I, Ludicrous - Preposterous Tales (2008)

I, Ludicrous were formed by John Procter and Will Hung (David Rippingale) in Brixton, South London, England in 1986, and their music satirized insular British society while remaining provincial and in-jokey themselves. They can be seen as a cross between The Fall and Half Man Half Biscuit, with the witty and acerbic lyrics of Half Man Half Biscuit intoned over huge Fall-like riffs, and they readily admit their Fall influence, which is why they are still popular with fans of that band. In fact, The Fall leader Mark E. Smith booked them to support his band once he heard an early four-track cassette. Initially restricted to a bedroom studio set-up, Procter and Hung recorded their first single, 'Preposterous Tales', and released it as a free flexi-single in Blah Blah Blah magazine. It was a comical observation of a self-aggrandizing man regaling a pub with his exploits, backed by a drum machine and a distorted guitar, and as usual I first heard it on the John Peel show and fell in love with it, especially when it made that year's listener-voted Festive 50. In mid-1987 they were invited to record a Peel session, an event which saw them became a trio with the temporary recruitment of Mark Crossley on bass, and in September 1987 the group issued their debut album, 'It's Like Everything Else', on Kaleidoscope Sound Records. The debt to the Fall was more apparent, with Hung's limited vocals and delivery sounding like those of a London-born Mark E. Smith, while the music restricted itself to repetitive riffs. 

A follow-up album was in the works in 1988 when Kaleidoscope Sound folded and took the master tapes with them. 'A Warning To The Curious' continued the mockery in 1989, taking aim at yuppies and television personalities, and it also marked the start of a short relationship with the Rodney Rodney! Records label. 'Light And Bitter' followed a year later, salvaging some of the songs from the lost 1988 album, and that same year saw a re-recording of 'Preposterous Tales' issued as a 10" single. Another label switch, this time to Old King Lud, occurred with 1992's 'Idiots Savants', a more accomplished set with better production and arrangements, and a lighter tone. Following this six year flurry of activity, the band wound down, occasionally supporting the Fall on tour in Britain, but not releasing any new material until the 'Approaching 40' EP in 2000, and 'The Museum Of Installation' album in 2003. The retrospective '20 Years In Show Business' was issued by Sanctuary in 2007, and in early 2008 the duo became a trio with the recruitment of former Voice Of The Beehive bassist Martin Brett, leading the band to go into the studio to record the 'Dirty Washing' EP, which came out later that year. Another seven years passed before 'Dull Is The New Interesting' surfaced in 2015, and then just two just two years later we were treated to 2017's 'Songs From The Sides Of Lorries', the final song of which was titled 'Obituary', so perhaps that's telling us something. I think that fans of both Half Man Half Biscuit and The Fall will get some pleasure from this collection of rare singles, EPs and b-sides, but if you are unsure then check out 'Preposterous Tales' and 'Three English Football Grounds' on Youtube, and when you've finishing chuckling to yourself then come back and download this album.   

Track listing

01 Preposterous Tales (flexi-disc given away with Blah Blah Blah fanzine 1987)
02 Quite Extraordinary (Peel session version 1987)
03 Mistakes (b-side of 'Quite Extraordinary' 1988)
04 Kick Down The Stumps (b-side of 'Quite Extraordinary' 1988)
05 At The End Of The Day (b-side of 'Quite Extraordinary' 1988)
06 Spock's Brain (b-side of 'Preposterous Tales' 10" single 1990)
07 Hats Off To Eldorado (single 1993)
08 Hacky's Wine Bar (b-side of 'Hats Off To Eldorado')
09 Our Mates (b-side of 'Hats Off To Eldorado')
10 Man's Man (b-side of 'Hats Off To Eldorado')
11 Football, Beer And A Cigarette (b-side of 'Approaching 40' 2000)
12 Autobiography (b-side of 'Approaching 40' 2000)
13 Away From The Rabble (b-side of 'Approaching 40' 2000)
14 Argument In The Laundrette (from the 'Dirty Washing' EP 2008)
15 The Highland League (from the 'Dirty Washing' EP 2008)
16 The Ruby Wax Song (from the 'Dirty Washing' EP 2008)
17 Chav It Up With Jeremy Kyle (from the 'Dirty Washing' EP 2008)
18 Finding Things Out About John (from the 'Dirty Washing' EP 2008)

Foxy Brown - Ill Na Na 2: The Fever (2003)

Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, known as Foxy Brown, was born on 06 September 1978, growing up with her two older brothers in Park Slope, a middle-class neighbourhood in Brooklyn. While still a teenager, she won a local talent contest, and members of the production team Trackmasters, who were working on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith album, were in attendance that night. They were impressed enough to invite Brown to rap on 'I Shot Ya', following this with appearances on several RIAA platinum and gold singles from other artists, including remixes of songs 'You're Makin' Me High' by Toni Braxton, as well as featuring on the soundtrack to the 1996 film 'The Nutty Professor'. She became an instant sensation due to rapping provocatively at such a young age, and this led to a label bidding war at the beginning of 1996, which was won in March by Def Jam Records, who then added the 17-year-old rapper to their roster. In 1996 she released her debut album 'Ill Na Na' to strong sales, helped in no small part by being heavily produced by Trackmasters, and featuring guest appearances from Jay-Z, Blackstreet, Method Man, and Kid Capri. Following the release of 'Ill Na Na', Brown joined fellow New York-based hip hop artists, Nas, AZ, and Cormega (later replaced by Nature) to form the supergroup known as The Firm, releasing their debut album on Aftermath Records. It boasted production duties by  Dr. Dre, the Trackmasters, and Steve "Commissioner" Stoute, and crashed into the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 1. She spent the first half of 1997 touring, joining rapper Snoop Dogg, pop group The Spice Girls, and rock band Stone Temple Pilots, for the spring break festivities hosted by MTV in Panama City, Florida, and then joining the Smokin' Grooves tour, performing alongside Cypress Hill, Erykah Badu, The Roots, OutKast, and The Pharcyde. 

Her second solo album was released in January 1999, with 'Chyna Doll' once again topping the Billboard 200 Album chart, equalling Lauryn Hill's record as the first female rapper to accomplish this feat. Two years later she released 'Broken Silence', but despite a couple of popular singles being released from it, it could only manage a number 5 showing on the Billboard Charts, although like previous albums, it did sell over 500,000 records and was certified gold by the RIAA. In 2002, Brown returned to the music scene with her single 'Stylin'', which was to be the first single from her upcoming album 'Ill Na Na 2: The Fever', and the next year, she was featured on DJ Kayslay's single 'Too Much for Me' from his 'Street Sweeper's Volume One Mixtape', as well as on Luther Vandross' final studio album 'Dance With My Father', but her fourth studio album stayed mysteriously absent from the schedules. In April 2003, Brown appeared on popular New York radio DJ Wendy Williams' radio show, and revealed the details of her relationship with Lyor Cohen, president of Def Jam Recordings at the time, and also with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Brown accused both of illegally trading her recording masters, and announced that Cohen had cancelled promotion for 'Ill Na Na 2: The Fever' over personal disagreements between them. 'Stylin'' was later released on the compilation album 'The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits Vol. 6', but its parent album has never seen the light of day. It did get as far as a promo CD, but with no support from the record company it quietly vanished, and so here is the cancelled fourth album from Foxy Brown, which as is so often the case with these shelved projects, is far too good not to be heard.    

Track listing

01 Intro (Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood) (feat. Nina Simone)
02 Magnetic
03 The Original
04 We Makin' It (feat. Pretty Boy) 
05 Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep 
06 Open Book 
07 Memory Lane 
08 Jumpin' (feat. Fox-5) 
09 Streets Love Me 
10 Why, Why, Why?
11 All My Life (Black Girl Lost) 
12 Fan Love 
13 I Need A Man (feat. The Letter M) 
14 Superfreak (feat. Jazze Pha) 
15 Stylin' 

Lana Del Rey - Hit & Run (2010)

More from Lana Del Rey from the year 2010.

Track listing

01 Hit & Run
02 Backfire
03 Oooh Baby (Are You Ready)
04 Lift Your Eyes
05 Go Go Dancer
06 Girl That Got Away
07 Put The Radio On
08 She's Not Me
09 Driving In Cars With Boys
10 Break My Fall
11 Television Heaven
12 Scarface

The Lilac Time - Crossing The Line (2008)

Stephen Anthony James Duffy was a founding member, vocalist, bassist, and then drummer of Duran Duran, formed after meeting John Taylor at the School of Foundation Studies & Experimental Workshop at Birmingham Polytechnic. Together with Taylor's childhood friend, Nick Rhodes, on synthesizer and Taylor on guitar, Duffy was the band's vocalist/lyricist and bassist, but when bass player Simon Colley joined, Duffy moved to drums, eventually leaving both the school and the band in 1979, just before Duran Duran signed with EMI in 1980. He went on to form Obviously Five Believers, sometimes known as The Subterranean Hawks or The Hawks, and he made his first four-track recordings with the group, who also released their only single 'Words Of Hope' in 1981. In 1982, he created the band Holy Tin Tin, with John Mulligan and Dik Davis (both then of Fashion), Andy "Stoker" Growcott (of Dexys Midnight Runners) and Bob Lamb (original producer of Birmingham band UB40). Shortening their name to Tin Tin, they signed with WEA Records in the UK, and released the single 'Kiss Me' in 1982, to little acclaim in the UK. By 1983, Tin Tin had signed with Sire Records in the US, and when 'Kiss Me' was released over there it hit the dance charts, while a second single was released in the UK, with 'Hold It' stalling just outside the UK Top 50. After a stint of working in the US, Duffy returned to England and signed a deal as a solo artist with Virgin 10, now working under the name Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy. He recorded a new version of 'Kiss Me' which was released in 1984, this time only in the local West Midlands area, followed by a nationwide release of 'She Makes Me Quiver' which peaked at no. 88 in September 1984. 

