Dreamy guitars, bikutsi beats, rib-tickling dub and other magic from the vaults.
Hello, Friends.
Chrome Dreams is the all-new precursor to Neil Young’s fantastic 2007 LP, Chrome Dreams II. Does that make sense? Finally released in full this week, Chrome Dreams is the legendary ‘lost’ 1977 album featuring sessions recorded between ‘74-’76. The tracklisting is quite something, with a dozen of Young’s finest songs that would either appear on bootlegs or as different cuts across the following decades. The production is fantastic, it’s one of the most intimate sounding of his records and there is real vulnerability to his voice. Absolutely essential for the fans, but also both a very special time capsule of an album and a superb entrance point for anyone wanting to investigate the early and middle point of his esteemed career.
An excellent trio via 4AD this week with reissues of Spooky, Split and Lovelife from the Lush vaults. The three studio albums from the dreamy shoegazers sound vibrant and as enthralling as they did some thirty years ago, huge and vast production but focused around the very human songwriting of Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi. Outside of a lavish box set edition, this is the first time that the albums have been pressed on vinyl in years and they’ve really gone to town. Using the original ½” production tapes for source material, renowned engineer / producer Kevin Vanbergen has painstakingly worked on them to create brand new, stunning 24-bit masters that perfectly capture the thrill of the originals. These are going to find a whole new set of fans; dreamy, arresting and honestly sounding better than ever.
+ Available on limited Clear vinyl.
+ Buy all three and we’ll include a very limited signed 12” art print.
Awesome Tapes from Africa take another trip to Cameroon’s bikutsi scene with the glorious Hommage A Zanzibar from Gibraltar Drakus. Joyous, relentless and totally hypnotic drives that fused the region's traditional music with an emergent electronic scene. The album (originally released in 1989) was a tribute to guitarist Théodore Zanzibar Epeme who’s incendiary guitar work had pretty much forged the genre. This one is a riot.
Available for the first time in ages is African Dub: Chapter 2 from Joe Gibbs & The Professionals, four slices of majestic 70s dub. All four chapters will shortly be with us (so expect us to be talking about it again), but for anyone with even a passing interest in bass culture, all four are essential discoveries.
A couple of great reissues on Craft Recordings this week too, with Jack DeJohnette’s Sorcery and Leon Spencer’s Where I'm Coming From. Sorcery has a darkness to the trip, virtuoso musicians going weird and wild. Where I'm Coming From is much lighter; a rich, soul-inspired groover.
Both are part of the Jazz Dispensary reissue series and were cut from the original analogue tapes by Kevin Gray. Pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI and packaged in tip-on jackets.
We have a glistening 50th anniversary edition of the soundtrack to David Bowie's renowned Hammersmith Odeon show. Newly remastered with the medley of ‘The Jean Genie/Love Me Do’ and ‘Round And Round’ featuring the late, legendary Jeff Beck reinstated in the tracklist. Pressed on limited Gold vinyl.
Lastly for today, an absolutely scorching compilation on Numero called Eccentric Northern Soul. This is honestly 100% good times guaranteed; seventeen hand-picked Northern Soul bangers with soaring vocals and classic Motown-inspired sounds. There is such a lot of heart going on, it drips of nights out in smoky rooms. Really joyous stuff.
+ Available on an UK Exclusive Clear w/Brown Smoke.