Paul Oakenfold - The Authorised Biography (Richard Norris) Bantam Press

I'd like to think that I'm a fairly easy person to buy Christmas presents for - and this arrived this year courtesy of my girlfriends sister. (She'd had some guidance from my girlfriend apparently, whom I discussed it with some months ago).

Until the rise of Skrillex, Oakenfold would probably qualify as the the most divisive figure in dance music.

(That statement's not even true. Skrillex isn't divisive. Absolutely everyone over the age of 21 thinks he's dreadful).

Oakenfold really wrote the book (no pun intended) on the global superstar touring DJ; starting out in the early 80's as an A&R man for Champion Records (with one of the most famous mullets in showbiz) through the birth of hip-hop, bringing Ballearic back from Ibiza (with Danny Rampling & Nicky Holloway), then later remixer the stars.

Not least, U2, whose 'Even Better Than The Real Thing', Oakenfold remixed to great effect, gaining a higher chart placing with the remix than the original single release. (A feat repeated by other artists/remixers since but absolutely unheard of in 1991). This led U2 further down the dance path, with 'Lemon' and later 'Discotheque'.

(Indeed it's very unlikely that U2 would later have later commissioned enough remixes of 'Discotheque' to fill an entire 3 x 12" set with no less than four remixes by David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie, with further outings from David Holmes, Howie B and Oakenfold's regular collaborator, Steve Osbourne, without the chart success that Oakenfold brought).

As well as working with superstars, Oakenfold later achieved superstar status himself, touring with U2, breaking his Perfecto label in new markets (including being one of the first Western DJ's to play in China), then taking on an acclaimed residency at Liverpool's Cream, through the rise and fall of the superclub era.

Whilst his Cream residency attracted many followers, it attracted infamy from some quarters, with Oakenfold's (now industry standard) contractual stipulations (including design/lighting/technical and rider demands) becoming the stuff of legend.

I've wanted to read this for a while and was interested to learn that the author (Richard Norris) is the one and same as the gentleman formerly known as The Grid. (Or at least 50% of it).

I've never been much of an Oakenfold fan per-se but even before reading this could see the huge steps that he took to bring the dance scene to a wider global audience.

On a personal note, it was also great to read the stories of how Oakenfold and his regular studio collaborator Steve Osbourne put together two of the best and arguably most important, zeitgeist defining remixes of all time; Happy Mondays' 'W.F.L' and (my personal favourite), 'Hallelujah'.

Reading the book has jointly caused me to seek out his well regarded BBC Radio One Essential Mix: Goa Set from 1994 (which is a lot more listenable than you'd assume) and then later the same afternoon dust-off a load of old Dragonfly and Bedrock 12"s for a mix.

(Which turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. There'll be a dark progressive mix by yours truly coming my Soundcloud soon).

The book also contains a CD of original material, one track of which is worryingly called, 'Save The Last Trance For Me'.

Special Forces 'Sidewinder/The End (Remix)' Photek Records 12" Single

After he started making house under his main Photek moniker, Rupert Parkes continued to make drum & bass under the name Special Forces.

Special Forces tracks are typically darker and more dancefloor orientated than Photek's complex beatsmithery, best demonstrated on his classic 'Modus Operandi' LP.

I missed 'Sidewinder' when it came out, but it's up there in quality terms with classics like 'Exocet' and 'Something Else (The Bleeps  Tune)', with taut beats and a simply booming bottom end.

The flip features a fairly straightforward remix of 'The End' (which revisits/samples Parkes' own 'Can't Come Down' house track, from the 'Solaris' LP, which featured the legendary Robert Owens on vocals). All that's different from the original is a slight re-imagining and re-modulation of the bassline. (I once read a review of the original describing it as being akin to, "someone boinging the world's biggest elastic band". Have a listen here (bassline starts at 02.10). I don't think that's far off).

Saying it's straightforward isn't a criticism in this case as 'The End' is one of my favourite ever drum & bass tunes.

As you can see from my much taped copy, I absolutely hammered the original (and it's B-Side 'Babylon') when it originally came out.