At the end of 1984, Duffy recorded a third version of 'Kiss Me', produced by J.J. Jeczalik and Nicholas Froome, which was released in February 1985, and the song finally cracked the UK Top 10, peaking at number 4, and staying in the Top 10 for five weeks. His first album, 'The Ups And Downs', came out in 1985 and reached number 35 in the UK, while at the same time he formed a design office with his brother Nick, exhibiting paintings, drawings, photographs, and video at the album's launch. Dropping the "Tin Tin" from his name, he released the single 'Unkiss That Kiss', as Stephen A.J. Duffy, following that with the album 'Because We Love You' in 1986, for which he was credited simply as Stephen Duffy. In 1986, Duffy began writing and recording music that would become The Lilac Time's first album, released on Swordfish Records, with 'The Lilac Time' coming out in November 1987, and subsequently being reissued in remixed form by Fontana in February 1988. The group originally consisted of Stephen Duffy, his elder brother Nick Duffy, and friend Michael Weston, who recorded the first album together, with Michael Giri and Fraser Kent joining when the band was ready to go on tour. Their second album 'Paradise Circus' was released in October 1989, and was initially intended to be a double album, titled 'Tree', and consisting of one album of songs by Stephen Duffy and one of instrumentals, mostly composed by Nick, but it ended up being condensed into a single record at the record company's insistence. It's generally regarded by critics as being bolder and fuller-sounding than the band's first album, with a greater country & western influence. Many of the instrumentals that were recorded during the sessions saw release on the b-sides of singles taken from 'Paradise Circus' and its follow-up '& Love For All', but after its release in 1990 the band were dropped by Fontana. 

They were then briefly signed to Creation Records, with their sole release on the label being the 'Astronauts' album in 1991, after which the band temporarily split up, and Duffy pursued a solo career for a second time. In 1999 The Lilac Time regrouped with Claire Worrall and Melvin Duffy (no relation to the brothers), and after signing to spinART Records they recorded 'Looking For A Day In The Night' with producer Stephen Street. 'Lilac 6' appeared in 2001 on yet another label, this time on Cooking Vinyl Records, while the melancholic 'Keep Going' was released in 2003 under the name Stephen Duffy and The Lilac Time on Folk Modern. For the next few years the band took a break while Duffy collaborated and toured with Robbie Williams, and on his return the band released 'Runout Groove' in October 2007 on the Bogus Frontage label. In 2009 Stephen handed over leadership duties to his brother NIck, who released 'Sapphire Stylus' as Nick Duffy And The Lilac Time, while yet another label change resulted in 'No Sad Songs' coming out on Tapete Records in 2015, while their most recent record was 'Return To Us', appearing in October 2019. Throughout their career The Lilac Time have often added non-album songs to the b-sides of their singles, although these became fewer as the years progressed, and so this collection therefore concentrates on their most prolific period of 1987 to 1991, with a few later offerings added to the end. 

Track listing

Disc I - 1987-1989
01 Railway Bazaar (b-side of 'Return To Yesterday' 1987)
02 Reunion Ball (b-side of 'Return To Yesterday' 1987)
03 Gone For A Burton (b-side of 'Return To Yesterday' re-issue 1988)
04 Rooftrees (b-side of 'Return To Yesterday' re-issue 1988)
05 Rain On A River (b-side of 'You've Got To Love' 1988)
06 Tiger Tea (b-side of 'Black Velvet' 1988)
07 Street Corner (b-side of 'Black Velvet' 1988)
08 Black Dawn (b-side of 'Black Velvet' 1988)
09 The Queen Of Heartless (b-side of 'The Days Of The Week' 1989)
10 The World In Her Arms (b-side of 'American Eyes' 1989)
11 Crossing The Line (b-side of 'American Eyes' 1989)
12 Big Yellow Taxi (b-side of 'American Eyes' 1989)

Disc II - 1990-2008
01 Julie Written On The Fence (b-side of 'It'll End In Tears' 1990)
02 Cover (b-side of 'It'll End In Tears' 1990)
03 Bed Of Roses (b-side of 'All For Love & Love For All' 1990)
04 Oeil Biques A Bacs (b-side of 'The Laundry' 1990)
05 Only Passing Through (b-side of 'The Laundry' 1990)
06 Hurricaned Rice (b-side of 'The Laundry' 1990)
07 Bird On A Wire (b-side of 'Madresfield' limited 7" single 1990)
08 The Rain Falls Deepest On The Shortest Haircut (b-side of 'In Inverna Gardens' 1991)
09 Hard For Her (b-side of 'A Dream That We All Share' 1999)
10 Ratoon (b-side of 'A Dream That We All Share' 1999)
11 Talkin' Pessimism & Pain Blues (from the 'Happy Birthday Peace' EP 2008)
12 Run Out Groove (from the 'Happy Birthday Peace' EP 2008)

Fad Gadget - Spoil The Child (1991)

