Record Haul - April 2022

[@maxlangevelt8995]

Really excited for the Invention of Knowledge! Awesome album with a lot of heavenly Jon Anderson!

[@samstjohn1994]

Scarecrow by John Mellencamp is great, right up my alley! Hope you're well my friend!

[@JimNewstead]

Hey Sam! I’m good thanks, hope you are too!

[@relativetimeworx8459]

For me, the Marillion trio of Brave | Afraid of Sunlight | This Strange Engine captures the bands zenith - there is great material before and after, but this set absolutely radiates. Marillion rarely toured the US in the 90s, but I was able to catch them every time they did... including a tour prior to the release of This Strange Engine where they debuted "Man of a Thousand Faces" before anyone had heard it. The song and the rendition were absolutely fabulous. One of my top concert moments ever - in the intimate setting of the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philly.

[@Cloud-wp9wc]

The Roches (pron Roaches, as in the disgusting insects) will delight your ears more than you can presently imagine. Maggie, Terry and Suzzy have coloured my ears and mind for the better since this debut album was released. Hope you enjoy. The Puscifer album is awesome too.

[@theanunnaki334]

Looking forward to the moody blues. Amazing album that. :)

[@parshakamarsh]

Nice to see that copy of "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" Jim, I'm sure you'll like it. Another superb album by Caravan is "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night". I've been with your channel for quite a while now, and from what I've seen of your musical tastes I'm sure you'll love it. Highly recommended 👍🏼

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks Andrew. I’m looking forward to hearing it soon!

[@MaraxisArcanist]

Some interesting finds this month! I'm anticipating your reaction to Puscifer, of course! You should have had one more album on Friday, but Royal Mail routed it wrong. I just got notification today of it being redirected to the correct path. It started in the UK so should have been a no-brainer, but evidently I'm cursed. 🤣 I always enjoyed The Police and some of Mellencamp is good as well.

[@JimNewstead]

I’m excited for all of it to be honest! Dude, looking forward to the post 😁👍🏼

[@jeffschielka7845]

Hey Jim! Always nice to get some new music. Some good ones there. The Jon Anderson I purchased when it was released. Looking forward to you playing it on the channel. Days of Future Past by the Moody Blues is a complete masterpiece. Must be listened to in its entirety. I'm sure Pam will have more to say about it. See you soon Jim!😎

[@JimNewstead]

Oh yes, I'm sure she will!

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@JimNewstead 😎

[@IllumeEltanin]

I jumped in to comments before watching the video. At this point I can already say... woo-HOO!!

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@IllumeEltanin 😎

[@TheProgCorner]

Yay!!! I love vinyl. And Marillion!!!

[@JimNewstead]

I know you do!

[@susangonsalves9636]

If you can find it, the Jon Anderson/Jean Luc Ponty collaboration "Better Late than Never," is worth a listen. (Saw the tour in Boston and it was great too!)

[@jeffschielka7845]

Excellent album and tour!😎

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll try to look out for it!

[@JonPickles]

Ive also bought the Steven Wilson book and waiting to complete a pile before i get around to it. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Afraid of Sunlight

[@6lillium]

Nice haul . Can't wait for your reaction to Days Of Future Past. Very important record ( and crucial to my musical upbringing). The Lonesome Jubilee and Scarecrow are wonderful albums ( JCM doesn't really make any bad ones). I was hoping you'd get a chance to hear it after I recommended it several months ago ( on a JIM day...." Check It Out" and " Cherry Bomb" are American treasures).

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks Karl - got a lot to get through!!!

[@ickelpete]

Looking Forward to Marillion Afraid Of Sunlight one of my favourite albums!!

[@melvinwomack3717]

Great find 😀 In the land of grey and pink

[@JimNewstead]

Excited for it!

[@parshakamarsh]

@@JimNewstead" For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night" is another great album by Caravan. Quite different to The Land of Grey and Pink, but absolutely superb and well worth a listen

[@melvinwomack3717]

@@parshakamarsh hell yeah it is 😏 The dog the dog he's at it again 😏C'thlu Thlu, Be Alright / Chance of a Lifetime and ,L'auberge du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We... (reprise)

[@parshakamarsh]

@@melvinwomack3717 I hope he sees the comment 😊

[@melvinwomack3717]

@@JimNewstead I feel like caravan are the Steely Dan of Prog with Thier cheeky lyrics and superb musicianship

[@murdockreviews]

Love The Police - pretty much for the same reasons as you, Jim.

[@palantir135]

Christmas again part three 😇 Afraid of sunlight is a favorite Marillion album with Steve as singer. Oxygene was my first Jarre album. Got both Police albums; love the song Invisible sun. Caravan - In the land of grey and Pink; I love it, so good.

[@IllumeEltanin]

Oh. My. Stars... Oxygène is in this as well? Looking forward to seeing what Jim says about it when he reveals it, as I was under the impression he already knew Jarre's discography.

[@JimNewstead]

It’s Christmas every day, if you look for the small gifts everywhere 😌

[@mackymintle7806]

Let’s see what you got!

