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Hi there everyone. Thanks for joining us again this week. Just when we thought we might be over the high heat of the summer down here in the South, September decided to announce its arrival with triple digit temps and remind us that the world is still melting. They say it will ease off by the weekend. Let’s hope so.
I’m more than grateful to have a cool place to work in, and I of course mean that in both senses of the word. Our A/C is keeping the store cool but the records that come through, although heaters, are keeping things ice cool. That’s all down to the great bands and artists that are making new music currently or have done so in the past and down to you our customers who bring us cool used records to sell or trade. We encourage any of you considering downsizing or pruning your collection to reach out to us. Daniel enjoys a good road trip, so distance isn’t too much of an issue. Food for thought.
As I write this today in the store, I am in the middle of processing a recent collection we picked up and I’ve have been giving a couple of them a spin. There’s lots of great music to pick from; the previous owner had good and varied taste. For my “pick” this week I’ll choose one of the highlights (for me) of the collection.
The Coral: Magic And Medicine. 2003
I have made my love for the city of Liverpool and its people and culture very well known in the pages of the Sorry State newsletter. I’m not from there, but have been a fan of the football, the music, the style and the humor from the region all my life. When it comes to music from Merseyside we are obviously spoiled for choice. So many of my favorite bands come from there. The Beatles, Echo & The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Wah!, The La’s, Shack… the list is long. The Coral come from Hoylake, on the Wirral, and continue the tradition.
They formed in the late 90s and released their first records in 2000 on the Deltasonic label, a record company that was essentially started to release music by the group. Their first few years were busy. Several acclaimed EPs, singles and a debut that hit the top ten in Britain and got them nominated for a Mercury Prize. They toured the UK and hit the festivals and secured an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien in 2003 here in the US. When they came to New York, they visited the store I was working at and signed a copy of one of their singles that we had literally just got in that day and got us on the guest list for a show later that night.
If you were looking for a band that embraced 60s beat, psych and garage and mixed it with the spirit of Lee Mavers, filtered through Brit Pop and Indie with a good dose of cosmic scouse, then this is the band for you. All those elements come together on Magic And Medicine. It’s an album I played a lot when it was released and have gone back to over the years, but hearing it today was the first time in a while. This pressing we have at the store is a reissue which Music On Vinyl pressed, and it sounds great. Nice packaging with some extra photos. The original came out as a two-disc pressing, but this is just a single disc and probably helps the listening process when you can play six songs back-to-back without a break. One of the reasons why the idea of audiophile albums pressed at 45 RPM on multiple discs, one song per side, does not appeal to me. That’s way too much getting up and down for me unless I am having a dedicated singles listening session.
Listening back to the album this morning reminded me of how much I loved the record and the band. The feeling of nostalgia for a previous era was there in the music originally, but now that record is almost twenty-five years old itself and brings back memories from those early 00s days too. For me certainly. The album contained at least three singles if I remember rightly. The song, Don’t Think You’re The First, was one and remains one of my faves by the group. Such a good song. Twelve good ones in all and a fine record.
The Coral’s story continues to the present day. They have released over a dozen albums to date, with the latest just this year. There have been some line-up changes and solo projects along the way. I’ve been enjoying the albums by former founding member Bill Ryder-Jones for instance. I haven’t kept up with all of those releases I will admit. It’s been tough to find many of their records on vinyl here in the States without paying import prices. I don’t tend to stream much music, but perhaps I should look for those missing albums on CD one day. Probably easier and much cheaper. That’s a topic and discussion for another time and place. Are CDs coming back? Did they ever go away? Talk amongst yourselves.
Alright, I must get back to work. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support. See you all next time.
Cheers - Dom