Low – "A Lifetime Of Temporary Relief - 10 Years Of B-Sides & Rarities" (Rough Trade – RTRADCDX195) 2004

After Keith Levene,and Nik Turner.Another from this week of Musical Deaths, is the sad loss of Mimi Parker,the lady from Low. The Husband and wife populated trio who gave us the much derided,even by Mimi and Alan, category of this kind of minimal melodic ambient neo folkrock,that has come to be called Slowcore. Which, personally, I reckon fits them to a 'T'. It's slow, and uncompromising....it's .Slowcore!?

I am of an age where my last flirtation with 'hip' music was around the time of Jungle and Post Rock in the late nineties, so I look upon Low as a fairly recent entity,and often overlook the fact that they've been going for nigh on thirty years....that is until this week,as Mimi died of Cancer. Robbing the world of her pure voice and minimalist drumming.

This vast compilation of their first ten years,was the last record i bought in England before i migrated to pastures new in jolly old France.....it's a bit shit here,but it's fucking cheap.We came as a family, and promptly started the process of disintegrating forthwith;such is the fashionable path we trod ,trés moderne.

Now all that's left is me and a house full of records,synths,and to quote Syd,Dust and Guitars.All of which one can simply turn off when they get on ones proverbials.You can't do that with humans I found out.....they have 'needs'....needs that someone on the spectrum can't give without an effort. Its all mi mi mi innit? I don't ask or expect anything that isn't offered.

A great soundtrack to emotional and mental breakdown and its aftermath has to be the melancholic splendor of Low......which is ironic, because they never broke up as a family,just losing a few Bassists along the way....always difficult creatures is yer Bass player.

They do remind one of such indie leg-ends as Young Marble Giants,and Galaxie 500, with a tad of Joy Division's more downbeat moments,as if fronted by English Folk great Shirley Collins....(Is Shirley Collins a Dame yet?...if not why?).

This compilation features all their rare bits from 1994 to 2004,and the demo versions of "Lullaby" and "Cut" from their flawless debut LP,are worth the price of admission alone;enhanced somewhat by swathes of automatic level cassette hiss,as if summoning the soul of Mimi back from the grave to haunt us a bit more.This IS White Soul music after all?

You may have noticed that i am being uncharacteristically respectful in this synopsis of a trendy american group,and i'm sorry, but Low were quite marvelous indeed. Not everything modern and american are wrong you know,he said,stating the bleeding obvious.

This came with a DVD documentary, which you can probably find on YouTube no doubt.

Although this horrified me! Low are one of those groups who shouldn't ever be seen on camera or in photographs; unless as blurred shadowy black and white images in an abandoned bunker somewhere in Alaska .Not that they're ugly or anything,it just doesn't fit the music.There were always far too many clear photo's of Joy Division for example,where we discovered that Ian Curtis always wore the same shirt and looked like Mr Bean...they should have only been photographed by Anton Corbijn,in dimly lit underpasses in winter.Young Marble Giants had this talent naturally.impossible to photograph without looking like they lived in Siberia.

Anyway,Rest in even more Peace that was portrayed in your beautifully depressing tunes Mimi.Hope to hear you again beyond the void one slow looong day? Thanks for all the temporary relief.

And to finish,... some jokey wordplay to lighten the mood......Its all Mi Mi Mi these days innit?

Tracklist:

