Recent CD Purchases

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 7:42 pm

It appears that Amazon UK are slapping VAT on all CDs and DVDs. Their policy states that prices shown are inclusive of VAT, but in some cases it may be necessary to add more. Well I ordered two DVDs and a CD and they all had it, and to check I randomly put two more CDs in my basket, and they had it. The bastards! Seems to have come hand in hand with the Amazon Jersey being set up. As these take advantage of a Channel Islands tax loophole they don't carry VAT (which is why play.com and others ship from there). I cancelled an order which had £4 slapped on at the final stage, for the above three items plus the Dylan Scrapbook (Christmas present to self!) and then ordered all items via the Amazon Marketplace. Got the total order for £39 as opposed to £45! This included the Dylan book shipping from the US (with £8.45 as price, plus under £3 postage - quite a bit less than Amazon's £17.99), and, very interestingly, two items from CD-WOW that would have been £11 direct from CD-WOW's website, but were £9.75 from Amazon Marketplace, so it's well worth checking out availability there. Every penny counts!

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 4:35 pm

You'd be surprised at how flexible those are though...if you moan. Amazon US use DHL to ship overseas I think, and they charge a set rate per volume and weight, excluding any insurance (which I doubt they take up)...after that (which isn't that much) they can charge whatever they feel.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:25 pm

'Those'?

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:12 pm

I'm the latest on the Sufjan Stevens boardwagon. Fist listen, and I'm floored. Bravo.

Just got (at very, very deep discount from BMG): Dylan's Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Oh Mercy and Love and Theft SACD editions, plus Springsteen The River, Oracle and Odyssey by my beloved Zombies and a replacement for my inexplicably missing copy of Murmur by REM.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:26 pm

Go for it!

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:13 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:'Those'?

shipping...postage...even VAT...it's just someone in an office coming up with numbers...somewhat like the job I do.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 3:51 pm

Got this beauty in the mail today:

It's an early birthday present from my sis, who found it in a used record shop in LA (apparently used very gently, if at all). Includes all of Brel's major studio albums up until his death, packaged in a beautiful little red velvet box.

I love ya, Jen!

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 3:57 pm

I guess she saw it and it sang out to her, 'Ne Me Quitte Pas, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Ne Me Quitte Pas....'

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:06 pm

selfmademug wrote:I guess she saw it and it sang out to her, 'Ne Me Quitte Pas, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Ne Me Quitte Pas....'

That's a great great song. He was the first French-language singer whose voice and style really grabbed me. Never been much of a Piaf fan (too warbly for my taste). Gainsbourg's a completely different kettle of fish, but very satisfying in his own perverted way.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:15 pm

What packaging! And with a picture across the CD spines so you just have to insert them in order. Jacques Brel was a name I wanted to know all about as a Bowie-loving teen due to the covers of Amsterdam and My Death. Still ain't heard the Brel originals!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:43 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:What packaging! And with a picture across the CD spines so you just have to insert them in order. Jacques Brel was a name I wanted to know all about as a Bowie-loving teen due to the covers of Amsterdam and My Death. Still ain't heard the Brel originals!

There are a bunch of one- and two-disc greatest hits collections. You probably can't go wrong with any of them. This looks like a good overview:

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:37 pm

The complete Mercury Recordings, 1969 - 1974, my definition of awesomeness on a disc - or in this case 3 - a Christmas present for myself.

Post by **BlueChair** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:45 pm

That's a good set, Mike. Enjoy.

Here are my two early Hannukah presents:

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:10 pm

Who Shot Sam? wrote:

I'd buy it just for the cover. HOTT.

ReadyToHearTheWorst · Post by **ReadyToHearTheWorst** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:50 pm

Mike Boom wrote:

The complete Mercury Recordings, 1969 - 1974, my definition of awesomeness on a disc - or in this case 3 - a Christmas present for myself.

Wouldn't it be nice if Rod chose the Americana songbook for his next project? He could work his old magic on Detroit, Memphis, Nashville, Chicago ...

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:17 pm

It would indeed. I remember reading a while back that EC tried to get him to go back to a rougher, rockier and rollier approach but didnt have much luck. I think for guys like him and Macca , theyve already done that so well it doesnt really hold any appeal. However he could definitely do with someone helping him with a wiser song selection these days. But its a glorious collection - what he did on these early solo records and with the Faces is some of the greastest rock n roll ever made.

