Erasure for Christmas?

When I found out Erasure were recording a Christmas album, I have to admit, I wasn’t very excited. In fact I was anticipating it being as bad as “Other People’s Songs”. Yet, as a sucker for a limited edition (I even subscribe to @sdedition twitter feed) I couldn’t help but order the deluxe box set of “Snow Globe” and boy am I glad I did. Not only is the box set one of the most thoughtful I’ve ever bought but the music is quite brilliant.

Firstly we should look at the music. Why does (what on paper) looks a terrible concept, work so well in execution? Well firstly Andy has truly found his inner choir boy. Tracks like “Silent Night” and “Silver Bells” work specifically because Andy sings them so well. Vince’s sparse arrangements seem to extenuate the beauty of the vocals yet remain imaginative and unique. Christmas related music makes up 75% of the album with the remainder taken up by fantastic new tracks such as “Loving Man” and “There’ll be no Tomorrow”. From first listen this album was good enough to even make this Scrooge feel Christmassy in November. The box set also features a second disc with remixes, acoustic versions and oddities plus a  third disc with a 'Radio Show'.

As you might expect, the 3000 box sets were only available for pre-order and are sold out. 

 

Losing my edge

Sometime in 2005 I was going to work on a night shift and for some inexplicable reason I tuned my car stereo to BBC Radio 1. This was strange as I never listened to this station normally and frankly, I haven’t listened to it since. But as I drove along that night, I heard a track titled “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” that was both weird and glorious; I loved it instantly. I bought LCD Soundsystem’s eponymously titled debut album as soon as I got access to Google and Amazon.

Over the next few years I bought “45:33” and “Sound of Silver” and found LCD Soundsystem were increasingly brilliant. By the time the glorious “This is Happening” was released I was truly engrossed by Mr Murphy’s music as it was a cunning mix of the sombre and the facile.

However, it became apparent that this was to be the last LCD Soundsystem album and by the time I went to see them live in the spring of 2010 we knew it was soon going to be over. I followed the break up of the group via their website with a mixture of disbelief and ambivalence.

Yet it is only when I watch “Shut up and play the hits” that I realise what a loss LCD Soundsystem are to the music world. Yes, we have the music and the memories, but to think a talent like James Murphy no longer has an output is quite sad. He says touring was ageing him and he wanted to get on with his life. Fine, stop touring if you have to, but please Mr Murphy, make some music. You’re too good not to.

Aventures in vinyl

I recently acquired a new turntable. Consequently I have spent quite a lot of time collecting new vinyl from a wide variety of sources. I have bought from eBay, collector web sites, charity shops, big chains like HMV and independent record shops all across the country.

I have bought ‘mint’ or ‘excellent’ records that look like they have been stored in a dust trap and conversely I have bought 30 year old vinyl that plays and looks as good as the day it was pressed. I have received flimsy 12” singles that I won for 50p wrapped in the sturdiest and most frustratingly secure packaging known to man. I have also received much anticipated eBay victories stuffed in a jiffy bag without a stiffener and its fate trusted to the Royal Mail (it turned up with a heavily creased sleeve but vinyl intact). I have bought record cleaning brushes, a new stylus, cartridge protractors and all kinds of protective covers. So what have I learned from all of this?

The remastered Kraftwerk LPs are by far the best I have bought

Modern remastered vinyl sells at a premium: Most modern pressings are often of a very high quality and that is reflected in the price. You get what you pay for I guess. The soundtrack to “Blade Runner” by Vangelis (2013) is £28-32 depending on where you shop, but is worth every penny. The remastered Depeche Mode (2007) and Kraftwerk (2009) LPs are fine examples of what is possible with brilliant mastering and virgin heavyweight vinyl but average out at £20 each. However….

Brand new 180g vinyl doesn’t guarantee quality: The reissues of Mike Oldfield albums such as “Crises” (2013) are lamentably inferior to the Kraftwerk repressings and quite disappointing. In 2011 Jean Michel Jarre’s first three LPs were released on vinyl for the first time in 20 years. Vinyl does have its limits and these releases highlight the compromises that must sometimes be made. The higher frequencies seem attenuated making the music sound dull, especially in tracks such as Equinoxe Part IV (with a terrible edit at the end of Part VII ruining the second side of the disc).

