Phil Manzanera 801 Listen Now! - Vinyl Obscurities Vol 1

[@bent2]

It's very rewarding diving into the music world and discover these kind of albums. The title track and Islands are the clear standouts for me. Great 👍

[@ThePressingMatters]

I'm so glad you like this unusual album. Really very unique. Sounds nice too!

[@robertmorgan9205]

I went to a record show in Manchester last weekend and found a pristine copy and I’m really liking it.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Awesome! Nothing quite like it.

[@shame69]

Discogs sent me here! The lyricist on the album - I. MacCormick - was better known under his pen name of Ian MacDonald who at that time was an editor for the New Musical Express (NME) and was later the author of the book analysing the Beatles' recorded output, 'Revolution In The Head'. Philip Castle, the sleeve artist, was also responsible for graphics for the Stanley Kubrick films 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'Full Metal Jacket', and the 'Lennon Remembers' book of the 1970 'Rolling Stone' magazine interviews. As for the album itself: Thanks for reminding me I had a copy. I gave it a blast and it sounds absolutely gorgeous and fresh. Doesn't seem dated-sounding.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you for all that great information! That's so cool of you to bring it here to us.

[@garagegeek4863]

Great idea for a series. You’ve convinced me to listen to this immediately. Another great video.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you for watching! I have another great one in the pipeline, should be out soon!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Please let me know your reaction to the music once you've heard it!

[@taralewis9916]

I love Phil Manzanera 801 Live. I have my original copy from the late 70's.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I no longer have mine unfortunately and I know many people feel it's a better record than this, but I love this production. Anything with Phil is ok in my book! Nice to hear from you Tara.

[@taralewis9916]

@@ThePressingMatters Hi Scott, I've got an obscure band for you: Nektar, from that same era. I've hung on to a lot of these crazy LP's from the past but out of all of them, The Band Budgie is my favorite. Hands down

[@ThePressingMatters]

I did have one Nektar album back in the day, I forget which one it was. I have heard of Budgie of course but never have heard them. Progressive rock has so many places to explore. I will try to find some interesting relic in my collection for another video.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@taralewis9916 Tara, do you like Gentle Giant? I think I have a copy of Octopus that I'd consider reviewing.

[@sidesup8286]

@@ThePressingMatters I have all the early Gentle Giant albums. A lot of people try to initiate themselves to the group by buying the album with the big balding fat man face on it. Which to some people is like their symbol or something. That is actually one of their worst albums musically. The one with the picture of the King on the playing card is their most accessible album I think. It's real good. Octupus is audiophile quality about if you have the U.K. pressing. The U.K. pressing has a big red octopus on it. The U.S. pressing as I recall has an octopus in a jar. Almost never the US pressing equaling UK pressings. So much of our best music comes from that creative little isle. Try The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon by Sopwith Camel lp. It will blow your mind and probably by the 3rd listen, it will become a quick favorite. Hatfield From The North, self titles is hearable on KZbin in its entirety. Very progressive instrumentally. Wacky good on the instrumental parts. Half my collection around is obscure.

[@robertmorgan9205]

I’ll be looking out for a copy of this one and I like the idea of this new series of obscurities.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Robert! If you check out the streaming try to program out the extra tracks. The original sequence is perfect and those extra cuts dilute the overall impact. I can easily recommend the IK Polydor, but I discovered there is a later EG reissue that might be good too. Glad you like this idea for a series! A second one is coming soon.

[@robertmorgan9205]

@@ThePressingMatters thanks for the advice, I’ll be having a listen over the weekend.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@robertmorgan9205 Cool, can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!

[@robertmorgan9205]

@@ThePressingMatters Hi Scott. I’ve listened to the album and liked it. Your description of it was spot-on I must say and so because of that it wasn’t anything unexpected. I wouldn’t pay full price for the album but if I see it for a reasonable price anywhere then I’ll grab it.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Well, these off the radar albums might not be for everyone's taste, but I'm glad my description was pretty accurate, though I'm sorry it took away the element of surprise! Thanks for responding with your comments! New entry up tomorrow!

