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Cast

All Change - 2023 Reissue

    Originally released on Polydor Records in October 1995, 'All Change' reached No 7 in the UK charts, and spawned four Top 20 singles.

    Cast were formed in 1992 and were something of a scouse supergroup, with
    leader, guitarist John Power previously bassist in The La's and bassist Peter Wilkinson coming from Shack. Originally a loose conglomerate with various
    members, Power added guitarist Liam 'Skin' Tyson and drummer Keith O' Neill, and by 1994 Cast were signed to Polydor.

    Led by singles 'Finetime' and 'Alright', Cast's blend of ultra- melodic Merseybeat Britpop proved that they were the right band at the right time. 'All Change' became a runaway success, selling over a million and becoming the fastest-selling debut album in Polydor's history, bolstered by further singles 'Sandstorm' and 'Walkaway'. The catchy, upbeat album closed with the eight- minute epic 'Two Of A Kind', showing that the band had sufficient skills to take on any Britpop heavyweight.

    This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1995 Polydor Records UK 2LP release with gatefold sleeve and 12 page booklet and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.


    TRACK LISTING

    1. Alright
    2. Promised Land
    3. Sandstorm
    4. Mankind
    5. Tell It Like It Is
    6. Four Walls
    7. Finetime
    8. Back Of My Mind
    9. Walkaway
    10. Reflections
    11. History
    12. Two Of A Kind

    Everything Everything

    Man Alive - 2023 Reissue

      Formed in Manchester in 2007 after Jonathan Higgs and Jeremy Pritchard met at Salford University; they were joined by Higgs's Northumberland school friends Michael Spearman and Alex Niven - High concept coursed through Everything Everything from the off: they unwittingly named themselves after a Radiohead song (in the manner that that band named themselves after a Talking Heads song); soon there was a great deal of record company interest in their work - Niven left the group to take his doctorate at Oxford and was replaced by Alex Robertshaw – this line up remains intact today

      Working with Bat For Lashes producer David Kosten (aka Faultline), the recording of Man Alive was completed mainly in a chapel in North Wales. The album sounded unique. Nothing dates like the future, yet Man Alive sounds dateless, placeless, and as a result, stands up perfectly many years later.

      Man Alive was only the beginning of the group's adventures in – to use their words – 'Mismatched styles of music mashed together.' The result is often exhilarating; there are Brazilian drums and a prog guitar breakdown in Schoolin', classical influences, as well. Its subject matter is often way outside the realms of conventional songwriting; MY KZ, UR BF explored the different Americas: the cosy self-centred domesticity of programmes such as Friends versus a foreign policy based on killing

      The album's artwork was striking – a photograph of a fox by Swiss photographer, Laurent Geslin, reflecting the track Tin (The Manhole) which deals with the theme of depression, through, as the band said in 2010, "the story of an urban fox that ingests all our pollution and grows massively in a sort of dream sequence. We chose photos of an urban fox for this reason, but we partly attacked the code of the digital image to create a glitch distortion . . . a reference to digital manipulation and chaos as well as our modern lives online".

      TRACK LISTING

      Standard LP Tracklisting
      MY KZ, UR BF
      Qwerty Finger
      Schoolin'
      Leave The Engine Room
      Final Form / Photoshop Handsome
      Two For Nero
      Suffragette Suffragette
      Come Alive Diana
      NASA Is On Your Side
      Tin (The Manhole)
      Weights

      Deluxe LP Tracklisting
      MY KZ, UR BF
      Qwerty Finger
      Schoolin'
      Leave The Engine Room
      Final Form / Photoshop Handsome
      Two For Nero
      Suffragette Suffragette
      Come Alive Diana
      NASA Is On Your Side
      Tin (The Manhole)
      Weights
      Luddites & Lambs
      Suffragette Suffragette (2008 Single Version)
      Crisis Over (Demo)
      Come Alive Diana (Demo)
      Hey Jude Law (Demo)
      The Kids Are Obese (Demo)
      Riot On The Ward
      DNA Dump
      Photoshop Handsome (2009 Single Version)
      Even The Dogs / Hiawatha Doomed
      Schoolin’ (Acoustic)
      Wizard Talk

