All killer, no filler and all new-not-new.

Hello, Friends.

Kicking off this new week is John Peel Sessions 1989 - 1990, the first in a series of archival releases from the most wonderful Cranes. The sonics they create are pretty thrilling, big reverbs and such space. The reissue is on their own Dadaphonic label and features original artwork by fêted 4AD & v23 sleeve designer Chris Bigg.

We also had the great pleasure of getting involved with a Dinked Archive Edition. We are currently sold out, but, we’re hopeful of making a last few copies available next week once we know we have a spare. Visit the Drift site and log your email address via the ‘Stock Notification’ button.



The main event (for us) this week is the 50th Anniversary Reissue of Tom Waits utterly sublime Closing Time. It was such an extraordinary debut, the arrival of perhaps the most fully formed and inimitable artist in contemporary music. The reissue is exactly the fan package you’d want, a double 45 rpm pressing that benefits from the Abbey Road half speed remaster. Clear vinyl too.

We don’t know anything we shouldn't, but if Anti are reading this… We need a full Assylum albums roll out like this please!



This week’s adventures into the Blue Note Tone Poet vaults concerns Donald Byrd’s hard-boppin Slow Drag and McCoy Tyner’s expansive Time For Tyner. Regular readers will know that we’ve had quite the crush on Byrd’s later fusion work, but this really is a hard hitting set and shows off his remarkable technical dexterity. Time For Tyner really is graceful stuff, a fluid progression from standards to the ethereal. Lovely.

Both stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Editions were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

We end this short, sharp and essential dispatch with a double on Now-Again records from Ayalew Mesfin, one of the absolute legends of the 1970s Ethiopian musical scene. Wegene [My Countryman] and Tewedije Limut [Let Me Die Loved] are just absolute PURE JOY. A rolling collection of big band jazz sounds with funk tones and hypnotic haze. This is the first time anything has been available on LP since the original 45 singles. Magic work.

Oh, following last week’s reissue of Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd’s beautiful Jazz Samba LP, would you look what I found in a street market this week! Meraviglioso, or so they say!

Ciao!