if there's a better compiler than Bob Stanley out there, I'd sure like to know...

Also otm about old music - I've hardly bought anything new this year and it's totally down to hearing something on comps.

srsy, "the trip" introduced some incredible songs to me.

Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs also compiled the two-disc Glen Campbell compilation The Capitol Years...anybody with a passing interest in Glen might consider this a one-stop shopping trip...also, Bob has compiled a number of girl-group collections, also for RPM...

Link: http://www.saintetienne.com/eclipse1

Is this the same Bob Stanley? He's a member of St. Etienne and wrote this article for the Guardian about an obscure movie doc about 60s London...

this looks good too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Its-So-Fine-Pye-Girls/dp/tracks/B0009HL0OO/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/202-3189635-6772613#disc_1

Think harder. Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word, Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word, Vertigo Mixed, Welsh Rare Beat, Songs in the Key of Death, Music to Watch Girls Cry: unbeatable run there.

ps hiya arthur!

I have to say, though, that the Finders Keepers releases I own do not get into the rotation as much as, say, The Trip or Velvet Tinmine...

Mind you, I'm glad they do. The St Et The Trip comp is exceptional (will somebody tell me more about Mandy More?) and the Selda album which Votel's recently reissued is a thing of wonder.

Can't tell you anything about her, but here's a few titbits online about her LP:

- from a Q&A with Bob Stanley @ saintetienne.com:

"Ember Glance asks who the hell is Mandy More. Well, her mindblowing If Not By Fire appeared on The Trip. It's from an album called But That Is Me on Philips in 1972 (which includes a great cover of God Only Knows, an almost impossible feat!). I know she did a few equally intriguing non album singles including Coffee Cups which is very proto Kate Bush. Most of the album is, too."

- review @ the vinylvulture.co.uk forum:

"Mandy More – But that is me, Philips 1972
A beautiful and moving album, one I know nothing about. On playing it through I discovered that ‘If Not by Fire’ was familiar – featured on St Etienne’s Trip compilation. This is one of the 2 tracks which features some great electronic / moogy effects (freaking out at the end) and is mighty fine. But the album is so not a 1-tracker, it is one of those perfectly formed complete albums. A little like Melanie’s earlier LPs, but IMHO so much better. Mandy More has a great voice and the arrangements are gloriously baroque – strings, harp, layers of voices, piano – and great songs too. Highlights, if I must pick them are: ‘But That is Me’ (almost a single – catchy uplifting song), ‘Listen Babe’ (gentle grooving number), ‘Come to me Jesus’ (lush complex orchestral, with a great twisting and swelling ending); ‘If I smiled on Saturdays’ (catchy uptempo number featuring congas and melodica). For me the best is the closing number – a fantastic cover of ‘God only Knows’ – the moog comes back (or it might be guitar through effects) and the drums are funky even has a harmonica solo from Mandy! Produced by a certain Tony Hall, if that means anything to anyone.... Find this album if you can, you need it!"

related to xposts: can anybody tell me more about Esther Williams (not the swimmer who turned up on the cover of the first Blur LP, but the soul singer whose "Last Night Changed It All" appears on The Trip)?

I liked that Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word comp Votel did, and the welsh one he did with Gruff Rhys, but thought the prog one was just dreadful. Though I'd probably have dug the song selection if I was out at a club and those were the records a dj was playing. It didn't work so well as an at home listening experience for me.

those 2cd Virgin compilations were so beautiful.... i'm the only fan of "monster, robot and bugmen" compiled by simon hopkins and "jazz satellites" by kevin martin )and "kosmic kuruschi monster (vol.1, sigh....))? wish kevin martin would/could compile more...

Was going to say a similar thing but wanted to articulate *how* and not sure i can right now.

I've been waiting for eons for Vol. 2. Jazz Satellites Vol. 1 was a life-changer. Some key person at Virgin must've got sacked, because it seems like all those amazing comps stopped issuing forth about 5 years ago.

Check out this lineup for the unreleased second volume: http://wlt4.home.mindspring.com/adventures/articles/satellites.htm

talking of wire/tony harrington compiled comps, the wire 3cd box on Mute i think is really good, but have never seen reviewed or talked about. Check the tracklist:
http://www.discogs.com/release/125213

Anyway bored that downloading will actually be a pain for little (or big) records companies that will decide so that to issue comps, and the problems about it (licensing), it's no long useful and profitable (even if of unavailable music).

The Garbarek-Coltrane-23 Skidoo-Melle stretch on Jazz Satellites is one of my favorite sequences.

Track list:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/De6hOOrXkAEiDeI.jpg

All gold.

There's also a Shadows / Hank Marvin / Welch & Farrar comp if that's more your bag.

Good to see some 80's deep cuts there. And Phil Lynott? Whynott!

He's good when he's exploring genres most people don't know about - showcasing the best stuff that's often never been reissued or available on CD or whatever. But I don't get why he's compiling for Sainsburys like this which are largely tracks that everyone knows in genres that have been comped to death.

I kinda agree but otoh people under 30 do buy vinyl and many would probably also be into this sort of primer (somehow only heard 'Videotheque' for the first time last year myself)

*puts now that's what i call music 1 on shuffle*

No way anyone under 30 knows Lawn Chairs or Peter Schilling or Bill Nelson or B Movie or some forgotten China Crisis and Buggles singles. Comped to death, really?

I guarantee a huge % of under 30s know these, at least in Europe. I know lots of under 30s who know this stuff inside out and back to front; a 24 year old friend of mine is an uber Bill Nelson fan. Also, Peter Schilling had a massive revival last year.

