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.

anyone else stuck between not wanting to buy CDS any more but finding it hard to justify £29 for the LP? :-(

I’m not quite at the ‘no more CDs’ stage but yeah the price is driving my format choice in the case of these Ace comps

New comp done with Tim Burgess

https://acerecords.co.uk/tim-burgess-bob-stanley-present-tim-peaks-songs-for-a-late-night-diner

Finally picked this one up at the end of last year and it's so great - concept/execution etc. Hadn't given ISAN much thought for 15 years but in context it's perfect.

The second CD of The Trip *still* gets a monthly airing, pretty much

I've managed to avoid paying £29 for the doubles, but yeah.

One on ebay was £12, because the seller "was expecting something else" when buying it. Nm, his loss, my gain (it's great - the three-day-week one).

> Hadn't given ISAN much thought for 15 years but in context it's perfect.

that track is about 23 years old (which is about 8 years older then i'd've guessed) was a single in '98

Think I first heard it on the excellent Blue Room mix cd that came with the October 2002 edition of Muzik magazine

https://www.discogs.com/Chris-Coco-Rob-Da-Bank-The-Blue-Room-70-Mins-Of-Lazy-Space-Grooves/release/63182

ISAN are worth keeping up with. I like this from last year: https://wiaiwya.bandcamp.com/album/nothing-picked-and-placed-nowhere

Thanks - will investigate. I've just realised how much ISAN product there is from the past 20 years...

Cafe Exil also now acquired and is a joy

Another favourite from a few years back is: https://acerecords.co.uk/saint-etienne-present-songs-for-the-carnegie-deli. You sense he could churn these out in his sleep, but the hit rate here is incredibly high and it's low-key glorious throughout

I think my very favourite Bobcomps are those where he's trying to evoke an incredibly vague ill-defined mood, rather than the sort of 'primer in genre X' ones. But maybe they're all this really, to some extent

My favs of this recentish crop that I haven't seen receive much acclaim: State Of The Union (the squares react to the social changes of the 1960's, in a liberal rather than reactionary mold - semi socially conscious tracks from Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis) and 76 In The Shade (very much in that vague mood setting technopolis mentions, just these lazy, hazy grooves from all sorts of mid 70's sources).

I'm super jealous of Bob Stanley, and dig what he does.

Is there really almost anyone else who gets to do what he does, these days? Make comps (not like Numero does, of mostly-unheard, primary-source stuff, but of good stuff of all levels of known-ness) that get pressed into physical media? I've got a few dozen Musicophilia mixes I'd love to see go legit like that...

Oh hello

I'm working on a compilation of 98bpm tracks, all from 1990/91 - hypnotic, post -acid, neo-psych (at least that's how I hear it), ... does this sound even have a name? Things like this by One Dove... it'll be beautiful. https://t.co/nnxDVJXpZH

— bob stanley (@rocking_bob) April 13, 2021

street soul revival is firmly underway!

is that track Stanley posted street soul?

I feel like I should know the answer to this ... but is there significance to 98bpm?

Was a bit of a thing at the time

http://www.oakenfoldmixes.com/press-articles/mixmag-october-1995

In 1990, Paul Oakenfold bailed on house music. "The scene split, the scene went rave and I didn't feel comfortable with rave music. The noises were more cheesy and we were more song-oriented. Where I wanted to go was keep the energy and go downtempo. We'd be caning it for four years, we were ready to go out on a different vibe.
"That's the kind of person I am musically. I could have made a fortune out of being a big rave DJ - I played all those Biology's and Sunrise's - but it wasn't about that for me."
So began his 98bpm movement, a combination of dance grooves, indie rock and hip hop that ended up finally reappearing as indie dance with old Future regulars, the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses, at the helm. And on his releases as Movement 98, top slowed up groovers like 'Joy And Heartbreak'.

Thanks groovypanda.