Fad Gadget was the alter ego of British musician Frank Tovey, who was born on 08 September 1956 in London. At school he tried to learn many different musical instruments, but realised that he didn't have the co-ordination to be able to play any of them really well, so he drifted away from the idea of playing music, and began getting involved in other art forms instead. He later studied visual arts and mime at Leeds Polytechnic, but when he felt the need to give his mime act some sort of musical accompaniment, he went back to the idea of recording music, with the initial musical pieces being formed of sound manipulation using tape recorders. He began experimenting using an old Grundig tape recorder, and spent a lot of time building up sound collages, and in the mid seventies he managed to set up his own home studio. The initial equipment he used consisted mainly of his Grundig tape recorder, but he later added a Crumar Compac electric piano and a Korg Minipops drum machine, and finally a Korg synthesiser. He then began writing music seriously, and after sending a demo tape of 'Back To Nature' to Daniel Miller, he was signed as Fad Gadget to Daniel Miller's Mute Records, being the first artist to sign to Mute. 'Back To Nature' was re-recorded at RMS Studio in London, and was the second single on the label, after Miller's own effort as The Normal. 'Back To Nature' was a great success for Mute Records. so a follow-up record was produced, and 'Ricky's Hand' included Tovey's wife Barbara singing a vocal part near the end of the recording. Fad Gadget then went on to record an album for Mute Records, and 'Fireside Favourites' was recorded at Blackwing Studios in London without Daniel Miller's assistance, as Tovey felt it was important that he made all the decisions about recording the album himself. Live appearances reflected his days studying the visual arts, and often included dressing in theatrical costumes, and he quickly became known for his confrontational stage antics, such as covering himself in tar and feathers, swinging his microphone like a whip, leaping backwards into the audience, climbing up speakers, hanging from ceiling fixtures, pulling out his body hair, and playing instruments with his head. 

Another one-off single on Mute was released in 1981, with 'Make Room' being backed with 'Lady Shave', which went on to become one of his most iconic tracks. Fad Gadget recorded two more albums for Mute Records at Blackwing Studios, using more complex recording equipment, and both 1981's 'Incontinent' and 1982's 'Under The Flag' showed a progressive change in his music, due to the technological advances in the equipment, and his own growing knowledge of recording techniques. The recording of 1984's 'Gag' was a turning point in his recording career, as it would be the first time he used a band of musicians to record an album, whereas before he had recorded most of the musical parts himself. It also saw a change in the recording location from London to Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, as he wanted to utilise the recording equipment that was installed at Hansa at that time, including the computer controlled mixing desk. He found the new recording practices refreshing, having other people collaborating in the writing and recording process, and the recordings included many acoustic instruments, which veered away from the electronic instruments which had been used on previous recording sessions. During the recording of 'Gag', the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten were recording for Some Bizzare Records at Hansa, and Tovey liked their use of industrial equipment and found objects, so when he heard a large printing press nearby which had a distinctive rhythm, he got his engineer Gareth Jones to record it, and this was then looped and became the basis for his 12" single 'Collapsing New People', released on Mute in 1984. After releasing 'Gag' in 1984, Tovey began recording under his real name, moving toward acoustic instruments, which resulted in an album of protest and labour songs titled 'Tyranny And The Hired Hand', including such standards as 'Sixteen Tons'. This was followed by a couple of albums as Frank Tovey And The Pyros, but after touring in 1993, he withdrew from the music business. In his later years, he began to perform at festivals, and also supported his former colleagues and Mute label-mates, Depeche Mode, on their European tour. He was working on a new album at the time of his death, suffering a heart attack on 3 April 2002 at the age of 45. Despite a lack of commercial success, Fad Gadget was regarded as a pioneer in synth-pop, electro and industrial music, and influenced bands and artists such as Depeche Mode, Vince Clarke of Erasure, Skinny Puppy, Liars, and The Twilight Sad. As a reminder of his pioneering work in electronic/industrial music, here are all his non-album singles and b-sides as Fad Gadget, Frank Tovey, and with The Pyros. 

Track listing

01 Back To Nature (single 1979)
02 Ricky's Hand (single 1980)
03 Handshake (b-side of 'Ricky's Hand')
04 Make Room (single 1981)
05 Lady Shave (b-side of 'Make Room')
06 4M (b-side of 'Life On The Line' 1982)
07 I Discover Love (single 1983) 
08 Lemmings On Lovers' Rock (b-side of 'I Discover Love')
09 Spoil The Child (b-side of 'Collapsing New People' 1984)
10 Bed Of Nails (b-side of 'Luxury' by Frank Tovey 1985)
11 Clean This Act Up (b-side of 'Luddite Joe' by Frank Tovey 1986)
12 Victoria Falls (b-side of 'The Liberty Tree' by Frank Tovey And The Pyros 1991)

Leona Lewis - Twilight (2004)

