Broken wings

New week and I think the last Friday in the month as things kind of return to normal around the grump and related household activities.

Now then, now then pop pickers you know how much I like music to the point there's usually something arriving here to admire and play, new titles or new copies of old favourites in different forms but in with disc from Josie from Stafford was a special cd issue from late last year I'd missed. 

Well after opening the thin card envelope and undoing the seal I was greeted by this broken title with some impact marks on the envelope and I've only had this in some 39 years of buying cds once before although those early 90's lift lock cd cases could damage the centre hubs if used incorrectly.

We'll waiting on a refund to be granted but I've ordered another so fingers crossed.
 

mm 

Hot overview

It's a very hot summers day as I type this after the crazy week that was last week and things are over time getting a bit more back to normal although if you are in town today you'll see me shopping bags in hand bringing some of shopping in before it gets way too hot.

The world's a bit in a mess not just with Ukraine, Gaza but now Iran as the United States of Disgrace threatens joining in something that has no realistic or even thought through end plan plunging the Middle East into more turmoil. 
 

A replacement stylus did come which I'll get around to fitting having played the new copy of Boys And Girls yesterday and the sacd of Animals that gets a reissue in August in it's much cleaned up remix. 

 

Moorcroft that I wrote about some four or five weeks ago was saved by a family member and hopes to reemploy some thirty plus of its original staff - now dear government how about some help with energy costs that are so crippling to manufacturing?

Now we are facing the only fibreoptic plant in the UK in Hindley, Lancashire to Chinese subsidized competition, something is needed to make wind turbines.

We need a UK First manufacturing strategy backed by action. 

Farewell Brian Wilson

We know it was going to happen, as we'd lost Dennis in '83, Carl in '98 but yesterday evening UK Time, it was announced Brian Wilson, the surviving Wilson brother  who with cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine made the Beach Boys died aged 82 years.

They'd been playing as high school kids before going professional in 1962 with following limited local success with Surfin' based around the California sport beloved of teens before recording a series of increasing complex musically and mature lyrically albums despite issues with their record label and abusive father, Murry whose actions didn't just cause mental issues down the line but also deafness in one ear.

Following the decision in late 1964 that Brian would not tour but work at home and in the studio on songs, popular music just expanded its range as in differing ways the Beatles in Great Britain were and in time Rock Music was born. 

If there's one album that you can say really changed things it was Pet Sounds - his favourite sounds - created with a massive group of session musicians and unusual instruments that nobody had ever heard before and with analytical, lyrically complex lyrics.

That's Brian in the control room during the recording of Pet Sounds, directing the whole session.

The group rehearsing their vocals added on extra tracks on what by today's standards was primitive 8 track studio recorders.

The album had its issues, some feeling it strayed too far from their traditional sounds, a lot of stresses coming from their record company that under promoted it in the States preferring to push a Best of compilation although it Great Britain it was a massive seller, lauded by many of that countries musicians.

No sooner than that album was out Brian was working on sounds literally recording, cutting and splicing bits to make what many feel is the greatest single of all time, Good Vibrations which those brits made a number 1 for two weeks.

The attempt to make SMiLE, the follow up to Pet Sounds the same way not helped by the use of in vogue drugs caused not merely the cancellation nine months on of the album but a major mental health breakdown for Brian who pulled away for a long from having much to do the Beach Boys beyond a contribution here or there to an album.

In time with some missteps, Brian got the help he needed to be more engaged with music and even do some touring both solo and with the group.

The legacy is one of initially of fine vocal harmonies, pushing the envelope of what music for teens and young adults could be and with others such as the Beatles, Who, Jefferson Airplane what became Rock Music, not just music with a beat to sing along to and dance.

Thank you Brian for everything and the many albums of your group I so love playing.

Taking a summer breather

 

Hardly the best weeks emotionally with the legendary Grump being unwell with a lot more to do around the place plus all the usual outburst and that to deal with so it's hardly surprising that what spare moments have been available being up, on the job from around a quarter of Six in the morning have been more around creature comforts such as my plushies and reading comics which you can just put down after a few pages and just resume.

