Duran Duran lps

This is a all new post for my followers about a band I pretty much grew up with in high school and to whom I have many many recordings by on singles, lp albums and compacts discs.

Japanese Mini lps:
These were a cross between a full length album and a 12 inch single that were issued in lp style jackets in Japan often with a lyric sheet:
Nite Romantics - note this one plays at 45 RPM like a (UK) 12" single but has 4 tracks including Fame a cover of the David Bowie number Planet Earth and Girls on Film.

Carnival - five track album of remixes including My Own Way, Rio, Hungry like the Wolf and Hold Back The Rain (I like the guitar work on that track). Note it is different than the US and Dutch versions of the same title.

Tiger! Tiger! comprises of the 12" mixes of the singles from Seven and the Ragged Tiger plus 12" of Is There Something I Should Know.

There was 2cd set that has these versions on issued in Japan in 1991.

Duran Duran (S/T):
I have two versions because I was Durannie as we who followed them rabidly called ourselves back in the day.
The first was my original 1981 UK lp on EMI which has 9 tracks including To The Shore.
The second is the re-packaged 1983 version for Japan that added the Is There Something I Should Know single to the start of the original 9 track album taking it to 10 tracks. It's very quiet as Japanese vinyl always was and sounds great.

Rio:
Again 2 versions:
The 1982 original UK one
The 2009 re-mastered lp that has two discs of which the first is from the original UK version and the second that plays at 45 Rpm has unique to America versions from their third and final lp version meaning you can play this as the Americans heard it or in it's UK configuration.
It arrived today!!!
The sound quality is marvellous with deep bass clear transients and is very quiet.

Seven and the Ragged Tiger: I have just the UK 1983 edition of this, a often maligned album by them taking in The Reflex, New Moon On Monday which I had the lyrics from smash hits magazine blu-tacked on the bedroom wall and Union Of The Snake.

I never got Arena - the live album that is a kinda of sound track to the sci-fi concert video - on vinyl as this was as I mentioned on the Now post was an era of format change and my first exposure to Arena was via the Capitol/EMI XDR cassette tape and then a few years later the Japanese pressed compact disc.

The Beach Boys: Today & Summer Days

 Well peoples the initiated do know I've always had a strong liking for the Beach Boys a band who notwithstanding being American -Californian to be exact - developed a strong following in the UK to the point that by the late 1960's they were more popular there than 'at home'!

 

I was raised on British versions of the "Best of the Beach Boys " compilations in their crazy mixture of mono, true stereo and Duophonic (fake) stereo from an early age and started slowly buying individual albums from my mid teens although at that time a Stones or Beatles album got the nod as I as low on my allowances back then.

That had something to do with the patchy nature of some of these early beach boy albums some having obvious filler such as Denny's Drums from "Shut Down Vol:2", Our Favorite Recording Sessions on "All Summer Long" or "Bull session with Big Daddy" on this album, "Today!" but there are too many examples of their song writing abilities, harmonization and Brian Wilson's production abilities not to stay with a few hit bound compilations.

In fact this album issued early 1965 is really at the point when the themes became more adult exploring much more about emotions and relationships than the previous album which was still teen fun in the sun songs with cars - a Californian necessity and obsession - and the complex arrangements that blossomed on Pet Sounds began (It has been said much of side two was the dummy run for that album).

The hit 45's leap out at you and it's telling that they're all on side one, the cover of Do You Wanna Dance, When I Grow Up (to be a Man) which questions of the interests and obsessions of youth can be maintained in adult life and finally Dance Dance Dance which is as close to the older themes this album gets with its invocation of teen life, coming in from school and blasting out the radio flat out.

Guess we've all done that, eh?

Side two is where the fun starts, with Brian pouring his heart out writing very grown up songs about love such as "Please Let Me Wonder" and "She Knows Me Too Well".

My previous exposure to this album in it's entirety was a UK Duophonic stereo version on album - I should note it was mixed to real stereo but seemingly Brian Wilson objected to this stereo re-mix and had it trashed oblivious to the fact it would be tricked into fake stereo anyway by Capitol sounding less good - and the mono cd which is part of a 2 lp on cd set with Summer Days neither issue of which is entirely satisfactory as sound quality goes.

This was re-issued in mono in full by Capitol in the States in 2009 in the "From the vaults" lp re-issue series on 180 gram vinyl from higher than cd resolution files transferred from the analogue tapes and I was able to win a near mint copy very cheaply recently to add to my collection.

In my opinion this album hasn't sounded better. Recommended.

Capitol at the same time decided to re-issue this album, Today's follow up in it's "From the vaults" series but goofed with the front and rear jacket art as they used that from the Duophonic version whereas this lp is actually mono and many audio fans run a mile from any kind of fake stereo which is unfortunate cos they see the cover and it like 'Ugh!'