      The Fall

      Shift-Work - 2023 Reissue

        It was all change when The Fall signed to Fontana. Guitarist Martin Bramah, who had founded the group with Smith, returned, replacing Smith's ex-wife Brix, who had been in the group since 1983. There were few cries of sell-out, however, when The Fall signed to a major; it was just part of an evolutionary process. The three Fontana  albums, Extricate, Shift- Work and Code: Selfsh were stunningly consistent.With Martin Bramah and keyboard player Marcia Schofeld dismissed from the band, The Fall worked as a four- piece (Craig Scanlon, guitar; Steve Hanley, bass; Simon 'Funky Si' Wolstencroft on drums) for the frst time in the group's career.

        Shift-Work from April 1991 is another commercial Fall high- water mark; it contains Idiot Joy Showland, Smith's rant against bandwagon- jumping Madchester bands ("The shapeless kecks fapping up a storm, look at what they are: a pack of worms."), the one- time album title track, The War Against Intelligence, and the bucolic Edinburgh Man, a love letter to Mark E. Smith's then adopted home city.

        This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1991 Fontana Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.


        TRACK LISTING

        1. So What About It?
        2. Idiot Joy Showland
        3. Edinburgh Man
        4. Pittsville Direkt
        5. The Book Of Lies
        6. The War Against Intelligence
        7. Shift- Work
        8. You Haven't Found It Yet
        9. The Mixer
        10. A Lot Of Wind
        11. Rose
        12. Sinister Waltz

        The Fall

        Code: Selfish - 2023 Reissue

          Formed in 1976, by 1990, The Fall had been through 18 line ups, releasing 14 albums and 24 singles - The only constant was leader, vocalist Mark Edward Smith – welded to the work ethic, creating music that stunned in its obscure brilliance; railing against mediocrity, failing against the status quo It was all change when The Fall signed to Fontana. Guitarist Martin Bramah, who had founded the group with Smith, returned, replacing Smith's ex-wife Brix, who had been in the group since 1983. There were few cries of sell-out, however, when The Fall signed to a major; it was just part of an evolutionary process. The three Fontana albums, Extricate, Shift- Work and Code: Selfsh were stunningly consistent.

          1992's Code: Selfsh marked the arrival of Dave Bush to the group on keyboards, bringing a harder, techno- edge to the work. Less focussed than its predecessors, the album reveals its considerable charms gradually – the initially impenetrable seven- minute splurge of opener of The Birmingham School of Business School gives way to the Top 40 commercialism of Free Range. The glam stomp of Immortality and Two- Face! are counteracted with the wistful introspection of Time Enough At Last and Gentleman's Agreement.

          This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1992 Fontana Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

          TRACK LISTING

          1. The Birmingham School Of Business School
          2. Free Range
          3. Return
          4. Time Enough At Last
          5. Everything Hurtz
          6. Immortality
          7. Two-Face!
          8. Just Waiting
          9. So-Called Dangerous
          10. Gentlemen's Agreement
          11. Married, 2 Kids
          12. Crew Filth

          The Fall

          Extricate - 2023 Reissue

            It was all change when The Fall signed to Fontana. Guitarist Martin Bramah, who had founded the group with Smith, returned, replacing Smith's ex-wife Brix, who had been in the group since 1983. There were few cries of sell-out, however, when The Fall signed to a major; it was just part of an evolutionary process. The three Fontana albums, Extricate, Shift- Work and Code: Selfsh were stunningly consistent.

            Released in February 1990, Extricate was a big bold statement, coopting some Madchester beats into The Fall's mix, with the band and Smith on excellent form. From the catchy indie of Hilary and The Littlest Rebel, the oblique attack on past lovers in Sing! Harpy, and the touching rumination on death and new love, Bill Is Dead, Extricate is one of the group's most coherent albums. Smith also worked with dance producers Coldcut updating the Lisa Stansfeld sung track My Telephone as Telephone Thing.

