gillespie

hey there


as i sit to compose this for your benefit a particular memory, look you see, comes to mind. a compliment, no less. it requires a bit of background, i suppose, in particular for them f*****g "millennials" that have instant access to absolutely everything and yet demand more. bear with me, then, we will get to the point of this post eventually.


once upon a time the record industry had total dominance over how, and to an extent when, you could access music. a result of this was that, seemingly for fun, record labels often made some releases "exclusive" to certain countries. which pretty much, if you will excuse some more foul language, f****d over fans of artists not in that particular country, as there was no such thing as "downloads" or "streaming". we did, however, have classifieds in music magazines.

a Derek Bowie single got released back in 91, maybe 92, on CD. it was for some reason made a USA only release. whilst this made a very, very nice change from something being a Japan only release, it was still of not much use to us who lived more in England than the USA. thanks to the classified section of the music press, however (note - f*****g "millennials, read "classified section of music press" as either "eBay" or "illegal download site"), i was able to order and get the CD single. and yes, i still have it.

a friend then, and presumably a friend now for i recall no fallout of fracas, said that doing this was an example of "what they liked about me". when i asked for clarification, they said that it was just that when i wanted to do or get something, i just did it.

i found that, and still do i suppose, somewhat flattering and quite possibly a slight misinterpretation of my proclivity for impulse buying. it would also suggest that i am perhaps more focused and driven than i kind of think i am, or am not.

i leave the above, and the interpretations, to you to resolve how they relate to my purchase of this CD which you can see somewhere around this text.

should for some reason you not be able to work out what the CD is that i purchased, partially i shall confess on a whim, from the high definition Commodore 64 mode image, then known that non-Commodore 64 mode pictures lurk in this blog. if you are in a rush, however, i can advise you that it is a compilation which Bobby Gillespie has put together, or if you like curated, called Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down. and yeah, if you click on the title of the compilation you get taken to the record label what has wisely released it, allowing you to buy it directly off of them.

yes, that Bobby Gillespie. him off of Primal Scream. him who got banned off of the BBC for dropping out of an appearance at the last minute because they were going to fly him in via Luton and he declared that Luton was not "rock and roll enough". him who for some reason was felt to be someone that could be a calming influence on Dave Gahan and so was called in to "babysit" him and oversaw Gahan's behaviour move from eccentric and a little bit rock and roll to an awful lot of insane, Keith Moon by way of Harry Nilsson rock and roll.

i became aware of the fact that this compilation, or if you like mixtape, existed by pure chance. these days the NME website focuses very heavily on Adele, Star Wars and what Noel Gallagher thinks of Adele and Star Wars. for about three minutes they ran a story on this set. i took note of it, then, and decided to make it my ambition, or if you like driven focus, to order it.

what's the story of it? basically it seems that Bobby Gillespie (as clarified, yes, that Bobby Gillespie) was invited to put together a thematic compilation. the theme which Bobby selected was along the lines of things that he thought he might quite like to listen to on a Sunday morning whilst coming down from being absolutely smashed on any substance which took his fancy over the course of the three, four or five days which, as it were, happened prior to the Sunday.

what, in my imagination, is it like to go out on the lash with Bobby Gillespie? let me evoke memories of the above points and refer you to this interview with Dave Gahan after Bobby Gillespie was introduced to him as some sort of minder or potential good influence. the bits around the 1.24 mark in particular.  in short, i would suggest that going out on the lash with Bobby Gillespie is "intense" to a certain degree, and most certainly interesting.

the music he has selected for coming down, or if you like comin' down, from such a lash adventure is, then, rather on the psychedelic side of psychedelia. epic, in other words. a snippet of the first track? surely.

please, i urge you, don't get the wrong angle on my above comments. i love all that Mr Gillespie and Mr Gahan do; i just wished that in the case of the latter that the excesses were never to the excess that they were. and what happened wasn't Mr Gillespie's fault, it's just baffling that the management and PR people off of Depeche Mode somehow identified Bobby Gillespie as a possible calming influence.

an image of the CD box stood on top of the CD player in Commodore 64 mode? sure, especially as it shows off the smart Lager Of Lamot bar towel that Sharpie, or if you like Sharpy, got me. 

whenever an artist puts their name to a compilation there is always the danger that they had little or nothing to do with the track selection. this is particularly true when it comes to those CDs that they give away with magazines, where the tracklisting is less what someone selected, more what was cheap or free to license and use on the disc. this is clearly not what happened here.

the hands and the ears of Bobby Gillespie were very much what made this CD, as shown off in the magnificent booklet that comes with the disc. Bobby gives his thoughts and musings on each track included, and as you can see there are some absolutely boss images of the original 7" single sleeves and faces.

 

Bobby Gillespie, as my fellow fans will know, is a highly articulate gent. as a consequence, the linear notes in the booklet are insightful and interesting. they are, if you like, far more involved than, say, "i picked this song because it sounds ace when you are smashed".

the full tracklisting is something you can see here, which you are going to click on to order anyway, as everyone needs this compilation in their life.  even, and i can scarcely believe i am saying this, the Ronnie Wood solo track selected is smart.

another snippet? sure, with the regret that alas there is no capacity to make videos with the Commodore 64 mode thing switched on.

there is a shiny, new and still (alas) Mani-free Primal Scream album on the way in March of 2016, oddly just two months after the next Derek Bowie recording hits us. in the mean time this compilation, along with funnily enough a spot of Depeche Mode, shall be a most splendid soundtrack.

i give my full on total endorsement to this compilation. my only regret is that i cannot justify purchasing the vinyl version of it due to the lack of my stag being set up in its new home. in whatever format you get this, just get it, man, and dig. let the coolness of it be soaked up through your vertebrae and sink through your soul.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!