Leona Louise Lewis was born on 3 April 1985, in Islington, London, and when her parents noticed her passion for singing they enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and later at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, the Ravenscourt Theatre School and the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, until they could no longer afford to do so. At the age of 17, Lewis decided to leave the BRIT School to "get out there" and pursue a career in music, and by then she had already begun to write and record her own material. She worked as a receptionist at a solicitor's office and as a Pizza Hut waitress in order to fund the studio sessions, and at age 18 she secured a lead role in The Lion King theatre show in Paris, although she had to withdraw after injuring her back while she was ice-skating. In 2004 she recorded a demo album in collaboration with Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham, but the resultant 'Twilight' failed to secure her an album deal with any record companies. Another demo album was recorded under license from UEG Entertainment, and it's been claimed that the company spent up to £70,000 trying to launch her career with the 'Best Kept Secret' album, but with no success, although one track from the album, 'Private Party', became a hit on the underground urban music scene in London in 2005. In 2006 Lewis auditioned for the third series of UK talent show The X Factor, singing 'Over The Rainbow' for judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and guest judge Paula Abdul. She was placed in the 16–24 category, with Cowell as her mentor. Throughout the course of the show, Lewis was compared with artists such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, performing songs by all three of them, and she eventually defeated Ray Quinn to win the competition on 16 December 2006. The prize for winning was a £1 million recording contract with Cowell's record label, Syco Music, and her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's 'A Moment Like This', was released on 17 December 2006, breaking a world record after being digitally downloaded more than 50,000 times in less than 30 minutes. 

The song became the 2006 UK Christmas number one single, and spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, as well as being number one in Ireland for six weeks. In February 2007 she signed a £5 million five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and she began recording tracks for her 'Spirit' album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City and Atlanta. The record was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and when it was released in other countries in January 2008 it went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland. It was finally released in the US in April 2008, with two additional tracks added to it, and it entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. This phenomenal success seemed to most people to have come out of the blue, but in fact she'd been slogging away trying to break into the music scene for some years, and we can hear her first efforts here with her 'Twilight' album from 2004. It's actually lucky that 'Twilight' was never officially released, and if it had been then she would have been booted off The X Factor, as it's stipulated in the rules that contestants must never have released an album under a major record label. In the end it leaked online for a while, but despite fears from insiders at her label that it would affect the release of 'Spirit', this didn't seem to be the case. Obviously you can't compare these songs to the ultra-produced ones on 'Spirit', with their host of co-writers and producers, but the spark is definitely there, and her vocals on these mostly self-composed tracks shows promise for what was to come just a few years later.   

 
Track listing

01 Paradise
02 Twilight
03 Wings
04 Words
05 Fascinated
06 Baby Girl
07 Could You Be The One
08 How Many Times
09 I Can’t Help It
10 Learn To Love You
11 So Deep

Lana Del Rey - Delicious (2010)

Here's another collection from Lana Del Rey from that prolific year of 2010, with more to come.

Track listing

01 Bad Boy
02 Delicious
03 Hey You
04 I Was In A Bad Way
05 Midnite Dancer Girlfriend
06 Daddy Issues
07 Criminals Run The World
08 I Want It All
09 Breaking My Heart
10 Playing Dangerous
11 Boom Like That

The Delgados - Primary Alternative (2005)

The Delgados were a four-piece indie-rock band from Glasgow, comprised of guitarist/vocalist Alun Woodward, guitarist/vocalist Emma Pollock, bass guitarist Stewart Henderson, and drummer Paul Savage. Taking their name from the famous Spanish cyclist Pedro Delgado, one-time winner of the Tour de France in the late 1980's, The Delgados formed in 1995 after Woodward, Henderson, and Savage were asked to leave Bubblegum, a band they played in together during 1993 and 1994. With the addition of Savage's then-girlfriend, and later wife, Emma Pollock, they set about crafting songs, drawing inspiration from less obvious artists, such as The Incredible String Band and Hamish Imlach. Besides the inclusion of an early track for a Canadian-released compilation, the group failed to gain label interest, and so they decided to take it upon themselves to release records by founding their own label, Chemikal Underground. From the beginning, the quartet was adamant that the label would not only serve as a vehicle for their own music, but for that of other aspiring groups in the musically fertile city of Glasgow, and since its inception the label has channelled the careers of Mogwai, Arab Strap, Magoo, Cha Cha Cohen, and the Radar Brothers. At first, however, the band were often overshadowed by their own record company, being better known for their label than for their music, so they buckled down and released their debut single 'Monica Webster'/'Brand New Car', which became a Melody Maker Single of the Week. After issuing the 'Lazarwalker' EP on the Radar imprint, they returned to Chemikal Underground for the 1996 release of the singles 'Cinecentre' and 'Sucrose', culminating in the 'Under Canvas, Under Wraps' EP, which was named number three on John Peel's Festive 50 of 1996, with Peel later dubbing The Delgados the best band in Britain in 1998. 

