Old Man Riva

... the Abuelo. Built by Custom Shop Master Builder, Vincent Van Trigt, who is not only an excellent builder but an accomplished bass player to boot! I really like the look and sound of this bass. It features a Curtis Novak BS-DS p/up for that fuller throatier sound. I think the bass was made as a special order for a trade show, but if Fender were looking to broaden their horizons - whilst still wanting to remain on a four string, no battery ‘traditional’ approach - then they could do worse than rolling a few of these out... https://youtu.be/ivyPjNivcos

Their last album - A Song For Paul - is a good place to start...

Ghost Funk Orchestra... they’ve a new album out in November - can’t wait!

My fondness for them is definitely rooted in nostalgia as they were the first band I saw live - Coventry Theatre, 1976. My mate’s elder brother took us along - as two 14yr olds, it’s fair to say, we definitely cramped his style! During school holidays we’d play his LPs when he was out at work (“touch my records and I’ll kill ya!”), one of which was Space Ritual. Music contributed greatly to some wonderful times as a a kid, where even having a record in your hands was a magical thing. Then to see a band live (and even through the misty water-coloured memories of time they were fantastic!) was the most incredible thing ever! They set the tone for some great gigs ahead!

From a few topics on here I've noticed quite a bit of warmth towards Hawkwind: be it live, on record or just plain Lemmy. There's a good/interesting piece in today's Guardian for those who like a bit of quark, strangeness and charm... https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/19/why-hawkwind-were-the-great-radicals-of-1970s-rock

For what a Stingray can do, and considering the price of other basses these days, I’d say that’s a really good buy! I can’t remember exactly how much my mate paid in circa ‘85 but I think they were around £500/£600 - happy to be corrected! They weren’t the easiest basses to come by, either...

I’ve been thinking about MMs for a while now. I bought one second hand in the early/mid 80s from a mate who had wanted one for years, bought one then couldn’t get on with it! The bass was one of the very early Ernie Ball models. It had three knobs (would that be 2-band eq?), if I recall correctly, along with individual string mutes on the bridge. Black body with a rosewood board. It was lovely. After I finished playing it was a choice between keeping one or other of the MM or a ‘73 Jazz, so the MM went - sold on commission by the now defunct Bass Centre. There appears to be so much choice now that I wouldn’t know what would be a similar model to the one I had all those years ago. I recall once having a MM hired in and it had four knobs (I think) and I just couldn’t get it to work for me. If I was after something of/like that early EB period with three knobs what do they go for these days - and when was the change to more knobs?! The neck was lovely - wider than a Jazz, less than a P, and shallower/flatter. Very comfortable to play - not sure if they’ve changed the dimensions/profiles since then? I found it to a hugely versatile bass that could offer that classic ‘Ray sound (Shriekback were a big sound influence at the time) but also, with a small bit of tone tweaking on the bass itself, a lot more besides...

Pete Way. He left UFO in 1982, to return in 1992...

Apologies, it’s Bowie again (and more than just a few lines!). I love the opening lines/verse to Young Americans. It sets the scene perfectly and is almost like the opening lines to a novel or a screenplay... “They pulled in just behind the bridge He lays her down, he frowns ‘Gee my life's a funny thing, am I still too young?’ He kissed her then and there She took his ring, took his babies It took him minutes, took her nowhere Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything, but...”

It is! He wasn’t shy in referencing actual people in his lyrics - on Aladdin Sane (the album that Drive-In Saturday comes from) there are name checks for Twiggy, Che Guevara, Benny Goodman and Mick Jagger. From the same album, The Jean Genie is apparently inspired by Iggy Pop, and Lady Grinning Soul by Claudia Lennear, but neither are mentioned by name.

Joni Mitchell - Hejira “I know, no one's going to show me everything We all come and go unknown Each so deep and superficial Between the forceps and the stone...”

Bowie - Drive-In Saturday ”His name was always buddy And he'd shrug and ask to stay She'd sigh like twig the wonder kid And turn her face away. She's uncertain if she likes him But she knows she really loves him It's a crash course for the ravers It's a drive-in Saturday...”

