In 1966 Brian Wilson almost single handedly created Pet Sounds , an ambitious and groundbreaking piece of work a long way from the Beach Boys successful surf songs. His reward was a response from his bandmate and general bete noir Mike Love that he shouldn't “f*** with the formula”. The...

Bryan Ferry is well known for his attention to sound quality and I believe likes his vinyl too. Certainly all his records still come out on vinyl. Roxy Music records like Avalon and Flesh and Blood sound marvellous and are great to show off your system. This album, released in 1987...

boys and girls continues Bryan Ferry's search of the romantic. Accompanied by a huge host of musicians Ferry produces a very atmospheric record. Stabs of synthesiser, saxophone, werid percussion and guitar etc. come out at you from everywhere while Ferry sings like a ghost. The album was released in 1985 and...

This album is so horrendously recorded, I can't listen to it. Its incredibly noisy and compressed etc. I have never heard music so completely ruined as on this. Except perhaps the Killers. It does however come in a beautiful package. Its prepared in the way 78rpm albums of the 20s and...

...but i woke up just in time. The special duke releases the latest and the third in his series of 78rpm singles. All are taken from his album, Songs from the deep forest. If your player doesn't play 78, like me, don't worry! The B-side includes the A-side as well as...

This surely is one of very few 78rpm records to be released this year. Duke special seems to be a nostalgia freak. And that comes from a vinyl obsessive!. His cds are printed to look like old shellac records and his singles come out on the 78rpm format. Philistine as I...

There's nothing more hateful in the music industry than a cheap gimmick tagged on to a mediocre artist by some money-grabbing suit behind a record company desk. You know the kind of thing I mean, trendy haircuts, polka dot dresses, matching suits, a 'the' name, or some hideously quirky packaging...

I have to say at the outset, I am a huge fan of 4MWB. I don't know much about the label. They're about three years old and have rereleased a large selection of classic records. A lot of soul and jazz, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding stretching into Tim Buckley and...

Formed with the idea of fusing rock and classical music, the sprawling, platinum selling double album, Out of the Blue, is perhaps the pinnacle of that attempt. Driven by Jeff Lynne, the ELO achieved their biggest success with Out of the Blue, the spaceship imagery dovetailing nicely with the Star...

Goldfrapp have gone onto more popular acclaim as some sex fuelled disco funk hybrid. This their/her first album is an entirely different beast and all the better for it. Named 'Felt mountain', we're talking about the summit of a peak, isolated and frozen. We kick off with 'Lovely head'...