Saturday, April 30, 2016

Normal service etc - here's some music... I

A little of what I was listening to two years ago...



Normal service etc - here's some music... II



A little more of what I was listening to two years ago...

Normal service etc - here's some music... III


A little more of what I was listening to two years ago...


Normal service etc - here's some music... IV



A little more of what I was listening to two years ago...

Whizz...

Playlist
Beethoven - Complete Symphonies
Murray Perahia - Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5
Murray Perahia - Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos
Laura Pausini - Inédito Special Edition
Murray Perahia - Schumann: Piano Sonata #1, Kreisleriana
Roxy Music - Viva!
Shades Of - Shades Of Feb 2011
Alpha Rev - New Morning
Alpha Rev - Bloom
Alonso Arreola Project - Musica Horizontal
Various Artists - Tamla Motown: Big Hits & Hard To Find Classics, Vol. 2
Everything Everything - Get To Heaven
Beethoven - Streichtrios op. 9
Magdalena Kožená - Le Belle Immagini - Mozart; Gluck; Myslivecek: Arias
Chloë Hanslip - Adams: Violin Concerto; Corigliano: Chaconne From The Red Violin
Orff - Kleines Konzert
English String Orchestra - Stravinsky: Apollon musagete & Tippett: Concerto for Double String Orchestra
Krommer - Partitas For Wind Ensemble Op. 57, 71 & 78
The Rosendale Quartet - Debut : Schubert Bridge
Pärt - Berliner Messe, Magnificat, Summa
Muungano National Choir, Kenya - Missa Luba: An African Mass - 10 Kenyan Folk Melodies
Alpha Rev - Greatest Thing I've Ever Learned

Up reasonably late and commenced listening to Beethoven's complete symphonies via the box which arrived yesterday...

First impressions were of a sound which had to be got used to but also of a very energetic and exciting rendition of the works...

Last day of April, 121st day of the year already...


This spotted at the kerb as we took to the Cloudland Blue mobile...


I took Anne to her mum's for them to venture along to Tynecastle to see their team beaten 3-1 by the almost confirmed champions...

As for me, Beethoven continued to soundtrack as I popped out to see my mum for a couple of hours and took her through, step by step, exactly how to work the new Tivo box we took to her last Saturday...

Mission accomplished...

Back home and compiling next week's podcast already - as so much new stuff has come in over the last couple of days...

Picked Anne up from her mum's...

Recording the links...

Editing the links...

Tasty curry...

"Big Bang Theory"...

Recording the podcast...

Bed...

Saturdays just whizz by...

Highlight of the Day : New Beethoven...

Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2016 Vol 17

  
A selection of Mr Quartet's listening over the last 7 days. Featured LPs:-

Featured LPs:-
Everything Everything - Get To Heaven
Brigitte from Anthologie De La Chanson Française
Greg Haines - Where We Were
Jo Jo Gunne from California Dreaming
Electric Light Orchestra - Early ELO (1971-1973)
The Shadows, Family, Greyhound & Rod Stewart from 1973 Singles
Larry Wallis from A Hard Nights Day : A History Of Stiff Records
Uriah Heep - Easy Livin' - The Singles A's & B's
Haydn - The Seven Last Words Of Jesus Christ
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Pärt from Elegy :Music For Strings
Krauze - Piano Works
Stravinsky & Giuliani from Deutsche Grammophon : The Singles
Haas from Janacek, Haas, Szymanowski String Quartets arr for String Orchestra
Brian Eno - The Ship
TV Eyes - TV Eyes
Pet Shop Boys - Super
Elvin Jones - Elvin!
Yes - Fragile
Yes - Drama
Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Prince - 1999

Hope you enjoy this and pop by every week for more...

Friday, April 29, 2016

Arty or just rubbish...