Their initial success also led to a slot supporting Elastica for a short tour of the UK, and in October 1996 they released their first album, 'Domestiques', hailed by New Musical Express as a "dazzling debut which positively drips with diversity." Such praise in the music press, coupled with headlining gigs at smaller venues at the end of 1996 and into 1997, helped establish the band as a major player in the British underground music scene, and highlights of 1997 included tours with the Wedding Present and Pavement. In August 1997 the group were offered a John Peel session, debuting three new songs which would later appear on their second album, but before that 'Everything Goes Around The Water' was issued as a single in March 1998, earning another Single of the Week honour in both New Musical Express and Melody Maker. Returning from a short Italian tour, the band joined Peel for his Evening Session program, where they played their second single 'Pull The Wires From The Wall', which provided the group with their first airing on Daytime Radio 1, and their first showing in the UK Top 75, entering at number 69. Second album 'Peloton' was released in June 1998, and was met with universal praise from both critics and fans alike on both sides of the Atlantic. The songs were extremely inventive, including odd structures, snatched guitar patterns, strange noises, samples, swirling strings, cut-ups and abrupt changes, all serving to create something wonderfully odd. At the end of the year, the record appeared on several "best of" lists, and the band had three showings on John Peel's Festive 50 of 1998, including the number one slot. In the spring of 1999, The Delgados embarked upon a two-week American tour, then returned to Britain for the Glastonbury and T in the Park festivals, plus a performance at the opening of the Scottish Parliament. Sessions for their third album started in September 1998, but the group found the project both long and arduous, so they decided to enlist the help of someone not involved in the recording process, and they approached Dave Fridmann, producer for the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Mogwai. 

Fortunately, Fridmann agreed, and 'The Great Eastern' finally hit the shops in April 2000. Most agreed that the album was The Delgados' most accomplished work to date, a miraculous achievement especially given its fractured and prolonged recording process, and its quality was vindicated when it was short-listed for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. The band also won the Spirit of Scotland Award, an honour recognizing individuals who inspire and lead the way in Scottish culture. In March 2001, The Delgados appeared at London's Barbican Centre to perform their original score to a film based on the work of painter Joe Coleman, and in 2002 their fourth studio album, 'Hate', was released on Mantra rather than the band's own label, returning to Chemikal Underground for their fifth and final studio album 'Universal Audio' in 2004. In April 2005 the band announced that they were splitting up, due to the departure of Henderson, who found it difficult to pour so much energy and time into something that he felt never seemed to get the attention or respect it deserved. All four continued to run Chemikal Underground together, while Pollock and Woodward pursued individual projects, and Savage continued production duties at the band's new studio, Chem19. I'm grateful that the band were so generous to their fans by adding new songs to nearly all their singles, as they truly were a great outfit, and so I'm particularly pleased to be able to post this three disc set of rare singles and b-sides, which will be a god-send to fans of the band, and will hopefully introduce a whole new raft of listeners to one of the great indie groups of the 1990's.    

Track listing

Disc I - 1994-1996
01 Freud's Field Day (from The MiST Masters - Fledgling' compilation album 1994)
02 Monica Webster (single 1995)
03 Brand New Car (b-side of 'Monica Webster')

04 Primary Alternative (from 'The Lazarwalker' EP 1995)
05 Lazarwalker (from 'The Lazarwalker' EP 1995)
06 Buttonhole (from 'The Lazarwalker' EP 1995)
07 Blackwell (from 'The Lazarwalker' EP 1995)
08 I've Only Just Started To Breathe (from the Che Records double 7" compilation 1995)
09 Booker T. Jones (split single with Urusei Yatsura 1995)
10 Liquidation Girl (split single with Van Impe 1996)
11 Cinecentre (single 1996)
12 Thirteen Gliding Principles (b-side of 'Cinecentre')
13 M.Emulator (b-side of 'Cinecentre')

Disc II - 1996-1998
01 The Dirge (b-side of 'Sucrose' 1996)

02 Chalk (b-side of 'Sucrose' 1996)
03 Eurosprint (b-side of 'Sucrose' 1996)

04 Een Telf (b-side of 'Under Canvas Under Wraps' 1996)
05 Bear Cub (b-side of 'Under Canvas Under Wraps' 1996)
06 Strathcona (b-side of 'Under Canvas Under Wraps' 1996)
07 Sacré Charlemagné (split single with New Bad Things 1997)
08 The Drowned And The Saved (b-side of 'Everything Goes Around The Water' 1998)
09 Mark The Day (b-side of 'Pull The Wires From The Wall' 1998)
10 Mauron Chanson (b-side of 'Pull The Wires From The Wall' 1998)
11 A Very Cellular Song (b-side of 'The Weaker Argument Defeats The Stronger' 1998)

