Playlist – 11th February 2009

Various Artists ~ Factory Records: Communications 1978 – 92
This is an excellent 4CD overview of the legendary Factory label. They will always be linked to the likes of Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays. But it’s the other bands, especially A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column who were the labels shining stars. Just listen to ACR’s “Flight”. This has to be one of producer Martin Hannetts best works and is a classic song. Of course Vini Reilly can do no wrong in my book and Durutti Column are still going strong, with another album due in April. The booklet which accompanies the box has a very good essay by Paul Morley and track by track annotations by James Nice of LTM (who re-release a lot of Factory related stuff).

John Martyn ~ Solid Air
This and others like “Grace and Danger” have been getting heavy rotation. I really forgot how good the man was. Not just me but a lot of people I know, even at work have been giving the old grizzler some ear time.

SBB ~ Iron Curtain
The latest from Poland’s finest band. They may be getting long in the tooth, but they still deliver the goods. As expected lots of great playing by keyboardist Jozef Skrzek and in particular guitarist Apostolis Anthimos.

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez ~ Se Dice Bisonte, No Búfalo
Been listening to some solo stuff by The Mars Volta’s maverick guitarist. Just as crazy as his main band, this has lots of great freak-out guitar playing.

Secret Machines ~ Secret Machines
Still loving this new album. Heavier than previous efforts, but it really gels after repeated listens.

Henry Cow ~ The Roads Vol 1 and 2
Still to work through this massive 10 disc box set. The booklets are amazing and the picture quality of the DVD is much better than expected. Seeing Chris Cutler flailing around his drum kit is worth the price of the set alone!

The Only Ones ~ The Only Ones
The sensational debut album by Peter Perrett and company has now been beautifully remastered by Ray Staff. Best known for their classic single “Another Girl, Another Planet”, this debut album and follow up “Even Serpents Shine” were near perfect collections. The sophistacation of songs like “Breaking Down” and the epic “The Beast” belie their post-punk classification.