Ah, string quartets. Unfortunately not my favourite form of classical – being a know-nothing beginner with a rock background, I tend to prefer the orchestral pieces, which is probably because they’re louder. There is family background to The Lindsays though – my parents were ardent fans and were such regulars at their concerts (in Leicester I think) that they got to know them, to the extent that they played at my dad’s birthday one year! Continue Reading
shendy
Richard Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier (highlights) (1971, Decca SET487)
I don’t quite get the “highlights” thing – why not buy the whole opera? It seems a bit strange to only get the singing bits (arias?) – I mean, I don’t decide to buy a Pink Floyd album and buy a version without the long intro to Wish You Were Here, do I? So why aren’t the musical bits a key part of an opera? As for the album, it’s OK – we only listened to Continue Reading
The Art of Paul Tortelier (1984, EMI SLS2700013 3LP set)
This is one we listened to over the Easter weekend, and while even a classical numpty like myself knows Paul Tortelier is a highly regarded cellist, this really didn’t do it for us. All a bit bland I’m afraid – even the Elgar concerto (isn’t that quite a renowned piece?) didn’t do it for us. We listened to the first LP and gave up. On the bright side, it might be worth over a tenner Continue Reading
Mozart – Serenade for Thirteen Wind Instruments, wind soloists of The Chamber Orchestra of Europe (1985, ASV COE804)
As SWMBO and I have managed to make a bit of a dent in our usual backlog of Nordic Noir (the Virgin box is less than 70% full!), we thought we’d dip into my dad’s classical vinyl – which is, after all, the whole point of this badly neglected blog. This LP was picked completely at random, and we’ve decided to keep it. SWMBO set a timer when she put it on, to see how Continue Reading
Rick Parfitt
In terms of *my* vinyl, the first LP I ever bought was Status Quo in 1981. The death of Rick Parfitt makes me very sad. Rick Parfitt doing what he did best – thrashing the hell out of a Fender Telecaster – Status Quo, Hammersmith Odeon March 2014.
Nick Drake
We listen to this one a lot, mainly because it’s bloody good, probably SWMBO’s favourite, especially Saturday Sun.
Nick Drake & John Martyn
I have been allowed access to the wine again after putting these two on, to (partially) make up for the planes and steam trains. And no, I don’t know why the Nick Drake image is rotated – I can’t get the thing the right way round!
Trains
For some reason SWMBO isn’t enjoying this one either…
Sgt Pepper
We’ve listened to some music too – this may actually be the first time I’ve listened to the whole album. I have no idea why my dad had a 1978 coloured vinyl copy of Sgt Pepper, but it was very much “disque en couleur”
Planes
A slightly different bit of listening this evening, but you can’t beat the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin… I have a complaint – there’s no Avro Lancaster on here, 4 Merlins is an awesome sound. Couldn’t they get the rights for it?