Not many people understand how to grade a second-hand record: When buying records, major suppliers and collectors use the system created by Record Collector Magazine. The average seller, who is often ignorant of the grading system, will commonly list a record as “good” when it should be graded as “excellent” and vice vesa. Buying vinyl on eBay from private seller is something of a minefield as a result. It took me 5 attempts to secure an “excellent” condition of one LP. Most people simply don’t refer to the condition of the record and this should be a warning!

The Technics SL1200

I used to own a cheap copy of a Technics SL1200 made by a company called SoundLab. It had a rubbish USB audio output and to say it wasn't robust is an major understatement. When the rather poor cartridge developed a fault I decided to throw the baby out with the bath water and start again.

So what turntable to choose? Taking into account my limited budget, I decided I definitely didn't want one of the ubiquitous Pro-Ject or Rega turntables. Having owned a Pro-Ject Debut deck for a few years I knew I couldn't go back to lifting the platter and moving a rubber band between wheels to change speed. Little weights dangling on pieces of nylon thread and a platter that takes an age to stop spinning when turned off aren't features I look for either. So what I wanted was something of better quality than my current deck but with the practicality of an SL1200 copy. Well, what about a real SL1200?

The SL1200 with its original Stanton 500 cartridge

The debate about whether the SL1200 is truly an 'audiophile' turntable still rages on Internet. The issue of belt versus direct drive finds me firmly on the direct side of the argument. Every belt drive deck I have ever owned has displayed noticeable wow and driven me to distraction. Similarly I have never noticed any added motor noise from direct drive and find the brake a useful function. With a high quality cartridge there is no reason why an SL1200 can't sound miles better than any entry level 'audiophile' turntable.

Having watched eBay auctions for a month or so I realised a few things. I needed a seller near to me as posting a heavy turntable with breakable parts is best avoided. Prices vary wildly depending on the cartridge installed and they are often sold in pairs. An original example in excellent condition will fetch between £200 to £250. Other criteria included an intact dust cover, working lights, to not have been gigged and totally unmodified (some of those Ortofon Concorde cartridges, blue neon lights and 'custom powder coatings' look dreadful).

The Rega Fono Mini is a marvel

Having won a suitable deck I couldn't help but be impressed by its solid construction. An SL1200 is made of a solid rubber base and weighs in at a hefty 12kg. On recommendation form a work colleague I ordered what turned out to be an essential element in improving the sound of my vinyl: a phono pre amp. Its amazing how much difference a little black box costing just £85 can make to the sound of a deck. The Rega Fono Mini is an amazing product that I recommend without hesitation. It even has a USB out so digital conversion is just as easy as any cheap USB equipped piece of junk. I have also thrown out the Technics slip mat and added a decidedly "non-slip" rubber mat and ordered a Denon DL110 cartridge.

The thing about playing vinyl on this set up is that it is a complete pleasure. Not only is the sound rich and punchy but the laborious nature of traditional turntables is eradicated. The SL1200 is very easy to live with and its practicality makes me more inclined to throw on an LP rather than an mp3; something I was not inclined to do with my old decks.

The critics and Hi-Fi snobs may sneer but the Sl1200 suits my needs and sounds better than any other turntable I have ever owned.

The remastered CD isn't quite in crisis yet, not with Crises anyway

Crises by Mike Oldfield has always been one of my favourite albums. As a fan of the sound of the Fairlight CMI and eighties music in general, the twenty minute title cut really has everything for me. The second side opens with the hit single ‘Moonlight Shadow’ and the Jon Anderson collaboration ‘In High Places’. Nobody needs pretend ‘Foreign Affair’ is anything other than filler but the intricacies of ‘Taurus 3’ soon banish it. Proceedings close with Oldfield’s take on "heavy metal" in ‘Shadow on the wall’ which features some of co-producer Simon Philips best drumming (gated snares and all!!).

The new deluxe and super deluxe editions take the original 1983 masters and see them baked one last time for mixing in pro tools. The new masters are obviously louder but seem to offer more stereo separation without losing too much of the dynamics. It’s a good job and these tend to be few and far between in the loudness wars.

