by Vinyl301 -

Daisy Hill Puppy Farm: Spraycan

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Lakeland Records 1989.  LKND 009

Discogs

An Icelandic band which isn’t Sigur Rós or Björk is a bit of a rare thing to hear about.  This band made quite a splash at home apparently but beyond some enthusiasm from John Peel, they were largely ignored elsewhere.  If they’re known at all it’s for the feedback laden cover of Heart Of Glass on their debut EP which I’ll post another time.  This is their second and final EP, which I think is the best of them.

So what’s it like?  Well it’s very derivative of the Jesus and Mary Chain, but with more in the way of riffs.  The main guy apparently went on to form a metal band which kind of makes sense listening to this.  I’ve heard it said that the Mary Chain sounded a bit like this later in their career, but I wouldn’t know having lost interest in them by the time Darklands came out.  An appealing style is no use without decent songs, and they mostly pass muster on that front too which makes the whole thing a worthwhile listen.

Daisy Hill Puppy Farm was where Snoopy came from in case you were wondering.

by Vinyl301 -

Elliott Smith: Baby Britain (Remix)

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Dreamworks Records 1999. PRO-CD-5142

Discogs

I really should be bored of this sort of music by now, but Elliott Smith still hits the spot.  Apart from the great songs, I just get the sense that he really means it which is what sets him apart, and actually, what has drawn me to much of the music I like.

I came to Elliott Smith very late – in fact the first album I bought was his last (From A Basement On A Hill), as I recall after reading about his suicide in 2003.  My nerdy completeist tendencies quickly kicked in and I soon had everything, at least everything that was widely available.  All that stuff is still available, but I do have this rare promo single, which is a remixed version of Baby Britain, the original being on the XO album.  It’s not radically different to the album version, but it’s a great song.  If you like it, you’re on safe territory with any of his albums, although I’ve never really taken to his posthumous collection of oddments, New Moon.  I’d go for Roman Candle or Figure 8.

by Vinyl301 -

That Petrol Emotion: Big Decision

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Polydor 1987.  TREX1

Discogs

That Petrol Emotion rose from the ashes of the mighty Undertones, but had little in common with them.  They were darkly political with a killer line in rock guitar riffs.  This was their major label debut (I’ll post their indie singles another time) and almost grazed the charts – although it deserved to be massive.  The extended version on the A side has the sort of pointless embellishments major labels thought the punters were looking for, but the 7″ version on the B side doesn’t bother with that and concentrates on what makes Big Decision a great track (apart from a very short and very silly rap as the track ends).

I don’t usually buy vinyl from this era – if I didn’t get it back in the day I don’t bother, but I was in the excellent Power Records in Bilbao a couple of weeks back and it caught my eye.  I’m mighty glad I bought it, but the 7″ would have been better I think.

by Vinyl301 -

Robert Lloyd and the New Four Seasons: Nothing Matters (In Tape 12″ Version)

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In Tape 1988.  ITTI059

Discogs

This is the second and last Robert Lloyd In Tape 12″; the first one is here.

It has a lot in common with Something Nice.  It’s long but doesn’t outstay its welcome, it’s a great song performed with an infectious energy and no-one bought it.  The first B side is a rather odd variant on Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue (!) but when it launches straight into  Mr Superior, normal service is resumed.  Why he sings it as Mr Soupy Rear isn’t clear though.

According to Discogs I also have his entire output on Virgin, so I’ll post that at some point too.

by Vinyl301 -

Various Artists: Take The Subway To Your Suburb

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Subway Organization 1986. SUBORG 1

Discogs

I have a somewhat uneasy relationship with Subway stuff.  Clearly I liked it because I bought quite a bit of it, but of all the jangly indiepop I listened to back then, this seems to have stood the test of time particularly badly.  It’s not that I dislike jangly indiepop, but Subway has a very particular sound which is starting to grate a bit.  Still, digitising all my old vinyl isn’t just about unearthing forgotten nuggets, it’s also about nostalgia.  Subway stuff makes me cringe, but it also reminds me of my late teens which is good.

This album was Subway’s first and is mostly a roundup of their roster at the time.  The Flatmates are of course represented, because guitarist Martin Whitehead ran the label.  Their stuff is mostly horribly corny and formulaic, but When I’m With You kind of works I guess.  For some reason my favourite by far is the Rosehips The Last Light.  It sounds like a demo and the singing is horribly flat, but I really like the guitar sound and the overall effect is strangely compelling.  I also have a flexi by the band which I’ll post at some point because I love it but have absolutely no idea why.   Pop Will Eat Itself who I saw play more times than I’ll admit to (because they were local) manage a couple of half decent covers – Hawkwind’s Orgone Accumulator and fellow Black Country grebos The Mighty Lemon Drops Like An Angel.  No idea what they’re doing on a Subway compilation – this is the only time they appeared on the label.

