Linton Kwesi Johnson- Dread Beat And Blood (1978) ***1/2
Pete Townshend- Empty Glass (1980) ****
Stardust Five- S/T (2006) ****
Gang Of Four- Entertainment! (1979) ****
The Beatles- Revolver: 2022 Stereo Remix (1966/2022) ****
XTC - Go 2 (1978) ***1/2
XTC- White Music (1978) ***
The Keys- The Keys Album (1981) ***1/2
• The Stardust Five found me earlier this week. I knew nothing about this record, and I've been listening to Paul Kelly for a long time. This record is incredible. It's strange and beautiful, raucous at times, even soothing occasionally. Hard to describe. Listen to it, if you don't know it.
• "Revolver" is 60 years old today. SIXTY!
• For years I've avoided XTC's "Go 2" like the plague. I hated it the first time I heard it and would only occasionally throw "Meccanik Dancing" on a mixed tape. But a friend gave it some love on social media and I thought I'd go in for the first time in years. It's way better than I remembered. It's very herky-jerky, but enough of it is solid, making it official that there are NO bad XTC records.
• "Go 2" surprised me so much that "White Music," a record I always thought was better, didn't quite cut it tonight. That feeling may change down the line. But I do think it's time for an XTC revision on Popsurfing.
5 comments:
In the midst of celebrating all things Sleater-Kinney. In an interview, they were asked “what is your favorite record to watch someone experience for the first time?” Carrie Brownstein selected Gang of Four’s Entertainment and Corin Tucker chose The Slits Cut. Shared in recognition of the totally random odds that we would both listen to Entertainment on the same day. Both ****. Thanks for all you do. :)
White Music is the XTC album that I have heard the least, though I don’t dislike it. Go2 is better to my ears but only a tad. Is it Barry Andrews and his keyboards that make it so? Partly, but the songwriting is still coming together for all of them. From Drums and Wires onward, the songwriting is sharper, and the sing is better, too.
I’m going to see The Bats tomorrow so I’ve been prepping. Best thing I listened to yesterday was their wonderful Daddy’s Highway from 1987.
- Paul in DK
The Go 2 album cover is a classic from Hipgnosis. They did many great ones.
I've become a big fan of Paul Kelly so I'm looking forward to checking out Stardust 5. Revolver and I are the same age. Are we both classics? Well, one of us surely is.
I am a big fan of The Keys Album and come back to it more times than I would have guessed. Thanks for the reminder to pull it out.
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