Classic Rock 301 Items

Still sealed with hype sticker.

When XTC finally downed guitars after the recording and release of “Wasp Star”, their last album to date, one of Andy’s ideas about what to do next, was to become a songwriter in the traditional sense, writing songs for others… It was something he had been asked to do throughout the XTC years, but never had the time. Songs were written. Songs were sent. Sometimes speculatively, often specifically requested, many tailor-made for an artist's requirements, but then choppy waters could still lay ahead. Even where everyone seemed to think that newly written song A would be wonderful if recorded by singer B, whose manager C had initiated the request via music publisher D for album E on record label F… Well, you begin to see the potential problems of such an approach – almost a quarter of the way through the alphabet and not a note recorded beyond Andy's original demo. That’s without detailing the sort of horrendous politics that makes a fresh batch of alphabet spaghetti of any of the above as they interact. Still, songs are like children. A songwriter gives birth to them, feeds them, watches them grow before sending them out into the world. So it’s unfair to abandon them as orphans just because their first experience outdoors might be a traumatic one of being cold shouldered. As a loving parent, Andy brought them all back together, re-Andy-fied them and buffed them up in his home studio, et voila! Here is the first selection of song siblings that resulted from all of this work, four brothers and sisters, happily reunited and presented as a family group aural snapshot for your entertainment and delight. The story has a happy ending after all. It is almost as if The Sound of Music, had been set in Swindon.

50th Anniversary Re-Edition - Includes Original Releasesheet Inlay - Original Release: 1972 - 2021 Re-Cut carefully overseen by Manuel Göttsching. We proudly announce the authorised 50th Anniversary Edition 2021 of the 1972 Original release , one of the most important German Krautrock albums in a 2021 Re-Cut carefully overseen by Manuel Göttsching himself. As for the info we refer to Julian Cope´s review in his “Krautrocksampler” Book, Publisher : Head Heritage (1 Oct. 1995) : “Beware of Schwingungen!” That should be the large sticker on the front of all copies of this record. For it is dangerous to be casually introduced to something that is life-changing, as I found out to my cost when first listening to this record. It all starts fairly simply and without any cause for alarm - “Look at Your Sun” begins with a Doorsy lone groover guitar begins a pedestrian blues, beautiful. Then the most crushed voice, a cross between Johnny Rotten and Tiny Tim, preaches its way into the proceeds. God, it is beautiful - John L. repeats over and over, “We are all one, we are all one”, until a howling fuzztone solo guitar blows the whole onechord “Signed D.C.” ringing-cymbals torture to an end. And then the most far out track of all begins. This is called “Flower Must Die” and it is a free-rock giant that transcends everything else in its field (there are no contenders.) As I’ve written before, PIL sounds like this. John L. was John Lydon in a previous incarnation. After a slow weird build, a frantic streamlined one-chord mantra kicks in and it’s like the Stooges’ Funhouse period but in a Righteous Vision Zone that fucks them right off.

From 1975, this is Baris Manço’s masterpiece. Stunning cosmic, psychedelic, groovy conceptual album with fantastic electronics use and a strong Turkish folk flavour as usual. Again, this is the first official, proper CD reissue, and comes with a booklet with linernotes and photos.

2013 reissue. With insert. 180gr vinyl.

Steve Howe's recording career began as early as 1964 under the production of Joe Meek when he was the lead guitarist of the savage R&B outfit The Syndicats. He then joined The In Crowd, who soon became Tomorrow, legendary pioneers of UK psychedelia who along with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine changed the face of pop music forever. When Tomorrow's singer Keith West's first solo single became a huge success (it was a part of the "lost" Teenage Opera project by Mark Wirtz) all band members went their separate ways. Drummer Twink joined The Pretty Things and then formed The Pink Fairies, bassist Junior Wood -along with Twink- tried luck in Aquarian Age and Steve Howe accompanied West on tour before finally giving birth to Bodast in 1968.

Bodast was formed by Steve Howe (Guitar), Dave Curtiss (bass, vocals) and Bobby Clark (drums). The name was creatied by taking the first two letters of their names (BObby, DAve, STeve). Curtiss and Clark where veterans of the early UK scene, having been members of Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages or Vince Taylor's Playboys, and they had also worked in France backing Françoise Hardy.They were soon joined by Clive Skinner (vocals) and Bruce Thomas (bass), and also acted for a while as Canto.

While back in the era no recordings of Bodast saw the light of day, the fact is that they did record a whole LP under the production of Keith West. Ten incredible songs that are the missing link between Tomorrow and Yes, a stunning progressive opus which still has it's share of psychedelia, and which should have been a classic since day one but, sadly, the album was filed and left unreleased, and Bodast finally disbanded. Howe got some offers to join other established groups. He took the one from Yes, with whom he soon entered the studio to record The Yes Album, to which he added parts of the lost Bodast compositions (the most evident being Nether Street, an important part of it ended up in Starship Troopers). And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Bodast LP finally saw the light of day in 1981, when Cherry Red issued 8 of the recorded songs as The Bodast Tapes. The original tapes had been newly remixed by Steve Howe himself. It was, again, issued in the 1990s by C5, same remix, with the addition of two extra tracks. That version was also available on CD. In 2000 RPM released a new CD version, this time rescuing the original 1968 mixes, and with the addition of four tracks by Canto (essentially the same band, who changed the name for a while).

Now, for the first time ever on vinyl the original 1968 mixes, which are rawer than those early eighties ones done by Steve Howe, are issued by Wah Wah Records Supersonic Sounds, on a limited edition of only 500 copies, housed in a nice three backflaps sleeve like they did them in the UK in the sixties!

Sealed copy with a bent corner! Limited edition on Golden vinyl.

Orange vinyl. Cover with bumped corner, close to NM

Previously unreleased live and studio recordings mainly from the Spotlight Kid and Clearspot album and tour eras together with a gatefold album sleeve inner double spread of many previously unpublished rare photographs of Don and the Magic Band.

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.

Colosseum was one of England's prime rock-jazz outfits. Valentyne Suite takes the band out of their bluesy comfort zone into something closer to prog rock. The album is generally seen as their best album and still extremely enjoyable.