Laminated With Clarifoil

Remember that?

Used to be the proud boast on all those albums with glossy fronts and - normally - matt backs. And remember 'Red - Mono, Blue - Stereo'? On Decca albums with the little hole in the top right back cover so you could see the inner sleeve? Oh, my, how time flies...

Anyway I was reminded of both of these when I decided to rip my copy of the original Joseph album.

Make no mistake, this is a *good* album. Not a *great* album, like Jesus Christ Superstar is (no arguments, it's one of my top ten albums *ever*), but a very good album like the original Evita is once you edit out all the silly recitative-type bits.

I sang and played drums in a production of Joseph with the London Boy Singers under Jonathon Steele (any bells ringing anywhere, or am I off on my own here?). But not this one - though LBS did some vocals on the Superstar album, again without me :-(

Forget Philip Schofield and Jason Donovan, forget everything Rice & Lloyd Webber did afterwards (except the Scaffs album), just open your ears and listen to some nice pop from 1969. Um - the album is credited to 'The Joseph Consortium', the lead singer was David Daltrey (lead singer of a group called Tales Of Justine and *possibly* Roger's younger brother) and the backing group was 'The Mixed Bag'. No idea what happened to them. Probably nothing.

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1969)

http://rapidshare.com/files/86463443/Joseph.zip

Yucky Dar & Sospan Fach to you too, boyo

For someone who's half Welsh my knowledge of Welsh music is pitiful. Man, Harry Secombe, Shirley Bassey, and... err... Ar Log.

I bought this album the same day that I bought the Fiddlers Dram album, while researching music - well, OK, trying to find songs to steal - for my band 'Brahms And Liszt'. From what I understand the band is still going - in fact, Wikipedia has this to say about them:

Ar Log are a well-established folk band in Wales who have performed since the 1970s. They perform both instrumental music and songs in Welsh. Their name in Welsh means For Hire. Somebody once called them "Rent-a-Group" for reasons which are lost in the mists of time.
The original 1976 members were Dave Burns (guitar), Dafydd Roberts (triple harp, flute), Gwyndaf Roberts (knee harp and bass) and Iolo Jones (fiddle). The four individuals were brought together by the Welsh Tourist Board, who were eager that a Welsh traditional group should represent the nation at that year's Interceltique festival in Lorient. Here they met The Dubliners, who suggested that they should stay together and turn professional. During this period, the group released the first of several eponymous albums: Ar Log.

And so on.

AR LOG - AR LOG (1978)

01 - Rali Twm Sion & Ymdaith Gwyr Dyfnaint
02 - Y Blewyn Glas
03 - Difyrrwch Corbet O Ynys Maengwyn & Difyrrwch Gwyr Dolgellau & Ymdaith Caerfifili & Ty Coch Caerdydd
04 - Ar lan Y Mor
05 - Dainty Davey & Hoffedd Ap Hywel
06 - Y Gwcw Fach
07 - Hafoty Fraich Ddu & Y Gelynnen & Y Lili
08 - Y Harbwr Croc
09 - Breuddwyd Y Frenhines & Per Oslef
10 - Cerdd Y Gog Lwydlas
11 - Clychau Aberdyfi & Bugail Aberdyfi
12 - Ffidl FFadl & Y Delyn Newydd
13 - Tra Bo Dau
14 - Glan Bran & Ymgyrch-don Waenlwyd

http://rapidshare.com/files/86222775/Ar_Log.zip

Just Give Me Whiskey

Oh, look, just *go away*, will you? Stop whingeing on about "Ooh, Time Has Told Me posts *loads* more than you do ner ner ner". Good for the Lizard - but:

a) lots of his stuff is readily available on CD - example, the Watersons box set which I paid fifty quid for.
b) lots of his stuf is uploaded by other people, he just posts the links.
c) he's had quite a few complaint from people asking him to take down stuff.

But he's also posted some great stuff that isn't available, and for that I thank him.

My philosophy is quite clear - if you can buy it legitimately from anywhere that the artist benefits from (and I don't mean second hand) then I won't post it. Also, the vast majority of my stuff is ripped from my original vinyl and never available on CD - and I'm running out of albums to rip. And, as I mentioned elsewhere, I have to work & don't always have loads of time to blog. But when I feel like it, I do.

So just feck off with your "this is not meant to criticize your blog, you post some nice stuff, just not often enough" - if it isn't meant to be a criticism, what's the point of saying it? Oh - and next time have the good grace to not post anonymously so that I can reply to you directly without forcing others to read it.

ANYWAY... I'm back again. For now. Got a few things lined up to post - the final gig by the reunited Airplane, some In Embrace, more obscure folk including the debut album by Ar Log, Speedy Keen's solo album, and a couple of bizarrenesses that I haven't ripped yet.

Today, though, the sole album from Colourbox.

In the 80s I thought 4ad could do no wrong (a bit like Island in the late 60s) and so I bought quite a lot of what they put out even if I wasn't sure about it. This is one of those. I heard 'Just Give 'Em Whiskey' on the Peel show and was expecting more of the same, but apart from 'Hot Doggie' on the Lonely Is An Eyesore album they didn't really do anything else like that. Instead, the album strayed into a number of different electro-synth-soul-pop-funk. Still not convinced that I like it, but according to the 4ad site it's a 'lost classic'. So here you go.

Colourbox - Colourbox (1985)

1. Sleepwalker
2. Just Give ‘em Whiskey
3. Say You
4. The Moon Is Blue
5. Inside Informer
6. Punch
7. Suspicion
8. Manic
9. You Keep Me Hanging On
10. Arena

http://rapidshare.com/files/85705237/Colourbox.zip.html