I have a mixture of a few originals of comic or tv series and a number of more recently acquired ones both new-old or newer ones such as the modern icon that is Shaun the Sheep.

This time of year especially I tend to miss the sheer variety of comic summer specials we had in the seventies and eighties even though with the latter decade we lost a number of classic girls titles as the market was moving to a more Tween magazine style for the girl who wanted to ape her older sister who had Jackie and Just 17 for star gossip, tips and relationships stuff.

New copies and the "right to comment"

Back with a post kind of linked to the previous but in some respects a little different in the week the Donald was told he lacked the Authority on many but all his tariffs by a court, clearly acting out of the constitution. What a naughty little boy!

There often is lovely discourse in music and especially audiophile circles about what constitutes "the best" version of an album and if you read through page after page it's obvious there can be a major difference in what people or prioritizing or perhaps the copy that works best on their stereo systems.

Take this the 2017 half speed mastered version of Roxy Music's classic 1982 Avalon album that beyond the title track included the top ten single More Than This which some feel is a bit bland but many others like.

I have an American Warner Bros original that I was able get in great shape and yes I am happy with it, but having heard this edition I'd say it was a very decent copy obviously lacks wear and can be replaced by the shop if there's any issue.

One person suggested the only comments that should be accepted about how it sounds are by those who have compared at least another edition and ideally several.

If you were talking about a review then that kind of approach would make sense being able contrast and compare any difference you observe but a casual reflection on how having talked about the new version coming out a person posts there thoughts having just received their copy really you don't.

Naturally the kind of super fan with multiple copies is into the comparison, the "is this worth picking up?" aspect but really so long as you're upfront about it being your only copy it's crazy to deny it.

We don't all have multiple copies - storage issues would increase if you took that approach - and many of us can recall just going into a shop and getting the version that was available even for older titles and provided we felt it was great sounding and we obviously loved the music we were satisfied with that.

Many people are getting into (or back to) vinyl and "more than good enough" new copies are well worth picking up when they can be had for modest prices.

In the end it's only an opinion and the one that matters most is yours.

Brothers In Arms...again

The last time I wrote about Dire Straits, the rock group and not the state of my purse would of been late 2019 when I was building up a collection of super audio cds and slowly their recordings were coming out in that format.

This week reminds me a little of when I went to my summer holiday around this time in 1985 when after a couple of years there seemed to be a real buzz around the Compact Disc since its introduction and So Far Away was played a lot on the radio.

That was the lead single from Brothers In Arms, the new Dire Straits album and this was for many the gateway album to get a cd player and a few discs one reason being the songs run for longer on the cd (but then they also did on the Chrome cassette) and in time I got the cd with those versions.

That was very much it until I got the sacds.

These days I do play a lot of vinyl and I always wanted to hear those other versions so hearing the record as in a single lp was being reissued at start of this month I picked it ip.

Cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road, London from the tapes this sounds more analogue and in some ways being more concise does suit it.

It also avoids the four side changes of modern full length versions spread over two records.

I'm pleased to get this version.

On the appointment of Pope Leo

The last week has been a warm one and as mentioned it was a rather busy week for news that we really couldn't keep up with it.

Following the death of Pope Francis in rather less time than it's taking the Anglican Church to organize the appointment it's most senior Bishop, the Cardinals have appointed a new head of the Roman Catholic church.

Robert Prevost was selected and has chosen the styling Pope Leo XIV (14th) and he is an american by birth, widely travelled, speaks several languages fluently and appears to share many of his predecessors concerns coupled with the more humble approach to the role, being more of a bridge-builder with the more modern secularized world.

Concerns over the handling of historic sexual abuse issues, excessive influence in some countries running and long running issues around the role of women and place of lgbt people within the wider church and internally have had an impact on membership, extent to which people are less likely to just follow papal teaching and church attendances.

That was something Pope Francis made some headway with, joining in discussion about things that faith and belief plays a part in such as stewardship of our planet and its environment that some while not attending Mass as often in the past do care about as well as social justice generally.

Much of my family are Roman Catholic, the reminder being Anglo-Catholic so it's pretty much home for me, some of those values show in my views around certain topics in much the same way I am sure your beliefs do in what you do but values matter.