I just received a copy of this CD, which is a collection of tunes by the UK salsa/dance band Modern Romance. I have had their Adventures in Clubland LP since the year it came out, but until now, their original music on CD has never surfaced. There have been a few CDs released, but these consisted of re-recordings of their original hits. These are the originals. Overall the sound is a bit thin on this set, but I attribute that to the usual bright/thin sound I hear on many UK recordings. So it’s rather neat to hear these songs again. The major difference from my LP is that the songs “Everybody Salsa” and “Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey” are individual here, where they are part of a four-song medley on the LP. Other, later hits of theirs are represented here, but the one glaring omission is the big US dance hit “Can You Move”. That song still gets regular play on XM83 (Chrome). If they had included that song, and put aside the weaker album tracks like “The Counting Song”, this set would have been just about perfect. But not having heard their later recordings, it’s a nice introduction to their other hits.
Category Archives: Music, Video & Print
BR549
I don’t consider myself a country music fan, especially the pop-based
country that has been popular since the early 90s. The whole
dumbed-down pickup-truck-drivin’, beer drinkin’, boot-scootin’
mentality is a huge turnoff for me, which just reeks of dumbed-down
commercialism. There’s a reason they call ’em “hat acts” in
Nashville–slap a 10-gallon on top of any marginal singer, and you have
a new hat act. Having said that, there are some decent country acts
out there that lean more toward traditional country, yet updated for
the current times. One such band is BR5-49, which you can tell from
the name, makes a nod toward the old “Hee Haw” television show. What’s
so different about BR549 (who now goes by their de-hyphenated name)?
Congrats to Matt The Cat and Kelly!
And you thought the days of old-time radio DJs were gone? Not at XM Radio, where some of the channels have real living, breathing personalities behind a microphone. As some already know, XM5 (“50s on 5”) is one of my few regular stops on the XM dial, and a lot of it is due to the evening Night Prowl show by Matt The Cat. I happened to pop into his website on a regular visit, and found out the news: Matt The Cat is now engaged to Cross Country Kelly! Short version of the story: Kelly picked up and moved from California to Washington, DC (where XM’s headquarters is located), and phoned in nightly requests and reports to Matt on her trip east. After she arrived they met, one thing led to another, and they are now engaged! Rather than beam Kelly up to the satellite, The Cat took her up the old fashioned way to propose: in a hot air balloon, at sunset. How cool is that? So, to Kelly and Matt, “Wildcat” Rudy and the gang send along congratulations and best wishes for the happy couple! (And you can hear the announcement over at Kelly’s sister Melia’s site.)
Shopping at Amazon UK
I had a gift certificate to shop at Amazon UK. I have only shopped there one time in the past, and it was a good experience in a couple of ways. I just bought a few items with my gift certificate, and had the same good experience. But, why would I order anything from thh UK if shipping were prohibitive? Continue reading Shopping at Amazon UK
“First Pressing” CD Resource
My friend Keith has just revamped his website, where you will find listings and details about early first pressing CDs, gold CDs, SACDs and DVD-Audio discs. Also included are a lot of early Japanese pressings, as well as the famous WEA “target” CDs that many CD collectors prize. Want to find out if your CD is an early or first presssing? Check out the site at http://www.keithhirsch.com and take a look!