 

The 5 disc ‘super deluxe’ box set is a lesson in how to make a great reissue. Other record companies should take note (EMI I’m looking you squarely in the eye here, the ‘Electronic’ reissue was a complete shambles). The fact that Oldfield himself has completed the new 5.1 surround mixes and seems to have generally been involved in the project is telling. This is a considered and worthy re-release of a great album.

Remixes - too much of anything is never enough

I’ve always defended the use of remixes. Yes, they have been used to cynically exploit the record buying public at times, but they have also given much joy. I love remixes that either improve on or drastically alter the way you perceive a track. I have a playlist on my computer entitled “The Best Remixes Ever”. Here are some of the gems it includes:

Front 242 – Rhythm of Time [Victor the Cleaner] remixed by The Orb [the only decent remix The Orb ever did] I forgot about the Depeche Mode "Happiest Girl" remixes when I posted this

Nine Inch Nails – Only [Richard X Mix]

Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence [Ewan Person Extended Remix]

Mansun – I can Only Disappoint You [Perfecto Club Mix]

Baxendale – I Built this City [Michael Mayer Mix]

Björk – Hunter [Skothus Mix] remixed by Gus Gus (I used to think the single version of “All Is Full Of Love” was a great remix until I found out it is the original version and that the album version is a remix)

I could add loads of other great remixes and I’m sure most fans of dance or electronic music have their own. But when do remixes get out of control? How many mixes are enough?

In the 1980’s record labels began releasing multiple formats of the same single which all counted towards its chart position (only sales of physical product counted then). Picture discs were a particular favourite tool with free posters also common. As dance mixes became more popular these various formats began to fill with different remixes and in turn spawned more formats. Historically most people have cited Trevor Horns plethora of “Relax” 12” singles as a turning point in the life of the remix. By the 1990’s singles such as Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” were being released on no less than 7 different formats. Luckily the digital age arrived and saved fans the maddening task of identifying and procuring every release and remix. Or did it?

The Pet Shop Boys single ‘Vocal’ was released back in June. There were 9 versions of the song released on the CD with a couple more available as exclusives on services such as Beatport. However since its release it has become apparent that there were many more remixes commissioned but not used. These mixes seem to have been released back to the artists who are making them available online, presumably with Neil and Chris’s consent.

The trouble comes in the sheer volume of these ‘official mixes’. Personally I lost count somewhere around the 40^th different mix. Many of them are average, but strangely none of them are terrible. A few are superb. The ‘Drop Jackson mix’ seems to be universally praised amongst fans with the ‘Armageddon Turk Occupy Mix’ and ‘Leonidas & Hobbes Vocal mix’ also personal favourites. So why weren’t these mixes released? Well they have been. ‘Officially leaked’ seems to be the order of the day. If you want to spend hours on dodgy websites duelling with Trojans and spyware looking for that one last dub/edit/instrumental you are missing, then you can. Alternatively you can be happy with your digital download from iTunes and leave the searching to idiots like me. It seems you can never have too many remixes.

Emo heaven is on the way

So, with releases by both Nine Inch Nails and Gary Numan to look forward to this autumn, the Emo and industrial-loving side of me has much to look forward to.

Reznor's free mp3 "Copy of A" sounds fresh and really rather excellent (especially as it's free). The single "Came back haunted" is also a brilliant teaser that leaves me optimistic that "Hesitation Marks" will be a great album. The "How to Destroy Angels" project left me a little underwhelmed, so I'm looking forward to the resurrection of the NIN moniker.

Numan has so far given nothing away regarding his latest effort but, unfortunately, the press release for "Splinter (Songs from a broken mind)" sounds nothing short of desperate.  

 
"Sounding both cutting-edge and classic Numan, it marks his best work since the late 70s, early 80s heyday"

Surely there is nothing worse than stating a well established artist's new work is both cutting edge and classic? Similarly the suggestion that this new album is Numan's "best work" since his chart heyday is dismissive of a large body of his work and frankly sounds, well......desperate.

Numan's last album "Dead Rising Son" only had about three plays in this house. It sounded like a set of left over demo recordings and unfinished songs. Wait.......ohhhh....it was you say? Yes, it sounded like it. "Splinter" simply has to be better.

However, both albums have one thing in common: brilliant artwork Lets hope the music lives up to the visuals.