It's My Party (1996)

A group whose distinctly ethereal and gossamer sound virtually defined the enigmatic image of the record label 4AD, Cocteau Twins were founded in Grangemouth, Scotland, in 1979. Taking their name from an obscure song from fellow Scots Simple Minds, the Cocteaus were originally formed by guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie and later rounded out by Guthrie's girlfriend Elizabeth Fraser, an utterly unique performer whose swooping, operatic vocals relied less on any recognizable language than on the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions.

The Idle Race are a beloved band of British psychedelia collectors, because the music was rare, because the band was Jeff Lynne's first significant group, and because the music was, by and large, very good. There is a bit of a relative judgment there - this is not music that stands among the very best of British pop-psych of the '60s, since it's not as innovative or consistent as the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Move, or even Tomorrow, but it's certainly among the best of the second tier, as singles like "Impostors of Life's Magazine," "Big Chief Wooly Bosher," and "Girl at the Window" illustrate. Since this band itself is a collector's item, it only makes sense for collectors to seek out EMI Premier's 1996 collection Back to the Story, which was only available for a brief period (possibly a matter of months) the year of its release…

Julie London - Julie At Home & Around Midnight
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC (tracks): 334 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: EMI # 7243 8 54542 2 6 | Country/Year: UK 1996
Genre: Jazz | Style: Vocal

"…Liberty Records' Julie…At Home finds the vocalist comfortably in front of a small jazz combo highlighted by vibraphonist Emil Richards and guitarist Al Viola. The sessions seem relaxed and casual, often with the lyrics slyly slipping from London's lips, at once sophisticated and sensual…"

Sparks' 12th album got off to the best possible start when the first single, "Cool Places," a breakneckedly breezy duet with the Go-Go's' Jane Wiedlin, spun off to become the Mael brothers' first ever Top 50 hit in their American homeland. It would also be their last, but an entire generation of new fans arose regardless to pursue the siblings through both their future convolutions and their past ones too. In Outer Space's almost ruthless distillation of all that had gone before was, then, an ideal place for them to start. Like the duo's Giorgio Moroder era, In Outer Space represented a creative rejuvenation that its immediate predecessors had scarcely dared hint at.