Category: Obscurios

The original 1996 UK edition of Brian Eno’s published diaries, essays, short stories and correspondence, ‘A Year With Swollen Appendices’, was in book only format, with no musical accompaniment – the French edition, ‘Une Année aux Appendices Gonflés’, appeared a couple of years on in 1998 and came replete with an exclusive CD accompaniment in the shape of ‘A Year’. I was fortunate enough to be in Paris in December of 1998 and chanced upon this while browsing through a branch of the wonderful FNAC chain and swiftly handed my Francs to the cashier and exited with this lovely item.

The CD runs for just under 30 minutes and its six tracks are unavailable on any other releases, as far as I’m aware.

1. 26 Juillet 1995: Ikebukuro/Swarowski Soup 8:00
2. 25 Avril: Orchestral Marstall 3:29
3. 29 Septembre: Cold Jazz 2 3:16
4. 25 Avril: Mad Jazz Piano 3:37
5. 4 Août: With Howie B 4:53
6. 27 Septembre: Heat Beat 6:40

The dates refer to entries in the diary (from 1995) which has some more detail about the background for the pieces. For example: Continue reading “Brian Eno: ‘A Year’ CD/’Une Année aux Appendices Gonflés’ book (Le Serpent a Plumes, no cat. number), 1998”

A little known Scottish band, was aware of them at the time but never heard them. Through the delights of vinyl blogs I have since become acquainted with their limited output and have liked what I have heard. One can imagine that they possibly got sucked up and spat out by the EMI corporate machine looking for the Next Big Thing. Only one album and three singles (one post-EMI) saw light of day, none of which have ever seen a subsequent CD release as far as I’m aware.

This particular number is a Japanese promo edition of their first single, ‘Science’. The album and first two single were produced by Mike Thorne, more famously associated beforehand with Wire and subsequently with Soft Cell. Musically, this might bridge both worlds, to some extent, with the requisite angular guitar and a very prominent bass to the fore, but plenty of synthesizer on board to colour the sound along with drum machines. Well worth seeking out if you have a penchant for early 80s pop oddness, this contrasts well with a lot of other material from the same era. Continue reading “Berlin Blondes, ‘Science’ Japanese 7″ promo single (EMI, EMS 17031, 1980)”

The debut release from The Passions released in Spring 1979, a double A side single – both sides are something of an earlier draft of of the sound that can be heard on their debut album, ‘Michael and Miranda’, with ‘Needles and Pills’ leaning a bit towards a more traditional rock vocabulary, I dare say. Vocally quite different, ‘Needles and Pills’ especially, due to the presence of Mitch Barker on vocals. This single is the only recorded outing for this version of the band – basically the same line-up as recoreded ‘Michael and Miranda’ but with the addition of Mitch on vocals, though ‘Body and Soul’ has the more familiar presence of Barbara Gogan sharing much of the vocals and of the two songs it more obviously fits the Passions template, as evinced by the fact that it lasted in the set list for gigs through 1980. ‘Needles and Pills’ was written by the bands original guitarist, Dack Dyde, though by the time of the recording he had left the band.

Continue reading “The Passions ‘Needles and Pills’/’Body and Soul’ 7″ single (Soho, SH5, 1979)”