            This re- issue faithfully replicates the original 1990 Fontana Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

            TRACK LISTING

            1. Sing! Harpy
            2. I'm Frank
            3. Bill Is Dead
            4. Black Monk Theme Part I
            5. Popcorn Double Feature
            6. Telephone Thing
            7. Hilary
            8. Chicago, Now!
            9. The Littlest Rebel
            10. And Therein...

            Various Artists

            Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels - OST: 25th Anniversary Edition

              Originally released on Island Records in September 1998, the soundtrack to the box-office smash film, written and directed by Guy Ritchie, quickly became a must-own album, and is frequently cited as one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels redefined the British gangster film and established Guy Ritchie as one of the greatest directing and writing talents of his generation

              Using a frenetic mixture of filmic styles, humour, violence, breakdown of the fourth wall, narration, and vast amounts of swearing, it is hard to imagine a time when this film and its influence was not around. It made a star of the- then unknown Jason Statham, and, amazingly, hard man footballer Vinnie Jones, who as Big Chris, had several scene- stealing moments. Taking his cue from Quentin Tarantino, who had been meticulously curating his film soundtracks since the early 90s, Ritchie made the music to his film tell its own story, complete with memorable snatches of dialogue between many of the tracks. It offers a beautifully eclectic selection of songs from the preceding three decades, plus then-current artists providing some of their best material, such as Hundred Mile High City by Ocean Colour Scene or E- Z Rollers' drum'n'bass masterpiece Walk This Land. Of the heritage tracks, Dusty Springfield sings her sultry take on Spooky; James Brown appears twice with The Boss and The Payback; The Stooges with I Wanna Be Your Dog, and two versions of Pete Wingfield's masterful one- hit- wonder 18 With A Bullet; in its 1975 original and a contemporary cover by Lewis Taylor and Carleen Anderson. And this is only half of it.For lovers of soundtrack albums that create their own unmistakable universe, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a must- have.

              TRACK LISTING

              Ocean Colour Scene – Hundred Mile High City 3:56
              Tom, Nick & Ed – It's A Deal, It's A Steal 0:46
              James Brown – The Boss 3:11
              Skanga – Truly, Madly, Deeply 3:16
              Winston – Hortif**kinculturist 0:14
              Junior Murvin – Police And Thieves 3:59
              Lewis Taylor & Carleen Anderson – 18 With A Bullet 3:23
              Dusty Springfield – Spooky 2:35
              John Murphy (2) & David Hughes (7) – The Game 0:55
              Harry, Barry, & Gary – Muppets 0:18
              Robbie Williams – Man Machine 3:32
              E Z Rollers – Walk This Land 3:50
              Barr Y– Blaspheming Barry 0:05
              The Stooges – I Wanna Be Your Dog 3:05
              Tom & Nick – It's Kosher 0:55
              The Castaways – Liar Liar 1:51
              Plank & Dog – I've Been Shot 0:06
              Stretch – Why Did You Do It 3:29
              Ed & Soap – Guns 4 Show Knives 4 A Pro 0:21
              Evil Superstars – Oh Girl 2:44
              John Murphy & David Hughes – If The Milk Turns Sour 0:47
              John Murphy & David Hughes – Zorba The Greek 2:56
              John Murphy & David Hughes – I'll Kill Ya 0:42
              James Brown – The Payback 7:27
              The Stone Roses – Fools Gold 4:13
              Big Chris – It's Been Emotional 0:03
              Pete Wingfield – 18 With A Bullet 4:13

              Embrace

              The Good Will Out - 2023 Reissue

                Embrace have quietly created an admirable body of work without fuss or the internal friction that has dogged so many bands of the era - They were founded by the McNamara brothers, singer Danny and guitarist Richard in 1990 in Baliff Bridge, West Yorkshire - Joined by bassist Steve Firth, drummer Mike Heaton and keyboard player Mickey Dale, the line-up has remained stable ever since.

