Monday, February 26, 2024

Updating The Now's - Now Eighties Dancefloor Soul & Disco

A return to the series we commented upon on January 29th so near enough a month on we have another lp only selection that looks at Soul and Disco which was popular and with a number not on original now albums although these aren't the extended version these have some tracks that weren't on original now albums.

Released on Friday, as with the others we get two well packed discs on coloured vinyl at a discounted price the sleeve is nothing special lacking any kind of liner notes.


The first disc in this set kicks off with Tina Turner's iconic remake of 'Let's Stay Together' - a testament to her timeless vocal prowess. 

Jocelyn Brown's 'Somebody Else's Guy', brings a fabulous fusion of Funk and Soul that I originally bought on a 45, followed by Gwen Guthrie's anthem 'Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent' from 1986.

Womack & Womack's 'Teardrops' blend of captivating lyrics and rhythm, leads into Joyce Sims' 'Come Into My Life' from 1989 before the Stock Aitken Waterman written & produced 'Say I'm Your Number One' from Princess leads us to Loose Ends' 'Hangin' On A String' offering a smooth, jazz-infused sound, echoed by Will Downing's very first hit, 'A Love Supreme', which concludes that side.

The second side takes you on a whirlwind trip around the dancefloor with Whitney Houston's 'How Will I Know from 1985, Alexander O'Neal's 'Criticize' and Aretha Franklin's 'Who's Zoomin' Who?' bring a blend of irresistible beats. 

Lionel Richie's 'Dancing On The Ceiling' takes us to Laura Branigan's 'Self Control', alongside Imagination's debut single, 'Body Talk', offers a cross of Hi-NRG Disco with a sensual groove while Hi-Gloss's 'You'll Never Know' is a gem of smooth, elegant Soul to finish the first LP. 

The first side of the second disc begins with the iconic duo Ashford & Simpson's 'Solid,' a celebration of enduring love I originally bought the extended version of on 12" single.

This is followed by #1 Disco anthem 'Fame' from Irene Cara featured in the Tv show and Diana Ross's 'My Old Piano' that showcases her unique ability to blend Pop with Soul on this Chic-produced classic before we move on to Donna Summer's Grammy-nominated single 'Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)' fusing Disco with a Funk edge, while Odyssey's 'Inside Out' provides a smooth, and melody filled dance. 

Terri Wells's 'I'll Be Around' is a soulful delight, and Hall & Oates' 'I Can't Go For That (No Can't Do)' mixes Rock with Soul and was sampled ands  the side closes on a romantic note with Fat Larry's Band's 'Zoom' a personal favourite from 1982.

The final side opens by showcasing Rufus and Chaka Khan's 'Ain't Nobody,' a masterpiece of Funk and Soul synergy while Womack & Womack make their second appearance with 'Love Wars', followed by Steve Arrington's 'Feel So Real' - a true example of the era's crossover with Disco and Soul. 

Miami Sound Machine's 'Dr. Beat' injects Latin-infused Pop rhythms at the core of a cool sound , while Jermaine Stewart's biggest hit 'We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off' became a global dance-floor smash hit. 

Billy Ocean's Grammy award winner, 'Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)', blends Soul, Disco and Pop which I remember buying a special four mix cassette single of while Sister Sledge's 'Thinking Of You' is the perfect closer, uplifting and full of joy.

This is a great fun packed compilation that'll bring back many memories.

Monday, February 19, 2024

Little Camp Winter 2024

I was away last week at Littles Camp Tm which for me involved a train journey to Miss Green's where then we picked up Katie enroute before arriving at base camp in East Anglia which would of been quicker had we'd not of had delays going through Wednesbury, South Staffs but given there was bigger trouble involving the M5 and 6 we probably had the least imperfect route arriving before four in the afternoon.

For me it was the first time since the Pandemic I had returned to this venue missing the first opportunity two years ago when I was seriously unwell so I was interested to see what the new operators had done (or not).

So after getting a room I got changed in one for skirts I had with me as I don't like having my legs encased apart from bad memories associated with trousers that can trigger negative responses that may require attention.

While most people had various curries we opted to have a chicken salad that just required said chicken breast cooking as people started to arrive and rooms were being allocated  with Barbie themed room signs.