Lullaby (Demo) 10:06
Cut (Demo) 5:41
Heartbeat 4:08
Peanut Butter Toast And American Bandstand 2:23
Tired 5:11
I Started A Joke 4:28
The Plan (Demo) 2:50
Prisoner (Demo) 6:10
Prisoner 3:48
Tomorrow One 4:28
Turning Over 7:49
Bright 2 1:45
Walk You Out 4:46
Tear Down 4:48
Standby 5:11
David & Jude 1:22
Cheek 3:24
Venus 3:44
Boyfriends & Girlfriends 6:06
Surf 2:31
No Need (Version 1) 5:03
Be There (First Version) 8:28
Lift 5:45
Joan Of Arc 3:21
Long Long Long 3:50
Lion/Lamb (Demo) 3:50
Will The Night (Demo) 2:47
Last Breath 4:47
Joan Of Arc (20 Below Mix) 3:25
Old Man Song 3:48
Try Try Try 0:37
Lord, Can You Hear Me? 6:24
Venus (Time Stereo Dub Mix) 3:51
Those Girls (Song For Nico) 3:06
[silence] 2:50
Words (In Misfits Style) 2:50
Turn (In Misfits Style) 1:03
Over The Ocean (In Misfits Style) 1:36
I Remember 3:22
Kindly Blessed 2:17
Blue-Eyed Devil 5:02
Sleep At The Bottom 4:54
When You Walked 3:55
Back Home Again 5:20
Don't Drop The Baby 4:02
Surfer Girl (Live) 3:35
Blowin' In The Wind 3:49
Open Arms 4:02
...I Love 2:45
Carnival Queen 5:13
Overhead 4:33
Don't Carry It All 4:13
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me 3:58
Because You Stood Still 5:33
Fearless 6:20
Shots & Ladders 2 6:47
Words 5:46
Shame 4:08
Over The Ocean 3:50
Looking Out For Hope 11:28
Will The Night 3:07
Weight Of Water 4:21
Don't Understand 6:56
Immune 3:31
Home 2:25
Dinosaur Act 4:07
Canada 3:49
Over The Ocean (Oosterschelde Version) 5:03
Canada 15:42
Two Step (Live At Bard College) 6:11
Soon (Live At Coolidge Corner) 7:38
I Remember (Live In Paris) 5:40
Closer Than That 1:06:11
In The Fishtank 16:50
Making Of Trust 17:34

DOWNLOAD from heaven HERE!

Ivor Cutler ‎– "Prince Ivor" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 89) 1986

Yet more priceless BBC recordings from the turn of the eighties on Radio Three. Several short surreal plays broadcast on the BBC wavelength largely reserved for Classical music. Ivor's fans certainly crossed the generation gap and effortlessly appealed to persons of all musical tastes;especially as this was released by Rough Trade,the numero uno Post-Punk label of the time.
One must give credit to the anonymous character actors (Bill Wallis,Glynis Brooke,Malcolm Hayes etc) who back up Ivor's words with some effortless brilliance.One must also give praise to the unsung heroes of the BBC sound effects department.

Tracklist:

1. Silence (01-04-1979)
2. Ivor Cutler and the Mermaid (06-21-1980)
3. Ivor Cutler And The Mole (6-22-1980)
4. Ivor Cutler And A Barber (12-22-1981)
5. Ivor Cutler And The Paperseller (12-24-1981)
6. Ivor Cutler And A Storeman (12-26-1981)
7. Ivor Cutler And The Princess (6-23-1980)
8. A Miner Is Approached By Ivor Cutler (12-30-1981)
9. Ivor Cutler And His Dad (6-24-1980)
10.A Sheet Metal Worker Is Approached By Ivor Cutler(1-1-1982)
11.Ivor Cutler And A Small Holder (12-28-1981)
12.Prince Ivor (3-20-1980)

DOWNLOAD ivor for less than a fiver HERE!

Ivor Cutler ‎– "Gruts" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 98) 1986

I like Gruts for tea or for any feeding time in fact, be it Elevenzies, Brunch,Dinner Supper or Breakfast. Of course I don't mean Gruts from the High wood, or Leaves, Bark, Grass or Leaves, but Gruts, the album. Gruts, the fictional foodstuff,are probably very nice,especially fried in butter; but the album version is far more palatable......and,as unlikely as it may seem, funnier.
These songs and poems were originally performed on 'Monday Night At Home' on the BBC Home Service 1959-62,long before Radio one existed,and even before John Peel was a DJ.In fact a few of these songs did eventually appear in some of the numerous sessions he recorded for the late lamented DJ.
The BBC,for all of its criticism as of late, is a great institution for nurturing the more abstract and eccentric edges of the arts.A treasure trove of unique,and poorly paid, cultural jewelery that  now benefits the whole world. The incumbent, popularist leaning, British government,are currently posturing to do away with this world heritage organisation.No more future Ivor Cutlers, or Punk Rock are libel to be promoted once it's sold off to Government cronies and oligarchs.Only the safe stuff,the....spit... popular, the unchallenging, will be what we are left with in this increasingly beige society.....the thing that there is no longer no such thing as.... as stated by the UK's hospitalised Prime Minister (yes BoJo is as I type in intensive care with Covid19 complications....ironically in the very Hospitals his party were intent on running down to tender out to the same cronies and oligarchs that would carve up the BBC).
Of course I wish Boris all the best and hope he recovers.....mainly because I've just seen the turd who will take over from him if he dies!.....see,I'm not a monster......well...not much of a monster anyway.
Meanwhile,keep singing "I'm Happy",and eventually you will be,no matter what happens.
All together now:
"I'm Happy I'm Happy,
I'm Happy I'm Happy
I'm Happy I'm Happy
And I'll Punch the Man Who Says I'm Not!"(repeat)

