-
NEW!! INT80 integrated amplifier w/ built-in mm phono input - £999 until 30th September
Your Last Listen
- Thread starter savvypaul
- Start date
Play For Today...
Although Margo Price doesn't cover "Hard Headed Woman," the King Creole song that was a big hit for Elvis Presley in 1958, on her fifth studio album of the same name, she captures the spitfire energy. She also returns to the retro-flavored country that made her famous, after an experimental foray into psychedelia and rock on 2023's Strays. Appropriately, the new songs were laid down at Nashville's legendary RCA Studio A, where the Nashville Sound was born—but also where, as Price points out in the liner notes, "folks like Willie, Waylon and Leon made records that defined the Outlaw Movement." No matter what style she's leaning into, you can always hear the outlaw spirit coursing through her veins. That's certainly the case here, and she doubles down by going straight to the source. The late Kris Kristofferson co-wrote "Don't Let That Bastards Get You Down" with Price and her husband and musical partner, Jeremy Ivey. "All the cocaine in existence couldn't keep your nose out of my business," Price sings, sounding like she's having the time of her life, alongside shit-kicking guitar from bandmate Jamie Davis and none other than Rodney Crowell on backing vocals. Crowell, meanwhile, co-wrote "Red Eye Flight" with the couple, and it bears his East Texas imprint: a quick-step shuffle, gussied up with harmonica and wailing pedal steel, that's a less-than-fond farewell ("You ol' burned-out, long- haired, lying, drinkin' love of my life/ Come this time tomorrow I'll be long gone on a red-eyed flight"). There's a cover of Waylon Jennings' "Kissing You Goodbye" that the legend's widow, Jessi Colter, encouraged Price to try, and she adds jet fuel (and acrobatic drumming by Dylan Napier) to turn it into a rockabilly-country whirl. Price likewise injects new life into George Jones' woozy "I Just Don't Give a Damn," so it comes out like a bluesy, Bonnie Raitt-style strut. The band—the Price Tags—are super tight, and Price herself sounds fantastic, on dusky ballads ("Close to You") and hard-charging Tex-Mex ("Wild at Heart") alike. Her delivery on the opening prelude, a nod to old-time gospel, is goosebump-raising. As she has on just about every record so far, Price burnishes her own origin story, belting out lyrics about her early struggle days in Nashville ("I had no real connections just some drugged-out, strung-out losers/ And a handful of half songs no one would ever hear") on "Losing Streak"; with an immediately recognizable assist from Chuck Leavell on piano and organ, it's pure Allmans-style joy. And "Love Me Like You Used to Do," a late-night-longing ballad, proves Price and duet partner Tyler Childers are a match made in honky-tonk heaven. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz
Although Margo Price doesn't cover "Hard Headed Woman," the King Creole song that was a big hit for Elvis Presley in 1958, on her fifth studio album of the same name, she captures the spitfire energy. She also returns to the retro-flavored country that made her famous, after an experimental foray into psychedelia and rock on 2023's Strays. Appropriately, the new songs were laid down at Nashville's legendary RCA Studio A, where the Nashville Sound was born—but also where, as Price points out in the liner notes, "folks like Willie, Waylon and Leon made records that defined the Outlaw Movement." No matter what style she's leaning into, you can always hear the outlaw spirit coursing through her veins. That's certainly the case here, and she doubles down by going straight to the source. The late Kris Kristofferson co-wrote "Don't Let That Bastards Get You Down" with Price and her husband and musical partner, Jeremy Ivey. "All the cocaine in existence couldn't keep your nose out of my business," Price sings, sounding like she's having the time of her life, alongside shit-kicking guitar from bandmate Jamie Davis and none other than Rodney Crowell on backing vocals. Crowell, meanwhile, co-wrote "Red Eye Flight" with the couple, and it bears his East Texas imprint: a quick-step shuffle, gussied up with harmonica and wailing pedal steel, that's a less-than-fond farewell ("You ol' burned-out, long- haired, lying, drinkin' love of my life/ Come this time tomorrow I'll be long gone on a red-eyed flight"). There's a cover of Waylon Jennings' "Kissing You Goodbye" that the legend's widow, Jessi Colter, encouraged Price to try, and she adds jet fuel (and acrobatic drumming by Dylan Napier) to turn it into a rockabilly-country whirl. Price likewise injects new life into George Jones' woozy "I Just Don't Give a Damn," so it comes out like a bluesy, Bonnie Raitt-style strut. The band—the Price Tags—are super tight, and Price herself sounds fantastic, on dusky ballads ("Close to You") and hard-charging Tex-Mex ("Wild at Heart") alike. Her delivery on the opening prelude, a nod to old-time gospel, is goosebump-raising. As she has on just about every record so far, Price burnishes her own origin story, belting out lyrics about her early struggle days in Nashville ("I had no real connections just some drugged-out, strung-out losers/ And a handful of half songs no one would ever hear") on "Losing Streak"; with an immediately recognizable assist from Chuck Leavell on piano and organ, it's pure Allmans-style joy. And "Love Me Like You Used to Do," a late-night-longing ballad, proves Price and duet partner Tyler Childers are a match made in honky-tonk heaven. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz
Play For Today - a guilty pleasure 
"The Photos were a young punk band from Evesham, Worcestershire, originally called Satan's Rats featuring Steve Eagles on guitar, Dave Sparrow on bass, and Olly Harrison on drums, but when they recruited a good-looking female vocalist going by the name of Wendy Wu in 1979, they changed their name to the media-friendly Photos and recorded and released just one album of new wave pop that unfortunately, despite the band's denial, sounded almost identical to the music of Blondie from the era of their first two albums, Blondie and Plastic Letters. Prior to the debut album, a four-track EP was released featuring the tracks "Irene," which was later to become the band's only hit single, albeit peaking at a miserable number 56, and "Barbarellas," about the closing of a local nightclub. The original vinyl and cassette album was just 12 tracks, but when finally transferred to CD in the late '90s, they added an additional 11 tracks from the Blackmail Tapes sessions that were never originally released. The Photos included the single "Irene" and "Do You Have Fun," which they were due to perform on Top of the Pops before an industrial dispute took the show off the air. Most of the tracks were bouncy new wave pop, although the pace slowed down on the track "Friends," which, unusually, was over four minutes long, and they attempt a reggae beat similar to many Police tracks on "Loss of Contact" and "She's Artistic." The album ended with the soulful Dusty Springfield classic "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself." The album hit number four in 1980, and for a brief while, Wu's face was regularly in the music press, but Blondie had already moved on, away from the new wave scene, having conquered the world with Parallel Lines, while the Photos' second album, Crystal Tips and Mighty Mice, was recorded but never released. Incidentally, this Wendy Wu had absolutely nothing to do with the actress Brenda Song playing a character of the same name in the Disney TV movie Homecoming Warrior."