Sunday saw the morning Arts and Crafts session where in teams we made Viking boards from card, dowlling and sticky tape which were sailed on Tuesday with Mine and Jennifer's second from right managing to stay up well.



There was a Barbie themed Colour Game in the afternoon with well hidden clues as in on the ceiling before the legendary "all purrpuss nekomimi music quiz" took place covering a variety of genres and eras after the pie evening meal which went down well.


Monday saw Miss Green's cake making class where things for the party the next day were made and I made some with Alice  that turned quite well given measurements were estimated on the fly while in the afternoon Samantha run a Hair Band making session.

After Mary and Iris's mouth-watering Beef Stew with dumplings evening meal, Miss Green read a story from the farm.

Across the week various jigsaw's were made, some easier than others.



Tuesday saw the indoor sports which being somewhat unco-ordinated I didn't do too well at including Magnetic Darts, Skittles and making and flying model airplanes from paper which was more me being the sort of thing I did back in the day and the Barbie party was held with sausage rolls, cakes and games such as pass the parcel and musical chairs.

After the delightful fish and chip evening meal that had to be picked up, we were treated to the Barbie Movie after Jillian's rather good general knowledge quiz.

We did change the midday meals compared to previous years to deal with a few interconnected things like them that stepped up to make food did lose time from taking part in activities, there tended to be a fair bit of waste as people didn't need a substantial midday meal and in the current climate of increasing food costs we could save some money.

This did work out pretty well and we tried to keep evening meals relatively simple rather than things that require lots of supervision.

Some people left first thing Wednesday but a number of us went to a Castle in Suffolk which wasn't far away which was very enjoyable, exploring before making our way back which was a bit late due to two road incidents and major traffic issues that were to delay Miss Green's, Katie's and my return home which rather tried our patience.

I stayed overnight given we were back late before Miss Green went with me into town, seeing me off before I caught the train back home which had some fun such as person who refused to give up a seat for wheelchair user leaving her parked by the very side of the train I needed to get off!

Not her fault, just an atom of humanity that wasn't being considerate so I had to make my way down the corridor to another set of doors to get out but thankfully there was cab on the Taxi rank waiting for me so I was at home in time for midday meal.

Thanks to every one who ran an activity, provided food and otherwise contributed to making our little gathering a great success.

Monday, February 12, 2024

Getting set to go

Actually as you read this entry I'm not really here just with other girls and given for one thing I can't carry the proverbial kitchen sink with me and that I don't wish to be distracted by the infernal net tm the Chromebook isn't with me.

I mean even if I wanted a million dresses with me there's no way I carry them with me on the train as we're doing well I'm carrying anything given how things panned out back in 1994 and that diagnosis.


The whole point is really being together enjoying each others company playing, having fun than anything really competitive or being a how many dresses you put on in a day challenge never mind staring into the monitor every spare moment.
With me play is a bit less traditional being more in tune with modern girlhood so the idea of say informal all girl kickabout is very much me in way somethings may not although outdoor stuff is at the mercy of the elements of which there's much speculation as I type this.

However that goes, it'll be good to be away with friends.

Monday, February 5, 2024

Updating the Now's - Now Yearbook 1990

Just before off if not frozen over by the Beast From Norway our favourite series makes a return.


We last touched base as the cool kids say with Now Yearbook last September with the 1973 issue as I missed off the 1992 issue on vinyl as by that point I'd stopped buying compilations like the Now's apart from the mid to late 90's Shine Indies ones.

1990 was a transitional year format wise was as I'd moved from lp with Early 1989 with Now 14 to cd by Summer's Now 15 and that was to run on 1991 and many of main trends of 1989 continued into 1990.


Although 1989 will need to be sorted out on vinyl at some point or other, this Now Yearbook does fit in well and makes for a good end chapter to those original numbered 1980's now's.

As with the other titles it is also available in deluxe 4 cd book form and cheaper fold round card cd versions with more tracks but sometimes less is more.

