Music On Vinyl レコード& CD

Review: Harbor is the seventh studio album by American folk rock trio America, released in 1977. Produced by longtime Beatles producer George Martin, it was a comparative flop to some of their earlier albums, although it did at least go some of the way to cement itself in the collective rock fanatic psyche. Now this reissue by Music On Vinyl presents the original album exactly as it was, and it's the first ever vinyl repress.

Review: British rock band Atomic Rooster - made up from members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown aka organ player Vincent Crane and sticks man Carl Palmer - had success in the 70s and 80s. They went through some mad stylistic changes in that time but remain best known for their hit singles 'Tomorrow Night' which hit number 11 in the UK charts and number four gem 'Devil's Answer', which both came in 1971. Neither of them feature on their self-titled album and debut from 1970 which itself made the Top 50 of the UK album charts, but it still packs a real punch with a prog rock feel.

Review: Elvis Costello's 12th album originally surfaced in 1989, enjoying particular success in the US, and gets the reissue treatment courtesy of Music on Vinyl here. Two of the songs - 'Pads, Paws and Claws' and the hit single 'Veronica' - included actually came from extensive co-writing sessions with Paul McCartney. Recorded in Hollywood; New Orleans, Dublin and London, the album finds Costello in typically incisive lyrical mood, opposing capital punishment on 'Let Him Dangle' and expressing a desire to live long enough to witness the death of Margaret Thatcher on the legendary 'Tramp The Dirt Down'.

Review: British heavy metal outfit Fastway was of course put together in 1982 by 'Fast' Eddie Clarke. He is best known for his work as a guitarist with Motorhead but this band's debut album - originally released in 1983 - was also a hit with fans old and new. Its biggest moments are the singles 'We Become One' and 'Easy Livin', but the title track - which oddly was never actually put out as an official single, managed to become the band's most successful hit. This 40th-anniversary version is one of 1000 individually numbered copies on red vinyl.

Review: Dutch band Golden Earring scored a huge hit in 1982 with 'Twilight Zone.' It's inspired by The Bourne Identity book and spent over six months in the US Pop Charts and was the band's only No. 1 hit in America when it hit the top spot on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart. The band's guitarist George Kooymans wrote the tune and shares vocal responsibilities with Barry Hay. It's as big as pop rock gets with its soaring chords and big drums, and on the flip is 'When The Lady Smiles' which is another classic 80s anthem.

Review: Andrew McMahon from pop punk band Something Corporate found great success with his side project, Jack's Mannequin. Ten band pout out their last album in 2011 and it featured some high profile guests including Jamie Muhoberac, Chris Chaney from Jane's Addiction, and Patrick Warren. Rob Cavallo (who has worked with bands like Green Day and Linkin Park and Jim Scott (The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers) both worked as co-producers on the album, which his a real pop rock classic with plenty of big, singalong tunes and epic air guitar ruffs. The songwriting was well praised at time of release and resonates to this day.

Review: It is that time of year when the same very limited selection of Xmas songs get piped through every PA in the land. But you can now improve your Christmas soundtrack by at least some percent with this heavyweight double album on translucent magenta and clear vinyl featuring a weird and wonderful array of festive-themed rock, soul and pop songs. Chances are many of these will be new to you - but there are some real gems here, such as the gentle tiny of sleigh bells on Marvin Gaye's 'Purple Snowflakes,' Booker T & The MG's funky 'Jingle Bells' and The Kinks rock licked 'Father Christmas.'

Review: Los Angeles glam metal superstars, Warrant, had their biggest success with this Cherry Pie album. It's the band's second full-length and it contains two of their biggest top 40 charting singles. Both the title track and the cheeky anthem, 'I Saw Red', catapulted their name into the 80s-turned-90s rock stratosphere, while the somewhat infantile humour, braggadocios attitude, and hidden intrigue of deeper cuts such as, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', would signal the more abstract lyricism and clever song-writing tropes that would be more fleshed out and fully realised by the time 1992's seminal, 'Dog Eat Dog', arrived. This reissue comes on nice heavyweight vinyl.

Review: Huge guitar solos, a not-so-subtle hint of seduction and romance, rousing choruses and an attitude that screams: "I'm gonna make that heavy metal hand signal every five or six minutes." Warrant may not be the first name on everyone's lips when it comes to the heyday big room, sexually charged glam metal, but when all is said and done they did pretty well during their seven years in the game.
Emerging from the Los Angeles scene of the mid-late-1980s, a city that has a lot to answer for in these musical ends, by the time they packed up their Fenders and called time more than 10million albums had been sold, with the double-platinum Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich the real gem of the lot. Dog Eat Dog came along a little later, in 1992, and by this point the group had really got into gear. Don't expect the same tangible hunger and impact as the inaugural effort, then, but in many ways this is far more complete example of what they were gunning for.

Review: Music On Vinyl are our new best friends. With a wide range of music being reissued as of late, Yello's 1987 One Second is just spoiling us. Never being fully acclaimed when it was originally released, this is one album which really spans the full circle in terms of artistic ideas sonic experimentations. While being tagged primarily as a pop work, it's really more of a lesson in synth manipulations and nutty beat-making. "The Rhythm Divine" has to be out top track but do check the whole thing, it's magnificent...

Review: Paul Young had already spent plenty of time in the game fronting The Q Tips before he broke out solo in the early 80s, but it was this album which took him to the top of the charts in 1985. Finding a unique niche between soul, funk, rock and pop, it was the gravelly bite of his voice which hit home with the fans, yielding hit after hit. 'Every Time You Go Away' and 'I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down' are the big bangers, but the rest of the album is packed full of classics too. This special extended edition of the album comes with extended versions, live tracks and other obscurities to delight the fans.