Hi folks! Took a long hiatus while waiting for my new place to be ready. Watch this space as I will be posting again!

Femme Fetales

I was rearranging my lps in their racks when i stumbled upon two female singers;namely Tanita Tikaram and Lisa Stansfield.
Tanita came onto my music radar when i heard her first hit "Twist in My Sobriety" and "Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, Ancient Heart. Her songs are of the folk genre, very nice to listen on cold mornings. Her voice is quite nasal but soothing. She is the daughter of a Malaysian mother and an Indo-Fijian father. Her father's military career meant that she spent her early life in Germany before moving to England in her teens. I have a couple of her vinyl:


World outside your window


Sweet Keeper


Ancient Heart album

I recommend her Ancient Heart as a good start to enjoying her music. Its also her debut album.

She has very interesting website and blogsite





The other husky femme fatale is Lisa Stansfield. Her debut album "Affection" spawned a few hits like "All Around the World" and "This Is the Right Time". Her voice is more soul and when i first heard the song All around the word, it was hard to believe that a white woman was actually the singer, not a black femme fatale.

I only have her debut album "Affection", which i got in KL whilst shopping for lps.

Affection

I happened to check her website and an amazed that she looks not a day older since her debut album in 1989

Femme Fetales

Jennifer Warnes :Famously Unfamous

Been pretty busy the past week, happened to had a molar extraction(strange its NOT painful), my worst fears unfounded. Going to pull out the other molar in about 3 weeks time. Anyway, its also strange how some female artistes are famously unfamous. I mean they didn't enjoy success commercially but are well regarded by music lovers/audiophiles, who appreciate their music.

Mention Jennifer Warnes and the song "I've Had the Time of My Life" a duet with Bill Medley from the movie Dirty dancing. But there are other gems from this very talented singer. She had a album "Famous Blue Raincoat" (which is a staple for audiophiles when they audition hifi systems). Tracks include:
1. First We Take Manhattan
2. Bird On A Wire
3. Famous Blue Raincoat
4. Joan Of Arc
5. Ain't No Cure For Love
6. Coming Back To You
7. Song Of Bernadette
8. A Singer Must Die
9. Came So Far For Beauty

I had this original release vinyl but realised on one of the tracks, its scratched!

Famous Blue Raincoat

In 2007, Cisco Records released the Famous Blue Raincoat 20th Anniversary Edition
Remastered on 180 gram vinyl 3 disc set. It comes with booklet and spins at 45rpm with a run of 6000 pieces worldwide.


Limited Edition Famous Blue Raincoat


insert

In 1992, she released an album called "The Hunter". It is a very rare album and when I first wanted to get it (sometime in the late 1990s, a shop at Adeplhi was selling it for $450. I regret I didn't get it (albeit, that's some serious dosh). Now the asking price (if its available is around US500).

Cisco re-released "The Hunter" Remastered 180 gram vinyl in 2008. It was also a limited edition of 8000.


The Hunter (Cisco release)

If you have never hear 'other' Jennifer Warnes songs, go take a listen. Her voice is excellent and a real songbird.

Jennifer Warnes :Famously Unfamous

I love my MTV

Lets go back to 1985. I was 16 years old and hear this song on MTV video awards. At that time, Madonna, Michael Jackson were the staples. Then I saw this video and the words were "I want my MTV". Some parts in the lyrics include refrigerator. Later I learnt that it was called Money for nothing by Dire Straits. At the same time later that year, my neighbour had a vinyl of Brothers in Arms (where Money for nothing was one of the songs). I managed to get a copy from him as he was doing mobile DJing. Unfortunately i don't have that copy with me now as I traded it with another vinyl. The copy I have was purchased in the 90s from a second hand shop.
That album spawned many hits like "walk of life", "ride across the river", "brothers in arms"
The album went to No 1 spot in many countries album chart. I believe it is one of the most successful albums in UK history.


Brothers in arms single


Money for nothing single


Brothers in Arms Lp

If you guys have not listen to Brothers in Arm track, do give it a listen. Its very meaningful

The other album that is nice is Love Over Gold. It was released in 1982. It features instrumental passages and has haunting tracks like "telegraph road","love over gold" and "private investigations". It went number 1 in countries like Australia, Italy and UK.


