Stones connoisseur will tell you that Exile On Main Street is the album where the distillation of their garage, blues, country and rock n’ roll influences fused to create their finest recorded moment (and I love that album too), but my favourite Stones album is Sticky Fingers. To be honest it’s hard to separate the … [Read more...]