May 19, 2006
Adam & the Ants
title:: The Complete Radio 1 Sessions
label:: Strange Fruit
Adam Ant is Stuart Goddard, a graphic design graduate of Hornsey School of Art, who re-invented himself as a "pirate / dandy highwayman / Apache" and led the UK into the New Romantic era with his band Adam & The Ants.
The Complete Radio 1 Sessions compiles four sessions he recorded for the BBC. The first four songs were recorded on January 23 1978 for John Peel.
Maxwell Davis
title:: Batman and other themes by Maxwell Davis
label:: BGP
All great musicians have their high points and their low points in their career. Maxwell Davis had a high point when he played sax for the likes of Louis Jordan, B.B. King, Elmore James, Lightnin' Hopkins, and T-Bone Walker.
One of his low points must have been when he recorded the Batman Theme and Other Bat Songs album in 1966.
The Fall
title:: Middle Class Revolt
label:: Castle / Sanctuary
The media attention and financial success that The Fall began to garner during the period from 1993-94 threw them for a loop. How can you be a rebel when you are now sneaking into the arena of pop stardom. It doesn't fit. Infotainment Scan was an intentional move to do what others wanted them to do to popularize The Fall sound. But the band did it their way and took risks with fans and proved that they could be produced and be The Fall.
On Middle Class Revolt the satire and irony are gone and what is left is a tired attempt at recapturing magic that was never there.
Robin Scott
title:: Woman From The Warm Grass
label:: Sunbeam Records
Woman From The Warm Grass is the legendary 1969 acid-folk album Robin Scott recorded 10 years before he stunned the world with the New Wave classic Pop Muzik, which he recorded as M.
The sound of this CD lies soumewhere around that of Andy Pratt (of Avenging Annie fame), or Al Stewart (The Year of the Cat).
Soul Survivors
title:: When the Whistle Blows Anthing Goes with the Soul Survivors
label:: Vampisoul
The Soul Survivors one big hit was Expressway (To Your Heart) from 1967, an early Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff song which has been compiled on many compilations
The Soul Survivors mined a blue eyed soul sound similar to The Young Rascals and have a fantastic live sounding soul sound.