Agility:leo M. Tilman

This is a stupendously good recording of a notoriously troublesome instrument to realistically and authentically capture and project. It positions the listener's perspective in front of the keyboard, with the higher treble strings emanating from the right speaker, the lower bass strings from the left, and the mid range right down the middle. And if you play it loud enough, you can feel the vibrations from the lowest bass strings rumble through the floorboards. The instrument used in this recording is a 1981 two-manual harpsichord based on 18th century French models, built by Tilman Skowroneck's father, Martin Skowroneck. If it's anything like his other instruments, it's built using bird quill and beryllium copper strings instead of brass. It's blessed with a full-bodied and resonant sound, far removed from the sonic characteristics of "plinky" and metallic sounding harpsichords.

From the start of their recording career, Athens, Georgia's finest have been a fertile source of cover tunes, non-album B-sides and alternate versions. This limited-edition collection compiles a baker's dozen of rarities and oddities, including the band's readings of Pylon's "Crazy," Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic," the Floyd Cramer instrumental "Last Date," and the gospel number "Tired of Singing Trouble," plus a variety of alternate mixes and live versions. Rounding out the set are a pair of ramshackle acoustic numbers from the soundtrack of the documentary Athens GA, Inside Out, "Swan Swan H" and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream." Although a couple of tracks overlap the band's 1987 rarities package Dead Letter Office, In the Attic is a handy adjunct to R.E.M.'s album catalog.

This 1991 tribute album reveals the broad range of Cohen's talent as composer in its dazzling variety of voices and styles. Following the prayer Who By Fire by House of Love, Ian McCulloch soars through Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye, adding his own melancholy twist to the song's sublime sadness; The Pixies storm through I Can't Forget at their characteristic fast pace, whilst That Petrol Emotion poignantly render Stories Of The Street and James perform a meandering but moving So Long Marianne. Stephen Duffy of The Lilac Time gently caresses Bird On A Wire, followed by the Ugandan singer Geoffrey Oryema whose Suzanne, embellished by flute and a trio of guitars, fades out on a click-filled chorus. Quite brutal is David McComb's exploration of the sleazy Don't Go Home With Your Hard-on which shakes, rattles and rolls along with the best of the psychotic beats, while Dead Famous People, produced by Serge Gainsbourg, make a surprising success of a bubblegum singalong rendition of True Love Leaves No Traces. The star of the show is John Cale as he paints a truly great soundscape with only voice and piano in Hallelujah, a classic which would have remained buried in Cohen's own rather monotone version.

REM Automatic For The People (2017 UK 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 3-CD box set comprising a 12-track remastered CD of the album, a 13-track live CD recorded at the 40 Watt Club on 19th November 1992 and 20-track DemosCD plus bonus track Photograph [featuring Natalie Merchant].