The usual opinion on this this album is it's a a step back from side two of Today returning more to the fun in the sun subject matter of girls, beaches, and summer but this is to ignore the sophistication in the arrangements most noticeably on California Girls, the instrumental Summer Means New Love, the heavy I'm Bugged At My ol' Man' and the acapella And Your Dream Comes True.

In reality Capitol wanted a album for Summer, the Beach boys needed a album to tour behind and Brian Wilson had to rustle up something so while it's true to say the spirit of this album is in the past most noticeably on Amusement Parks USA with the carnival barker interjecting in the song not unlike County Fair from Surfin' Safari, the quality of the arrangements and the playing more than make up for it.

The sound on this lp is probably the best I've heard it as there's plenty of bass and a tendency toward peakiness and over bright strings that can be heard in otherwise great copies such as the UK 1978 mono re-issue are well tamed , allowing the vocals to cut through.

The card insert has colour versions of the rear album photographs that I'm sure were not issued here in the UK at the time.

It just seems a pity care wasn't taken to issue the correct mono front and rear covers of thsi otherwise well worthwhile re-issue.

Marillion

Yes pop pickers it's been a busy year and this overdue part of the vinyl project is complete.
You see I original had these albums initially as I bought them for my brother but only got around to buying one for myself namely Misplaced Childhood back in the day as I had them copied to tape. Needless to say tape isn't in my current stereo system so I had to put matters aright and as they were intended for lp at the time I bought the UK first issue lps.

Formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979 they are a progressive rock band -aka Prog Rock - and as such hark back to style of song writing which scans more like prose with strong imagery and complex musical arrangements.

Script For A Jester's Tear EMI EMC 3429: Issued in1983 and home of He Knows You Know and Garden Party which were hit 45's this was the first album and sounded the most like 70's Genesis.
Fugazi EMC 24 0085-1: issued in early 1984 this was one album that really made me pay attention to what this new band had to offer featuring the hits single Assassing.
Real To Real: Issued late 1984 this is a live album part recorded in Canada and part in the UK that did feature their first single Market Square Heroes that wasn't issued on album.
Misplaced Childhood EMI MRL2 (EJ24 0340-1): One of the best selling albums of 1985 featuring the singles Lavender and Kayleigh that remain popular to the present day. On lp it sound a lot better than the UK cd version I have.
Clutching At Straws EMI EMD 1002: Issued in 1987 the album that is very much about the touring life it was the last studio album to feature vocalist Fish and the home of the singles Incommunicado and Sugar Mice

Kashimashi!

Only available in R1 I'm currently watching the anime based on the manga that I own. The story is that of a love triangle between three girls but with a twist for Hazumu was formally a boy who declared his love for Yasuna only o have it rejected.
Feeling so rejected from being spurned, Hazumu took to the mountains and was squashed by an alien spaceship. 

Feeling sorry for what hey had done in an act of restitution they remade his body but they for it wrong for he was now a girl!

From now on Hazumu needs to learn to be the girl of her parents desire while in the throws of this love triangle between Tomari and Yasuna which commenced when Tomari oversaw Yasuna and Hazumu kissing.

If this wasn't enough the alien responsible for Hazumu's new life reveals she has only 3-0 days to live and only by merging her fate with another can she survive.

Past gurlhood music

Music it has to be said played an important part in my life and especially through my childhood whither or not it's what we call popular or what is usually classified as classical. 
Music has this amazing ability to transmit emotions, stimulate the mind as well as taking us on epic journeys of discovery.

Music in connection with readings ties in with me for Christmas which always meant which Carols from Kings loving to hear the young boy choristers sing.

This was an early cd I bought because it contains the readings I grew up with as a boy and the beautiful sang carols.
 
Sometimes music is an end in itself such as such as recital or rock concert, it may the accompaniment of a dance as many Waltzes were intend to or an integral part in a grand production such as stage show, opera or ballet together with other artistic disciplines.

Music has a lot to offer people especially children and thoughtful educators have always tried to introduce not just musical concepts as harmony, melody, time etc as well but encouraging children to play an instrument themselves as well as in ensembles.

At my primary school I played the xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle as well as tambourine in school productions, assemblies and we had separate music classes during the week to learn new pieces of music as well as develop our abilities which for some of was a challenge!

One of the first prices of classical music I heard was Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade  an epic tale based on the book of 1000  and one nights (aka The Arabian Nights) told in rich symphonic sound with a wonderful role the Violin when I was just over nine years of age when my teacher decided to play it for us.

It wasn't long before I was pestering daddy for a copy of this on lp record as by that point I'd got a stereo record player of my own.