[@realbser1956]

Days of Future Passed, counting the days to that one Jim. Not enough superlatives in the dictionary for that album. On the other hand, John Mellencamp, he’s either loved or hated, not much room in the middle where he’s concerned. Looking forward to hearing these in due course.

[@JimNewstead]

Coolio…. Where do you sit on the Mellencamp fence?

[@realbser1956]

@@JimNewstead I’m not a hater, his sound reflected the times he was popular in. Some decent songs, reflecting life in the US, love, etc. Some wanted to say he was another Bob Dylan. If I hear him on the radio, I might listen for a minute or two but then move on. His hits were and still are played way too much on the radio and in TV ads. I may be in the minority but to be fair I never owned any of his albums so there may be more to him than I know of. 😀✌️

[@IllumeEltanin]

Yes, I am most excited about Days of Future Passed, Oxygène and Invention of Knowledge. I see you do already know Oxygène, so while I'll look forward to listening to it with you, if you would rather get to new-to-you stuff first, I'm good with that. Invention of Knowledge is a nice listen. Again, Anderson is more in airy faerie mode lyrically, but I do feel it works quite nicely with what Stolt brings. Days of Future Passed! Huzzah!! Yes, DoFP is the second Moody Blues album. However, their first album, The Magnificent Moodies, is usually not considered part of The Magnificent Seven albums by them. Neither Justin Hayward nor John Lodge were yet members of the group. Instead, their guitarist was Denny Lane, who moved on to Wings with McCartney, and their bassist was Clint Warwick. The one known single from The Magnificent Moodies is called Go Now. The entire album is a very different sound from DoFP onward. I know when I say to do their albums in order, I'm totally disregarding The Magnificent Moodies. I believe it is perfectly fine to start with DoFP. Similar to starting one's Yes journey with The Yes Album and going forward from there. Once invested in the classic period of Yes, one should go back and give Yes and Time and A Word a listen. But, I don't feel they are essential to start with them. In my opinion, start you Moody Blues journey with DoFP and do the Magnificent Seven in order through Seventh Sojourn. You could even do Octave, the eighth studio album starting with DOFP. Then, go back and listen to The Magnificent Moodies, or move in to their more poppy '80s period. It's all good. DoFP may take you a little bit by surprise on first listen. Do you want some background so you know a little of what to expect? Or do you want to go in cold? I will say its soundscape is different from any of their other albums, but for very interesting reasons. And their sound on subsequent albums did build off of DoFP. But I don't think they ever replicated the same soundscape.

[@jeffschielka7845]

Well said Pam, as I knew you would. Was I right Jim? Lol!😎

[@JimNewstead]

You’re not wrong Jeff!

[@JimNewstead]

Ok Pam, thanks so much for the enthusiastic “liner notes”! That’s actually gives me a great idea…. Alternative liner notes for existing albums! Now there’s a blog if there ever was one!

[@IllumeEltanin]

But, you didn't answer my question on if you want some background information for Days of Future Passed, or if you want to do a first listen cold,@@JimNewstead .

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@JimNewstead 😎

[@2wayplebney]

Puscifer is excellent and mad, The Roches are excellent, John Mellencamp became great after he stopped playing rawk music. The Moodies are great, largely thanks to Justin Hayward. Jon Anderson is always worth hearing. Happy listening to this quality stuff. Oh, yes, Land of Grey and Pink is super.

[@JimNewstead]

I like excellent and mad! Sounds like the inside of my brain half the time!!!! So does the land of grey and pink…. 🤪

[@paulkitson390]

Hi Jim, excellent video as usual. Out of interest (and nosiness), how is the set-up in the background actually 'set-up' and what does it comprise of?

[@tombrownson6470]

Big request for Afraid of Sunlight please Jim!

[@atlanteanlost]

Although Days of Future Past isn't technically the Moody Blues first album, it is generally considered their first album in relation to the main band lineup and their change to progressive rock. Their Magnificent Moodies album is mid-60s pop and not a reflection of their progressive career starting with Days of Future Past, so basically ignore Magnificent Moodies. I have all their albums Children's Children is my favourite.

[@richardm6985]

Ohh puscifer, mallard, looking forward to that, despite being a huge fan of tool and APC I've yet to really listen through that.. The Roches [sic] should be good, some of that great Irish singing I believe... Definitely want to know more about The Police... I've tried to get into synchronicity many times but just wasn't in the right frame of mind.. ... Not much to say on the other ones, but definitely want to hear a few of them!

[@richardm6985]

If you're interested in punk, I might recommend "In On The Kill Taker" by Fugazi... Of course your video reacting to an album called Fugazi made me first think of it, but yeah if you're interested in exploring that genre I think Fugazi are a pretty darn high watermark, musically and ... Politically? Yeah

[@richardm6985]

One final thought, just saying, I know you already have The Ladder by Yes, and I've said already that I like that one, just saying that I really can't wait to hear/see how you react to the first few minutes of the opening track.. can't wait!

[@WooBino.]