Playlist
Van Der Graaf Generator - Merlin Atmos Live Performances 2013 (Deluxe Edition)
Chopin - The Piano Sonatas
Various Artists - Relaxin' Blue
Uriah Heep - Totally Driven : Remasters 1970-2001
Flying Colors - Second Flight: Live at the Z7
Bryan Adams - Get Up
Soft Cell - Memorabilia: The Singles
Udo Lindenberg - Ich Will Dich Haben
Chris Rea - Shamrock Diaries
King Crimson - The Elements 2015 Tour Box
Schubert - Die Schöne Müllerin
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales - Elgar: Enigma Variations; Vaughan Williams: Dives & Lazarus; Tippet - Ritual Dances
Pallas - Mythopoeia
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Free for All
Andrew Hill - Smoke Stack
Amon Düül II - Yeti
Chris Rea - On The Beach
Various Composers - Classic CD (1991)
Field Music - Tones Of Town
Pet Shop Boys - Disco 2
Christopher Hobbs with John Adams & Gavin Bryars - Obscure 2 : Ensemble Pieces
The Velvet Underground - Live MCMXCIII
John Wetton - Battle Lines
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Scream
Francis Dunnery - Tall Blonde Helicopter
Rush - Grace Under Pressure
Pilot - Second Flight
Various Artists - The Best Of Hallyday, Rivers, Mitchell, Anthony & Vartan 
Udo Lindenberg - Epic Udo Lindenberg
Dexter Gordon - Go
Jason Moran - Same Mother
Asia - Live In Moscow 1990
Chicago - Chicago 3
Bobby Womack - Everything's Gonna Be Alright - The American Singles 1967-76
Jean-Michel Jarre - En Concert: Houston/Lyon
Jack Bruce - Live On The Old Grey Whistle Test
Medeski Martin & Wood - Combustication
Ronnie Montrose - Open Fire
Iggy Pop - Party
Various Artists - New Blue
Kansas - In The Spirit Of Things
Dutch Uncles - O Shudder
Various Artists - Hotdogs, Hits & Happy Days
The Doors - Strange Days

Updated the content of the 160BGB iPod with all the new acquisitions and set it to shuffle...

Not a single one popped up...

Out drinking with buddies re a 50th...

Home, rather the worse for wear...

These taken from the back window...

Arty...


..or, perhaps, just rubbish...


This had arrived but I was in no fit state to listen...


A wonderful veggie curry from the Exec Producer went some way to sobering me up...

The evening was spent on the settee helping to allow the deletion of things from the Tivo...

"The Goldbergs" was particularly funny - and Rush related...

To bed with nothing in the cans and, it would appear, little between my ears...

Highlight of the Day : The arrival of Beethoven...

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Coping with the splurge...

Playlist
Circlesquare - Songs About Dancing and Drugs
65DaysOfStatic - One Time For All Time
Material - Secret Life
Beethoven - Streichtrios op. 9
Rawsthorne - Cello Concerto, Oboe Concerto, Symphonic Studies
Bartók - Violin Sonatas
Magdalena Kožená - Le Belle Immagini - Mozart; Gluck; Myslivecek: Arias
Chloë Hanslip - Adams: Violin Concerto; Corigliano: Chaconne From The Red Violin
Respighi - Church Windows, Brazilian Impressions
Grechaninov - Piano Trios #1 & 2

And so the listening begins re yesterday's, there's no other word for it, splurge...

Greenery noted behind Crispycat Towers...


I've walked past this wee flower almost every day for a while now - today I decided to record it - failing miserably...


Back home, pics of yesterday's purchases were uploaded to The Twitter...

65Daysofstatic "One Time for All Time" from 2005 - had never seen this before. Top notch post rock...


Including The Undisputed Truth and Rare Earth - how could it go wrong?  It couldn't...


Circlesquare, bought purely as it's Canadian.  Another excellent decision. Vancouver electronica...


That feeling when you see something you've not seen for years & it's only £1...

Material 79-81...


Trio Bell'Arte play Beethoven's Opus 9 - already have them by L'Archibudelli but what the heck...


Works for cello and oboe you say? Two of my fave instruments? And it's modern classical?  Thanks...