This album was dedicated to The Noise Abatement Society!?

Tracklist:

A1 I'm Happy (Song)
A2 Gruts For Tea
A3 A Red Flower
A4 Shoplifters (Song)
A5 How To Make A Friend
A6 Fish Fright
A7 Darling, Will You Marry Me Twice (Song)
A8 Scratch My Back
A9 Egg Meat
B10 Mud (Song)
B11 Old Cups Of Tea
B12 The Judge's Parcel
B13 I Had A Little Boat (Song)
B14 The Hoorgi House
B15 A Steady Job
B16 In My Room There Sits A Box (Song)
B17 The Dirty Dinner

DOWNLOAD some fresh gruts from the high wood HERE!

Shockabilly ‎– "The Dawn Of Shockabilly" (Rough Trade ‎– RT 120T) 1982

Well, I might as well post the 'Dawn Of Shockabilly' EP, so you can contrast and compare this with "Earth vs Shockabilly".
As the rumour is that "Vietnam" by the very same group,is the album the Butthole Surfers never made, maybe you should compare and contrast this with that?.....or,as in my case, maybe not.
This one is good anyway.

Tracklist:
A1 Psychotic Reaction
A2 Heart Full Of Soul
A3 Train Kept A Rollin'
B1 Hard Day's Night
B2 Good Girl Is Gonna Go Bad

DOWNLOAD as a new dawn fades HERE!

Shockabilly ‎– "Earth vs. Shockabilly" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 48) 1983

This got a rave review from Edwin Pouncey/Savage Pencil in Sounds back in '83,so I figured I should track it down.
No sign of it in the racks at Revolver opposite Linekers fruit and veg stall in the market place ,St.Martins Records,or Ainsleys???....I know these names will mean nothing to you unless you come from Leicestershire,but these were our local record and tapes establishments back in the day.I'd given up asking for stuff as the staff would only give a confused and unhelpful response which usually involved a pained expression that shreeked "WOT?".
I did,however, find the Dawn Of Shockabilly EP, which was a stormer!
A few weeks passed and "Earth vs Shockabilly" appeared in the 'E' section at Revolver,and I calmly exchanged my dole/welfare cash for said disc.
Needless to say; it was disappointing when I got it home.As with the opposite sex, the thrill is nearly always in the chase.
Chadbournes silly guitar twiddling tends to get on ones tits somewhat,but alas,It's still superior to most mainstream alt-rock,even if it misses thatcertain 'X-factor'.
"City Of Corruption" stands out, and of their scrambled up cover versions of 'Rock'n'Roll' classix, "19th Nervous Breakdown" is the pick. Four stars out of five,rather than the Five Edwin gave it,and not a patch on the Shockabilly EP from the previous year.
There were more albums apparently,but I've never bothered to hear them.Further proof that most pop acts,or even avant_pop acts, should stick to one album then fuck off back to the obscure gutter that they crawled from,or in this case stick to one EP.

Tracklist:

A1 19th Nervous Breakdown
A2 Are You Experienced
A3 Psychedelic Basement
A4 Big Money Broad
A5 Tennessee Flat Top Box
A6 City Of Corruption
B1 People Are Strange
B2 Day Tripper
B3 Purple Haze
B4 Wrestling Woman
B5 Oh Yoko!

DOWNLOAD vs shockabilly HERE!

