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  1. 2023 Albums Thing 221a - Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit “Live From Welcome To 1979”

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    A recent addition and so here’s one out of alphabetical step for you today…

    A 2017 Record Store Day (yeuch <spit>) release, a limited edition of 4000 copies worldwide, that today commands quite the price. Its USP (that’s unique selling point for those of you that haven’t been in sales as long as I have) is that it was recorded live, at Nashville’s Welcome To 1979 studio, direct to acetate and not to tape, so no fixing mistakes, overdubs or remixes, what was played is what you get. 

    It’s a six track, what used to be called, mini-album made up of 5 cover versions of songs by the Rolling Stones (“Can't You Hear Me Knocking” and “Sway”), John Prine (“Storm Windows”), Bruce Springsteen (“Atlantic City”) and George Jackson (“Heart On A String”, a version of which is also on on Isbell’s 2011 album “Here We Rest”). The final song is one Isbell wrote for the Drive-By Truckers “Never Gonna Change”.

    I acquired this recently in a collection I bought. I don’t know why I didn’t get it at the time as I recall I did get 2 copies from local participating record shops for friends, I just passed on it at the time. It’s an interesting listen, I do like covers albums, but there’s a bit too much fretw@nking going on for my liking. I know Isbell is a frighteningly accomplished guitar player but it’s the songwriter I’m interested in (yes I know, I get the irony that this is chiefly a covers album) so when he lets rip with the extended solos live I tend to zone out. 

    My main interest in this particular record is Isbell’s fine cover of Springsteen which I present below for your enjoyment. A record for the completists really.

    Atlantic City - https://youtu.be/sqNidJ-cbOY?si=A61d8V00_68Tna2Y

  2. 2023 Albums Thing 221 - Lottery Winners “Lottery Winners”

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    Darwen, a small market town of around 30,000 residents, so a little under half the size of Shrewsbury where our shop is sited, sits 5 miles south of Blackburn, Lancashire. On Bank Holiday Monday May 27th 2013, The Wonder Stuff played on a makeshift, ramshackle stage sited in the Main Square in the pissing rain at the Darwen Live free festival. Also on the bill at the festival that day were a band from Leigh, Greater Manchester who my brother Miles wandered off to see. And that’s how we discovered The Lottery Winners.

    Now right up front I want to assure you I really like the Lottery Winners. They are a supremely wonderful live band, Thom Rylance is as good a frontman as you'll find anywhere, part Noddy Holder (without THAT voice), part stand up comedian. I’ve bought their records, seen uncountable live shows and toured with them. But I am gonna start with a whinge. I have opening song, “The Meaning Of Life”, on the EP it was originally released on in 2016 and compared to that, the version they chose as track 1 side 1 on their debut album is a reet dogs breakfast. I don’t know who chose to re-arrange it and change the lyrics, whether it was the band or producer Tristan Ivemy, but whoever it was, it didn’t need it.

    Fortunately tracks 2, 3 and 4 on side 1 are all perfect pop beauties that make up for that first aberration. “Little Things”, “21” and “I Don’t Love You” are bloody fantastic pop tunes, the kind you want to hear at a gig while you’re right down the front bouncing up and down and screaming along to the chorus. Over on Side 2 the “Elizabeth” and “I Know” (it becomes the perfect audience participation song live) continue with the bangers.

    And that’s the thing about the Lottery Winners, whether on record or live, they grab your attention, the melodies are infectious, they make you want to bounce and sing along. You’ll not find the meaning of life (boom-boom) or any great earth shattering statements in here. What you will find is bloody wonderful pop music. If that’s the sort of thing you like and you’ve not partaken yet…what the hell are you waiting for ?

    Little Things - https://youtu.be/-psEJCGrkIc?si=O5-_kvCBjKGzFrNy

  3. 2023 Albums Thing 220 - Kraftwerk “Computer World”

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    1981’s “Computer World” was something of a departure in sound for Kraftwerk, and at the same time it wasn’t. What I mean is Kraftewerk were still the robotic, computerised, strictly electronic combo of “Trans-Europe Express” and “The Man-Machine” but the technology of electronic instruments, of synthesizers and drum machines and sequencers, must have taken a huge leap forward between 1978 and 1981 because you can hear it on “Computer World”. Whereas the previous albums had a feeling about them that the musicians were wrestling with technology and making it do things it wasn’t designed to do, here the technology has caught up with the musicians ambition and everything seems easier to do.

    The album is about the rise of computers and the, somewhat outlandish in 1981, idea that they would eventually be a part of all our every day lives (how’s that working out for you ?), Kraftwerk as predictors of the future. “Computer World’, “Computer Love”, “Home Computer”, “It’s More Fun To Compute” the titles tell you where we are at here.

    My personal favourite again shows Kraftwek’s sense of humour. “Numbers” has a lyric that is simply them counting in German, French, Italian and Japanese. The lyric is simplicity itself, numbers, but aren’t computers simplicity when you get down to the basics ? Binary code, zeros and ones, numbers, but humans have more of them. Now that’s funny.

    We already know that “Computer Love” was released as a single and it’s B-side. “The Model” eventually took it to #1 in the UK. The other single from this album was “Pocket Calculator” which was also recorded with lyrics in German ("Taschenrechner"), French ("Mini Calculateur"), Japanese ("Dentaku"), and Italian ("Mini Calcolatore”).

    “Computer World” is a great sounding, very clean, electronic dance record. Kraftwerk’s influence on recorded music since the mid 70’s, be it electronic, Hip Hop or “dance” music is vast.

    Numbers - https://youtu.be/tBTL2Porphg?si=p1_0NPYpDjCoCgBb