Thirty two eclectic choices to keep you entertained for just over 120 minutes, selected from a rather stern looking Mr CBQ's listening over the last seven days...
...during which time, this...
...was also created by light entering the CBQ camera...
You have around five weeks to download, at which point this podcast will become stream only via the Mixcloud player below - I am also gradually adding the back catalogue of deleted weekly podcasts to Mixcloud...
You can play this Cloudland Blue Podcast in iTunes by clicking on the "subscribe" button on the player...
You can download the podcasts by clicking on the "download" button on the player...
If the player does not show on your device of choice, try these links to download the file:-
MP3 - iPod, mp3, aac,Flash Player, Flash Player h264, iPhone, AppleTV (Plays via Quicktime on an iPod)
M4A - iPod, aac,iPhone, AppleTV
Or try the Mixcloud Player - it does seem to show up even on Apple devices - you can only stream from this, not download:-
Press play (on either player) and away we go...
Jellyfish - The King Is Half Undressed 3:48
From "Best!"
We kick off today with one of my all time favourite singles, from these unjustly forgotten nearly boys from the start of the nineties, Jellyfish - a brilliant band who released just two LPs and then imploded. Like many of the tracks today, it comes from a new acquisition made over the last 7 days. Ex-member Jason Falkner's solo work is also worth your valuable listening time if you get a chance...
Steven Wilson - The Pin Drop 5:03
From "The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)"
This album had been languishing on a hard drive for too long, until I finally got round to giving it a good listen this week. And it is quite excellent. Everything you could possibly want from a prog rock album in the second decade of the 21st Century, schizoid man...
John Foxx - Hiroshima Mon Amour 5:04
From "Glimmer"
This week, I availed myself of, not one but two, count 'em, two 2CD collections by one time Ultravox! (when they were good - although perhaps the Midge Ure era needs to be reassessed?) frontman, John Foxx . This is a re-recording of one of my favourite Ultravox! tracks and might just very well be better than the original...
Suzanne Vega - Crack in the Wall 4:24
From "Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles"
Since her eponymous self titled debut LP, I've been a fan of Suzanne Vega, so, when I saw her 2014 album in Fopp Glasgow this week for a mere £5, I had to snap it up. This is the opening track and I can advise that, on this latest recording, Ms Vega is very much on top of her game...
She & Him - Sentimental Heart 2:36
From "Volume One"
Zoooey Deschanel is now better known for her US sitcom "New Girl" than her musical career but she has recorded three volumes of songs and a Christmas album with collaborator, M Ward. Once again, for your listening pleasure, I present the opening track of a good LP worthy of your further investigation...
Righteous Foundation - Zion 3:33
From "Island Presents: Dub 1976-1990"
A 2CD set of dubs is something I find hard to resist and so it was that this little beauty entered the collection this week. This particular track comes from the mid-seventies. These sides command stupid prices for collectors of 7" vinyl, so very nice indeed for Island to have collected them all together in one nice wee package to delight Mr CBQ's ears...
Cut Copy - We Are Explorers 4:18
from "Free Your Mind"
Two synth pop duos next, both hailing from down under. Cut Copy continue their ploughing of their 80's based furrow with their latest LP..
The Presets - Ghosts 3:29
from "Pacifica"
...followed by The Presets with a kind of pirate/sea shanty type song - sounds crap but give it a chance. Shades of a speeded up Coldplay - again give it a chance...
Band Of Horses - Dumpster World 3:44
from "Mirage Rock"
Toning things down a bit, for the opening and closing elements of this anyway, Band of Horse is a group by whom I have quite a few albums, none of which has ever really made a huge impression. This was the lead single from their last album to date, released a couple of years ago now - a song about rubbish?
Dan Mangan - About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All 3:07
from "Oh Fortune"
Canadian Dan Mangan has featured on many of the free digital compilations I've downloaded over the years from The Line of Best Fit's "Oh Canada" series and from digital music store, Zunior but this is the first album I've owned outright. This track is reasonably representative of what's on display. Great instrumentation, arrangement, lyrics, singing - what more do you want?
Paul Corley - She Is In The Ground 8:35
from "Disquiet"
Now this was a great discovery. I took a few chances last week with my spur of the moment purchases but this one really paid off. I cannot recommend this LP enough - if you like leftfield, thought provoking instrumental music in all its varieties, then listen to this and, hopefully, like me, love it. More info here..
Schubert - Piano Sonata In A Minor, Op. 143, D 784 - 2. Andante 4:00
from "Schubert: Piano Sonatas"
The only item to drop through the letter box this week, as opposed to being carried into Crispycat Towers in a record bag, or digitally applied to a hard drive, was this 5CD box set of Schubert's complete piano sonatas. Wonderful music...
Taketi Uloomu - Shielded in Shadow 2:57
from "The Fifth Season"
Very little shuffleplay was utilised this week, instead I mainly chose whole albums to spin and this one soundtracked part of my trawl around the record shops of Glasgow last Saturday - and much impressed. I have featured this Japanese lady before on these playlists and see no reason not to do so again. Enjoy...
Wayne Shorter - All Or Nothing At All 2:58
from "Wayning Moments"
A purchase from the week before last, for which there was no room last week. Two albums in a 2CD pack by future Weather Report stalwart Wayne Shorter - this is from a recording made in 1962 and pointed to a promising future - which did indeed come to pass...
Trey Gunn and Marco Minnemann - Contact 3:27
from "Modulator"
Marco Minneman recorded a 52 minute drum solo. Ex King Crimson Trey Gunn then took that solo and layered music over the top. Simple. But complicated. This is a wonderful album I'd never even heard of before stumbling across it in the King Crimson section in Love Music in Glasgow. Immediately snapped up...