20 years ago Isabelle Faust was in the "cream of the new generation of musicians". Bartok.  Yowsah!


A Magdalena Kožená set from 2001 on DG. Mozart, Gluck and Myslivecek. Beautiful...


Chloë Hanslip plays not only works by Adams & Corigliano but also Enescu; and Waxman's take on Tristan & Isolde...


When I met Greg Lake in November 2005, this was the last CD he'd bought. 11 years later, I've bought it too...


Piano Trios by Grechaninov - he had his stipend removed after the Russian Revolution don'tcha know...


First of two choral discs by Arvo Pärt. St John Passion in 4 movements, written in exile in Berlin...


Carl Orff played by the Mainz Wind Ensemble.  4 pieces, including, of course, the Old Spice theme...


Stravinsky evoking the classical world, followed by Tippett's concerto for double string orchestra...


19th Century Partitas for Wind Ensemble by Herr Krommer. Always worthy of a delve into...


What's that? A 2CD set of Fauré's piano quartets and quintets?  For a quid?  Don't mind if I do...


No barcode. That's rare. Recorded in "Katz's Kitchen". Rosendale Quartet play Schubert & Bridge...


2nd of two choral discs by Arvo Pärt. These pieces were written either side of the Passion posted above...


Conducted by the composer in his native Poland, Lutoslawski presents four works for orchestra...


Not the most well-known version of "Missa Luba", the Latin Mass sung in the style of the Congo...


Had to happen.  A duplicate of disc 2 of a set bought in Berlin a couple of years ago. Oh well...


Meanwhile, on telly, "Scott & Bailey" rushed to a satisfactory conclusion...

Then, the finale of the 3rd series of "Line of Duty" lived up to expectations...

So good when a chink of light appeared in Dot Cottan's story and, from there, everything crumbled into place...

Brilliant...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Line of Duty...

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Discovery, interpretation and casts...

Playlist
Various Artists - Anthologie De La Chanson Française
Greg Haines - Where We Were
Various Artists - California Dreaming
Electric Light Orchestra - Early ELO (1971-1973)
Various Artists - 1973 Singles
Rod Stewart - Reason To Believe
Various Artists - A Hard Nights Day - A History Of Stiff Records
Uriah Heep - Easy Livin' - The Singles A's & B's
Haydn - The Seven Last Words Of Jesus Christ
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Various Composers - Elegy - Music For Strings
Krauze - Piano Works
Various Composers - Deutsche Grammophon : Original Masters : The Singles
Various Composers - Janacek, Haas, Szymanowski String Quartets
Brian Eno - The Ship
TV Eyes - TV Eyes
Pet Shop Boys - Super
Elvin Jones - Elvin!
Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Various Artists - Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2016 Vols 1-52
Roxy Music - Avalon
Miles Davis - Miles Davis at Newport: 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4
Van Der Graaf Generator - Merlin Atmos Live Performances 2013
Various Composers - The Fabulous Victoria de los Angeles
Tame Impala - Currents
Deep Purple - Made in Europe
Various Artists - That Cat Was Clean! The Mod Side Of Jazz
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Various Composers - Music For Bassoon And String Quartet
Beethoven - Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas
Sparks - Big Beat
Belinda Carlisle - Live Your Life Be Free
Telex - Looking For Saint Tropez'
King Crimson - Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
Extreme - Pornograffitti
Joy Division - Closer
The Church - Seance
Pet Shop Boys - Format: 1996-2009
Various Composers - Piano Dreams
Yes - Yesyears
Propaganda - A Secret Wish
Santana - Santana IV
David Bowie - Outside
Supertramp - The Very Best Of Supertramp
King Crimson - USA
Fela Kuti - Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Focus - Moving Waves
Various Artists - Evenin' Blue
Alice Cooper - Pretties For You
Rorem - Winter Pages/Bright Music
Dar Williams - The Honesty Room
Nina Hagen - Revolution Ballroom
Chicago - Chicago 4 : At Carnegie Hall
Various Composers - Classic CD (1990)
Eddie Harris - The Eddie Harris Anthology
Richard Wright - Wet Dream
Various Artists - The Best Of Hallyday, Rivers, Mitchell, Anthony & Vartan
Steve Howe - Turbulence
Various Artists - Funk Fever
Various Artists - 100 Hits Summer Reggae
Yes - Drama
Yes - Close to the Edge
Yes - Time And A Word
Yes - Tormato
Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Fragile

Out into the cold on a busy day...