Of Monsters & Men 'My Head Is An Animal' Universal Republic LP

The new wave of world folk (cheers Mumford & Sons!) continues unabated, with this recent release by Icelandic band Of Monsters & Men being seemingly omnipresent on radio and TV; not least 'Dirty Paws', which is currently on New Zealand's Westpac Bank adverts.

Don't let that put you off though, it's a beautiful lilting boy/girl duet and whilst more subdued, no less catchy than much of the rest of the LP. (Particularly the boisterous 'Little Talks' single). 

The version of the LP that I have is on 2 rather attractive pink slates and has inspired me to look into framing a load of my coloured records.

The trial run (I quickly pulled out about 75% of the coloured vinyl that I own) came out pretty well:

Band Of Horses 'Mirage Rock' Brown Records/Columbia LP

I was sad to see that Band of Horses forthcoming New Zealand tour dates have been downsized from their original venues (Auckland & Wellington Town Halls to The Powerstation and St. James' Theatre respectively) but admit that I've been totally remiss in purchasing this, their latest LP, which has been out for a couple of months.

(It's a far cry from the release of their previous offering, 'Infinite Arms', which I had on pre-order on both LP and CD weeks before it came out).

That said, whilst I might be sad that they've not been able to fill those larger venues, I've seen absolutely no promotion for either show whatsoever and after the pre-LP release of a video for lead single 'Knock, Knock', it's also been quiet of late from the band themselves.

Band of Horses came into my life at the end of nearly a decade of exclusively listening to electronic music and reggae, when I saw a poster advertising a forthcoming show of theirs on the wall of the then newly refurbished Thekla nightclub in Bristol.

The poster simply featured a picture of the band (as above) and a Sub Pop records logo and I went and sought them out based on the strength of that alone. (Sub Pop, alongside Amphetamine Reptile, was perhaps the must-have label of my youth).

I was gripped by 'Is There A Ghost' and immediately bought (and became totally fanatical) about their then newly released 'Cease To Begin' LP, seeing them perform on the Thekla's tiny stage soon after.

They were phenomenal live, though regretfully I arrived too late for their dual opening solo act/lead guitarist Tyler Ramsey's set. I later bought his 'I Dreamt A Long Dream Of Swimming In The Sea' CD, which also has some great songs on it. (Check out, 'No One Goes Out Any More').

Their next offering, 'Infinite Arms' was less immediate, though I did grow to love it over time. It's clearly a more mature and country-influenced LP, with a settled line-up (previously, the band was effectively a Ben Bridwell solo project with a revolving door of collaborators) with lead vocals at points from both Ramsey and keyboardist Ryan Monroe. I saw them again in Auckland and they were just as breathtaking live on the significantly larger stage of the Powerhouse.

'Mirage Rock' kicks off with lead single 'Knock Knock' which is as catchy as anything they've recorded previously.

There's a continuing growth in the complexity of their material; 'How To Live' has possibly the most complicated vocal melody to grace a Band Of Horses track to date and 'Dumpster World' alternates between floating CSNY vocal harmonies on the verse and a jarring Alt-Rock chorus.

Ramsey makes a return to lead vocals on 'Everything's Gonna Be Undone', which isn't as affecting this time round as 'Infinite Arms' highlight track, 'Evening Kitchen' (particularly moving at the aforementioned Powerstation gig).

Immediately following is the rather stronger offering, 'Fued', which is probably their heaviest outing (note: Band Of Horses are basically an Alt-Country/Americana act, so it's not exactly Slayer) since 'Cigarettes & Wedding Bands' off of 'Cease To Begin'.

The LP closes with 'Heartbreak On The 101', which features Bridwell singing in a much lower register than his usual falsetto (oft-compared to Neil Young and Jim James of My Morning Jacket) and is something so heartworn that it could easily fit into the canon of Willie Nelson. (Interestingly, Band Of Horses recently toured with Willie Nelson by train).

Overall, on the first couple of listens, there's few songs as strong as anything off of their last couple of records (the execrable 'Dilly' off of 'Infinite Arms' aside).