ReadyToHearTheWorst · Post by **ReadyToHearTheWorst** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:54 am

Rock & roll, but with a little bit of folk & country thrown in for good measure.

Word!

Post by **BlueChair** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:25 pm

Picked up the Richard Swift set as per Who Shot Sam's recommendation. Looking forward to listening to it on the long drive tomorrow.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:55 pm

BlueChair wrote:Picked up the Richard Swift set as per Who Shot Sam's recommendation. Looking forward to listening to it on the long drive tomorrow.

Good man. Hope you like it.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:14 pm

This is semi in the Christmas gifts section as it was on Christmas vouchers, but I finally, finally picked up Martha Wainwright, the new extended version, natch, with the fabulous Barbara song she blew us away with live, and two other bonus songs, and Richard Hawley Cole's Corner because even though Ocean on the Word sampler hasn't blown me away, the LP as a whole is obviously something very special and finally Kate Bush Aerial, despite my initial dissing of King of the Mountain when it first aired, some of the reviews of the LP have had me drooling for it. If it's half as good Hounds of Love, I'll be a happy man. Not bad, all with sale prices at HMV, where I wouldn't buy anything that wasn't on a sale price! Total of £29.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:17 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Richard Hawley Cole's Corner because even though Ocean on the Word sampler hasn't blown me away

There are slight differences between the single version and the album version of "The Ocean" (mainly the opening). I much prefer the album version to be honest.

BTW, I am really enjoying the Elbow! Terrific record, and it would have made my top 10 if I had heard it earlier. I've also been dipping back into Stephen Fretwell's Magpie, and it shouldn't have been omitted from my "albums I listened to a lot" list. Shame on me!

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:34 pm

Glad you're liking it. I can't praise it enough. Disappointed to see The Word didn't select it in their top 10, but there you go. They did choose Hawley, though. I had to mail them to complain my copy never arrived (though no doubt it was postie's fault, or the sorting office anyway, but it wouldn't surprise me if it shows up in 2 months as happened once with some CDs), and it came on Christmas Eve. Just as well, I was getting desperate. Very good edition, worth getting for the ME Smith interview alone, with its fabulous revelation that he spoke a few times for the James Joyce Society, about which I will have to read more, though they gave no feedback on what they made of it! And of course the Dylan stuff is great, and as ever the sampler has some lovely stuff on it.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:33 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:despite my initial dissing of King of the Mountain when it first aired, some of the reviews of the LP have had me drooling for it. If it's half as good Hounds of Love, I'll be a happy man.

Actually, it was specifically Paul Du Noyer in the Word that made me want it in my life:

'So it's a pleasure to report that Aerial is not only the best album of her career, it's also the sanest piece of work that you will hear this year. After immersing yourself in its two CDs, you emerge with a sense that every other record around is slightly off-centre and every other act is suffering from a neurosis. Aerial alone sounds wholesome and psychologically sorted. Admittedly it's the work of a soul in wonder - she's smitten with wonder at her child, the songs of birds and the colour of sunsets. But then, if you weren't struck to your core by the strange beauty of those things, you'd be the mad one, wouldn't you?'

and

'I hear a lot of records I enjoy and admire, but very few that really affect the way I feel for the rest of the day. This one does, and I cherish it.'

Could anyone resist getting a piece of that? And could anyone not agree with every word Andrew Harrison writes of Babyshambles' Down In Albion?, bellylaughing all the while:

'Fuck Forever is a miserable excuse for a song and a worse one for controversy. "They'll never play that on the radio!" Pete [Doherty] squeals in bleary delight - well of course they won't. Not because of the swearing (on today's BBC it won't be ling before Peter Sissons says "Here is the fucking news"), but because it's got no tune, nothing to say and it sounds like a tramp having an aneurysm.'

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:32 pm

I agree with that review, Ariel is a great great record. It takes a while to sink in , but once it does it reveals a world of beauty, in its own quiet , ambient, quirky way.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 9:19 am

Had a Best Buy gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, so I blew it all last night on a boatload of rockabilly, classic rock 'n roll, psychedelia and early garage: