It was a non-blogging kind of weekend, so here's a double shot of MP3...
A couple of late-80s chestnuts today - Austin TX's Reivers and from the UK, Microdisney.
Saturday was a favorite of mine when it was released in 1987. It eventually found its way to CD, but was long out of print when it was rescued by Dualtone and rereleased, along with their followup CD End of the day. No word on if their final CD, Pop beloved (which I had forgotten about) or their first LP, Translate slowly, first released under their original name, Zeitgeist, will ever come back into print. In the meantime, here's "Wait for time" from Saturday.
Microdisney was another producer of obscure gems. I first discovered them through their 1985 LP The clock comes down the stairs. They made a short-lived leap to the majors with 1987's Crooked mile (on Virgin, back when they were signing anyone and everyone - without good results. Remember T'Pau? The Other Ones? [Not the Grateful Dead offshoot.] Johnny Hates Jazz? Balaam and the Angel? When In Rome? How about The Railway Children?). Microdisney's final LP, 39 minutes, never got released in the US. All that remains is Big sleeping house, a collection of their work for Virgin (and surprisingly, a few songs from before then). All their music previous to that is long gone. Cathal Coughlan went on to form The Fatima Mansions, who were about as successful. He has been recording under his own name recently.
Here is the only Microdisney fan site in existence.
Microdisney's Sean O'Hagan went on from MD to join Stereolab, and then it was on to form The High Llamas, who are pretty good as well.
Here is "Big sleeping house" from Crooked mile. (I actually prefer "Town to town" but it refuses to rip properly.)
You have to wonder if these bands would have done better under today's conditions. There was no way to get a following in the 1980s without major-label support and lots of press. Today, you could at least find a niche and work with it through the Internet.
(files removed Feb 25)
Dude, that's insane!
The Reivers was one of my favorite bands when I was in college! It was another band I thought I was about the only person in the world had even ever heard of.
Fucking John Croslin was a poet and a half!
Secretariat? The gorgeous "Saturday"? "What Am I Doing?
Star Telegram???
All in the basement in big cardboard sleeves.
A great band, from a great time--when Austin didn't have such an ugly connotation...
The Reivers! Big as the house you grew up in, tall as the clear July sky...
Posted by: ricky | 2005.02.04 at 00:21