August 2011 archives
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August 30, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1875
Pink Floyd, Animals (1977) Often my favourite Pink Floyd album is the one I’m listening to – it’s hard to pick a favourite. Just as often, these days, I’m fairly much over the band; done to death. And though there are albums by Floyd that seem to stand to the side (Atom Heart Mother) I [...]Archive
August 30, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1876
The Lemonheads, It’s A Shame About Ray (1992) I feel like I’ve been listening to The Lemonheads for a lot longer than I have. I mean, I remember this album from when it was released, pretty much 20 years ago, but it feels like it’s been around longer. No real surprise given that Evan Dando [...]Archive
August 28, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1877
Bob Marley, Babylon By Bus (1978) This was the first Bob Marley album I ever owned; the first I picked up on LP (for $1). The cover is ripped, so the sleeves fall out of the bus. But the records are in decent condition – and that’s (ultimately) what matters. I really loved Bob Marley’s [...]Archive
August 27, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1878
Led Zeppelin, Presence (1976) Isn’t it funny how your tastes change within the work of one band even as you get older? For some (whatever) reason, even at my peak of Led Zeppelin fandom in my teen years (and early 20s) I thought that Presence was a dud. I didn’t care for it. Sure, I [...]Archive
August 27, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1879
Bill Conti, Rocky (1976) At some point – a few years back – I started to think of Gonna Fly Now as one of the greatest pieces of music ever. The irony that I might have been attempting was so deep that I couldn’t work out my true feelings about this piece of music. All [...]Archive
August 26, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1880
John Williams, The John Williams Collection (1978) I pulled out The John Williams Collection the other night. I told my wife, Katy, all about how I used to listen to John Williams on CD at university. It was my go-to music for when I wrote essays (which wasn’t all that often). I had heard John [...]Archive
August 26, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1881
Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973) I still maintain Paul Simon hasn’t made a bad album – really. And if he has then it’s not this one. I don’t really care for the big single from this album; it’s okay, it’s got a groove but it never really did it for me. But [...]Archive
August 25, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1882
John Lennon, The John Lennon Collection (1982) The first posthumous John Lennon collection, this is the compilation that I turn to rather than his albums. John – out of The Beatles – doesn’t really do it for me. People mock Macca but he delivers. John didn’t. Okay, so Plastic Ono Band is a masterpiece. And [...]Archive
August 24, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1883
Commodores, Live! (1977) You all know that I love Lionel and that I even got to interview him. But for some reason – as far as a lot of people are concerned – it’s fair to love the Commodores but not the solo career of Lionel Richie. And this is just a theory I’ve made [...]Archive
August 23, 2011 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1884
Bruce Springsteen, Tunnel Of Love (1987) I like this record a lot. I like the title song and Brilliant Disguise and basically every track on the album. I like that there’s no other record in Bruce Springsteen’s career that is (quite) like this. In fact there’s no other record by The Boss that’s remotely like [...]Archive
August 22, 2011 by Simon Sweetman