Month: March 2021

Lucky to see James Blake, with Falty DL opening, then going to see Bonobo…on my birthday, at which time I bought this record. A very good one, and I listened to Side D, or Side B (II) as it’s labeled.

To the Last is my track pick, over Our Love Comes Back, which is a long favorite. To the Last just has even more of that “James Blake sound” that I like. That’s no small thing. It does remind me that the window of his fame’s influence was a bit longer than I expected. Only the awkward Take A Fall For Me featuring RZA pollutes this album with faux relevance.

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This was a bit of a sentimental pick because it was a library media sale pick that introduced me to his work and it remains a favorite. The album was recorded in late 1958 in his D.C. nightclub, very nicely as well, and captures a moment in time. It’s also a release that never made it to cassette, CD, or digital. Portions of this were included on an album along with parts of at least one other performance. Thankfully many of the best tracks are on that.

Side A is strong, with This Can’t Be Love, Autumn Leaves, and Ahmad’s Blues. A tough pick as the latter of the three is such a great track, but this version of Autumn Leaves is so full of character. It has very elegant tempo changes, excellent areas where Ahmad lets two or three bars breathe, a segment where he plays very far behind, and the outdo. This is one of my favorite recorded moments because the band plays quieter, and quieter still, until Ahmad gives one of his infamous laughs and the crowd cheers. All the while the ambient sounds of an active night club contrast against the music. Delightful

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This was an interesting pick because it’s one of the rare progressive trance albums I have. Most of the releases in my collection are singles pulled from a DJ’s fire sale collection many, many years ago. This 2003 release is a good listen, and knowing what his subsequent releases sound like…well it fits right in line. Side C pick was The Great Escape, because it had many of the hallmarks of later albums like This Binary Universe, These Hopeful Machines, Across the Wires, etc…

As a side note, I did get to meet BT at DEF CON 22 where he was a headline artist. Great guy who is an artist that typifies the DEF CON spirit. I’ve see him collect old gear to recreate the studio equipment he had from this early period. He also had my brother do all of the visuals for the album known as “_”

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This is a bit of a throwback, but in truth I’ve never listened to the album in full. Growing up, there are a few well-played tracks from this album, like Who Can It Be Now or Be Good Johnny, but that’s almost all I knew. Picking Side B was a good choice, and I found out how much I like this band. Every track is good to very good, but I am a bit more fond of Touching the Untouchables than the others, but I was overall impressed.

One thing that I liked, apart from the very good vocal performance, is the drums on this album. They’re very sparse and there’s not a lot of crash or cymbals, rather it’s more percussive most of the time and relies on the rest of the kit. Very nice rhythm and swing, with a feel of a ska or two-step in it. Really great.

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Originally a gift to my spouse, as it’s one of her favorites, it made a really good Christmas gift. Included are alternate and demo takes of album tracks, a DVD, and a thick book about that era of Interpol. We listened to Side B, and her choice for the track is Leif Erikson. New territory.

A strong album, but I was surprised at how flat the recording was in playback from vinyl. Not a lot of depth, or shine, but perhaps that was intentional or a circumstance of the recording atmosphere.

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This was an early pick up many years ago when I found it at the record store. DJ Krush has been a favorite for two decades, and I was even able to see him perform live in SLC at Urban Lounge, which was a treat. Side A features old-school classic vocals of CL Smooth, Japanese MCs Rino Latina II, Twigy. and Company Flow. The latter’s track, Vision of Art gets the “Broken Mix” from Krush, based on the cut from Zen. That track was where I likely heard Company Flow, and by extension El-P, for the first time. What a revelation! My pick, for sure.

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There’s a lot to like about this record. It’s very energetic, but also minimal, and instrumental. It was started by a couple of guys who wrote a blog, but then turned it into a group, then an album. It found some success, and chances are you’ve heard one of the tracks on this album somewhere.

I’d intended to play Side B, but I only realized I’d put on Side A after I was done. What an opening trio of tracks, however, and it’s still hard to pick from the trio, but Kites just comes ahead of Orca and Glue on this side for me, this time.

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Now this is quite a record, and a fascinating look at a very specific time in a special place. My spouse had been a fan of this album long before I was, but on picking up a rare used copy on vinyl, I was hooked. It’s full of charm and character, even if you don’t understand Spanish. Side C is pretty solid, and Candela is one of my favorites on the recording, much less the side, so it gets the nod.

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I’m lucky enough to have a few records of Sarah Vaughan’s, a result of library media sales in the past. This one is from Columbia and is pretty good, though not Verve quality. Side A has a few noteworthy tracks, but Nice Work If You Can Get It really took it over the top with some nice instrumental parts to go with Sarah’s vocals. Come Rain, Come Shine also has some great duets with a guitar and sax also.

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This one is neat because I was able to purchase it from Blockhead after he opened for RJD2 at The Depot SLC years ago. He did a really great job, and then was selling merchandise, so he signed this one. It’s a 3xLP that has instrumental versions of many of his tracks produced for Aesop rock.

Side D was my pick, and I chose Breath and Start over Insomniac Olympics for my track pick.

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