Schenck - Sonata No. 12 in Dm: 1. Allegro - Adagio - Allegro 1:46
from "Johannes Schenck - Nymphs of the Rhine, Vol 2"
Regular listeners will know of my predilection for a bit of the old Viol music. I have recently managed to avail myself of two volumes of music by Dutch composer Johannes Schenck, composed in Amsterdam in 1704. Here's a, probably too short, piece to demonstrate the overall beauty of this old, old stuff...
Moebius Neumeier Engler - Anabolica 4:42
from "Other Places"
Further welcome finds this week were a disc by Cluster and this, from Cluster alumnus Dieter Moebius on synthesizer and electronics, Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru on drums, and Jürgen Engler of Die Krupps on guitars. Cacophony - but in a good way (I think)...
Gabor Szabo - Search For Nirvana 2:09
from "Jazz Raga"
...followed by some jazz from 1966 and one of the first albums to utilise the sitar in this context. Like the reggae side earlier, originals of this are much sought after by collectors. Guys, just buy it on CD (although it'll rush you over twenty smackers even for that). I got this at a knock down bargain price of course...
King Crimson - Improv [Live in Central Park, Manhattan, NY 01/07/74] 1:28
from "The Road To Red"
This week saw the 40th anniversary of the Fripp/Cross/Wetton/Bruford line up of King Crimson's final gig. Here's a very short improv from said concert by way of a birthday celebration. Also this week, 90 seconds of new music by the 2104 seven man line up was released onto the interweb. It may feature here next week. We'll see...
Huygens - Air (Xxxv) 2:10
from "Music From The Golden Age Of Rembrandt"
I think I featured a piece from this collection last week - and it's been on the cans again this week so, once again, a probably too short example of the beauty of this world...
William Basinski - Watermusic I (edit) 5:35
from "Water Music"
Basinski came on to my radar when I witnessed his performance at the 2013 London Denovali Swingfest. His Water Music pieces comprise hour long drone and loop based music, which very much appeals to Mister Quartet, given his own enjoyment in producing similar stuff himself. Here's the opening edit of Water Music I. Careful with your speakers, Eugene...
Van Der Graaf Generator - Killer 8:22
from "H To He Who Am The Only One"
Following the inclusion of Gentle Giant last week, I got a request from old chum John Edwards for this track by VDGG. And why not? One their best tracks, it's the opening piece from their third album, recorded and released in 1970. Ahead of its time. Let's rock...
Zola Jesus - Trust Me 2:04
from "Stridulum II"
I was first alerted to this young lady by brother-in-law Bobby and his eclectic tastes in new music. This is from her second of, to date, five LPs, again a new acquisition over the last week. Interesting artist...
Ladyhawke - Girl Like Me 2:58
from "Anxiety"
And another female performer, New Zealand's pop mistress Ladyhawke's second album is just as tuneful and enjoyable as her first. Highly recommended...
The Pack A.D. - Battering Ram 4:00
from "Do Not Engage"
The latest from Vancouver's duo also has a track featured on the 24th of the "Oh! Canada" compilations mentioned above - which I've just downloaded whilst writing these notes. Drums, guitar and vocals sounds better than it sounds. If you see what I mean...
Ochre Room - Box, Bar & Diamond 3:11
from "Box, Bar & Diamond"
An Americana band from Finland? It works. As this track amply demonstrates. Great atmosphere, good voices and, surprisingly, interesting, if sometimes somewhat obscure, lyricism...
Billion Dollar Babies - Too Young 3:16
from "Battle Axe"
When the original Alice Cooper Group went to off make their solo albums in mid 1974, they didn't realise the singer wasn't coming back. In 1977, this LP emerged at a time when the Coop seemed to be going a little soft. It's a great slice of hook-filled pop rock from the same pens responsible for the best of Alice Cooper - but which did diddly-squat at the box office. They only managed a handful of dates before it all fell apart. Luckily the album, the demos and a bootlegged live show are all available in a triple CD set - if you can find it...
Barry White - You're The First, The Last, My Everything 3:25
from "The Collection"
I've long swithered about adding some Barry White to the collection - I have some stuff on a hard drive somewhere - this week I picked this up for just ninety nine of your English pence. I like him because he reminds me of Isaac Hayes - and there's no Hayes left for me to get. This was a great single...
Be Bop Deluxe - Darkness (L'immoraliste) 3:21
from "Axe Victim"
The closer from Be Bop Deluxe's debut album. Beautiful piece. After this, Bill Nelson jettisoned his band mates and took on a, perhaps more musicianly, crew. But, for me, he never again reached the heights of "Axe Victim"....
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Starting to Worry 3:20
from "Ersatzreal"
And my own track this week, is a tale of institutionalisation from the 2007 album "Erstazreal". If I ever get round to playing songs in public again, this will probably be in the set list...
Eno & Hyde - Daddy's Car 4:51
from "Someday World"
And so into the final straight with two downloads acquired just yesterday afternoon, this was the "single" from the first of two albums recently released by Brian Eno and Underworld's Karl Hyde. I really like these albums but I have to question whether I would like them as much if it weren't for the mere presence of Mr Eno? Not to worry...
Yes - Subway Walls 9:03
from "Heaven and Earth"
And we close with the final track from the new Yes album, due out later this month, a promo copy of which I acquired yesterday. Almost universally slated in initial internet reviews, for Yes fans I'd say give it a chance and listen at least three (or even more) times before making your mind up. Anyone looking for another "Close to the Edge" will be disappointed (as well as surely being delusional). This moves things forward with the current line up. A warning though that this track is as "proggy" as the album gets...
OK that's it for another week, thanks for listening - I hope you enjoy the music and will come back again next week for more...
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