[@Loggiebeat]

Great video I have to say 👍🎶 I really love that album. I bought it back in 1977 at my local record store. At that time I had a habit of looking for artists/albums by looking at the cover art. Really loved that cover and had a listen. Both art and music are great 😁. Your video made me play the album again and I will be checking out his other albums. so far I only have 3 from his 70's period. I just noticed and album he did with John Wetton (from the band "UK" ..... if you don't know them you might have a listen). Manzanera sure did made some albums with very interesting musicians. Looking forward to the next album in your "Obscurities" series!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Glad you found this video! I did the same - I couldn't resist the album cover art, and with some knowledge of its pedigree I bought it unheard. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement! I really like the idea of bringing attention to albums that are a bit under the radar. It will be great to get your perspective on these gems. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you so much for your support of the fundraiser! I really appreciate your encouragement and look forward to creating the best content I possibly can!

[@Loggiebeat]

@@ThePressingMatters Your welcome! For me it is interesting to see people that post "under the radar" albums as it might bring something new to my attention.

[@Loggiebeat]

@@ThePressingMatters You're welcome 👍

[@ThePressingMatters]

I've got the second title ready for release. Maybe coming out on Sunday. Hope it's something new to you!

[@brucekives2194]

801 is an abbreviation for Eno. Eight Nought One is E.N.O.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I had no idea! Thanks!

[@trevorbartram5473]

Obscure albums? Nobody here has mentioned Phil Manzanera's first album Mainstream from the band Quiet Sun. I believe if you like 801 you'll enjoy Quiet Sun. I have the Expression CD. Highly recommended.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Trev! I didn't know of that album! I'll check it out if possible! I'm using the term relatively loosely. Of course there are fans who will know every album I choose.

[@trevorbartram5473]

Glad I was able to clue you in. During the CD era every now & again I would rack my brain to remember albums I'd heard as LP (I had a friend a couple years older than me with disposable income) & then search out CD versions! These days I rely on YT & excellent channels like yours for influences, keep 'em coming!!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Trevor, I just found Mainstream on Spotify! I have never seen that album in my life! It's pretty darn obscure! Definitely more out there but many interesting things going on. A surprising release for sure! Thanks!

[@sidesup8286]

Obscure albums...that is a great idea Scott. I think we all have many in our collections. Ones where we liked the cover and it was inexpensive enough to try it and experiment; maybe in an attempt to save a nothing day at the flea market. Ones where we heard something from the artist played on the radio that captured our attention and imagination, and they happened to mentioned the artists name etc. Which brings up an interesting question. People aren't listening to radio as much. Are we being exposed to more new artists and good music on the internet than we were on FM? The creativity has gone downhill so much so, that perhaps that isn't a fair question. Speaking of FM, I had a Luxman tuner whose dial hasn't lit up for years, even though the tuner plays well. I had it lying on the carpet on its side to save room. It tipped over. I turned it on to see if it still worked. It did and the dial lights after being out for years, are on again. Don't try this at home; it was probably only a fluke. But who knows??? I took a look at the current issue of Stereophile at Barnes & Noble. What a great library! Such comfortable seating, such current material, and you can actually buy the books and magazines, if you get an inkling. If this issue is representative; they have really eliminated any consideration of audio consumers with under $1,500 budgets. Only a half dozen equip.reviews. Except for a $3,200 small speaker, everything else reviewed was around $5,000 to $106,000. Mobile Fidelity only had ads for their audio equipment not their records; Acoustic Sounds was entirely absent from it's advertising pages. As was the mail order place that was always in there for years and years with double page full color ads, advertising cartidges, accessories and records.There must be enough rich people out there to keep high end audio going. It's anyone's guess as to if it is going strong, but it is still going. With higher prices, even the magazine itself is a nickel short of $9. If someone stopped buying an issue a month for one whole year, they'd have enough for a new record clamp. Or would they?

