Just a short entry to update my blog with the vinyl purchases which have arrived since the clocked ticked into 2007.....

Necromandus - Orexis Of Death is an album I've been after since reading a book last year by two of Black Sabbath's roadies.  These are the Carlisle band who Tony Iommi took under his wing only to get heavily stressed by Sabbath's troubles toward the end of the Ozzy era and abandon them.  The album (as far as I can tell from online stories and sleevenotes) then lay dormant for many years and the name Necromandus never really registered anywhere.  Some of the band met with Ozzy for some sessions as he sought to assemble his first solo band but once again the project never reached a released stage.

This copy of the album is a recent release of the tapes by an Italian reissue label called Black Widow records that I found on ebay.  The album is a gatefold sleeve release with decent sleeve notes and the music is pure early 70s progressive rock (not Prog ala Yes etc but proper progressive rock!) ala quieter Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash etc.  Definately a decent album and enjoyable listen but not really a lost gem.  Two interesting interludes on the album are Mogidissimo Pt.1 & Pt2 - paying tribute to mentor Tony Iommi  (anagram of "Iommi Is God").  Worth checking out for UK 70s rock fans.

I didn't even know that WASP's Still Not Black Enough had secured a vinyl release until I was messing around on Google and came across a Liverpool record store called Kalaidascope who claimed to have a mint copy.  Well I paid my money (just a tenner including postage) and two days later had No 1752 of 3000 in my possession.  This is effectively The Crimson Idol part two and although it doesn't continue the story of Jonathan the sleevenotes record that Blackie Lawless realised the he was the Crimson Idol and this therefore this album shares many common threads both musically and lyrically with its predecessor.  Black Forever, Goodbye America and Still Not Black Enough are classic sounding WASP rockers whilst I Can't is a haunting ballad and Somebody To Love a decent cover of the old Jefferson Airplane track.  Sadly this album was overlooked and Lawless returned to the older WASP sound for Helldorado but as The Crimson Idol is one of my all time favourite albums another album in that vein hits the spot quite nicely for me.

A bad week for me where my keyboard, printer and motherboard have all given up the ghost required me to visit Ammanford today and lift myself with a few quid on some vinyl.

Guns N Roses - Lies  is the album that both was and wasn't the follow up to Appetite For Destruction.  Side G (sic) is basically a reissue of the independant Live Like A Suicide EP and has the controversial Nice Boys and a good attack on Mama Kin whilst Side R has the hit Patience, a 'cleaner' version of You're Crazy as well as Used To Love Her and One In A Million.  Not a great album but a nice earner for GnR in the days when Kerrang basically became their fanzine.

A good article in this month's Classic Rock on post Zep careers of Page, lant and Jones lead to me picking up Robert Plant's 2nd solo album The Principle Of Moments.  In parts very 'Zeppish' of course it also has some hints at the sounds Plant would adopt with more regularity later in his solo career in the haunting evocative ballad Big Log.  I never really appreciated this album when I first had a cassette copy of it years ago so it will take a few plays to see if I 'get it' this time.

Finally I also picked up an original 2LP gatefold issue of The Beatles compilation album Rock 'N Roll Music.  I'd only ever seen this in the single LP reissue format on EMIs budget lable so to find a '76 issue in very good nick was pleasing. Was does stand out, apart from the obviously excellent music, was just how little EMI would've spent on this release!  A poor cartoon cover, complete lack of sleevenotes and blank inner sleeves show that EMI had a real problem in being able to do justice to reissues of Beatles material (see also Rarities, Ballads, Reel Music, Greatest Hits) prior to the 3 remaining members getting involved again for the Anthology sets.

I'm now committed to updating my website so I've got a decent list of all my vinyls stored away on the web - I'm going to make it a bit easier to update and quicker to load by removing the pictures I think!

Also checking out some new bands showcased on the Classic Rock cover disc.  Damone, Kid Ego and Hydrogyn sound good but the best track on there is by The Trews - well worth checking out if your a Black Crowes fan.

In case your interested my websites here!   - there's a few live downloads for visitors as well as links, lists and er.. not much else really!