Swell Maps ‎– "Whatever Happens Next..." (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 21, Rather Records ‎– ROUGH 21) 1981

We've been to Nuneaton, then Coventry, so logic dictates the next destination must be Birmingham. Once compared to an empty rugby players bath.....nothing in the centre with a ring of scum around the outside.
Rather harsh,but was once very true. Britains second city was an example of urban planning gone wrong. A nightmarish vision of damp concrete built on a minuscule budget.Skirted by the crumbling M6 motorway,and home to the silliest highway interchange in europe, nick-named 'Spaghetti Junction'.
Basically it was shit.
Despite this depressing environment, Birmingham is responsible for some of the most influential names in classic rock, namely Black Sabbath,Judas Priest,Napalm Death and most of Led Zeppelin. Not to mention such greats as Slade, The Move, Moody Blues, ELO, The Nightingales,....erm....Duran Duran!??.....and Swell Maps.
Swell Maps were DIY before DIY,with cassette recordings stretching back to 1974. So after their premature demise in 1980, it was inevitable that Rough Trade would release some of them , which they prompotly did on this double album from 1981.
If, by some chance you have lived in a closet for the last 40 years, you can hear Swell Maps official releases and peel sessions by clicking this handy link HERE!

"The majority of these recordings were made on various (mono & stereo) cassette machines at home. They are all in their original forms, apart from some editing, except 'Midget Submarines (Sd. 1) on which we added some piano and extra voices."

A1, A2 rec. April 77
A3 rec. April 75
A4, A5 rec. June 77
A6 rec. Dec 78
A7 rec. Jan 79
A8 rec. live at the Titan Club, Rome in March 1980
B1 rec. July 77
B2 to B4 rec. August 77
C1 rec. Dec 75 / June 77
C2 rec. May 77
C3 rec. June 74
C4 rec. July 77 / Dec 77
D1 rec. April 74
D2 rec. at the start of sessions for 'Jane From Occupied Europe' at WMRS, Leamington Spa., June 79
D3 to D7 rec. at Swell Maps' 2nd John Peel Session, May 79
Tracklist:

A1 Read About Seymour
A2 Fashion Cult
A3 Armadillo
A4 (I Am) The Greatest Plumming! / Radio Ten
A5 Here's The Cupboard (Thrash)
A6 Terribly Insect
A7 Midget Submarines
A8 Whatever Happens Next...
B1 Clearasil Record (Stuck)
B2 BLAM!!
B3 Down With Tractors
B4 Amphibious Landing Craft
C1 Paul's Dead (click here for this missing track from the file!)
C2 Sheep Dip
C3 Havoc All Ended
C4 The Himalayas
D1 You & The Night & The Music
D2 The Stairs Are Like An Avalanche
D3 Vertical Slum
D4 Forest Fire
D5 Midget Submarines (II)
D6 Armadillo (II)
D7 Bandits One Five

DOWNLOAD and see what happens HERE!

Wire ‎– "Document And Eyewitness" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 29) 1981

 

At the end of 1979 Wire embarked on a live tour that only had new unrecorded material on offer with the idea to make a live album of new stuff. This culminated in the gig at the Electric Ballroom in Camden which was recorded for this purpose. They did in fact do an oldie for an encore, and an Ironic run through of proto-hardcore classic "12XU", which doesn't ruin the concept too much. The live recording is enhanced by the sound-man obviously leaning on the fader causing a bit of overload on some vocals. For this reason, i think this is why they added another disc of previous concert recording, notably the superior recording of the 'Notre Dame Hall' concert.
This is the Wire album I play most, due to its electricity and raw qualities. "154" is a bit weak and insipid sounding in comparison. A bit like comparing Live Joy Division to 'Unknown Pleasures. Like two different groups.
One of the best aspects of this concert, is that they 'accidently' recorded the support group for the evening, Deutch Amerikanishce Freundschaft, which is to be posted next, because its brilliant.

(ps, the four missing tracks from the Electric Ballroom set, including all of "12XU" can be found on "Turns and Strokes" here!)

