Tag Archives: rubicks

New Albums on the Horizon (and an old title just to spice the pot)

Posted on by
Reply

Two of the artists I respect most have new albums coming in the next few weeks.

First up is Bob Dylan whose new album is due on cd and vinyl on the 28th of April. I think the artwork is dreadful but I’m sure the musical content will be better. It’s called "Together Through Life"

Next is John Foxx who, as I’ve mentioned before, has been working with Robin Guthrie. Their album will also be on cd and vinyl and will appear the first week in May. It’s called "Mirrorball".

On a more personal note, I’ve been working on remastering the sound on three albums for a band from the 70s and 80s called Sad Cafe. I now have a provisional release date for the first of these. The album also called Sad Cafe will be on Renaissance Records in the States on the 21st of April.

I mentioned John Foxx. Another album he has been busy on dropped through my letterbox this morning. This time he’s worked with Steve D’Agostino and Steve Jansen (ex-Japan). I’ve not shown the artwork for this one before so here goes:

Mr Foxx is frighteningly prolific.

What other discs would I recommend at the moment?

Walter Becker – Circus Money (not just because I was involved in the release of this one)
Alice Cooper – Along Came A Spider (oh, another one I was involved in)
Mostly Autumn – Glass Shadows
Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs
Revue Noir (Debut EP – featuring Sam Rosenthal from black tape for a blue girl)
Sam Yahel Trio – In the Blink of An Eye
Rubicks – In Miniature
Frankie Valli – Romancing the Sixties (one for the nostalgists – but very good!)
Marie-Juliette Beer – The Garden
Barclay James Harvest – Revolution Days (just happens to feature Ian Wilson and Mike Byron-Hehir from Sad Cafe, did I mention I’ve been remastering for them)
Bob James – Urban Flamingo
Saviour Machine – Legend 1
Son Volt – On Chant and Strum
Danilo Perez – Panama Suite
Richie Furay Band – Alive (Catch my interview with him on Cross Rhythms on the web and in Natural Progressions Magazine in the world of print)

Enough for now………….

 

Nu-maaaaaan!!

Posted on by
1

Great night at the Gary Numan “Replicas” concert in Oxford last night. In geographical terms, alone, the London show would have made much better sense but I’m afraid I’m spoiled these days. I’m so used to getting free tickets at the big shows given to me by artists’ agents who want me to write something for their employers fro an EPK or something similar that I’ve lost all interest in going to the larger venues unless I’m guaranteed great seats or VIP privileges. Enough of my snobbery! When I was much, much, younger Replicas was a very cool album and its science fiction themes enthralled me. It’s good to know that all these years later the lyrics haven’t aged and Numan’s more aggressive mature persona doesn’t dent that edge. It was enough to send me off on the train reading a Phillip K. Dick novel this morning.
Thoroughly enjoyed the show. Have felt for at least twenty years that the rockier version of ‘Are “Friends” Electric?’ loses the atmosphere of the original where the sheer other-worldliness of that recording was the thing which launched Numan’s commercial career. Aside from this hearing “The Machman”, “Me! I disconnect from you”, “We are so Fragile” and all the rest, one more time, was a great way to spend an evening.

Support band, Rubicks, full of frenetic energy (7th time I’ve seen them):

and Numan at 50 still as strong (makes me feel young)