Hey Jim, Drinking my morning coffee with headphones on. 🙂 I'd start with Scarecrow before Lonesome as that was the release order, quite the departure from my Yes roots but great music is great music. As I got older the storytelling got more important and Mellencamp tells some of the best stories in music. Looking forward to these. Walt

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks Walt - looking forward to it!

[@ericanderson8886]

Like that Roches one. Very quirky, funny lyrics in their songs.

[@sidecardog5244]

If you like Americana, try James Mcmurtry. Probably the best lyricist over the past twenty years. More popular in Europe than over here. Try the song The Lights of Cheyenne from the album Live in Aught Three. Ps, CD's? Any chance you'll be listening to V? At least the epics, At the End of the Day and The Great Nothing. Reminds me of Transatlantic's SMPTe.

[@JimNewstead]

Yup - I've got V on CD - I probably should get round to checking it out!

[@alanwaine4186]

Good haul. The Stolt Anderson should have been a stellar album but I was very disappointed in it. You may love it though ! It's far too wordy and not enough interesting music. As a recommendation, if you haven't heard it, try the new Ghost album "Impera". It's full of quality songwriting and musicianship and features Fredrik Akersson from Opeth too

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks for the info - I'll give it a fair shot.

[@phishpot]

Hi Jim - just chilling while watching the video, but I'm jumping in part way to warn you about the PVC sleeve that Ghost In The Machine is currently sitting in. PVC sleeves are bad for vinyl discs because of the phenomenon known as "off gassing". The PVC sleeve interacts with the disc, causing the surface of the disc to get fogged up, and can be permanent if not dealt with. I noticed that the sleeve has already gone sticky and wrinkly. Ditch any PVC sleeves you have, and swap them for polythene (aka HDPE) sleeves.

[@JimNewstead]

Yikes!!!!! Thanks - it's how it arrived.

[@Zachenben]

Lonesome Jubilee is a cracker Album by John Cougar Mellencamp, "check it out". (pun intended) lol

[@daffyrwt]

Jim, had you lived in Indiana for any amount of time, you wouldn't have trouble with knowing about Mellencamp. People go crazy for him here since he's from Indiana. Personally I don't get it, even after living here for nearly 25 years.

[@nathanaelcole8466]

Johnny Cougar! Not my style but he is from my home state so he is/was a big deal around here.

[@richardm6985]

Newstead Towers haha

[@MisterWondrous]

Please share what you glean from the publications as well as the music, if you could. The prog of time is a 4-D fractal of infinite complexity and beauty. The Roches are a treasure of rare delight. I hope their song "Everyone is Good" is on that album. kzbin.info/www/bejne/laWnk4N8ZZyUoac They have a unique sound, to me not unlike the voices in Delibes' "Lakshmi/Flower Duet", but closer in tone, even teasing dissonance, but achieving an effect that Fripp apparently thought was meant to be. It became their signature. They have used it to great comedic effect as well. Maggie Roche died sadly in 2017.

[@JimNewstead]

I'll try to share some insights from the book and magazine! That song isn't on this particular record, but if I like it, I'll try to find more from them. I like fractals! And chaos :)

[@gabiesiren]

Hello Jim, how are you? your mystery box is on its slow way to you, I sent it by plane but one never knows how long it can take, I would ask a favor of you, as I put many many stamps on the box, could you either donate the stamps to a local stamp collector or send them back to me, please? you'll see, there are "many" stamps on the box, very colorful. And I suggest that you start with Jon Anderson-Stolt record because Jon is my favorite singer !

[@JimNewstead]

Hi Gabie! Thank you so very much, I’m excited and intrigued in equal measure! I’ll look out for it at the end of the week or early next 🤞. You are very generous! The Jon Anderson/Roine Stolt video will be coming soon 👍🏼 but probably not the next one I do. I’ll try to preserve the stamps and forward them to someone who would appreciate them. 👍🏼😁

[@gabiesiren]

@@JimNewstead I love to share canadian "things" with my foreign friends, and it's always fun to open boxes, it feels like Christmas ! and I'd rather send you things you can touch than virtual money !

[@runscoot4596]

echo what you say about the police

[@paulkitson390]

Hi Jim, excellent video as usual. Out of interest (and nosiness), how is the set-up in the background actually 'set-up' and what does it comprise of?

[@JimNewstead]

I tell you what. Rather than talk on a comment, I’ll do a video to explain my music gear. But basically, there is a big audio interface that supports 16 channels into the computer, there is an old Akai sampler, some desk top monitor speakers, a 6 year old iMac maxed out with memory, a second display, a Rode Procaster mic, then 3 rack mount synths (Roland x2 and an old Emu), a MIDI controller keyboard, a Behringer x control which is hands on control for Logic Pro, there’s an iPad as another controller for Logic, various guitar, drums, percussion, other mics, etc….. Then there’s the camera and lights for making videos. Oh….. I might have talked about everything now!

[@paulkitson390]

@@JimNewstead - A video would be splendid Jim! - On a more general note, I really have to commend you on the scope of music you review - as it should be, some you love, some you dont and some, really, that shouldnt have been recorded in the 1st place! I have to admit, and I cant lie, that I cant see any record surpassing the latest Marillion album for many years to come. Take care mate