I will digest it further over the course of the week before I get the opportunity to see how the songs fair up in a live-setting. 

The LP, as with their previous work (I don't actually own a physical copy of their debut 'Everything All the Time' LP but assume it's similar), is beautifully packaged, with a poster included with more of their emotive, rootsy imagery on it. (All of which suits the lived-in appeal of their music and image). 

33 1/3: Kick Out the Jams (Don McLeese) & 33 1/3: The Stone Roses (Alex Green) - Continuum Publishing

Christmas is the time of giving and my girlfriend chose to give the gift of music. Or in this case, books about music.

I'd been reading about the 33/3rd guides previously, so was glad to receive a couple of examples of the set.

(My dorky collector instinct did however kick in with a burst of inspiration to collect the entire set and the accompanying LP's. I'm in the midst of talking myself out of it).

I've read the MC5 one thus far and was surprised to find that it's rather more gonzo (about the authors relationship with the LP) than I would have assumed.

I'm ashamed to say that I don't actually own MC5's 'Kick Out The Jams' on LP (though I have a copy of the 7" single release that I reckon is worth about ten times what I paid for it). I saw a very tatty copy in Conch Records in Ponsonby for $20 a while back, which I elected not to buy. With hindsight, that was a bit of a fail.

I'm fairly sure that my girlfriend knows whom the MC5 are because of me asking her whether I'm allowed to get my favourite picture of them blown up onto canvas and put it above our fireplace.

(A space that's currently occupied by a picture of a graffiti mural of John Peel in our previous home, Bristol). From her non-plussed response, I think I'll be settling with it on the wall of the music room.

Second up is the installment regarding the Stone Roses eponymous debut album.

I can't overstate the importance of The Stone Roses first album on my life. I originally bought it on tape in Our Price Records in Farnham when I was about ten years old, having seen the video to 'One Love' on the ITV Chart Show. (Those in the know will realise that 'One Love' isn't actually on the record. I was gutted).

The album was the first indie/alternative record that I bought (up to that point, I had a worrying obsession with poodle haired hard rock bands) and influenced much of my further listening (and particularly guitar playing).

I watched the press conference announcing The Stone Roses reformation last year and believe that they're doing it for the right reasons. I can scarcely contain my excitement about seeing them next month in Auckland. I will no doubt devour this book and hammer the LP in the meantime.

My one observation about it is that it was an interesting choice to have a music journalism Professor from San Francisco talk about one of the most culturally significant Northern British bands of an era.

Whereas Don McLeese's comments on the MC5 are related to his understanding of their position in the artistic and political climate of late '60's Detroit, Green is (at his own admission) talking about The Stone Roses with little understanding of the context of their work. I wonder whether a writer more familiar with the British music scene would have offered more insight.

George Carlin 'Take-Offs & Put-Ons' RCA/Camden LP & 'An Evening With Wally Londo' Little David LP

I dropped into Auckland's Real Groovy Records (438 Queen Street, Auckland) whilst doing some last minute shopping just before Christmas.

I was on a pretty tight budget so stuck to the store's sale bins (which, true to New Zealand's expensive record shopping opportunities, rather than being $1.00, cost $3.00). $3.00 is enough of an outlay for me to not take that many risks and a couple of tunes that I picked up based on their producer/label (Sly & Robbie/Tummy Touch) got canned in favour of an artist whom I can trust at any cost.

When you collect records, you sometimes find yourself sometimes 'rescuing' records that you already own from charity shops because of a feeling that they "don't belong (t)here". The sight of two George Carlin comedy LP's (in decent condition) for $3.00 each hit that nerve.

'Take-Offs & Put-Ons' from 1972 features Carlin's legendary (and even earlier) 'Indian Sargeant' routine.

'An Evening With Wally Londo' from 1975 is in absolutely mint condition (even still having its original plastic sleeve on the cover) and reassuringly has a sticker stating that the material is 'Recommended For Adult Listening'.

Carlin's been a hero of mine for many years and is never far from my thoughts. In particular, his 'Stuff' routine flashed through my mind repeatedly recently when we took a 'mini-break within a holiday' during our recent Christmas expedition.