The double album thread and the conversations around The Clash led me back to Big Audio Dynamite. The first album sounded so fresh and exciting and had a huge affect on me at the time. It was a record to stick on before going out on the town and a record to stick on again once you were home! I had the good fortune to see them at Leicester Poly, and needless to say they were superb live. A reminder of great times. White Levi’s, Bond guitars and baseball caps are go..!

I was going to include that but left it out for the very reasons you reference! I think it’s okay to include, even if only on the basis that it’s such a good record - any record that has Prototype and The Way You Move from each of the albums has to find a way in!

I forgot about Aerial, great choice. An album I’d add to the ‘don’t work’ pile would be Works Volume 1 by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It’s three sides of solo material and one side of group work (inc. Fanfare For the Common Man). Needless to say, the solo stuff could have done with a more honest approach to what worked, which may have led to a decent single album. As it stands it’s an example of mid-70s overblown, self-indulgent meanderings that didn’t work then, and haven’t particularly stood the test of time (in my opinion, of course!)...

Ones that work; Sign o’ the Times - Prince Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood Sheik Yerbouti - Frank Zappa

Somewhere in space and time Adam Clayton will walk across a room and pick up a can of worms with his name on it. He’ll pause, consider what is required of him in his band, gaze wistfully, then after a brief moment will place it back from whence it came, and walk back across the room with a resigned shrug of the shoulders..!

World Leader Pretend - REM

I was lucky enough to see VH on their first UK tour in 1978 supporting Black Sabbath. They absolutely blew Sabbath off the stage. Out with the old and in with the new. From the young, wide-eyed and impressionable like myself, through to the dyed in the wool rockers, the audience were aware something special was taking place. It’s not a stretch to say that no one had ever seen anything like it before. They came on stage with a handful of people in attendance and by the time they’d finished the theatre bars were empty and the place was packed - almost unheard of for a support act! As I lost touch with a lot of the bands I liked in my youth, VH were someone I always went back to, mainly due to the smile I know they’d put on my face. In your face rock ‘n’ roll, but in a fun and joyous way, with tongue firmly in cheek! There’s a really good piece by Michael Hann in today’s Guardian where he not only praises Eddie’s unique talent and game-changing approach to the guitar, but also highlights the often overlooked (pop-like) quality of their songs, and Eddie’s songwriting. In it there is a link to The Bird and the Bee, and their reworking of VH songs, which is definitely worth a listen and showcases the pop sensibilities that EVH and DLR brought to the band. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/07/eddie-van-halen-was-the-heir-to-hendrix-electric-guitar

Marvellous early 80s cover of the wonderful Ben E King track...

A blast from the past... great live, too. A much overlooked band and bass player... Get your groove on!!

S-S-S Single Bed - Fox

As soon as I started my first job one of the first things I set my heart on was a decent HiFi set up, so off I went... (on HP, with my dad as guarantor!). I took advice and ended up getting a Dual 404 turntable, Mordaunt Short MS10s, an Arcam Alpha amp, and an Aiwa cassette deck (can’t remember which one). As vinyl has been stored away over the years due to (lack of) space I’ve ended up with a NAD C350 amp, a Marantz 6004 CD player, and a pair of B&W 685 S2 speakers. I’ve had the NAD amp for years now. The Marantz is a few years old (it has an input for digital devices, which is why I changed from a previous Marantz model I’d had for over 20 years - the older one developed a fault with the laser just outside the first year warranty and Marantz replaced it and it was then fine for two decades!). The B&W speakers were an upgrade on a previous set of B&Ws, and for me they are my perfect speaker. Headphones-wise I’ve gone a bit mad over recent years and have a couple of sets of B&W (wired and wireless) and a pair of Sennheiser wireless earbuds. I really miss the whole physical interaction with vinyl, but unfortunately, given a toss-up between having the LPs or somewhere to sit, I’ve been outvoted!