The Sweet Mix 12” is on my list.
And has been for years. I have to get back into it.
The steep price rises have put me off, but that doesn’t mean I can’t pick up small things like that test pressing.
I reckon JAMC would be the number one influence for that tune, with Ramones in second.
Going the other way, when I heard Ash I thought they must’ve been Ratcat fans.
Yep… especially the early stuff like Petrol and Jack Names The Planets… they were prototype Ratcat…
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I always thought this guy looked like if Henry Rollins and Morrissey had a kid.
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Listened to Ash’s first full-length album 1977 last night for the first time in quite a while. I’d forgotten what a great, energetic record that is… particularly for 3 kids barely out of school. There’s bangers all over the place, like this…
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I think the chances of that progeny happening are slim.
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That’s frickin’ hilarious
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I had the vinyl on a couple of weeks ago and felt disappointed, funnily enough. The highs are good, but the flow is upended by more than few skippable tracks along the way. I feel these days that Free All Angels makes this almost not worth going back to. They just got so much better.
Yeah, agree with that. FAA is my go-to for Ash too… to the point where I don’t often revisit the others…
I had an interesting chat last week with Nick Kennedy (drummer of Big Heavy Stuff) in Red Eye Records about their recent re-release of the Covered In Bruises EP, which has never appeared on vinyl before.
The original mix was deliberately Albini-like. Everything pushed to 11, with very loud cymbals. The fear was that mix wouldn’t translate to vinyl, which was the driver for the complete remix. Wayne Connelly’s 2025 mix has distinctly less prominent cymbals.
Ash’s 1977 was mixed by Owen Morris (who also did Oasis’ first few albums). He was known for his muddy mixes where everything blends into a wash of noise. Free All Angels was produced by Morris but mixed by Alan Moulder, and is much crisper and more wide-screen sounding. I wonder if this contributes to why 1977 may not sound great on vinyl???
Nick also said that Triple M were interested in playlisting BHS’ song May but had found it didn’t go well with the mega compression of FM transmission (because of a similarly loud washy mix). They’d requested a remix which the band’s label never went ahead with. Lost opportunity maybe?
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Yeah, it was certainly a poor mastering for vinyl. I have the CD somewhere too, so I should run it through my stereo (I haven’t got a CD player, but I guess Bluetoothing it should maintain its sound) and A/B it with the vinyl.
The Albini comparison is interesting, as his stuff is always fantastic on vinyl - loud, deep, warm/analogue-y, airy. I’m sure, like Connelly would have done, is run the levels with consideration for the lathe and what the cutting unit could handle. All technical stuff that, no matter how much I read about it, mostly goes over my head.
It’s interesting… Albini is famous for 1) recording to tape, and 2) his avoidance of compressors and limiters. I wonder if that helps with his mixes being more suitable for vinyl…
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Quilloughby ft. Lisa Simpson - Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You)
The Simpsons S31 E19 - Panic on the Streets of Springfield
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How Soon Is Now? (2008 Remaster)
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Smiths I like:
How Soon Is Now.
Please Please Please.
Pretty much all of Strangeways.
There Is A Light is okay.
That’s it.
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Total agreement here.
Maybe I only like How soon is now lol
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I heard Walk Like An Egyptian in a store the other day. Having not heard nor even thought about how it goes for years, I was quite intrigued that it kind of doesn’t have a chorus, just a quiet ring out where they state the title, and off it goes again. Pretty impressive pop song really, I dig the percussive parts in the background too.
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Stumbled across this on Tidal.
Cool bassline…
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Damn that was an epic Unplugged set, very special.