The Beauty of Mix-Tapes

well, this post will be short and sweet.
recently i met someone who has reminded me of the beauty of the mix-tape/mix cd, and I don't mean the cd where you just throw on all your favourite songs on in some random order.

no, the mix cd i'm talking about is where you spend time planning the order, the artists, the tracks and the overall theme that the cd will convey to the audience.

y'see, the mix cd is something complex. as Rob Gordon put it in Nick Hornby's novel, and movie, High Fidelity;

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. Anyway... I've started to make a tape... in my head... for Laura. Full of stuff she likes. Full of stuff that'll make her happy. For the first time I can sort of see how that's done."


Its all about making a compilation that the person will enjoy.

thats what i'm trying to do for this person.

Just wanted to share a great quote.

Wish me luck.

Ladies and Gentlemen.. Mister Leonard Cohen..

This is the second installment of classicvinyl, and yes, i know its been a while. I apologise.





Anyway, in this blog I will not be speaking of a specific record, rather, the artist behind the art. The word artist is just one word that describes Leonard Cohen perfectly.




'Songs of Leonard Cohen' was Mr. Cohen's first album. Originally released in December of 1967, it introduced the world to Cohen's lonely 'all-to-human'* songs, in which he took a more literate approach to songwriting than most artists of the time.

The album was produced by Cohen himself and John Simon, who managed to give the album a distinct sound that separated it from other top albums of the time, but by using the same effects. Simon gave Cohen a large amount of creative freedom when it came to the record, however there were still big disagreements over the effects of the instruments. Towards the end of the recording process Simon left for a Christmas vacation, leaving Cohen to mix the remainder of the record himself. In 2001, in an interview with Mojo magazine in which he recalled "we did have a falling out over the song 'Suzanne'. He wanted a heavy piano syncopated and maybe drums and i didn't want drums in any of my songs, so that was a bone of contention."

The majority of the songs on the album are rooted in european folk music. In the 1970's, his music would evolve to encompass pop, cabaret, and world music. Ever since about the 1980's his high baritone voice evolved into almost a bass baritone, guiding in places for synthesizers and female backing singers.

In 2008, Leonard Cohen was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame by The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed, where he was described as "the echelon of songwriters". In his speech, Cohen recited a spoken word version of his song 'Tower of Song' from his 1987 album,'I'm Your Man'.

Now, I know this is supposed to be about records and music, but since it is related to Mr. Cohen, i shall tell you a story...

In February of this year, i had the honour of watching Leonard Cohen perform live at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Needless to say, the arena was packed. The crowds had flocked to see a living legend perform his songs of love, hate and everything in between.

The show went for two hours and he performed at the top of his game. A man well into his seventies, still had that charisma to keep the whole crowd wanting more.. which explains the three or four encores.

To myself, the show felt as if, as Cohen put himself, we had "gathered on just the other side of intemacy". It was me, a young man (having turned eighteen two days before) gathering with people of different ages, gathering to watch a man who had written such beautiful lyrics, poems, and stories, that would speak to you and that you could relate to. Its hard to explain just how surreal it was to watch the composer of songs that had meant so much to me, perform those same songs. Mainly when in his final encore, the stage lights turned blue and the first chords of 'Famous Blue Raincoat' whispered from the same guitar i've watched him play in videos on youtube. It sent a shiver down my spine, and everything was perfect.

But now i'm rambling on. So on with the album details.

Track listing
All songs written by Leonard Cohen.

Side one
"Suzzane" – 3:48
"Master Song" – 5:55
"Winter Lady" – 2:15
"The Stranger Song" – 5:00
"Sisters of Mercy" – 3:32

Side two
"So Long, Marianne" – 5:38
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" – 2:55
"Stories of the Street" – 4:35
"Teachers" – 3:01
"One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" – 4:23

Bonus tracks on 2007 reissue
"Store Room" – 5:06
"Blessed Is the Memory" – 3:03

'It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper told the band to play...' - The Opening Post

This is the very first post.. obviously.