Tracklist:

Electric Ballroom
A1 5/10
A2 12XU (Fragment)
A3 Underwater Experiences
A4 Everythings Going To Be Nice
A5 Piano Tuner (Keep Strumming Those Guitars)
A6 We Meet Under Tables
B1 Zegk Hoqp
B2 Eastern Standard
B3 Instrumental (Thrown Bottle)
B4 Eels Sang Lino
B5 Revealing Trade Secrets
B6 And Then ...
B7 Coda
Notre Dame Hall
C1 Go Ahead
C2 Ally In Exile
C3 Relationship
C4 Underwater Experiences
D1 Witness To The Fact
D2 2 People In A Room
D3 Our Swimmer
Montreux
D4 Heartbeat

DOWNLOAD and ear witness, HEAR!

The Pop Group ‎– "For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 9, Y Records ‎– Y 2) 1980

The Pop Group's 'disappointing' second album,is in fact really good; despite some rather chaffing in-yer-face politics.
Snappy album title that, I wonder what these chaps' message to all us unenlightened worker ants is?
The Cover photo is a tactic used today by Charities,whose directors draw huge salaries, on those TV adverts voiced by millionaire actors who urge us to donate £3 a month with a background of sad piano music to manipulate our emotions.Except in this case the background music is designed to turn us into angry militants.......albeit dancing angry militants.
Its kind of patronising, and insulting.......but then again some of us need to be patronised and insulted, so fair enough.
Preaching self-righteousness aside, the music is ferocious punk-funk-dub, spat out with all the venom of a napalm attack on a village of vietnamese children.
The answer to the question?
We will continue to tolerate mass murder, because that's what the human race has always done.One day we will all realise,in all our arrogance, that we are not the chosen ones,but are merely on the top of a food chain and will do anything that maintains that position, including killing the opposition .If that means destroying ourselves then that is what we will do, clearing the way for a more successful species that can manage itself better than Homo-sapiens obviously are incapable of doing.

Tracklist:

1.Forces Of Oppression
2.Feed The Hungry
3.One Out Of Many

4.We Are All Prostitutes
5.Blind Faith
6.How Much Longer
7.Justice
8.There Are No Spectators
9.Communicate
10.Rob A Bank

DOWNLOAD and tolerate the pop group HERE!

The Pop Group ‎– "We Are Time" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 12, Y Records ‎– Y 5) 1980

The Pop Groups 'Official' bootleg, compiling demos, live tracks,and radio sessions onto one handy black disc. Not a bad track on here (excepting 'springer',which is rather irritating).
The revived Poop Groop are currently destroying their legacy at a concert venue and record shop near you, but don't let that detract from the brilliance of their back catalogue,which you should already have in your collection and know intimately.Of which 'We are Time' is an essential part.

Tracklist:

1- Trap - demo 78
2- Thief of Fire - live Electric Ballroom 79
3- Genius or Lunatic - live Brussels 78
4- Color Blind - demo 78
5- Spanish Inquisition - live 79 (venue unknown)
6- Kiss the Book - John Peel Session 78
7- Amnesty Report - Foel Studios 79 

8- Springer
9- Sense of Purpose - demo 78
10-We Are Time - live Glastonbury 79

DOWNLOAD this genius or lunacy HERE!

Lora Logic - "Pedigree Charm" (Rough Trade ROUGH 28) 1982

To all intents and purposes this is 'Essential Logic' after they lost direction, with a splash of 'Camberwell Now', going Disco.
To these ears it sounds like a contractual obligation record. Gone is the energy,invention and sharp edges of earlier times,and replaced with blancmange, but blancmange you can dance to at the indie disco.Its pleasant enough, but we want more than that don't we?......DON'T WE?...ah fuck off!

However, such is the fickle nature of Pop fans and music journalists,coupled with the fact that I have upgraded the download to 320k,after a request in the comments section from a charming Italian gentleman,that I can now declare that I now love this LP somewhat....This happens regularly in my world.

Tracklist:

A1 Brute Fury 4:00
A2 Horrible Party 3:50
A3 Stop Halt 5:00 they lost direction
A4 Wonderful Offer 4:30
A5 Martian Man 4:20
B1 Hiss And Shake 5:30
B2 Pedigree Charm 4:00
B3 Rat Allé 3:45
B4 Crystal Gazing 4:55

DOWNLOAD with some discreet charm HERE!

