A truly excellent laid back ravey cover of Hendrix’s Purple Haze with lots of uplifting piano filling in for massive guitar riffs. The addition of the sultry female vocals are a great touch but overall, this is all about the strings, the piano and the vocal. Such a great example of 1990 dance music. From [...]
Archive for the ‘Pop’ Category
Whyte – Purple Haze [1990]
April 17, 2012
The Blue Aeroplanes – ..and Stones (Lovers All Around Mix) [1990]
December 30, 2011
I’ll confess, I know next to bugger all about The Blue Aeroplanes other than they have been around for donkeys years and their primary genre would be closer to Indie Rock than the track above. That said, this is a classic remix in the vein of Baggy Madchester turn of the nineties rock/rave music. Its not surprise then that this track is featured on one of my favourite Telstar compilations “Rave” also released in 1990.
The track holds a certain special place in my heart as I actually remixed the intro guitar solo when I was a kid writing modules in OctaMED on my Amiga 500. The laugh was I didnt have my two phono jacks in correctly and since the track is encoded in mono on my CD, I only got half of the guitar riff through the sampler. Needless to say, it was a wonderful and unexpected result that I crafted into one of my many extremely mediocre attempts at music production. If I ever get around to getting those tracks off the old floppy disks, rest assured I will upload them here!
So anyway, why this track today, well I was sat on the bus and on it came. While usually I would skip the track (and all the horrible music remix memories it holds) this time around I thought I would give it a shot. Reminding me how much I actually do love this track. Its a quality remix, catchy vocals and some incredible guitar riff work. Classic.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Real Altered) [1985]
August 25, 2011
Probably my favourite of all the FGTH tracks, its got that cracking driving bass drum that just dominates all the way through. The original radio release was just a shortened version of the Real Altered mix that you hear. The fundamental difference here is that this 12″ version was most definately designed for dancing rather than as a 4 minute pop track. There’s far less vocal work, much more of that cracking bass riff that makes this track just a relentless floor pounder. An absolutely monster tune. Thanks to Emz who stuck this up on Facebook this morning and ive been listening too all day!
Ceci Bastida – Controlar [2011]
August 23, 2011
I caught Ceci’s performance at the Hollywood Bowl for KCRW’s Global Soul and for me it was one of the best performances of the evening. This being the standout track for me, its a ridiculously catchy electro fused pop track that is propelled along completely by Ceci’s vocal talent. Of course, being sung entirely in Spanish helps, its got this filthy electro feel to it with a ridiculously catchy set of riffs that will have you nodding and humming the track for hours afterwards.
The Stone Roses – I Am The Resurrection [1989]
August 19, 2011
Fools Gold will forever be my favourite Stone Roses track but “I Am The Resurrection” comes pretty damn close. Not because the start of the track is classic Roses rock with some innovative lyrics and catchy hooks. No, its because at four minutes in, the planets decided to align and finish the last track on one of the greatest albums ever released, the right way. Gone are the lyrics, gone is the catchy riff of the previous four minutes, what happens next is pure divine inspiration. The band just seems to jam, pumped on the previous ten tracks and kicks the encore into overdrive. Its four minutes of some of the most inspirational music ive ever heard in my life. Its abso-fucking-loutely amazing, what a track.
The Alpines – Cocoon [2011]
July 11, 2011
Now this is what im talking about, huge sweeping vocals and lush all encompassing synth. Nothing quite beats being wrapped up in a huge orchestral blanket of electronica and Cocoon has this in spades. I hadnt ever heard of The Alpines before about an hour ago and im now hooked. Catherine Pockson has a pitch perfect vocal range that lends itself perfectly to Bob Matthews arrangements. The components for the most part are simple but refined making the whole sound far more engaging than any one part. Its pretty hard to find that balance I think, doubly so in this kind of “Pop” tinted electronica. Such a refreshing sound, I hope they absolutely dominate when this is released.