This blog is dedicated to the classic albums and bands that we all know and love, covering all types of music. Ranging from Marvin Gaye to Frank Sinatra. The Beatles to Metallica.

So let's kick the show off with the album that started The Beatles on their magical mystery tour, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.

During the early sixties a term was coined by Andi Lothian (a Scottish music promoter) that described the fan frenzy that would sweep the world and characterised the 'intense hysteria' that followed the Beatles where ever they went. It wasn't just evident at their live concerts, it also followed them in their travels, more often than not exiting a plane in front of hordes of screaming fans. This term, was 'Beatlemania'..

Beatlemania swept the world. Beginning in England, then stretching to the US after the first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Eventually, this frenzy would spell the end for the Beatles' live concerts.

It was mid-1966 when Beatlemania finally had the band beat (no pun intended). They were tired, stressed and all four had had enough. Even Paul, who was the most infavour of the band playing to live audiences agreed that it was time for it to end. So, in August 1966, the Beatles officially became a studio-only band. They were set up by EMI at the Number 2 Studio at Abbey Road and granted access to the state of the art recording equipment of the time. After a small break, in which George travelled to India and began learning the sitar, the Beatles walked into Studio 2 and began work on what many regard as 'their Magnum Opus', Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Paul McCartney came up with the main concept for the album on a plane trip back to London's Heathrow Airport with Mal Evans. The idea was for the Beatles to shed their 'young english lads' image and become something new, thus introducing themselves as the fictional sgt. peppers band. To help them appear 'new and improved', they all grew moustaches to appear older, and grew their hair longer.

The album begins with the start of a show. The singers introduce the main act, a man named Billy Shears. (who turned out to be Ringo [or the man who became Paul McCartney, depending on which side of the fence you're on.]) Ringo sang 'With A Little Help From My Friends', then the concept of this being a live concert seemed to fade away, before coming back for 'Sgt. Peppers' (reprise)' and 'A Day In The Life'.

The Recording of the album began in late 1966 and would finish in the early months of 1967. The complete record features 13 tracks, although in the early days of recording there were two other songs that were recorded but were left out after Beatles manager Brian Epstein decided they would make better singles. These tracks were 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane'. However, they would both be featured on the US LP 'Magical Mystery Tour' (which in the UK was only released as a six track EP).

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is possibly the most recognised album cover of all time. It features the Beatles standing over a garden (or grave, again depending on which side of the fence you're on when it comes to the Paul Is Dead mess) surrounded by celebrities and other well known people. Among them are; Edgar Allan Poe, Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando, Aleister Crowley (satanist), Shirley Temple and wax models of the original Beatles in their black suits. This album cover was photographed by Peter Blake, but the liner notes of the album say that the cover was designed by a 'Joe Ephgrave'. The back cover of the album broke some boundaries as well. It was the first album to feature the complete lyrics for every song on the back cover. They were printed on a sheet and hung in front of the band, then photographed. Interesting methods, eh?

A classic album that set the Beatles in the right direction. It opened them up and set them on their way to write the songs that really established themselves as great musical collaborators.

TRACKLISTING:
1. 'sgt. peppers lonely hearts club band' - 2:02
2. 'with a little help from my friends' - 2:44
3. 'lucy in the sky with diamonds' - 3:28
4. 'getting better' - 2:47
5. 'fixing a hole' - 2:36
6. 'shes leaving home' - 3:35
7. 'being for the benefit of mr. kite' - 2:37
8. 'within you without you' - 5:05
9. ' when i'm sixty four' - 2:37
10. ' lovely rita' - 2:42
11. ' good morning good morning' - 2:41
12. ' sgt peppers lonely hearts club band (reprise)' - 1:18
13. 'a day in the life' - 5:33

Thats the first album down, with many more to go. Hope you enjoyed it and we'll see you again soon.

"I'd like to say thanks on behalf of the group - and i hope we passed the audition" - John Lennon