Essential Logic - "All The Singles 1978-81"

Aerosol Burns (1978) (Cells Records SELL ONE)

 1/ Aerosol Burns; 2/ World Friction(get this on the Beat Rhythm News Download)

Wake Up EP (1979) (Virgin VS261-120

 1/Wake Up; 2/Eaglebird; 3/Quality Crayon Wax OK; 4/Bod's Message

Popcorn Boy (1979) (Rough Trade RT029)

 1/ Popcorn Boy (get this on the Beat Rhythm News Download); 2/ Flora Force

Eugene (1980) (Rough Trade RT050)

 1/ Eugene; 2/ Tame the Nieghbours

Music Is A Better Noise (1980) (Rough Trade RT053)

 1/ Music Is A Better Noise; 2/ Moontown

Fanfare In the Garden (1981) (Rough Trade RT074)

1/ Fanfare In The Garden; 2/ The Captain (recorded in 1979)

As with most groups, their career starts off good then slowly goes down the shitter. Essential Logic is no different. Beginning with punky energy infused with van der graaf generator goes pop inventiveness; then decends into some gentle proto indie disco pointlessness.
Its all great stuff up to about "Music Is A Better Noise", then it just falls into that trap of attaining record sales, which never works artistically or commercially; one just loses both audiences.
Then comes the even more desperate front person goes 'Solo' as an epitaph with a danceable beat......see Lora Logic "Pedigree Charm" LP up after this post.

DOWNLOAD 'em all (waddle ya pay?.....nuthin') HERE!

Essential Logic - "Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?) (Rough Trade ROUGH 5) 1979

Oh look, its the album my brother bought me for xmas 1979!....what a classic, and one of the few albums i know all the words to. Very rarely have i had the opportunity for a sing-a-long with anyone using this material. I managed a Residents sing-a-long one time, with future members of Volcano The Bear, and a great acappela version of 'Frankie Teardrop' with some acquaintences in a pub; but no-one has ever been up for an Essential Logic medley!?
Someone has described this band as Van Der Graaf on heat in the comments section of the Punilux 'Laughing Academy' post, and that ain't far off. Maybe on Helium mixed with Nitrous Oxide and 'crack' is more appropriate?
William Bennett of Whitehouse (no links to whitehouse stuff,because he asked me to remove all the posts!...but if you ask.....?) was in this band,incredibly! And he is the uncredited bass player on seven of the nine tracks on this album...which, incidentally, he claims he co-wrote.....and i kinda believe him.After this album they definitely became very watered down.(I blame Laura Logic's Buddhism trip,that got even worse by the time of her 'solo' album a couple of years later).
Its another example of the prog influence in post punk, and a very welcome influence it is too. 

Tracklist:
Quality Crayon Wax OK
The Order Form
Shabby Abbott
World Friction
Wake Up
Albert
Alkaline Loaf In The Area
Collecting Dust
Popcorn Boy (Waddle Ya Do?)

DOWNLOAD something logically essential HERE!

Young Marble Giants ‎– "Colossal Youth" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 8) 1980

If there is a chance nobody here has heard this classic record, then here it is for download.
The best thing to come out of Wales along with the aforementioned M4 motorway.
A lesson in originality, individuality, the power of subtlety, and the beauty of stepping sideways. A perfect career in modern music,a brief flash of brilliance, then disappear.
A silence that is louder than the noise.

Tracklist:

A1 Searching For Mr Right
A2 Include Me Out
A3 The Taxi
A4 Eating Noddemix
A5 Constantly Changing
A6 N.I.T.A.
A7 Colossal Youth
B1 Music For Evenings
B2 The Man Amplifier
B3 Choci Loni
B4 Wurlitzer Jukebox !
B5 Salad Days
B6 Credit In The Straight World
B7 Brand - New - Life
B8 Wind In The Rigging

DOWNLOAD this colossus HERE! 

