Season things to look forward to

 

Things that with all the other stuff in the world going on that I'm far more interested in is Halloween which creeps in towards the end of next month and in the first couple of days of November.

Good things about for me include spending more time outdoors as I'm not really an indoors type of person at all which can include things like outdoor crafts such as pumpkin based lantern making and games which benefit from having that room to spread around.

In the past they would of included things like toffee apples, dress up with props

 

There's nothing wrong with getting up in the trees and even being a fairy

Fall is magical for the amazing colours of leaves that may be gathered and I can remember when I was young doing a leaf based collage on black card.

Updating the NOW's - Now Yearbook 79 on vinyl

 As we start to move out of the period of mourning we return to a  topic explored in July in what may prove to be interesting development in a series of records issued.

To recap a little, the people behind That's What I Call Music, a compilation series born in late 1983 decided in 2021 to issue a series of year based compilations that while having a main book format cd set came with a extra set of discs.

Within the NOW Yearbook series as it was called they decided to make a special three lp selection from the main set available in part a tribute to those NOW albums we bought on vinyl and also a tribute to increased vinyl sales for collectors.

The music contained within these sets for many of us connected with the vinyl era buying both singles and those NOW albums on slabs of vinyl.

The series has moved from the 80's to the 70's with 1979 and back in that year we were treated to compilations usually around a three to four month period by KTel and Ronco jamming some 20 tracks per disc with thin sound and edits but no "Top hits of the Year" type sets.

Disco music was popular that year and WEA records did issue a Disco compilation as did EMI both of which sold well.

This issue is therefore of value within vinyl based collection for having some 48 tracks across six sides and possibly benefits from being a tighter set less disco heavy than the cd version on four very long discs.

Each record comes on bright orange vinyl, individually sleeved within a single thick pocket.

Kicking off on LP 1 we begin with one of Queen’s most popular songs ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’,  includes #1s from The Police (‘Walking On The Moon’) and the defining ‘Heart Of Glass’ from Blondie, as well as timeless hits from ABBA, Kate Bush, Olivia Newton-John and closing out side A with the haunting ‘Song For Guy’ by Elton John.

‘Hot Stuff’ by Donna Summer from her brilliant Bad Girls album features on Side B alongside massive Disco-Floor-Fillers from Chic, Sister Sledge, and Amii Stewart plus two further iconic #1s from Gloria Gaynor with ‘I Will Survive’ and ‘YMCA’ from Village People.

LP2 Side A showcases an astonishing run of New Wave and Post-Punk hits leading with #1s from Ian Dury & The Blockheads (‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’) and The Boomtown Rats (‘I Don’t Like Mondays’), and featuring Squeeze, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Clash and Sex Pistols, before three Ska/Pop crossover hits from The Specials, The Selecter and ‘One Step Beyond’ from Madness.

Turning to Side B, the theme is Classic Rock from Meat Loaf and Electric Light Orchestra is joined by timeless hits from Billy Joel, Gerry Rafferty, Dave Edmunds and the debut ‘Stop Your Sobbing’ by Pretenders.

LP3 is all about golden pop – starting with ABBA’s ‘Chiquitita’ and including ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ – #1 for Cliff Richard, along with the year’s biggest-selling single, ‘Bright Eyes’ by Art Garfunkel from the film Watership Down, plus Neil Diamond, Roxy Music, and the winner of 1979’s Eurovision Song Contest – the Top 5 hit ‘Hallelujah’ from Milk & Honey.

Concluding the set, Side B features Goodnight Tonight by Wings, September by Earth, Wind & Fire, and opens with the superb ‘Street Life’ from The Crusaders. The unforgettable chart debut for The B-52’s with the iconic ‘Rock Lobster’ is included and the side concludes with four Synth-Pop smashes that pointed the way to the upcoming decade – ‘Money’ by The Flying Lizards, ‘Pop Muzik’ from M, and two further #1s from 1979: ‘Cars’ – one of two chart-toppers for Gary Numan in 1979 – and closing with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ by The Buggles. This track was co-written, produced and performed by Trevor Horn whose work would define the pop landscape over the next few years, whilst the song would be the first to be played on MTV in the US when it launched in 1981.

This set captures well the diverse, well crafted music scene of 1979 that for many of us were the songs we played, sang and talked about in school or college and the memories associated with that era.

Added to our original NOW albums on vinyl this series expands our collections of hit singles collected on vinyl albums updating while offering better sound than our original compilations issued that year.

Recommended.

Rest in peace Queen Elizabeth

This week is in many ways a FULL STOP because everything we had known changed rather suddenly on Thursday afternoon where our Queen, Elizabeth IInd died peacefully following a short period of rest surrounded by her family.

It all started with girl who had a sister Margaret, a mother and a father who in 1936 became the King - George VI - who was educated by private tutors having a fairly ordinary given the circumstances childhood that did allow for play and even some high jinks.

That picture was taken at the age of ten.

Later on she met what was to be her husband, the man we know as Prince Philip who died a couple of years ago.

Her father did not enjoy the best of health but he did his very best to be king not least during WW2 while a young Elizabeth apart from being a Girl Guide also joined in the war effort learning amongst many things mechanics in the T.A.

Sadly her father became ill suddenly in 1952 while she was on a visit to Kenya with Prince Philip and died.

Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen in 1952, coronated in 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London and reigned for some 70 years, having a family of her own including children from her own children's marriages.

The world has changed in so many ways since 1952, at least that's what my parents tell me, but in all that time she kept up with a changing world and served it extremely well even with her health issues in the last eighteen months or so.

She was always there, always there for us and our nation and that is what we are paying our respects out of.

A girl who took her duty seriously at the age of ten, made a solemn vow upon becoming our queen and  never let us down.

There is a formal timetable that we are going through at the moment as of Saturday where most of this was typed King Charles III, her son was proclaimed king in a ceremony at St. James's Place, London.

There are many ways I could end this post I truly wish I never had to make but I'd sooner go back to June, the 70th Anniversary and something that was both touching and hugely funny where The Queen and Paddington Bear starred in comic skit involving young bear taking tea with her, sharing a liking for Marmalade sandwiches before taping out spoon against cup and saucer the beat of the rock group Queen's song We Will Rock You before kicking off a concert in her honour featuring that group.

The Queen who retained her girlish humour, connected to a younger generation that evening and we remember as that person who while having a serious role was rather like a grandmother to us all.

*Apologies for spelling errors etc but I've been crying typing this.

Teenbeat XXXI - Rumours

 This week as I mentally try to put aside all the negativity following the whole Mofi scandal and related issues of just what other secrets are being hid from audio fans I'm doing a short piece on a welcome issue

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has seemed to of had a life of its own overshadowing almost of of their recorded output from release in 1977 with a number of record reissues plus tape and cds.

In more recent years one track that was recorded for it but taken off due to concerns around side length, Silver Springs has been restored, closing out now what was the first side.

This album does contain some of the bands best songs such as Don't Stop, Songbird and Go Your Own Way which remain popular on radio even today and the great tune that is The Chase.

The current trend in vinyl releases is that of the twin disc 45 rpm cut much like a UK twelve inch single in someways allowing for higher cutting levels and cleaner tracking at the expense obviously of having to get up to change sides more frequently.

That and some issues around pressing faults on one that did appeal lead me down the path of buying this Japanese Warner Bros super audio cd which has been very well mastered using sources prepared by Bob Ludwig in the states including a surround sound mix for those with suitable players.

It also has a regular cd layer for copying onto portable digital players or using traditional cd equipment, sounding fantastic.