© Sharon Mawer /TiVo
"The Photos were a young punk band from Evesham, Worcestershire, originally called Satan's Rats featuring Steve Eagles on guitar, Dave Sparrow on bass, and Olly Harrison on drums, but when they recruited a good-looking female vocalist going by the name of Wendy Wu in 1979, they changed their name to the media-friendly Photos and recorded and released just one album of new wave pop that unfortunately, despite the band's denial, sounded almost identical to the music of Blondie from the era of their first two albums, Blondie and Plastic Letters. Prior to the debut album, a four-track EP was released featuring the tracks "Irene," which was later to become the band's only hit single, albeit peaking at a miserable number 56, and "Barbarellas," about the closing of a local nightclub. The original vinyl and cassette album was just 12 tracks, but when finally transferred to CD in the late '90s, they added an additional 11 tracks from the Blackmail Tapes sessions that were never originally released. The Photos included the single "Irene" and "Do You Have Fun," which they were due to perform on Top of the Pops before an industrial dispute took the show off the air. Most of the tracks were bouncy new wave pop, although the pace slowed down on the track "Friends," which, unusually, was over four minutes long, and they attempt a reggae beat similar to many Police tracks on "Loss of Contact" and "She's Artistic." The album ended with the soulful Dusty Springfield classic "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself." The album hit number four in 1980, and for a brief while, Wu's face was regularly in the music press, but Blondie had already moved on, away from the new wave scene, having conquered the world with Parallel Lines, while the Photos' second album, Crystal Tips and Mighty Mice, was recorded but never released. Incidentally, this Wendy Wu had absolutely nothing to do with the actress Brenda Song playing a character of the same name in the Disney TV movie Homecoming Warrior."
© Sharon Mawer /TiVo
Play For Today:
Die Verlierer
Notausgang LP
"Absolutely stellar post-punk out of Berlin. What struck me the most on the first listen was how varied the songs are, in both style and length, while still maintaining a common overall sound and feel. In that way, this record almost reminds me of being at a label showcase—the bands might not all sound the same, but you get why they are all there. Noutausgang opens up sounding like early Finnish new wave, then follows that up with a longer, moodier groove, and then turns again on the third track with an early highlight in the group shout that is “Fickt Diese Stadt.” The theme of variety continues throughout with a sub-two-minute hardcore track (“Albtraum”) giving way to the near-six-minute smolder of “Stacheldraht.” If you dig post-punk, new wave, Neue Deutsche Welle, or krautrock, you’ll easily find something to like here. And if the current song doesn’t quite do it for you, the next one might just snap you right back to attention."
Reviewer D. Gregory
Label Mangel
Issue MRR #498 • November 2024
fitterstoke
Member
CARDIACS- LSD !!!
Last edited:
Play For Today: "In Turkish, the title of Gaye Su Akyol’s fourth album means ‘Anatolian dragon’. The tribal-psychedelic album cover confirms it: this dragon from the shores of the Bosphorus is Gaye Su Akyol herself. The singer appeared on the international music scene about ten years ago, offering a fusion of traditional Turkish influences, psychedelic rock and cinematic atmospheres. She produced a joyful mix of genres and lands, introducing rock lovers to other musical flavours and opening the way for bands like Altin Gün. However, Gaye Su Akyol is still the boss. As Harry Potter would know, it’s not easy to catch and tame a dragon. Rather than capitalising on her achievements or falling into folk/rock clichés, Gaye Su Akyol has forged onwards with Anadolu Ejderi. Her music was already stylistically broad; however, here, her sound is even more open-minded, incorporating electronic arrangements and a taste for dance. Gaye Su Akyol still doesn’t sing in English, and her music continues to be very much rooted in the traditional Turkish sound. She remains the committed voice of a community eager for freedom. From the rocky 'Sen Benim Magaramsin' and the disco-inspired 'Anadolu Ejderi', this dragon is as energetic as Iggy Pop and as sensual as Donna Summer—and she always breathes fire."
© Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz
"This time the rhythm section is better (Mike Baillie and Russell Webb had stepped in), and Bill Nelson's production also helps matters. But just what is he like, that Richard Jobson? Song titles in Latin, for goodness sake, and references to an Olympian ideal that got him into trouble with those who saw him as a Nazi sympathizer -- he claimed that was nonsense, he was just interested in history. And he wanted listeners to be interested too, which is why he rammed the grandiose "A Day in Europa" and "The Olympian" down their throats. However, there was considerable compensation in the inclusion of the singles "Animation," "Charade," and, in particular, "Working for the Yankee Dollar."
© Alex Ogg /TiVo