Scritti Politti ‎– "4 'A Sides' " (Rough Trade ‎– RT 027, St. Pancras Records ‎– SCRIT 2) 1979

Is it me or were there two EP's with the same catalog number? SCRIT 2?
Here's the last post from Scritti politti's golden years.
The official story is that Green got ill, got on the M4 in the wrong direction, and ended up back in Cardiff ,then discovered his sisters record collection and decided to make 'proper' poop records.
He could plead Insanity one supposes?

Tracklist:

A1 Bibbly-O-Tek
A2 Doubt Beat
B1 Confidence
B2 P.A.s

DOWNLOAD from a to b sides HERE!

Scritti Politti ‎– "Work In Progress 2nd Peel Session" (Rough Trade ‎– RT 034, St. Pancras Records ‎– SCRIT 2) 1979

So here's Scritti's excellent second peel session, released as an EP on Rough Trade, although I doubt the production costs printed on the back apply to Rough Trade's comparatively  unlimited edition of the record.
Notable for the use of the term "Messthetics" which was half-inched by Hyped2Death for their cd-r compilations of UK DIY singles, such as this.

Tracklist:
A1 Messthetics 1:48
A2 Hegemony 2:10
B1 Scritlocks Door 1:35
B2 OPEC-Immac 3:20

DOWNLOAD in progress HERE!

Weekend ‎– "La Varieté" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 39) 1982

If Young Marble Giants flirted with Testcard music, then Alison Strattons' post-YMG group, Weekend, actually made Testcard music, disguised as parisienne café jazz......which is also Testcard Music I suppose?

Its some type of trendy indie spliced with the kind of limp jazz that plays in the background of pretentious restaurants.Its quite pleasant and inoffensive, but who wants to be that?

Again this is the kind of wet student music that Cherry Red specialised in at this time; the Pillows and Prayers crowd. Rough Trade should have swapped this lot for the Nightingales, who didn't really belong alongside Everything But The Girl and The Marine Girls.

Having said that, being an oficionado of Easy listening, I like it!
If this was a lost volume of Library music from some East-European TV station I would be praising it to the hilt; but as its some kind of attempt to be a retro-cool hybrid, it has to be treated as such. Recycling the past to an audience ignorant of what has gone before is basically a cop-out.If i wanted to listen to some mellow Café chic I'd dig out an old Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrid Gilberto album.Which is a fuck of a lot better than this pale imitation by some welsh post-punk refugees.To think Spike used to be in Reptile Ranch?
There were lots of sterile bands like this around 1982,Blue Rondo,Carmel,Matt Bianco, Working Week, EBTG.....terrible stuff. This carried on evolving and we ended up with the uber-trendy 90's Acid Jazz format, as an alternative to the endless intravenous feed of House music.Luckily this led onto more interesting area's like Loungecore, Jungle, and the Incredibly Strange Music phenomenon.
As a reaction to Punk and NWOBHM, Weekend scores quite highly. The high point being Alison Stratton's reinvention as the new wave Astrid Gilberto, by singing in exactly the same style as she did in the Young Marble Giants. 

Tracklist:

1 The End Of The Affair 3:05
2 Weekend Stroll 3:23
3 Summer Days 2:53
4 Carnival Headache 2:51
5 Drum Beat For Baby 2:57
6 Life In The Day Of Part 1 3:49
7 Life In The Day Of Part 2 2:23
8 Sleepy Theory 2:52
9 Woman's Eyes 2:49
10 Weekend Off 3:20
11 Red Planes 4:46
12 Nostalgia 3:50

Bonus Tracks:

13 A View From Her Room (12 Inch Version) 8:11
14 Leaves Of Spring 2:40
15 Past Meets Present 3:38
16 Midnight Slows 2:03
27 Drum Beat For Baby (12 Inch Version) 4:17

DOWNLOAD the weak end of post-punk HERE!