I was trying to work out in my head if there would be a particular physical sensation related to it. It's sort of top of resting heart rate or maybe bottom of moderately exercising heart rate in a young un'.

"Joy And Heartbreak" is such an incredibly perfect song

Anyway, to answer your question, Jon Savage's latest collection 1972-1976 is one I'm currently on. It might be because it's the only correct reissue of the Faust polydor 7" of "So Far", um, so far.

Waltz Darling doesn't fit genre-wise but the BPM and the era work just about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOGX-x9UlLs

New from Ace Records: ‘Chocktaw Ridge’, compiled by Bob with Martin Green
https://acerecords.co.uk/choctaw-ridge-new-fables-from-the-american-south-1968-1973

Best songs from Elvis' 60s movies. That's what a colleague of mine reckons will be a Bob Stanley compilation project in the future.

Followed by the best songs from Cliff Richard movies.

Lol

A guy's gotta pay the rent.

remembered the 98bpm chat earlier this week and the mention of a compilation being put together.
well, it has just been announced :

https://acerecords.co.uk/fell-from-the-sun-1

He has an Oh Brother I haven't heard yet too. JUst getting the John Leckie one starting at the moment.

So that new comp is about out -- meantime Bob had a few separate single-artist/producer comps out over the past few months as well:

https://www.acerecords.co.uk/the-more-things-change-film-tv-studio-work-1968-1973

https://www.acerecords.co.uk/looks-like-stormy-weather-1969-1975

https://www.acerecords.co.uk/psychedelic-soul-produced-by-norman-whitfield

Loving 'Fell from the Sun' and adding more tracks to it. It's like a bit like a sequel to this all-time great "Volume 1" comp that never had a volume 2:
https://i.discogs.com/gxfEk4ZuG1E1cB4JfwPdaPZKsWIf5PHjNTBCsIvByOE/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:599/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE0NDUz/NS0xMTc3NTg5OTU2/LmpwZWc.jpeg
https://www.discogs.com/release/144535-Various-Classic-Balearic-Mastercuts-Volume-1

I wish Movement 98 "Joy & Heartbreak" was on it, it would slot in perfectly

Fell from the Sun is so good. Just spent a pleasant Saturday morning listening & reading the sleevenotes (status: fully ascended Mojo dad) which have a nice 'Rock Family Trees: Chart Show edition' feel.

(Feeling old moment - realising we're twice as far away from this stuff as this stuff is from his 76 in the Shade comp.)

Two thirds through Let's Do It and the one big complaint I have so far is the lack of coverage of Latin music, which was surely very influential to this period (enough for Bing Crosby to record "South America, Take It Away"); so far the only references to it I've seen in there are a British bandleader claiming to have lived in Brazil and Duke Ellington recording a latin novelty song, which is shown as evidence that he was in a creative slump. Hoping he'll give Bossa Nova its due at least.

There's also a bit of a problem in making it about both US and UK pop. I get why he does it - UK pop is underexplored and a book solely about it would sell less - but it's really not fair, these huge developments in the US and then every time it goes back to Britain the scenario feels much the same as anywhere else in Europe (in fact I think histories of pre-Rock French and Italian Pop might have more juice!).

Excellent points, Daniel. I read it over the summer and if memory serves, there's a paragraph at the very beginning, possibly in the foreword, about how there was clearly a story to tell about non-English-speaking pop but for the purposes of the book he'd restricted himself (and his comprehensive research) to UK/US pop.

I think that's fair and certainly a book on all pop worldwide in the pre-rock era would be far too daunting, but it doesn't imo let him off the hook for the latin thing, as the influences of mambo, latin jazz and bossa nova to give just a few examples were huge on English speaking pop of that time.

New punk-era compilation, Winter of Discontent, about to drop:

https://acerecords.co.uk/winter-of-discontent

Post-punk rather than punk.

More goodness on the way: https://acerecords.co.uk/tribal-rites-of-the-new-saturday-night

That looks pretty solid!