This was picked up by the Japanese in the early 90s as part of their inexplicable obsession with 80s UK indiepop so it had a Japanese CD issue too, but this is ripped from an original UK vinyl copy.

by Vinyl301 -

Various Artists: Creation, Purple Compilation

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Creation Records 1988.  CRELP 032 CD

Discogs

Some time ago I listed Creation’s first ever CD, a compilation of early singles. It’s been one of the most popular posts, so here’s its companion release, Purple. It covers similar ground, has similar artists and is of a similar high standard. As I recall it didn’t sell nearly as well as the first one – I guess people thought one of these compilations was enough. Anyway if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one too.

by Vinyl301 -

The Pooh Sticks: Dying For It

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Fierce Records 1989.  FRIGHT 034

Discogs

Another rare indie 7″, but a good one this time.  The Pooh Sticks had moved on by 1989 from being a terrible band with a great sense of humour into an outfit who could actually make decent records.  This is a cover of a Vaselines song (Nirvana also had a strange penchant for this obscure Scottish band which gave them some infamy).  OK, so Hugh still can’t sing, but they’ve either learnt to play or have hired someone who can because this single really rocks with loads of distortion and wah-wah.  Actually, the only person who can play is the lead guitarist – the rest is as bad as ever, but the overall effect works for me. It’s not much of a hi-fi experience though….

Fierce were keen on selling records for a lot of money with very little music on them – this one didn’t cost too much but is one sided, so only 1 track.

I found a delightful letter from Hugh inside.  Fierce were mainly mail order, so some sort of correspondence was inevitable:

letter

Google analytics means I can do scary e-stalking of people who come here.  Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I did discover that the band have linked to this blog from their facebook page. I guess that means they’re not hacked off with me posting their deleted material which is good to know.

by Vinyl301 -

The Soup Dragons: The Sun Is In The Sky EP + Whole Wide World

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Subway 1986.  Subway 2

Discogs

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Subway 1986. Subway 4

Discogs

I sent for the Soup Dragons single….  Mail Order only….  £1.30 to Martin Whitehead but it never came.

The gods were smiling on me , because Martin Whitehead did send me the Soup Dragons single.  It now resides in a box of valuable records I don’t like very much, alongside the Fast Set.  People compare this to the Buzzcocks, but you’d have to have cloth ears to think there was any sort of similarity.  It’s the sort of trashy indiepop which gave the genre a bad name.  Dodgy material badly played…..

It’s always listed as “unreleased” but since you could buy it direct from Subway I guess undistributed is probably more accurate.  I seem to remember it had something to do with Subway going bankrupt, although this was only their second release,  the first, by The Shop Assistants did pretty well and they carried on for quite a while after this one.

I’ve also posted the bands first properly released single, which resides in another box of singles which I don’t like and which are worthless.  It’s better than the first EP though.

So why have I posted this stuff?  Mainly because it’s rare.  I know people want it.  Two posts in a row like this – I’ll try to get back to posting good music asap.

by Vinyl301 -

Robert Lloyd And The New Four Seasons: Something Nice

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In Tape, 1988.  ITT056

Discogs

Writing about the long tracks on Dexy’s Don’t Stand Me Down put me in mind of this very fine Robert Lloyd single which clocks in at a hefty 9 minutes or so, but like Dexy’s, doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Robert Lloyd is mostly known as a founder member of The Nightingales, but he had a brief stint in the late 80s as a solo artist, initially on Marc Reilly’s In Tape, then Virgin.  He also used to run Birmingham’s Vindaloo Records who were responsible for discovering Ted Chippington (he justified his existence by this alone) and Fuzzbox.

His solo career didn’t go well at all, but it wasn’t for want of good material.  This single is as good as anything I bought that year; a wonderful song played with a real energy complete with Stone Roses style drumming, a year before the Stone Roses really made it big.  The B sides aren’t too shabby either.  I have no idea what the “New Four Seasons” thing is about though.  He doesn’t sound anything like them.

Further listening: well none of his solo material is available, but the Nightingales are soldiering on and always worth a listen.  Their current album No Love Lost is as good as anything they’ve done, which is no mean feat with a back catalogue like theirs.

by Vinyl301 -

Various Artists: Flowers In The Sky

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Creation Records 1988.  CRELP 028 CD

Discogs

I bought this the same day I bought my first CD player.  As I left the shop I realised I had only one CD, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me by The Smiths – a good start but listening to one single over and over was going to drive me nuts, so I rushed out and bought this and the New Order Substance compilation.  As far as I know this was also the first CD Creation released – there are some with lower catalogue numbers, but with those the CD was issued some time after the vinyl.

Creation had a habit of putting out way too many compilation albums, usually when they were short of cash, and quality was often poor.  This one works well though.  It’s a retrospective of their early singles, although strangely the Revolving Paint Dream track it’s named after doesn’t appear.  It has the artists you’d expect – Primal Scream in their jangly phase, House Of Love & Felt, as well as forgotten gems like The Loft.  It works as a reminder of what made the label great in the first place – not that some of their later phases weren’t great too.