In 1992 I bought the newly remastered cd version of it on Classics for Pleasure, loving Hugh Bean's solo violin part.

Fortunately here in the UK there were and still are many classical music programs on the radio that give you the opportunity to explore works you may be unfamiliar with and through them I learned about people like Beethoven, Chopin and Berlioz among others and their music.

As well in time I started to build my own library of recordings such as the Beethoven Symphonies in my teens that I write about yesterday.

I also had recordings of Tchaikovsky ballets at the time - he was a way with musical characterizations like Puss and Boots in the third act of  Sleeping Beauty and I adore the entire Nutcracker suite.

So you could say my classical music collection originally started on ye olde lp record and for a brief period went to cassettes as their quality improved in the early 1980's.
The first classical cd I bought was one of Sibelius's tone poems by the Berlin Philharmonic followed by  Lalo Espagnole Symphonie disc in 1986.

I had a mania for Violin music and was lucky to get the two lp box set of Paganini's First Violin Concerto and 24 Caprices as performed by Itzhak Perlman on British  HMV with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Laurence Foster replacing them on cd eventually.

Those copies were Japanese pressed editions from 1985 when Emi belatedly decided to make recordings available in the new cd format.

I developed a love of the music of the Strauss family, wheelchair dancing to waltzes and aided by the annual Vienna New Years Day concert broadcast on BBC Radio Three at the time I tuned into religiously.

I recently bought this six cd box set of the man to which his performances of them were what I listened to in that era Willi Boskovsky recorded in the late 60's and early 70's with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

They pretty much contain every performance I heard from the borrowed records and tapes I had then, all remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes arranged by composition type originally released by Decca over here.

Fortunately compared to the early days of compact discs such sets are fairly inexpensive having serviceable booklets about the music.

Billy Joel, Piano Man

This week we're back to music and looking at Billy Joel who I followed certainly around the time I was in high school  and I've been collecting recordings by him ever since.

He was born William Martin Joel in 1949 in Long Island, New York formed a band called the Echoes in 1964 the year of the 'British Invasion and later on formed a hard rock band in late 1960's called The Hassles from which a duo with their drummer Jon Small.

In 1973 on the strength of shows in the Northeastern United States he signed a recording contract with Columbia Records  which led to his debut album album Cold Spring Harbour being issued. 

The first two cds by Billy I bought were An Innocent Man and The Bridge in their European issues following up with the Japanese cd made for Europe of Nylon Curtain, The US versions of Storm Front plus River Of Dreams and a minidisc (RIP) of Streetlight Serenade together with Greatest Hits III in 1998.

Recently I have acquired a couple of specialty label cds from Mobile fidelity (Mofi) of Chicago, Ill. by him and it's these I wish to talk about.

In so far as most Britons are concerned he came to notice during Elton John's unavailability late 77, Early '78 but actually Billy went back much further than that but simply they'd not heard that early material.

 
Piano Man which remains one of the finest albums by a contemporary rock artist taking his observations on NJ life including the controversial Captain Jack that tackles drug abuse . 

As well it is worth noting this album is clearly influenced by Elton's Tumbleweed Connection as well as having a Western theme running thru it.

Piano Man is a fictionalized account of his own story working the bars, trying earn a dollar.

Turnstiles was the next one up and was the second just issued by Mofi which features New York state of Mind in it's original mix rather than the remix used for all previous cd versions as well as Miami 2017 and the epic Say Goodbye To Hollywood.

All these discs are Super Audio cds with a higher resolution layer for suitably equipped layers and  a regular layer for my own cd player.
 
I was fortunate to borrow  the the Audio Fidelity 52nd Street which I didn't like  finding it too muddy so elected to elected to stay with my 1994 Sony Mastersounds gold disc.

Bamboo Blade

I'm presently watching the shojo (girl's) sports series Bamboo Blade.

The story starts with perpetually broke part-time Muroe High School coach Toraji Ashida making a bet with an old school chum: if he can assemble a winning girl's kendo (Japanese fencing) team, then he'll get a year's free dinners at a sushi restaurant.

As instructors go he's the laughing stock of all the others which is hardly inspiring.

Sounds corny but you have to hang the plot on something I guess! 

Ashida-sensei's motives may be less than altruistic, but he manages to recruit a few promising candidates. 

The wildcard in his hand is short of stature Tamaki Kawazoe, who's grown up in her family's dojo (training complex) and is a likely candidate for a national title. 

Tama-chan loves Super Sword Squadron Blade Bravers , a sci-fi anime spoof where she finds playing on her desire to emulate the champions of justice in the series, Ashida gets her to join the team, knowing her skill and speed will inspire the other girls to win.