Mike Oldfield – Discovery (1984)
https://www.discogs.com/Mike-Oldfield-Discovery/release/96973
Mike Oldfield – Discovery (1984)
This was as far as I recall one of the first records by Mike Oldfield I heard, the first song I listened to by him was Moonlight Shadow. And thus Crisis would be the first lp by him I laid ears on.
Discovery (or as a local DJ used to pronounce it: Disco Very (sic)), is not my favourite lp by Oldfield, but not the worst either. Personally I guess my eternal # 1 is Ommadawn. What I think about the songs here are as follows:
SIDE A:
To France: Obviously an attempt to make Moonlight Shadow 2, and not a bad attempt either. I love the way the lyrics weave around the melody, and Maggie Reilly’s voice is sweet as ever. The guitar solos (both acoustic and electric) also works well for me.
Poison Arrows: This has been ruined for me by the Zombies re-make made a few years back. Still an ok song, I imagine it’s a return to the mood Oldfield had when he made Shadow on the Wall. There is some of the same gloomy-ness. The delay/phaser effect on the drums are supercool. Even the faux werewolf howl in the end comes out not too tacky.
Crystal Gazing: Here we are in Family Man territory, again a return to earlier moods and recipies from Gordon Mikefield. This is not the most exciting song. A bit gumpetung, and too repetitive without being hypnotizing (and me likes monotony when done properly).
Tricks of the Light: Is a song I don’t really like.
Discovery: Again a bit of a Shadow on the Wall feel here. I remember liking this song a lot back when the lp came out, but I was a sucker for powerballads then. Not as much now
SIDE B:
Talk About Your Life: I love this song, easily the best song on the record, the vocals are majestic and all comes together in a higher synthesis. It still speaks to me as powerfully as it did in 1984.
Saved by a Bell: A bit of a Disney-banger here. A universe-themed grandiose epic 70’s style rock-ballad. That works!! Much better than the title track. Love it!
The Lake: The final song and the only instrumental on the lp. Starts off with faux pan flutes in delay loop. Urgh, It sucks. Sorry to say, but if I was randomly shuffling through this lp I would never listen to the entire song. And then the progressive stuff comes in. Not good, I really don’t like this. Gumpetungt and uninspired. Western guitar??
My final verdict is that this isn’t Oldfield’s finest hour, but still an ok record to put on once in a while.
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Chance
This is one of the first lps I bought after moving to Copenhagen in 1992. My girlfriend at the time – Lisa – and I discovered that we had a mutual liking for Manfred Mann. I have to admit, that the only song I had heard from Mr. Mann was Adolescent Dream, which I had taped from the radio sometime during the 1980’s. I bought this lp in a second hand record store called Accord, and was quite excited to get to hear more than the one song.
If you’re familiar with Adolescent Dream – and this album as a whole – you might understand my surprise, this wasn’t the weird electronic lp I had expected. But still a fair album, just different.
I haven’t listened to this for a decade or more, but it still has charm.
Oh, and there are sleeve notes in abundance which I dig a lot, I remember this was the first lp I saw with such.
I have to give you the lyrics for Adolescent Dream, as they’re beautiful and strange and haunting:
Adolescent Dream
You’re not the great romantic
Crystal juke-box queen
You’re not my old adolescent dream
You’re not my spiritual gypsy
My fifty Chevy Machine
You’re not my old adolescent dream
Oh no my friend
You stand above all that
You’re my life
My love
My blood
My soul
You’re not the way I planned it
The way it’s meant to be
You’re not my old adolescent dream
Oh no my friend
You stand above all that
You’re my life
My love
My blood
My soul
Oh no, you’re not my old adolescent dream
http://www.discogs.com/Manfred-Manns-Earth-Band-Chance/release/1479976
Various Artists – The Hits Album 2
This is the best hit collection EVER.
Only one or two weak tracks.
Go find it, Tiger: http://www.discogs.com/Various-Hits-2-The-Album/release/936633
Melt-Banana – Fetch
It was worth the wait!
Beautifully packaged and full frontal audio assault.
Get it while you can.
The Cure – Concert: The Cure Live
I first learned of this live lp by The Cure recently. And I only had it as mp3 until today, where I happened to find a used but very decent looking/sounding specimen in an artsy bookstore in Istedgade.
I am pleased.
http://www.discogs.com/Cure-Concert-The-Cure-Live/release/437367
PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
I have liked PJ Harvey since To Bring You My Love. My friend Martin introduced me to her. In those days we were young and reckless students at The Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen.
We spent the days drinking beer, playing Magic: the Gathering and listening to music. We were bartenders at the weekly school bar, having themes for most of the (Elvis, Tom Waits etc.).
When Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea was released in 2000, I had graduated as a fully trained librarian, and also left that line of work completely. I still drank beer and listened to music though, so it was a given case, to buy this lp. I bought it at the legendary record store Baden Baden in Copenhagen,
I still remember very vividly the impact this lp had on me from the very first listen.
I love the part in Good Fortune, where she sings:
When we walked through
Little Italy
I saw my reflection
Come right off your face
I still love this lp very much.
It’s also by sheer strange qiurk of fate one of the most expensive records in my collection, according to Discogs this edition sells for between €60 and €150… I ain’t selling though…
Info: http://www.discogs.com/P-J-Harvey-Stories-From-The-City-Stories-From-The-Sea/release/415842
Billy Idol – Vital Idol
Sigh, my family name is Welling, back in 1985 the top cool thing to do in my school was singing
It’s a nice day to start again, it’s a nice day for a white Welling…
Fuck me, I still LOVE this lp. Everything about it is great. The perfect mix of pop and gilded punk.
Info: http://www.discogs.com/Billy-Idol-Vital-Idol/release/2316594
Stina Nordenstam – People Are Strange 12″
The only reason I have this, is a massive Techno Animal flip I had some years ago. This 12″ is featuring a TA remix of Swedish singer Stina Nordenstam singing the Doors’ People Are Strange as well as an UNKLE remix of said song.
I’m not impressed… The TA side is ok, but the UNKLE remix sucks.
Info: http://www.discogs.com/Stina-Nordenstam-People-Are-Strange/release/592359
The Cure – Standing on a Beach
I bought this lp when it was released in 1986. I didn’t know much about The Cure, I bought it because it looked cool. The cover of an lp meant a lot to me. If it was cool I was more likely to get it.
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Cure-Standing-On-A-Beach-The-Singles/release/260871
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