sylvian1982

As for comments, you had it worse than I did. I only know the Moose album that I reviewed, and I can't remember ever coming across anything about them in over 20 years of reading. High Ball Me still continues to please me a lot.

Great find. I remember that back then I was literally smitten with this album. "The Road" is better known around here in Ron's version, "Una città per cantare." It was one of the first CDs I "re"-purchased since I had the lousy cassette. I was in high school and there weren't many of us (in fact, I was almost the only one) listening to this music. It's a shame that beautiful records, JB, he made very few. Among the countless missteps, I would highlight the late gem "I'm Alive," from 1993.

Hi Borges, I'm the one who wrote the review on the Pearlfishers and with whom you haven't been too gentle. Sometimes records (like any other emotion) touch keys and feelings that are beyond human rationality. You can't command the heart. I wanted to ask you something: considering that you're one of the few, actually very few, who orbit within my musical sphere (at least judging by your rather meager comments), do you have any particular albums to recommend? Before, Socrates was holding the flag for pop, but now we’re navigating in the dark. Cheers.

I think that New Troll (at least in the beginning) were a good group of Italian light music. They were somewhat thrust into the progressive wave, recording "Concerto grosso," which divided and still divides critics. Honestly, I find it a bit tedious. I definitely prefer them in "Senza orario senza bandiera." I recommend everyone listen to the single "Una miniera" to appreciate the vocal talents of Nico Di Palo.

This album was the result, in my little town, of a prank at the expense of a die-hard VDGG fan. The unfortunate fellow had financial means that were inversely proportional to his passion for Peter Hammill's band, and a group of jokers, by purchasing this vinyl, practically left the poor guy at their mercy, playing all kinds of pranks on him before handing over the coveted trophy. Just thinking about that caricature makes me laugh. It's hard to believe that thirty years have passed. Definitely a different time. Personally, I need to deepen my knowledge of VDGG since I'm stuck at H to He.

And then another bullshit they came up with, when the CD was widely promoted, was that this support was practically indestructible and that the sound would remain pure for a lifetime. Beyond the sound quality, better or worse than vinyl, it is absolutely not true that the CD is indestructible. On the contrary, quite the opposite. If not handled with care and attention, it gets damaged much sooner and much more easily than an old vinyl. Who hasn’t encountered a scratched CD that skips, gets stuck, or doesn’t read at all? In short, it was all a joke and they drained us of a fortune. I remember that at the beginning of the story (when vinyls were taken out of circulation) CDs cost around 30,000 lire. An outrageous amount, a real theft. And we’re talking about around 1994. Anyway, even today they sell us some CDs that are thirty/fourty years old at prices that simply don’t exist.

Last Saturday, while passing by Mediaworld, I saw this record and bought it. Strange that a non-major album is available at Mediaworld. But that's not the point. The point is that it costs 14.90 euros. On one hand, I'm happy for my finances, but on the other hand, I can't help but wonder where the music industry is headed. But it’s not an isolated case: I also saw the latest from the Magic Numbers in stores for 10.90 euros. I remember that when vinyl was banned (we're talking about around 13/14 years ago), the only available format became the CD, and the price basically doubled (or nearly). Do you remember all the nonsense they told us? They claimed they needed to amortize the costs of the equipment and then prices would go down. A colossal lie because making a CD costs significantly less than making a thirty-three RPM vinyl. But good for them. Now, if they want to continue surviving, they're forced to lower prices, although at this rate, I don't know where it will end. By now, physical media is an entity that young people don't recognize and can't identify with. However, there are some retailers who continue to sell new releases at around 22 euros. Either they adapt too, or they have their days numbered. Good for them as well; they exploited us for as long as they could. I'm against illegal downloads, but if it helps to stabilize prices and bring about a bit of justice, then so be it.

Oh yes, it’s hard to believe that Jagger/Richards are just a bunch of mercenaries, especially since it takes quite an imagination to hear The Last Time in Bittersweet Symphony. But if they were right, it’s likely there’s some truth to it. To be fair, though, I seem to recall that it wasn’t them who noticed the "theft," but rather their manager/producer (or something like that). Money, my dear, is never enough in the Western world: unfortunately. Anyway, "Urban Hymns," despite all the detractors, is a fantastic album.

Considering that we are talking about the most famous song by The Verve, I think it refers to Bittersweet Symphony. But it is not a cover of the Rolling Stones at all. It only has a small initial sampling taken from a track (I can't remember which one) by the Stones. Perhaps even unintentionally. The fact is that Jagger and the others sued and won, forcing The Verve to credit Jagger-Richards among the authors of Bittersweet Symphony and, worse still, to share the billion-dollar revenue from the song. More or less, that’s the story as I know it. Ashcroft on his own is just okay.

Among the titles that compete for the worst of the already great Canadian, I would mention "Landing on Water." Although various sources point to "Trans." But this one isn't much better either.