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Post by Will/P.P. on May 30, 2019 17:41:39 GMT -5
Thanks for posting, Peter. I'm looking into David's music. Other than the Pearlfishers "Go Away Boy", which I thought was beautiful, I'd not heard anything until this week.
So far, what I've liked the best is when he performs at an acoustic piano. I tried both live and studio tracks. Is that the same David Scott that is reading Sherlock Holmes?
Two that are very nice: "The Last Days of September" - very Prefab Sprout/Dream Academy sounding, so interesting. I have been a fan of both of those groups since the get-go. After hearing "You Can Take Me There", I was left wondering why Brian didn't pick David for a slot on No Pier Pressure. Bet the harmonies would work well. I will get back to you after I've had more time to investigate.
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Post by sneakypete77 on Jun 2, 2019 4:49:38 GMT -5
Hey Will, the only Holmes audio books I’ve been able to find have been narrated by David Clarke or Stephen Fry featuring typically plummy English upper-class accents. Given that Sherlock was created by Edinburgh-born Arthur Conan Doyle, I see no reason why there shouldn’t be a Scottish narrator of his tales at some point. But I doubt if our Pearlfishers’ David Scott is your man, although I personally believe that he would be an excellent candidate for the job. He has a wonderfully expressive speaking voice with his velvety Scottish brogue, as evidenced in this short clip of him enthusing over a music awards ceremony in 2014:
Staying (sort of) on topic David would doubtless be more receptive to a prolonged stay in a glorified log cabin in upstate New York than was Andy back in 1986:
And definitely staying on topic, this is currently my preferred album opener, which would slot perfectly into an anti-war Bollywood production, something notably absent from its canon. Come on Mumbai, what the hell are you waiting for – I’m pretty sure Andy would be up for it, and equally certain that he would be totally respectful of the Hindu religious influences they would insist upon. Err, hang on a minute…..
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Post by sneakypete77 on Jun 11, 2019 3:34:58 GMT -5
Got an unexpected extra day at home, so here's one while I still have the time.
If the dreamy "Chalkhills and Children" has consistently been the highlight of the Oranges & Lemons album for me, then this runs it a close second. One of them's the yin, the other the yang, but I'm never sure which one's which.
It opens with what I've always imagined to be a tuxedo-garbed Andy in a smokey jazz club luring us in with the promise of a soft, lazy number until 30 seconds in, when he turns to the audience and shouts "Fuck you". Dave's blistering guitar launches everything into a frenetic, ferocious social commentary by Andy, featuring some of his most cutting words:
The dough is rising but no bread will be baked The fur is genuine but the orgasm's faked We're spending millions to learn to speak porpoise When human loneliness is still a deafening noise
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Post by sneakypete77 on Jun 30, 2019 9:17:21 GMT -5
Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning, who had been pals since high school in the Bay Area suburb of Pleasanton decided in 1989 that they would form a band. Requiring two more members, they recruited Roger’s brother Chris on bass but felt that they needed to be a bit more selective when it came to a lead guitar player. Heavily influenced during college days at USC, where he was a member of an obsessive XTC fan club, Roger decided that any prospective candidate should also be an enthusiastic follower of Andy & Co. Jason Falkner fit the bill nicely, and Jellyfish were born. Their career has been likened to a supernova, shining unbelievably brightly but briefly, producing two of the most astonishing albums which have since inspired like-minded groups (Wondermints, anyone?). It all went tits-up at the end, finishing in such acrimony that the lifelong pals haven’t spoken in almost two decades.
So what the hell’s this got to do with anything? Well, during those days at USC, Roger remembers getting his hands on a copy of Skylarking and in particular he recalls drooling over this track:
Andy has described the song as a ‘folk thing with acoustic guitar interweaving’. Todd had other ideas for it, and whether it was down to him or Andy, it became, in my book, a stab at a James Bond theme. Dave’s pure Vic Flick licks on top of those sliding strings surely aren’t there by accident? The fact that the band filmed a promo video at Portmeirion, the home of stranded secret agent Patrick McGoohan in his bewildering 1960s TV series “The Prisoner” is a clincher for me. Mind you, they did film “The Meeting Place” there on the same day, so maybe I’m talking bollocks.
