Here we go again - nearly half way there - we've had our ups and downs and I've taken a few knocks along the road but I'm not giving up now. I remain bloody but unbowed.
Allow me, if I may, to remind you of the original premise of this series of posts; namely, to bring to your attention a number of ensembles or solo artistes who (which?) are heavily represented in the ToffeeBoy music collection but are notably under-represented on the RR A-list. The aim was to rectify this situation by bringing the artistes in question to your collective attention
To illustrate the point and at the same time to remind you of the acts selected so far, here's a list of those featured in Tasks 1-4 - the number in brackets being the number of times each act has appeared in the A-list so far:
1. Microdisney (0)
2. Everything But The Girl (2)
3. Coldplay (1)
4. Steely Dan (2)
Two of the five collective appearances have occurred in the past six months although I can't claim the credit for any of them but perhaps I'm getting somewhere with this!
For the fifth task, I've chosen Aztec Camera and I've allowed myself a little latitude by including Roddy Frame's post-1996 solo work - with the possible exception of the first two Aztec Camera albums, Aztec Camera was, to all intents and purposes, a Roddy Frame solo project anyway.
Aztec Camera burst onto the Scottish new wave scene in 1980 when Roddy Frame was just sixteen. Their first singles were released on the Postcard label in 1981 and two years later (now on Rough Trade) they released their debut album High Land, Hard Rain to huge critical acclaim - and a fair degree of commercial success. I've included three tracks from this album together with a fourth (the beautiful Orchid Girl) which appeared as a bonus track on the CD version.After the success of High Land, Hard Rain, Aztec Camera were courted by a number of major labels and eventually signed for WEA, for whom they released a further five albums. I don't think too many would disagree with me if I said that the quality of the albums steadily decreased - in fact I don't even own the fifth WEA album, nor for that matter, the first of the solo albums so there's actually a nine year gap in the story here.
There are some highlights in this period: notably the UK hit single Somewhere In My Heart which reached number 3 in the Spring of 1988, and the gentle downbeat version of Van Halen's Jump which was released as the B-Side to the single All I Need Is Everything - and let's not forget Good Morning Britain - the heavily politicised duet with Mick Jones of The Clash.
The second solo album saw a dramatic change of direction - Surf is a largely acoustic set and it's undeniably a return to songwriting form. It features the track Small World which was used as the theme tune in the brilliant UK sitcom Early Doors. This is Roddy back to his very best - over twenty years on. A genuine musical coming of age if ever there was one.The most recent solo album Western Skies was released in 2006, with two live albums bringing us almost up to date.
I always like to recommend an album but I'm going to break with tradition here and recommend two: High Land, Hard Rain and Surf.
Hope you enjoy the music - let me know what you think.A few links:
Wikipedia - Aztec Camera
Wikipedia - Roddy Frame
Fan site
Official site
Roddy's MySpace page