Love over gold Lp

Dire Straits also released a live album Alchemy. It featured hits from their earlier album prior to 1984. Songs include Sultans of Swing, Tunnel of Love, Romeo and Juliet.


Alchemy

Dire Straits broke up in 1995 and Mark Knopfler didn't want the band to reunite. Although they did come back as a group for charity concerts but no get together per se. He released a compilation album called The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations in 2005. It contain Dire Straits previous hits and is considered an underground album. A great album if one wishes to listen to Dire Straits in one album.


Best of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits

I love my MTV

What I borrowed from the library

The library stocks a fair collection of music/hifi magazines. Among the titles that I have borrowed include Stereophile and Absolute Sound. I came across HiFi News and realise the title is now called HiFi News and Record Review. Hmmh, another feather in the cap for vinyl lovers I guess.


notice that hifi news and RECORD REVIEW


interesting article on Cat Stevens Tea for Tillerman (looks familiar)

In the 90s when CD was king, many people predicted that the vinyl as a music format was dead. Many artists thought so and didn't released their albums on vinyl. For those who did, these albums are rare and collectors items now. Among them include these gems:


Ten Summoners Tales
Easily the best solo album from Sting. Just great. The most commercial, the most accessible, the most consistent and the one with his best singles on it. Hardly any duds here. Top notch.

Stand out tracks :-
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
Fields Of Gold
Seven Days
Its Probably Me
Shape Of My Heart


If i ever lose my faith in you single

The other rare album that was released around the same time was Cranberries "Everybody Else is doing it"

Everybody Else is Doing it so Why Can't We? (1992), the debut album from The Cranberries is particularly interesting. Firstly there is the colourful story of how the band and album came together. Secondly comes the actual content of Everybody Else is Doing it so Why Can't We? itself.
via Nick Bendel

What I borrowed from the library

Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam

I am sure most of us has heard of the song "morning has broken". It somehow invokes change, new beginning, the future. Within the simple lyrics, therein lies greater meaning. Besides this hit, there was "peacetrain", "moonshadow", "father and son".
After achieving success with many hits, he nearly drowned in Malibu and swore that if he lived, he would work for God. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He took a sabbatical from music but returned to record again in 2005. His latest album is called Roadsinger

I am sure most of us are familiar with these albums:


Tea for Tillerman


Teaser and the Firecat


Greatest hits

In 2007, Vinyl Films released a limited edition vinyl "Harold & Maude". This featured songs by Cat Stevens. I was lucky enough to get hold of 1 piece. I understand it cost about US$200 now (if you can find it). The record package includes a 7 inch single, a poster, a songsheet, 36 page booklet. All in all a very collectible.

The film was a commercial flop in its original release, and critical reception was extremely mixed. However, it has since developed a large cult following.


Harold & Maude


Harold & Maude record


Goodies that came with the vinyl

He recently released a new album called Roadsinger. Its very folk oriented (back to his roots I guess).


Roadsinger

go visit Cat Stevens website

Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam

The Cure

I first heard of Cure when i was 16 years old. The song that caught my ears was "Friday I'm in love". At that time, Cure wasn't hot on my radar as American top 40 music like Michael Jackson were staples. Bands like Tears for Fears, Howard Jones and other British acts were considered "indie". I didn't take notice of The Cure until I started collecting vinyl in the early 90s. i guess i pick up the pieces mostly from 2nd hand record shops and a few were from eBay.
I have a few interesting vinyl from the Cure like a promo vinyl, colored vinyl, Basically a colored vinyl is, as the name suggest colored, unlike mostly which are black in color.

Enjoy the Cure on vinyl, arranged chronologically:


Three Imaginary Boys


Boys Dont Cry



Seventeen Seconds


Faith


Lets go to bed


The Walk (promo)


Japanese Whispers



The Head on the Door



Standing on the beach


Disintegration


Lovesong (promo)


Close to Me(promo)


A Forest (promo)


High


Wish



Friday I'm in love


Friday I'm in love (Colored vinyl)


A Letter to Elise


Bloodflowers

The Cure