[@ThePressingMatters]

Not a mpingo special!

[@sidesup8286]

@@ThePressingMatters Shun Mook was the company that made Mpingo wood products for audio; in Africa, it is known as magic musical wood. It has resonances that somehow are so in sympathy with musical vibrations. Bassoons, clarinets and oboes are often made of the wood; most of which comes from Mozambique. It is rare and is either on or close to being on the endangered list; and that means there are limitations on how much can be harvested. It's hard to get pieces the right size and weight and you can ruin cutting equipment trying to cut it. It's so dense it is almost like cutting into metal. I don't know what the original retail price of Shun Mook's mpingo record clamp was, but if you type in Shun Mook Mpingo wood lp clamp, the price of $5,600 keeps popping up in old ads when they were making it. I personally had a dialog with Mr. Ying the president of Shun Mook recently, and he said he has gone past some of the stuff he made in the past and is coming out with a horn speaker and is busy as an acoustic consultant for concert halls in Japan, S. Korea and Hong Kong. Mpingo is so inert and dense for a wood. It is near 3 times stronger than white oak. The older it is, the darker it is, and the better it's resonating qualities. 150 year old mpingo wood is the ultimate. Shun Mook made pucks you put on top of speaker cabinets and they resonated in a way that makes the speaker sound crisper and airier. I have some mpingo wood items bought years ago, and although mine are rectangular pieces, they do pretty much the same thing. My record clamps are round of course, and they are slightly under a pound; most turntables have enough torque for that. Best record clamp I've ever heard. But the thing that I discovered where they are the most effective is sitting on top of capacitors inside preamps and amps. On big capacitofs, and on top a straight row of small ones I like them there more than anywhere for sound quality improvement.. Of course when Shun Mook was making mpingo stuff for audio, they were very expensive. Usually only guys who'd try a $4,000 speaker cable would try them. Anytime things are priced outside what people think should be the normal price range, they are asking for snake oil suspicion galore. I no longer doubt. I've worked with it for years now and mpingo wood is an amazing material for enhancing audio reproduction. I took all the mpingo out of my system one evening, played some very familiar music and thought "Yuk". Get it back in right away. The one thing I didn't try is they made some kind of thing where it used a multitude of mpingo discs that when vibration hit it; they clacked together in sympathy to the music. The only thing I ever tried like that, was I brought two acoustical guitars into the room, placed behind the speakers. I thought the sound was a little better, but not real noticeable. Certainly only a fraction of the difference that Mpingo wood placed in the right places makes. Actually acoustic guitars have a round opening in the front where the sound resonates when they're played. Acoustic experts will tell you any openings in the room like fireplace openings, opened closets etc. are no no's for the acoustics of the room. They say glass in the room is the worst thing you can have in there.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Yes I can confirm, glass in the listening room is a problem. I've lived with it

[@sidesup8286]

@@ThePressingMattersPittsburgh is losing population big time again. There are bargains here Another 12,000 population loss recently. It seems like it's half Asian people now in places. Maybe they are getting out of here now too. Lots of jazz records to be scooped. I wish I had more disposable income. There's a guy whose wife brought down a box from upstairs. A lot of old Verve lps with a trumpeter drawing on the label. In a condition you almost never see them in.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Wow I didn't realize that situation. Why do you think that is?

[@sidesup8286]

Maybe half or so of the best music is somewhat obscure. It's not like there are a few albums out there that are great but obscure; it's more like there are thousands of such albums. It used to be radio stations, radio Dj's and record company's deciding whose more worthwhile and whose not. Now there are other factors. If a group didn't make it in the marletplace, it's not so much the people decided, but the powers that rule who decided; to give exppsure to. So with that in mind, there is all the chance in the world that some of the greatest groups ever didn't make it. Maybe there was Beatles level talent out there that never got discovered. Obscure is often very surprising. McDonalds sells the most hamburgers; but it doesn't mean they're the best. Wouldn't it be great to discover another Beatles or Stones at their peak? Maybe music that has been just sitting there all along.