Starting the rewind back to 1990 are iconic legends George Michael with ‘Praying For Time’, and Elton John with his #1 single ‘Sacrifice’, followed by top 10 smashes from The B-52’s with ‘Love Shack, a personal favourite’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Better The Devil You Know’, plus timeless Pop from Belinda Carlisle, Kim Appleby and Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’ from the soundtrack to ‘Pretty Woman’. We then flip the first LP over for a stellar line-up featuring The KLF, New Order, Duran Duran, the theme from ‘Twin Peaks’, Julee Cruise’s ‘Falling’, Chris Isaak with ‘Wicked Game’ and Pet Shop Boys defining ‘Being Boring’.

Dance floor-fillers kick start record two from Deee-Lite with ‘Groove Is In The Heart’, and the #1 debut from SNAP! with ‘The Power’. Legendary names fill this side including Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Paul Simon and the remixed version of ‘Englishman In New York’ from Sting.

Turning over the other side features club classics from Adamski & Seal and Bass-O-Matic, followed by a run of Indie-Alt legends including Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, and Candy Flip’s cover of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, before finishing with ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ from They Might Be Giants, and the #1 ‘A Little Time’ from The Beautiful South.

The tenth consecutive Top 10 hit for Pet Shop Boys ‘So Hard’ opens the final LP, followed by the superb cover of the Disco classic ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ from Jimmy Somerville, before a second appearance from Kylie Minogue with her Disco anthem ‘Step Back In Time’ and one of Stock, Aitken & Waterman’s greatest dancefloor tracks ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’ from Lonnie Gordon. More dancefloor smashes follow from Adventures Of Stevie V, Blue Pearl, and the unexpected collaboration between DNA & Suzanne Vega, before closing with one of the biggest debut #1s of the year, ‘Ice Ice Baby’ from Vanilla Ice that sampled Under Pressure by Queen.

The collection’s final side opens with the still-breathtaking interpretation of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ from the late Sinéad O'Connor. Also included are film related hits; Maria McKee’s ‘Show Me Heaven’, from the ‘Days Of Thunder’ soundtrack, and the ‘Young Guns II’ track ‘Blaze Of Glory’ from Jon Bon Jovi. The Grammy Award-winning US #1 for Alannah Myles ‘Black Velvet’ appears alongside the smash ‘Just Like Jesse James’ from Che before closing this collection is a brilliant interpretation of the classic ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’ which gave Deacon Blue their highest singles chart position in a year filled with Pop highlights.

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1 George Michael - Praying For Time

2 Elton John - Sacrifice

3 The B-52's - Love Shack

4 Belinda Carlisle - (We Want) The Same Thing

5 Kylie Minogue - Better The Devil You Know

6 Kim Appleby - Don't Worry

7 Roxette - It Must Have Been Love

Disc: 1 Side 2

1 The KLF - What Time Is Love (Live At Trancentral)

2 New Order - World In Motion

3 Duran Duran - Violence Of Summer (Love's Taking Over)

4 Halo James - Could Have Told You So

5 Julee Cruise - Falling

6 Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

7 Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring

Disc: 2

1 Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart

2 SNAP! - The Power

3 Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight

4 Dusty Springfield - Reputation

5 Go West - The King Of Wishful Thinking

6 Paul Simon - The Obvious Child

7 Sting - Englishman In New York (The Ben Liebrand Mix)

Disc: 2 Side 2

1 Adamski & Seal - Killer

2 Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythm

3 Happy Mondays - Step On

4 The Stone Roses - One Love

5 The Charlatans - The Only One I Know

6 Candy Flip - Strawberry Fields Forever

7 They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul

8 The Beautiful South - A Little Time

Disc: 3

1 Pet Shop Boys – So Hard

2 Jimmy Somerville - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

3 Kylie Minogue - Step Back In Time

4 Lonnie Gordon - Happenin’ All Over Again (Hip House Radio Mix)

5 Adventures Of Stevie V - Dirty Cash (Money Talks)

6 Blue Pearl - Naked In The Rain

7 DNA & Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner

8 Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Disc: 3 Side 2

1 Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

2 Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze Of Glory (From "Young Guns II" Soundtrack)

3 Tina Turner - Steamy Windows

4 Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

5 Cher - Just Like Jesse James

6 Maria McKee - Show Me Heaven (From "Days Of Thunder" Soundtrack)

7 Deacon Blue - I'll Never Fall In Love Again