Covering a time span of over ten years, this novel follows the fortunes of the mining community of Aberfoyle near Stirling, Scotland. Receiving a letter from an old colleague, mining engineer James Starr sets off for the old Aberfoyle mine, thought to have been mined out ten years earlier. Starr finds mine overman Simon Ford and his family living in a cottage deep inside the mine; he is astonished to find that Ford has made a discovery of the presence of a large vein of coal. From the outset, mysterious and unexplained happenings start to occur around the main characters, attributed initially to goblins and firemaidens.
This 33-track overview plays like an expanded version of 1999's Under the Milky Way: The Best of the Church. The two-disc Deep in the Shallows: The Classic Singles Collection includes all of the obvious hits like "Unguarded Moment," "Under the Milky Way," "Ripple," and "Metropolis," while incorporating key tracks from the band post-1999 like "Numbers" (After Everything Now This), "Song in Space" (Forget Yourself), and "Block" (Uninvited, Like the Clouds). While the recent remasters of all of the original recordings remain the most solid recommendation for dream pop/alternative rock fans who missed the boat the first time around, this Classic Singles Collection is the perfect gateway drug.
Excellent addition to any rock music collection.
This was the first album released by the band after the departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. Many wondered at the time if the remaining half, Gouldman/Stewart, could pull off a decent album or would it be a let down.
This chronological, decades-spanning collection offers revelatory peeks at little-heard tunes as well as thrilling takes on beloved setlist staples. Reaching back to 1966, we get rare outings of folk/blues covers like "He Was a Friend of Mine" and Lead Belly's "In the Pines," while a 1978 recording from the legendary Egyptian performances at the foot of the pyramids produces a collaboration with oud master Hamza El Din on his own "Ollin Arageed."
This pair of 1963 studio sessions by Grant Green remained under wraps until issued as a part of Blue Note's limited edition Jazz Connoisseur series. The guitarist is in fine form, accompanied by organist John Patton and drummer Ben Dixon, starting with a brilliant bop rendition of the popular standard from the Broadway show Oklahoma!, "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top." The soft but intense "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," and Ray Charles' gospel flavored "This Little Girl of Mine" (an obvious reworking of "This Little Light of Mine") are also highlights.