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

lol dude needs to slow down!

There was a curious exchange on Twitter where someone suggested that Bob makes all these compilations but actually spends his evenings listening to the Lighthouse Family.

"I don't get it," replied Bob.

I was bemused he engaged, to be honest.

This is out today... almost forgot to mention it! Actually suits the weather. Didn’t see that coming. pic.twitter.com/qCVDYIzQ16

— Saint Etienne (@bobpetesarah) July 31, 2020

Yeah, I was streaming this over the weekend and it sounded wonderful.

When Bowie and Iggy escaped LA to go interrailing in the mid 70s they heard a new European music that was largely devoid of Anglo American rock influence. In Berlin one of their favourite haunts was Cafe Exil - this is it’s imaginary soundtrack. Out in December. pic.twitter.com/udkClxv7ev

— bob stanley (@rocking_bob) October 5, 2020

Track list:

https://acerecords.co.uk/cafe-exil-new-adventures-in-european-music-1972-1980-1

would buy for the cover alone

I already know and adore Jan Hammer Group "Don't You Know", the rest look intriguing.

Allegedly a new one on the horizon called Choctaw Ridge Country Fables but no details yet.

The Cafe Exil comp is fantastic, really does take you on a journey.

Drunk thought: I wonder how long Bob (and collaborators) spend compiling these?

(I'm not really sure how widely he can draw from?)

I did discuss an idea with him (online) which happened about 2 years later. I don't know if he'd already thought of it before, but.

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.