Anyhow, Bob is a compilation compling god but come on, this one must have taken 15 mins max. I hope Sainsbury's paid him handsomely.

Like he needs the money.

I'll Stan up for the Hank one, mainly because I'd asked him yonks ago about "Other Shadows tracks that are as great as" Stingray", (album tracks tend towards MOR safety) and he'd suggested some. Trouble is, not that they are rare as in pricey, but rare as in hard-to-find, there's not that many of those singles out there.

So, yeah I'm quite pleased about that one.

Gave Paris In The Spring a cursory listen - CD player's in the repair shop so I succumbed and bought the vinyl. A lot of Gainsbourg-adjacent stuff, as was to be expected, I get to feel smug about having played stuff off of Les Gants Blancs Du Diable on my radio show before I knew Stanley's championing it - he's got three tracks from it on here!

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/23/now-pop-compilation-100-that-s-what-i-call-music

Stanley's alternative 100th NOW compilation (with Spotify playlist)

Man, Stanley and Wiggs are on a roll with their late 60s themed comps:

https://acerecords.co.uk/bob-stanley-pete-wiggs-present-state-of-the-union-the-american-dream-in-crisis

has "4th of july" ever appeared anywhere else since the "good vibrations" box set? that song really is underheard

First time the Beach Boys' Fourth Of July has been on vinyl. Really happy with this one - hats off to @liz_buckley for making light of some very tricky licensing work! https://t.co/Iecrh6CUH9

— bob stanley (@rocking_bob) September 10, 2018

Handy reminder

FINALLY!! Out today. “Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs Present: State of the Union - The American Dream In Crisis”, available on CD and double vinyl. https://t.co/A3lMVyHPQa pic.twitter.com/gd6Luw9Q8W

— Liz Buckley (@liz_buckley) October 26, 2018

This is a fantastic compilation. Is there a sadder song than 'The Train' by Sinatra?

New interview with him via Pete Paphides on the Ace Records podcast, and the first question out of the gate is about putting together comps, so.

https://soundcloud.com/ace-records-ltd/the-ace-records-podcast-6-bob-stanley

This was posted about 10 years ago but I think it's complete at this point:
http://www.saintetiennedisco.com/compileb.html

I really need to check out most of these.

Yeah, got most of them. Happily so.

i've got all of those Saint Etienne compilations except for the London Winter one. Need to get Paris in the Spring and the new one. Plus there are so many others, including a bunch released via Croydon Municipal that aren't specifically Stanley-curated but bear his influence.

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/label/croydon-municipal/

New one! Just in time for Brexit innit
https://acerecords.co.uk/three-day-week-when-the-lights-went-out-1972-1975

My copy arrived today! Have only listened to the first part so far, but it's ace.

the state of the union comp is great. looking forward to this one.

Yeah, I started off lukewarm on the concept of that one - songs about social strife from the 60's, yawn - the fact that it's mostly about how the squares and the olds reacted to that upheaval really makes it something special. That spooky Tokens track has been in my head for days.

Three Day Week is excellent and strongly aligned to my interests. I fear it may have niche appeal, but hope I'm proven wrong.

I think all of Bob Stanley's stuff for Ace is pretty niche. No bad thing obv!

State Of The Union is so good. This track is a bit on the nose (a common thread amongst the album's squares-doing-protest theme), and I don't think either waves or bombs go "zzzz", but it still kills me, such a simple concept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0wPbQoB_oU

I got my first working stereo system w/ record player in nearly 20 years and first thing I got for it was the 'English Weather' comp, it was a very good choice.

Wonder what this'll turn out to be...

Working on a compilation album with @rocking_bob ; )

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) June 10, 2019

Available for pre-order on Ace - “THE DAISY AGE”. De La Soul, Monie Love, Jungle Brothers! Happy, summer music, compiled by Bob Stanley. Available on CD, 2LP and exclusive daffodil-coloured vinyl edition via Rough Trade https://t.co/4rALue1G41 pic.twitter.com/v3Lwxn1Azn

— Liz Buckley (@liz_buckley) July 10, 2019

Cool

No PM Dawn but still, great idea.

I kept this Frosties box (with flexidisc attached) almost 30 years knowing it would come in useful one day. pic.twitter.com/VWd3PWdex3

— bob stanley (@rocking_bob) July 10, 2019

Tim Burgess posted a few days back saying he and Bob are working on a comp together, no indication of what it'll be yet.

Ah, duh, as I posted upthread! Anyway.

Did you know they pulled the town hall down?

No PM Dawn but still, great idea.

That is a compilation of good records but a bad Daisy Age comilation imo

I listened to a Spotify playlist of Three Day Week yesterday, filling in some of the gaps via YouTube. Released in March, it's barely been mentioned on this thread. Sadly, it's not very good - too many raggedy, tossed-off B-sides - and thematically it doesn't live up to the claims made for it in the blurb. At best, it's a moderately interesting one-off listen, but you wouldn't want to return to much of it again.

Xpost

Curious to know what you think should be on it.

Hard to extract four sides under the umbrella of Daisy Age, Who Me? would have been a better KMD cut though.

I don't think it's missing "Delasoul" as that's like having a mersey beat comp and having the Beatles on, it's not really needed.

I'd have added "Wear your love like heaven" Definition of sound, but hey.

Clearly its not missing de la soul at all. Ach.

too many raggedy, tossed-off B-sides

A selling point!

no he said raggeDy

I must insist

Bit odd not having any Arrested Development on it but I suppose they're seen as a bit naff

Fu-Schnickens would have worked in there somewhere too, imho.

they're on the vinyl version but not the CD

You're all just moaning about copyright and budget issues though surely?