Firstly, over to Easter Rd to have a crown fitted...

These of the window of a nearby gallery...




Unfortunately it proved impossible not to capture the reflection of the tenements in the bright morning sun...

I was booked on the 10:35 bus to Glasgow and had an hour or so to kill, so I took a leisurely walk from Easter Rd (with new tooth fitted) to the bus station...

Don't think I've ever walked through this little park, which runs alongside London Rd...






Into the St James Centre where I bought a CD of Michael Nyman's "The Piano" via the "Replay" stock in "Poundland".  These are the CDs which "MusicMagpie" buys from unsuspecting people looking to de-clutter - presumably for a few pence each as, as the title of the shop implies, the CDs on sale are just £1...

I bought a Donna Lewis album from another branch a couple of weeks ago - in "as new" nick...

To the bus station, where, upon unwrapping the CD, I found the disc to have holes in the label, making it unplayable...

Oh well...

Awaiting the bus...


An uneventful journey, soundtracked by the fully-filled 160GB i-Pod on shuffleplay (hence the rather large playlist today), arriving in Glasgow around noon...


I had five hours to kill before meeting with Dr Prog and his brother John...

Visits to Love Music, Fopp on Union St and Missing resulted in zero further purchases...

Took the Subway (rats I'd forgotten my subway travelcard and so, had to pay extra for a day ticket) to Kelvinbridge in search of Otago Lane and Mixed Up Records, from whom I'd received the excellent 2CD set of Deutsche Grammophon singles the other day...

Found Otago St...


...and Otago Lane...


...and Mixed Up Records...


A great wee shop - to which I will return...


All of the CDs in this room were just £1 each...


...twenty of which joined my collection...

Back out into now changeable weather...




Onto the Subway again - to Byre's Road...


Another Fopp visit produced no purchases, however, a book on The Berlin Gallery was picked up at the Oxfam bookshop and a 65Daysofstatic CD was partaken of from the Oxfam music shop...

Various other shops were also visited and a wee salad from M&S comprised a late lunch...

Back onto the Subway to St Enoch's and, once again the weather had changed...



To Mono - once again, no purchases...

Time for coffee and cake at Once Upon a Tart...



...and an inspection of the new purchases...




A walk through the rain to George Square, past the Gallery of Modern Art...


I worked in this building 30 years ago...



At last Phil and John arrived and we enjoyed a couple of drinks and some sustenance...


...before making our way to the Royal Concert Hall....


...for the first show in Yes's latest UK tour...


Phil had secured third row seats, providing excellent views...


Tormato's "Onward" opened the show, on tape, with a single light on Chris Squire's bass while a montage played out on the screen above...

The 1980 album "Drama" was recreated flawlessly in the first half, followed by encores of "Time and a Word", dedicated to Peter Banks, and a rocking "Siberian Khatru"...

Interval...




Above Geoff Downes' keyboard set up was the music to Brahms' 4th Symphony...


...as the second set comprised the whole of 1971's "Fragile", including all five "solo" tracks - of course Steve Howe is now the only current member of the band who appeared on that LP...

But Alan White, Downes, Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison nailed their predecessors' parts effortlessly...

And all too soon it was over...


Three encores this time - "Don't Kill the Whale", "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "Starship Trooper", during which I took a few surreptitious pics...



























...and that was it...




A great show...


...which ended at 10:20...

I was booked on the midnight bus home but managed to weedle my way on to the 10:35...




...arriving home 90 minutes earlier than anticipated...

And produced these from my bag...


Oh yeah...

A good day...

Highlight of the Day : New record shop, Yes in concert...