Sleevenotes – March’s vinyl news
A quick round-up of a few more obscure titles due to hit the shelves in coming weeks.
Tapete Records have scheduled Sophisticated Boom Boom‘s self-titled – and only – album, originally released in 1982 via Off Course Records. Not to be confused with the Scottish band of the same name, the Swiss Sophisticated Boom Boom transported the Brill Building/Red Bird/girl group sound from the sixties into the new wave. Some members went on to become C86/power pop band Chin Chin and released a compilation on Stephen Pastel’s 53rd & 3rd label.
Paranoia‘s Shattered Glass, originally released in 1984, will hit the racks again courtesy Radiation Records. Drifting between punk, post punk, and goth, Stoke-on-Trent’s Paranoia rose from the ashes of politically-oriented protest group, Civil Defence. With the Brereton Brothers on drums and guitar, and bassist Mick Edgington and his wife Jan on vocals, the group had an intimacy not often encountered in punk, their outlook and northern location bringing them onto Riot Squad’s Rot Records for this sole LP.
Originally released by Victory Music in 1991, Tin Machine II was the second and final studio album by Tin Machine. Tin Machine II comes as an edition of 5000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear/turquoise mixed vinyl and includes an insert.
Bang! Records present a reissue of the Fuzztones‘ Horny As Hell, originally released in 2008. Horny As Hell was produced by the leader and sole survivor of the original Fuzztones line-up Rudi Protrudi and Berlin keyboardist Lana Loveland. On this album, The Fuzztones keep their fuzz spreading, although this time they are accompanied by a wind section that reinforces the wildest side of their sound. A remastered edition of 600.
Jackpot Records have a series of Martin Denny‘s re-issues all lined up for 1 April. Exotica Volume II was follow-up to the original Exotica originally released in mono in 1957 — mere weeks after the first Exotica album kick-started the new lounge craze. Exotica Volume II further demonstrated Denny’s unique imagination as both a musician and an entertainer. Jackpot Records’ limited edition reissue of Exotica Volume II is pressed on tropical green color vinyl, and brings Denny’s unique space age twist on Pan-Asian and Polynesian music direct to your stereo. With featured tracks like ‘Singing Bamboos’, ‘Rush Hour in Hong Kong’, and ‘Soshu Night Serenade’, Exotica Volume II is equally fitting as a breezy lounge listen or to set the mood for your very own tiki bar cocktail hour.”
1958’s Primitiva is reissued limited edition ocean blue color vinyl. This third outing from the father of exotica shines in style with stand-out tracks like ‘Burma Train’, ‘M’Gambo Mambo’, and ‘Jamaica Farewell’ spanning from the Caribbean coast, to the South Pacific islands, and beyond. Pairing perfectly with beachside Mai Tais and ornamental umbrellas, Primitiva is a hallmark of the mid-century’s lounge music fascination, and is replete with animal cries, pulsing percussion, and enough groovy goodness to keep it a mainstay of your rotation.
Afro-Desia showcases Denny’s delve into the sounds and rhythms of the African continent. Pressed on flame-orange color vinyl, Afro-Desia‘s twelve tracks burn bright and bring the groove with a chorus of marimbas, timbales, congas, and the sounds of the safari itself. Featuring eclectic and atmospheric tracks like ‘Simba’, ‘Aku Aku’, and ‘Jungle Drums’, this record, originally released in 1959, marks the end of Martin Denny’s ’50s experimentalism before his move into more conventional cocktail jazz.