                Signing to the ultra-cool Fierce Panda label, the group's debut single All You Good Good People was to become a UK Top 10 hit in October 1997, eight months after its first release, when it was reissued by Virgin offshoot Hut Records. As a result, their debut album, The Good Will Out was eagerly anticipated. Released in June 1998, over its hour, it showcased a range of styles and approaches. From the tender ballad Fireworks to the anthemic title track, the singles My Weakness Is None Of Your Business and Come Back To What You Know, the album's 14 tracks represent an accomplished, beautifully crafted body of work. It is easy to see why Chris Martin of Coldplay (who supported Embrace on tour in 2000) is such an admirer, among many others.

                In many respects, Embrace form a trilogy with two other great northern groups of the time, Oasis and The Verve – yet they were no junior partners: The Good Will Out fully captures the scale of their ambition.

                It is presented with scrupulous attention to the detail of the original UK first pressing and available in audiophile 180gm vinyl.

                TRACK LISTING

                1. Intro
                2. All You Good Good People
                3. My Weakness Is None Of Your Business
                4. Come Back To What You Know
                5. One Big Family
                6. Higher Sights
                7. Retread
                8. I Want The World
                9. You've Got To Say Yes
                10. Fireworks
                11. The Last Gas
                12. That's All Changed Forever
                13. Now You're Nobody
                14. The Good Will Out

                10cc

                Deceptive Bends - Reissue

                  Described as the 'missing link between the Beatles and Blur', it was rare to have
                  four talented writers, singers and multi-instrumentalists all under one roof; but in
                  Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme and Kevin Godley, 10cc had just that. Following the departure of Godley and Creme Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman continued as 10cc and made Deceptive Bends (1977), which included two of the group's most enduring hits, The Things We Do For Love and Good Morning Judge. It closes with the career best-equalling Feel The Beneft.
                  This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1977 Mercury Records UK release with legendary Hipgnosis- designed gatefold sleeve and printed inner and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.


                  TRACK LISTING

                  A1. Good Morning Judge
                  A2. The Things We Do For Love
                  A3. Marriage Bureau Rendezvous
                  A4. People In Love
                  A5. Modren Man Blues
                  B1. Honeymoon With B Troop
                  B2. I Bought A Flat Guitar Tutor
                  B3. You've Got A Cold
                  B4. Feel The Benefit (part 1 & 2 & 3)

                  10cc

                  How Dare You! - Reissue

                    Described as the 'missing link between the Beatles and Blur', it was rare to have four talented writers, singers and multi-instrumentalists all under one roof; but in Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme and Kevin Godley, 10cc had just that. They released some of the most inventive and elaborate pop music ever to emerge from Britain. 1976's How Dare You! was the fnal album to feature Kevin Godley and Lol Creme and brims with melody and invention: I'm Mandy Fly Me is one of the group's most beautiful, complex ballads, and Art For Art's Sake offered a swipe at their critics. There's Python- esque tomfoolery on I Wanna Rule The World, and the straightforward soft-rock of Lazy Ways.



                    TRACK LISTING

                    A1. How Dare You
                    A2. Lazy Ways
                    A3. I Wanna Rule The World
                    A4. I'm Mandy Fly Me
                    A5. Iceberg
                    B1. Art For Arts Sake
                    B2. Rock 'N' Roll Lullaby
                    B3. Head Room
                    B4. Don't Hang Up

                    The Ruts

                    The Crack - 2023 Reissue

                      The Ruts were formed in west London in 1977, but guitarist Paul Fox and
                      vocalist Malcolm Owen were schoolfriends who had already been in several bands – meeting with drummer Dave Ruffy and bassist John 'Segs' Jenning - The group played many Rock Against Racism beneft concerts and rose to prominence supporting The Damned in early 1979 - A contract with Virgin followed, and by June of that year, the group were in the UK Top 10 with Babylon's Burning. The Crack followed in September, beneftting a crystal-clear production from Mick Glossop. Reaching No 16 in the UK, it sounds as vibrant and pugnacious as it did on its frst release. Representing the very apex of politically conscious British punk, The Crack stands as a perfect snapshot of the inner-city temperature of the late 70s.