Disc III - 2000-2005
01 Euphoria Heights (b-side of 'American Trilogy' 2000)
02 How Can We Hang On To A Dream (b-side of 'American Trilogy' 2000)
03 The Choices You've Made (b-side of 'No Danger' 2000)
04 Don't Sleep (b-side of 'No Danger' 2000)
05 Coalman (b-side of 'Coming In From Cold' 2002)
06 Crutches (b-side of 'Coming In From Cold' 2002)
07 Mad Drums (b-side of 'All You Need Is Hate' 2003)
08 Mr. Blue Sky (b-side of 'All You Need Is Hate' 2003)
09 Don't Leave Clean (b-side of 'Everybody Come Down' 2004)
10 I See Secrets (b-side of 'Everybody Come Down' 2004)
11 Ballad Of Accounting (BBC Radio 1 session) (b-side of 'Girls Of Valour' 2005)
12 Last Rose Of Summer (BBC Radio 1 session) (b-side of 'Girls Of Valour' 2005)

Lankum - The Rocky Road To Dublin (2018)

I've just discovered my new favourite folk group, and so if you like folk music and you haven't heard Lankum yet, then you have to rectify that immediately. Having read an intriguing review of their latest album 'False Lankum', but not having heard of the band before, I looked them up on Youtube, and the first thing that came up were three live pieces recorded for WBGH, and after hearing their stunning 10-minute take on 'The Wild Rover' I knew I'd found something really special. The second song was 'The Rocky Road To Dublin', and surprisingly that was not from one of their albums, and so as soon as I'd got hold of their four studio albums I went back to Youtube to see if there was any more unreleased music from the band, and there was in fact enough for a fifth album from them. 'The Rocky Road To Dublin' is a 19th-century Irish song written by Irish poet D. K. Gavan, which has since become a standard of Irish folk music, and Lankum's version does it full justice. Radie Peat has a superb voice, and the harmonies on this recording are exquisite, while the Uilleann pipes, fiddle, concertina and droning harmonium are the perfect accompaniment. 'Love Is Kind' is a song from their first album, under their previous name of Lynched, and this live take is augmented by Julie Fowlis on harmonium and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh on flute, while 'Harpatamio' is a short piece which was a hidden track on the CD version of their 'Between The Earth And Sky' album from 2017. 'Hares On The Mountain' is a duet by Radie Peat and Daragh Lynch on the classic Shirley Collins song, and 'Little Tommy Tucker' is a humourous a capella piece which is popular at their concerts. A medley of barn dances and reels is followed by their contribution to the Topic Records celebration album 'Vision & Revision: The First 80 Years Of Topic Records', where current folk groups were invited to cover a song from an old Topic album, and Lankum chose 'The Sea Captain'. 'Rosie Reilly' is a mournful folk tune given an extended treatment in the live arena, but which is yet to appear on a studio album, and for 'Fall Down Billy O'Shea' they were joined onstage by folk legend Eliza Carthy. 'The Old Main Drag' closes the album, with a recording made at Shane McGowan's 60th birthday celebration, and is their take on the Pogues' classic. If you are at all into traditional Irish folk music and you don't know of Lankum, then try this introductory collection, and if you like what you hear then do invest in their four studio albums.      

Track listing

01 The Rocky Road To Dublin
02 Love Is Kind (with Julie Fowlis & Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh)
03 Harpatamio
04 Hares On The Mountain
05 Little Tommy Tucker

06 The Sea Captain
07 Medley: Lucy Farr's Barndance/Road To Glountane/The Congress/Lucy Campbell's Reel
08 Rosie Reilly
09 Fall Down Billy O'Shea (with Eliza Carthy)
10 The Old Main Drag

Mutya Buena - Addiction (2011)

Following her departure from The Sugababes in December 2005, Mutya Buena began working on her debut album after signing a solo deal with her previous label, Universal Island Records. The first single to be released in the UK featuring her vocals was a ballad duet with George Michael, titled 'This Is Not Real Love', which was released in November 2006 and reached number 15 in the UK. In early 2007 the title track of her debut solo album 'Real Girl' was released as a single and reached number 2 in the UK, as swell as receiving a BRIT Award nomination for Best Single. The album peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, while 'Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)', her collaboration with dance duo Groove Armada, was released in the UK in July 2007, and reached number 8 in the charts. The fourth release from the album, 'Just A Little Bit' stalled at number 65, and following a collaboration with Amy Winehouse on a re-working of the Ronettes' track 'Be My Baby', she was dropped by her record label in February 2008, who cited poor sales and charting positions from 'Real Girl' and her last two singles. While without a label, she featured on Asher D's second single 'With You', from his album 'Ashley Walters', as well as the Don-E track 'The Time Is Now', 'Fallin'' with Agent X, and 'Give Back' with Tah Mac. In October 2010, Buena expressed uncertainty about continuing in the music industry, and said she was currently training to become a psychologist for children, although despite this announcement, she teamed up with City Boy Soul and digitally released 'Be OK' in January 2011, as well as recording lead vocals for 'Give Me Love', penned by UK DJ/Producer Paul Morrell. In 2011 she released a demo on SoundCloud called 'All B4', and tweeted that a rumoured Sugababes reunion was not happening as she was working on her own stuff, which had fans speculating that a second solo album might be on the cards. However, in July 2012, it was officially confirmed that the original line-up of The Sugababes had reformed under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan, and they were writing songs for a new album for Polydor, so any follow-up to 'Real Girl' was put on hold. A few tracks have since surfaced which were said to be intended for her second solo album, and if we add those to some of the collaborations that she recorded in 2008, plus a few out-takes from 'Real Girl' and a Live Lounge cover of 'Fast Car', there is enough material to put together a pretty good album, which could have followed 'Real Girl' if her label hadn't dumped her. 

