Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod the Mod finds his solo footing, headed for stardom, with the Faces in his wake.
6:00 AM GMT 22/06/2011
Features Disc of the day
Shriekback
Oil And Gold
(Arista, 1985)
Ex-Gang of Four and XTC men utilize their primordial instincts, play eat-or-be-eaten terror-funk.
Michael Mann’s 1986 movie Manhunter makes for enjoyably traumatic viewing - full of tension, horror and, and thanks to Brian Cox’s diabolic Hannibal Lecter, the fearful suspicion that murderous evil lurks within us all. The soundtrack features two songs from Shriekback’s Oil And Gold, an album that, like Manhunter, was underrated on release and which can still leave strong impressions on the susceptible mind. With shiny eels coiling among feathers on the cover and more sea life inside (songs are called Hammerheads, Coelacanth and Fish Below The Ice), it’s a vivid and imaginative collection of sinister atmospheres and moral ambiguities – why is the narrator of bass-spanking funk-rock chant Malaria so happy to be losing his marbles? – leading one commentator to call it, “Gormenghast Disco”. Later come moonlit underwater ballads, like the terminal-sounding Manhunter-inclusion This Big Hush where the planet’s in perpetual night, the zombies are coming and death is approaching. There’s more robust apocalyptic fun in the pulsing and contagious almost-hit single Nemesis, wherein 2000AD’s alien freedom fighter is dispatched into Colonel Kurtz’s camp off Apocalypse Now (its 12” run out groove message, incidentally, read ‘WANKED BY THE TERRAPINS OF CHRIST’ – arf!). Co-vocalist Carl Marsh left half way through the recording to leave XTC man Barry Andrews to sing the rest, but thanks to the one-ness of the band in performance and mind, you’d never notice there were two singers.
Ian Harrison
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 29/10/2008
Further Listening
Shriekback – Big Night Music (Island, 1986)
Talking Heads – Fear of Music (Sire, 1979)
Gang Of Four – Entertainment! (EMI, 1979)
Previous Disc of the day
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Earl Brutus - Larky
Last salvo of Ginsters Pasty-Warholism from Britpop ramraiders.
12:04 PM GMT 08/06/2011
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Loudon Wainwright - T-Shirt
An overlooked small wonder from an unpredictable career.
6:00 AM GMT 03/06/2011
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Landscape - From The Tea-rooms Of Mars… To The Hell-holes Of Uranus
Dry computer club Futurists, upon hitting implausible chart paydirt.
6:00 AM GMT 17/05/2011
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-
Causa Sui - Summer Sessions Vol 1-3
Epic Danish jams, for when the neighbours get you down.
6:00 AM GMT 12/05/2011
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Comments
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Oil And Gold was one of my favorites when it upon its release in 1985 and even today. The above description hit all the good points and tracks of this record. There's not much more I can say save "take a listen for yourself."
Posted by Eddie at 4:54 PM GMT 29/11/2008 Report Abuse
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Ahead of it's time - side one as close to perfect as it gets before going a bit crook after Nemesis. inspirational in the 5th form, still sounds hot. Changed a few heads down here in mid 1980s New Zealand that's for sure.
Posted by Marty Sauce at 8:42 AM GMT 09/01/2009 Report Abuse
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I'm still more partial to 'Big Night Music' for my Shriekback, but 'Oil and Gold' is also excellent.
Posted by Jim Bergman at 12:52 PM GMT 28/04/2011 Report Abuse
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