The Gist ‎– "Embrace The Herd" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 25) 1982

Stuart Moxham's first post 'Young Marble Giants' album is a mixed experience.
First up we have an instrumental that sounds like the theme tune to an upbeat Schools programme, followed by the classic mellow anthem, and Moxham's most successful song, "Love at First Sight", which luckily escaped being covered by one of those terrible Grunge stars who lauded his previous group. It was however featured in some shit american film, and was a hit on the continent after it was covered by an identikit french chanteuse.
The record struggles to create its own identity ,and sounds like its just a bunch of different songs bunged together,that doesn't work as a cohesive album; but it does have more high spots than low points.
A star studded guest list which included a Swell Map, a member of This Heat, and Alison Stratton late of...er.....Young Marble Giants; helped jolly it all along, and water down the records self-identity. Listen to this and you wouldn't immediately think, 'Aha!...thats The Gist'.
This is the Cherry Red CD reissue by the way, which is appropriate because it  sounds like it should have been on that label rather than Rough Trade back in '82.

Tracklist:

1 Far Concern 2:51
2 Love At First Sight 3:44
3 Fretting Away 2:19
4 Public Girls 3:28
5 Clean Bridges 3:09
6 Simian 2:55
7 Embrace The Herd 2:41
8 Iambic Pentameter 2:53
9 Carnival Headache 3:52
10 Concrete Slopes 2:22
11 The Long Run
12 Dark Shots 3:05
13 Problem Attics 3:20 (previously unreleased)
14 Light Aircraft 3:05 (previously unreleased)

15 Love At First Sight [Demo Version] 3:40
16 Four Minute Warning 3:56 (B-side of Love at first sight)

DOWNLOAD and embrace the heard HERE!

The Gist ‎– "This Is Love" (Rough Trade ‎– RT 058) 1980

To be in The Gist, it seems you had to have a sir name that begins with 'M'.
Stuart Moxham's post Young Marble Giants almost 'solo' project, was a warmer affair than his previous band. The minimalism is still there, but the stark emotional austerity isn't.
This stuff could easily have appeared on Cherry Red records alongside Tracy Thorn and that lot.
The A-side sounds more like YMG, mainly because the bass player was Phil Moxham; fronted by a mellow voiced Stuart.
The better tune has to be 'Yanks', which could have been an Everything But The Girl number, but thankfully wasn't.

Tracklist:

A - This Is Love.
B - Yanks

DOWNLOAD the gists of love HERE!

Young Marble Giants ‎– "Testcard E.P." (Rough Trade ‎– RT 059) 1980

It says, on the sleeve :"Six instrumentals in praise and celebration of mid-morning television made and played by: Stuart Moxham and Philip Moxham".
Which accurately sums up the music.
Nowadays, mid-morning Television consists of cookery programmes, and Insipid grinning presenters talking about Irrital Bowel Syndrome and vaginal discharges.
Back in the seventies and early eighties, there was no television before mid-day, and only three channels.
There were some 'programmes for Schools' on ITV, including the excellent 'Picture Box'(complete with creepy theme tune) presented by some creepy bloke.
But, on BBC1 and 2, except for 'Playschool' at about 11am, we were treated to 'The Testcard' which looked pretty much like the front of this record sleeve;most of the time with a weird picture of a little girl playing noughts and crosses(tik-tak-toe for our very silly american viewers) with a toy clown.(Re-live this experience, including music by clicking HERE!)
Accompanying this were endless streams of inoffensive background music which became weirder the more one listened to it on those days when we kids skipped school or were 'ill'.
In the mid-nineties i don't think I listened to anything else except library music, easy listening, and exotica(there were clubs where this stuff was danced to!).....it seemed a subversive antidote to the music of the hive mind that poisoned the planet, and is STILL here today!!!!????
Good to see that YMG were there in 1980,revolting against the post-punk mainstream with the power of 'Easy'.Nothing would get an Exploited fan more irate.
Alison Stratton had left to form Weekend, so this was the fitting vocal-less swansong for YMG.

Tracklist

A1 Clicktalk 2:40
A2 Zebra Trucks 1:27
A3 Sporting Life 1:10
B1 This Way 1:37
B2 Posed By Models 2:17
B3 The Clock 1:35

DOWNLOAD some mid-morning muzak HERE!

Young Marble Giants ‎– "The Peel Session 18/08/1980"

Well worth it for another version of 'Final Day'.

Tracklist:

Searching For Mr Right 2:35
Brand – New – Life 2:46
Final Day 1:56
N.I.T.A. 3:43
Posed By Models 1:31

DOWNLOAD the day after the final day HERE!