The Listening Club - 11th September 2016

Greetings, folks...

Hope you're doing fine. Feeling a little tender here following the final festival soujorn of the season at Magneet Festival here in Amsterdam yesterday, much fun and frolics, and no rain for a change. Indeed the summer here seems to have been extended due to popular demand, which is rather grand, therefore much making-the-most-of-it is the order of the days. Well, you have to, don't you?

Back in #LC land, last week that @JimMcCauley was in the chair, and sent us back to an unusual slice of the 90s in the shape of "Shaken And Stirred - The David Arnold Bond Project" which did the intended reminder job of that era, good, bad and inbetween. Thanks to Jim for the pick, and for flipping the frisb across to @SamSmitter, who is here with this week's pre-match....

"This artist won’t be new to anyone, but the album might be, coming from his more obscure and impenetrable later period recordings. I read an interesting article about the later recordings after his death, which claimed that the later stuff was just as full of good material as the earlier better known work. Having waded through several triple albums since then, I’m not sure I agree, but this is certainly the most accessible album from that period, and would be considered an incredibly accomplished pop/rock/R&B album if it had been released by anyone else. I had a free copy of this album put into my hand on the way into a concert, almost 20 years on from my previous time seeing him live, and the performance was just as incredible as the first time. This album captures a lot about the artist – versatility, bags of talent, moments of extreme virtuosity, moments of boredom, moments of what-the-fuck-is-he-on-about, and sexuality that is brazen to the point of providing comic relief. Hope you enjoy it!"

Righty-ho. Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is....


See you at 8pm BST (while it lasts!)