Hot Stuff From CD Central.
A lot to get through this week, so straight into the first item of the day, which is the new Charlatans album We Are Love, something I've been enjoying in the car recently. The album has a lot of really good songs, many of them memorable, especially in the latter half of the album. Reviews have been positive and I'm adding my voice to them. The single (link above) is typical of the high quality of this new release. Mark Burgess' voice isn't quite as slinky as it was when he was younger, but he very much can still sing. There are modern synth sounds and clever, subtle allusions to earlier classic tracks too. If you were a fan of this band in the good old days (I remember buying a cassette copy of Some Friendly when that came out) you can get this one with confidence. It's not only good, it's a grower.
Next up: have you ever heard of Bill Fay? I hadn't until one of my Steve Palmer Random Purchases a few months ago of a CD called Who Is The Sender? I bought this on the strength of the cover photo of a grizzled old man hunched over a grand piano; also the instrumentation looked interesting. Anyway, this album was a bit of a revelation. Fay has a grizzled voice too, steeped in melancholy, and he has a knack for memorable, melodic songs. I loved it. So the second album I bought recorded by him, Life Is People, I was looking forward to. It's nearly as good. Superb songs, maybe a couple of fillers at the end, but definitely worth a fiver. Recommended if you like singer-songwriters; maybe fans of Leonard Cohen would enjoy it. Check him out online, anyway.
Another music event this week was pretty momentous for me. I have for a while been wondering about the wisdom of keeping my hand-made, left-handed Michael Moussa oud, which in the brave new future of no Blue Lily Commission seemed out of place. I haven't played it of late. Deciding quite quickly one day to sell it - albeit with a sigh - I found a buyer almost straight away, a chap from Sheffield, presumably somebody for whom money is no object - buying it as a Christmas present for his son, £970. Deciding it was too risky to courier, I agreed to meet him in Derby for the handover. On the drive back I felt a bit gloomy, I confess, but it was the right thing to do.
Also listened to this week: Steve Reich, Rush, and an album by The Field which is quite like that classic Avalanches album composed entirely from samples. Not my usual thing, but so well done and so vivacious I think it may be a keeper.
Happy listening!