But, Roger in later years came up with this, on his first solo album Solid State Warrior in 2005, and I can’t help thinking he’s having a try at a Bond song himself. The bossa nova-like arrangement seems to emulate the verses on the XTC song, and the line..”Beware how they warned, a guy could fall for you, something a spy should never do” is a bit of a giveaway. The makers of this independent music video seem to agree. I asked Roger about this a couple of years later and also suggested the XTC “Man Who Sailed…” connection; all I got in return was a wry smile but he didn’t deny it:
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Post by Will/P.P. on Sept 3, 2019 22:59:19 GMT -5
"Sacred Objects" - Peter Blegvad and Andy:
Lyrics and vocal by Peter/ Music by Andy and Stu Rowe film by Stu and Andy - quite nice!
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Post by George Faulkner on Nov 15, 2019 9:12:26 GMT -5
FWIW, I just got the Dukes Psurroundabout Ride and the instrumental (backing) track version of the two Dukes releases is amazing. Just ordered the blu-ray of Skylarking cause I need to hear those backing tracks as well. I could see this snowballing for me. I may need to collect em all.
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Hydra
Kahuna
Posts: 222
Likes: 157
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Post by Hydra on Nov 15, 2019 17:12:14 GMT -5
Then She Appeared from Nonsuch is fantastic
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Post by sneakypete77 on Nov 17, 2019 10:49:20 GMT -5
FWIW, I just got the Dukes Psurroundabout Ride and the instrumental (backing) track version of the two Dukes releases is amazing. Just ordered the blu-ray of Skylarking cause I need to hear those backing tracks as well. I could see this snowballing for me. I may need to collect em all.
I’ve been listening to this all week, and it might very well be a hoary old cliché but there is so much going on that there is something fresh and new to hear each time it’s played. Andy is on record as saying that “Collideascope” is pure Lennon, but his original demo is pure Liam Gallagher, who wasn’t even fifteen at the time and was preoccupied with stealing bicycles and getting himself suspended from high school. Partridge; artist, songwriter, musician…psychic. No end to the man’s talents. The only quibble I have is there’s a perfectly good Blu-Ray in the set, so why not use its full capabilities and include The Dukes’ promo video for "The Mole from the Ministry"? It’s probably due to some copyright bollocks and I did spend an inordinate amount of time trying to see if it was hidden somewhere on the disc, given the nature of the whole project, but shit out of luck thus far. Junkstar, the Skylarking CD/Blu-Ray package is phenomenal. Wait no more, splash the cash and grab the Nonsuch set as well.
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Post by George Faulkner on Nov 21, 2019 15:14:43 GMT -5
So, I went and bought all six surround releases. The Dukes and Skylarking were so damn good I had to have them all. The standout for me? I had never fully appreciated the brilliance of Colin Moulding. Holy wow. My only (small) complaint? I don't miss most of the snare drum sounds from that era. Too processed.
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Post by sneakypete77 on Apr 30, 2020 10:11:37 GMT -5
Thought it might be an opportune moment to resurrect this thread, even if it isn’t Tuesday. But first, a word from our sponsor.
Don’t know about you lot, but in these weird times I’ve realised that the food I eat is tasting better, perhaps because of the hour I spent in a queue at the supermarket to buy it. And now that the streets are devoid of traffic I can hear a pin drop outside. There’s a glorious sight at sunset if you all look high in the west – that’s the stunning planet Venus, visible still for the next few weeks until its beauty is lost in the glare of the setting sun. And now that I’m spending many relaxing hours on the back garden bench I can see it in broad daylight too, anyone can if you know where to look. Andy probably didn’t have any of this stuff in mind when he wrote this, but stretch your imagination just a touch and enjoy it anyway:
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