Track listing

01 Addiction
02 Fallin' (feat. Agent X & Ultra)
03 Give Me Love (feat. Paul Morrell)

04 All B4

05 Dark Side
06 The Time Is Now (feat. Don-E)
07 With You (feat. Asher D)
08 If We Fall
09 Love Story
10 Fast Car  
11 To The Limit
12 Addiction (Reprise)

Lana Del Rey - Serial Killer (2010)

2010 was an extremely prolific year for Lana Del Rey, as following the release of the 'Lana Del Rey' album, a.k.a. 'The Lizzy Grant Album', she recorded over 70 songs, which started to leak onto the internet around 2014, and before long there were enough tracks floating around to put together half a dozen albums from this year alone. I'm starting with one named after one of the most famous of her unreleased tracks, 'Serial Killer'. 

Track listing

01 Serial Killer
02 Beautiful Player (feat. Starz)
03 French Restaurant
04 Ghetto Baby
05 Dreamgirl
06 Damn You
07 You & Me
08 Hanging Around
09 Live Or Die
10 Roses (feat. Theophilus London)
11 Making Out
12 Last Girl On Earth

Squeeze - Blood From A Stone (1986)

As a follow-up to the recent b-sides collection from Squeeze, here is an album full of unreleased tracks and demos that I discovered along the way while putting that one together. It starts with a track left off their debut album from 1978, and then goes on to include songs from the sessions of all their albums from 1979 to 1982, plus their contribution to the 1986 film 'When The Wind Blows', and as a little bonus at the end we have their theme tune for the 1985 TV series 'Girls On Top'. Being from the pens of Difford and Tilbrook, all of these tracks could easily have been included on their parent albums, but lack of space meant they had to be shelved, so here they all are together in one place for your enjoyment, and despite the eight year timespan, this really does hang together just like a lost Squeeze album.       

Track listing

01 Heartbreak (previously unreleased 1978)
02 Blood And Guts (previously unreleased 1979)
03 I Must Go (previously unreleased 1979)
04 Ain't It Sad (previously unreleased 1979)
05 Funny How It Goes (previously unreleased 1980)
06 Go (previously unreleased 1980)
07 Library Girl (demo 1980)
08 The Axe Has Now Fallen (previously unreleased 1981)
09 Looking For A Love (previously unreleased 1981)
10 I Can't Get Up Anymore (previously unreleased 1982)
11 When Love Goes To Sleep (previously unreleased 1982)
12 Love's A Four Letter Word (previously unreleased 1985)
13 What Have They Done? (from the soundtrack of the 1986 film 'When The Wind Blows')

14 Girls On Top (theme to the 1985 TV series)

The Woodentops - Ombooshi Plum (1991)

As mentioned in the last Woodentops post, in 1989 the band stopped working together, although they didn't actually split up, but as their record company fell apart around them, this triggered the collapse of the whole band. Everybody agreed it was time to do something different, as the original members had worked through their entire twenties for the Woodentops and they all felt individual desires to do something else, and so a final concert took place at Subterrania in London in 1992. Rolo McGinty had become heavily involved in the dance/rave scene, and so he linked up with Les Lawrence and Benny Staples to provide rhythm tracks, while guitars were courtesy of Simon Mawby, Skip Macdonald, and McGinty himself, who also added the bass, while reggae singer Bim Sherman was invited to provide backing vocals. Along with producer Ian Tregoning, this collective had allegedly been working on a double album in the early 1990's, but this never saw the light of day, although there were some white label techno crossover 12" records released around this time, with 'Conehead' becoming a hit on the northern techno scene, and 'Tainted World' being popular on NYC radio. While the other members of The Woodentops started to do different things, McGinty was releasing dance music under the name Pluto, and also as Dogs Deluxe with Rob Miller, although the rumoured double album remained elusive. Various recordings have since leaked, and so by adding these to the 'Conehead' and 'Tainted World' singles we can actually make up a double album of McGinty's dance/club recordings, which I've housed in a sleeve based on a painting by Woodentops' resident artist Panni Bharti, and which I've titled after a deliberately(?) mis-named Japanese fruit. Just because you love the Woodentops won't necessarily mean that you'll like this music, as it is a real departure from their trade-marked hypno-beat, but it's still from the pen of Rolo McGinty, and it's great in its own way, so do give it a try. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Smokin'
02 You Could Be Happy
03 Because Of You/Dub
04 Ombooshi Plum
05 Children Of Today
06 Pleasure
07 Tainted World

Disc Two
01 Conehead
02 I'd Love You Again
03 Zoom Zoom
04 Don't
05 Back To Work 2
06 Stay Out Of The Light