Shall We Roll It, Jimmy? – Rough Trade Album Of The Month

Firstly, can I say thank you for all of your support and kind messages. It really is encouraging.

When I considered doing this blog, one of the things that I thought could generate regular posts was the Rough Trade Album Club or Album of the Month as it is now known. This is a subscription service but not like the book clubs that my Mum used warn me about (entice you with lots of cheap books and then send you stuff you don’t want and have to send back). I’ve subscribed to the service for a few years now. I’m fortunate to be able to dispose in a bit of income this way. Previously I used the CD service but in the past year I’ve switched to vinyl. I like the service for a number of reasons:

• It’s a nice surprise to come home from work to (not that coming home to N & I isn’t pleasant enough already)
• It’s diverse – it can be new or established artists, electronica or guitar, electric or acoustic
• It comes with a nice bonus – coloured vinyl, CDs with bonus tracks, 7″ singles

So i’m intending to write about the albums I get and also the others that are recommended each month. It has opened my ears to many new artists that I wouldn’t come across otherwise (6music is the only station that I would listen to and being digital it doesn’t work with my commute, work and home patterns tremendously well). So in the absence of buying magazines regularly, this is where much of what I listen to comes from. I’m going to give each album some breathing space before I write about it. Many of the albums that I now love (Physical Graffiti, Bend Sinister, White Light/White Heat) took me some time to get to grips with (I’m still waiting for Trout Mask Replica to register).

Mindful of this, my next blog will be about “A Flourish and a Spoil” by the Districts which was the February album. I’ve posted an early track below from when they were 18 years old, a couple of years ago. I think it is on their self funded first album, which I haven’t heard. They’ve got something raw and soulful that’s worth watching out for. Since I made the decision to start this blog, I’ve somewhat immersed myself in this album and boy, has it paid dividends. They are the kind of band you might see if you were kicking around in a field in Somerset at the end of June looking for a tent to spend an hour in.

I’m expecting the March album to arrive next week. It is Matthew E White’s “Flesh Blood“. If anyone is a fan, there is a limited bonus “naked” edition with strings and other ornamentation stripped away. A bit like the Beatles did with “Let It Be…Naked”. Let It Be was basically de-Spectored, something that quite a few poor souls wish had happened in their life.

So until I get back to you on the Districts, let’s go back to Physical Graffiti for a second. Here’s a really different take on Trampled Underfoot by Son Little from this month’s Mojo Magazine (I know, I don’t usually buy it). It’s stripped back with the Funky Clavinet removed and no Bonzo but shows the way that Robert Johnson’s Terraplane Blues influenced the Zep track.

And just in case anyone was wondering, here’s Mr Johnson.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about the “growers” that you now love in your record collection. Back soon………..

PS Click through the highlighted text for more stuff