                      This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1979 Virgin Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.


                      TRACK LISTING

                      A1. Babylon's Burning
                      A2. Dope For Guns
                      A3. SUS
                      A4. Something That I Said
                      A5. You're Just A
                      A6. It Was Cold
                      B1. Savage Circle
                      B2. Jah War
                      B3. Criminal Mind
                      B4. Back Biter
                      B5. Out Of Order
                      B6. Human Punk

                      Thrills

                      Let's Bottle Bohemia - 2023 Reissue

                        Let's Bottle Bohemia is the second album from the melodic Dublin-based rock band The Thrills - Originally released on Virgin in September 2004, it marked a signifcant step forward from the group's debut album, So Much For The City, released over a year previously Led by childhood neighbours, vocalist and lyricist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, when The Thrills emerged from Dublin in 2002, their honey- kissed American-leaning pop seemed like a breath of fresh air. The music world agreed – Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) was chosen by NME as their best single of the year.

                        By 2004, the band were living the dream, relocating to LA and recording Let's Bottle Bohemia with Johnny Cash and Slayer producer Dave Sardy. It is easy to assess quite how high The Thrills' stock was at this time – when you have Peter Buck and Van Dyke Parks guesting on your album, you've reached a certain standing. It also features orchestration from Michel Colombier, the arranger working his magic on the standout ballad Not For All The Love In The World and the album's big hit Whatever Happened To Corey Haim? For lovers of tuneful indie with generous dashes of Americana, Let's Bottle Bohemia is a must-have. This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 2004 Virgin Records UK release with its bonus 7" single and printed inner and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.


                        TRACK LISTING

                        A1. Tell Me Something I Don't Know
                        A2. Whatever Happened To Corey Haim?
                        A3. Faded Beauty Queens
                        A4. Saturday Night
                        A5. Not For All The Love In The World
                        B1. Our Wasted Lives
                        B2. You Can't Fool Old Friends With Limousines
                        B3. Found My Rosebud
                        B4. The Curse Of Comfort
                        B5. The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing
                        C1. A City Of Long Nights
                        D1. The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing (reprise)

                        Richard Thompson

                        Still

                          'Still' was recorded in a two-story rehearsal loft in Chicago over the course of just nine days with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy at the helm, backed by several longtime players from both Thompson's and Tweedy's bands. Thompson enlisted Tweedy's production skills in an effort to shake up his own creative approach to making records. "It turned out be really good idea," says Thompson. "Jeff is musically very sympathetic. Although some of his contributions are probably rather subtle to the listener's ear, they were really interesting and his suggestions were always very pertinent."

                          The key to ‘Still’'s emotional resonance is a set of gripping new Thompson compositions rich with his signature mix of trenchant insight, gallows humour, and keen empathy for characters at the brink of being overcome by their emotions, their pasts, or themselves.

                          A recipient of BBC's Lifetime Achievement Award and Mojo's Les Paul Award, Richard Thompson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2011 New Year Honours List. The Americana Music Association also recently honoured him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting. Robert Plant, REM, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt and many others have recorded Thompson's songs.

                          The Magic Band

                          21st Century Mirror Men

                            "These shows will astonish you. I had tears of joy in my eyes". This was the standout line from a Five Star review by The Guardian newspaper of the live shows by The Magic Band - a collection of extraordinary musicians drawn from the lineups that were brought together over the years by the legendary Captain Beefheart. Tribute bands and ghost bands are usually a decidedly poor relation to the real thing, but The Magic Band are different, as the tracks on this album prove. Recorded at the UK shows during 2004, the material bursts with new life, and the band achieve a near-impossible task - not just playing the notes as they are on the records (hard enough in itself in some cases) but playing them convincingly enough to send a sold-out London audience into ovation after ovation. These are the players who were inducted into the Captain's secret musical universe, and who transformed his unique ideas into works of unfathomable and inimitable beauty, and live in 2005 they did that same thing again.


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