Yeah, these things just keep getting better and better. Wonder if Ace has a Bob Stanley Plan you can sign up for.

Looks amazing.

Is there a site where all these Saint Etienne/Bob Stanley comps listed? It's tough to keep up!

Here you go: http://www.saintetiennedisco.com/index2.html

he's got a new Bee Gees bio out which sounds quite good

Various Artists
Latin Freestyle New York / Miami 1983 - 1992
Ace

Another stunning compilation compiled by Bob Stanley. Latin Freestyle was a dizzying, passionate, ultra- modern music. It was the aural equivalent of a can of thirst-quenching Quatro or a Spanish Harlem dance-off, and it became the electronically constructed bridge between disco and house. Freestyle grew out of the electro sound of the early 80s, combined clean staccato rhythms with morse code synth hooks, and topped them off with emotive, usually female, frequently Latina vocals. There was plenty more going on besides: proto- house piano lines, Cuban percussion, high emotion and synth hooks to die for. Put together and annotated by Bob Stanley (who also compiled the acclaimed The Daisy Age and Fell From The Sun), Latin Freestyle is the first compilation to cover the whole gamut of Freestyle from its early 80s breakthrough to its early 90s revival. So many classics... Lisa Lisa made the UK top ten with the 808 joy of ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home’. Stacey Q’s cosmically great ‘Two Of Hearts’ came out in 1986, while 1987 saw the likes of Company B’s ‘Fascinated’ and Exposé’s ‘Point Of No Return’ become huge UK club hits. Today, Freestyle is a scene with a solid collector’s market, and rarities like Janelle’s ‘Don’t Be Shy’ sell for hundreds of dollars. It’s a classic summer soundtrack, finally condensed in one Ace Records compilation – Latin Freestyle.

I approve. Some good choices in there. Interesting that he went with "Let's Go" by Nocera which is slightly less known than her "Summertime, Summertime," but I love both. He went with all female singers, which is a choice. There are two or three Cynthia tracks I'd pick before "Thief of Heart," but there are no losers here.

I would have a hard time choosing only that number of tracks for an all-encompassing freestyle comp, even going with just one track per artist.

Looking again at his 16 selections on this comp, I think my own freestyle comp would include exactly eight of those 16 tracks. And then I could come up with eight better ones.

Alfred to thread. I know he’s posted a best of freestyle list here.

How's the Bee Gees book?

I was kind of thinking "It's Bob! Maybe I've just not really got the Bee Gees and this might convince me otherwise?" but the excerpt in the Guardian didn't convince me to part with money.

I enjoyed the Bee Gees book a great deal, their story is unusual and interesting, sometimes bewildering and sometimes sad. I thought I knew a bit about the Bee Gees but didn't know the half of it. IT looks like a thick book but it skips along at a pace, there's a lot of Bee Gees to get through. I am pleased that he gives proper attention to the brothers' production work in the 80s.

Bob observes at the start that the Bee Gees have never really been a fashionable name to drop, haven't been the subject of much of a critical re-evaluation (compared to The Beach Boys or The Kinks, both of whom have had periods in and out of fashion). He doesn't ever really get to why he thinks that is, aside from a few observations about how they never really fitted in to the pop world, and often seemed to shy away from any kind of cutting edge. I'm quite glad the book doesn't give a direct answer to that question, but I'd pay to read Bob music on why the Bee Gees seem immune to being a cool name to drop.

Thanks Tim.

Thanks Tim.

London A To Z is great grey sky listening. The blurb on the John & Beverley Martyn track unpleasantly flippant if you've listened to the Andrew Hickey podcast ep on the artists tho.

A friend recently gifted me Tribal Rites on CD. It’s excellent, particularly the second half. As I’m currently working on a project with the veteran DJ Greg Wilson, I told him about it and he was v.excited by the track listing, particularly for the Sons Of Robin Stone track. So that’s a strong expert endorsement for you there!