Music - it's important. The right soundtrack to day-to-day life can make the difference between a bad day and a good.
People who know the editorial team have been heard to comment on the music in our offices. A common question is 'how do you get to know about this stuff?'. And so, not wishing to keep all these wonderous sounds to ourselves, 'Wild & Mercurial', was born in late November 2008.
As with 'Books & Maps', we've hooked them all up to Amazon to aid the buying public ... And if you're curious you can often find audio samples to play, via Amazon or elsewhere on the web.
We hope you enjoy the selections. Every tune's as safe as milk! And with a bit of luck, we'll inspire you to start exploring the world's music for your self. There's never been a better time to do so.
Latest Update
Let's find an alternative to the regular Christmas dross. There's the Dylan one that we added in October and which remains wonderful (and every home should have one), and then there's the ZE Christmas Special.
Various Artists: ZE Christmas Album Your editor has the original version of this on white vinyl but nowadays it's only available as an MP3 download (albeit with more tracks). And what a download ... Nearly every one is a winner - you'll just have to try it and see. A perfect antidote for X Factor drivel and similar. (Dec 16th 09)
TOSCA: No Hassle Laid-back. Not challenging. But not unintelligent and certainly not bland. To call it background music would be an insult; to treat it as such would be to do yourself a disservice. It's intricate and multi-layered and subtle. A real favourite around these parts. (Nov 29th 09)
King Crimson: Red It pains us to realise that there are poor deprived young people out there who've never heard the majestic racket that is King Crimson's Red. Play Real Loud (as they say) and you won't even hear the autumn storms that are howling outside. OK, it's not everyone's cuppa but if it is, it's wonderful. 'Muscular' might be a good word. Unique even to this day - and that's saying something given that it originally came out in '74. (Nov 18th 09)
Over The Rhine: The Trumpet Child Most people we know have never heard even a whisper about this (American) band and that's a great shame - they're something genuinely quite wonderful and unique. Try the samples, buy the album and enjoy. (Oct 27th 09)
Bob Dylan: Christmas In The Heart Dylan's never been a crooner and let's face it, his voice is shot these days anyway. But hey, he's done a Christmas album and all his royalties, not just some token percentage, are going to charities to feed the poor. And that's a pretty fine thing. So if you're looking for a present that everyone really, really ought to give / be given this year, this is it. (Besides, Dylan mangling your favourite Christmas tunes does have a certain charm.) (Oct 17th 09)
Warren Zevon: The Wind If you don't know Zevon's work you're really missing out. Work backwards from this one, his last, recorded as he was dying. That's maybe a bit brutal for some - but life can be, and Zevon never flinched from that in all his brilliant songwriting. And if you need reassurance that he really was brilliant the guest list for this album might provide it: Springsteen, Petty, Cooder, Harris, Yoakam, Walsh, Browne, Keltner, Henley. (Oct 3rd 09)
MIS: Soy Sauce The Mexican Institute Of Sound. Showing our ignorance perhaps, we'd never heard of them until this little wonder came our way ... and it is a little wonder too. Infectious. If it doesn't bring a smile to your face then you have serious problems and we can only pity you. (Sep 26th 09)
The Sugarman 3: Soul Donkey The 'Dynamic Soul Sound of the Sugarman Three' is what it says on the tin. And that's just what the tin contains. Crackin' stuff. Pure fun. Infectious enough to make dead man dance. Enjoy. (Sep 21st 09)
Stafrænn Hákon: Í ástandi rjúpunnar After the 'rock' (indie or otherwise) of Reading Festival, let's have some post-rock. Icelandic chill. Intelligent; a slow grower but a real grower. Hard to describe but lovely. This is the first of his albums that we came across; all the others seem just as good but this is as good a place to start as any. Try it. (Sep 13th 09)
The Faces: Good Boys When They're Asleep In honour of the team's earliest experience of the Reading Festival (watching The Faces from the Evening Post building in '74), this collection serves as a great introduction to the joys of a band that managed to combine all the glory of the 'Stones loose but spot-on vibe with a far more fun underlying feel. It's aged well. It also reminds you that Rod Stewart has been a great singer. (Aug 30th 09)
Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul Oooooo, the remaster of this late 60s masterpiece is one of those rare things - a reissue that's worth it. The sound of the first CD transfer wasn't great; this version does it much more justice. And the songs? Absolutely peerless and in their time totally groundbreaking. Superbly orchestrated soul workouts with Hayes' glorious voice. If you're not interested in soul and have never bought a soul record in your life, buy this one anyway. (Aug 23rd 09)
Bap Kennedy: Howl On All of Bap Kennedy's solo albums are an absolute treat. Understated, gentle even, but spot-on song-writing, great playing and a singing voice that does warm melancholy like no other all combine on this, his 2009 release, as perfectly as on all his others. (Aug 16th 09)
Moby: Wait For Me Unlike most of the rest of the world it seems, we're not massive fans of Moby's 'Play'. However, this one, 'Hotel' and 'Last Night' before it all have a lovely retro feel that critics have moaned about but we really like. Retro, yes, but with a fresh twist too. And this, his 2009 release, is also downbeat in mood like the Bap Kennedy we've recommended above. Downbeat but hey, we can't be 'up' all the time. Perhaps it really is the influence of the English summer. (Aug 16th 09)
Tom Waits: Blood Money With tracks like 'Misery Is The River Of The World', 'Everything Goes To Hell' and 'God's Away On Business', what's not to like as all the West's economies seem to stand on the brink of collapse? Tom Waits does black comedy like no other; a "demented carnival barker in the fairground from Hell". Some would say this is music for the brave, but once you get into Tom Wait's world you'll rarely want to leave.
Dennis Brown: Money In My Pocket: The Definitive Collection Dennis Brown is one the great reggae voices and this Trojan collection does the man justice. And the actual 'Money In My Pocket' track is a winner - timeless, but also a great soundtrack for this credit-crunch era.
O.T.O.: Blumenkraft One of those albums that, aside from everything else, sounds good - an excellent recording. What is it? Sort of electro psychedelic dub.
Fluke: Six Wheels On My Wagon Bit of a sort-of-oldie now, but it still grooves along very, very nicely. A much under-rated outfit, if ever there was one. What we'd call intelligent electronic music - but play the samples and see what you think.
Federico Aubele: Gran Hotel Buenos Aires Something to keep you warm in winter - a bit of Latin passion! A really pleasant 21st century tango album that's perhaps not as overtly modern as the Gotan Project (the most well known example of the genre) but is a real 'grower'. Good stuff for dull days.
Buddy Miller: Universal United House Of Prayer Some commentators had this as album of 2008 even though it came out in 2004! And it is a cracker. And hey, the opening song's chorus of "I worry too much" might just be appropriate for life right now. Sort of country, folk, rock and blues, with a bit of gospel.
Eno: Here Come The Warm Jets Eno's first solo album still sounds wonderfully, gloriously strange. An essential purchase for anyone who wants a well-rounded music collection!
Fripp: Exposure Beyond categorization and still radical to modern ears. (And the man playing what's surely one of the best solos ever on 'Baby's On Fire' on the Eno album above.)
Tango Fusion Club As fans of Gotan Project and similar will testify, modern Tango is wonderful ... and this fusion album does a good job of bringing a synthesis of this great genre together.
Television: Marquee Moon A classic that's worthy of the name. Lumped under 'punk' by many but a long, long way from the British punk scene, this has stood the test of time well.
ZE Xmas Record It's Christmas ... and the ZE Christmas record has to be the choice of the season. The antidote to Slade et al and it has to be said, we all need that antidote. Song titles include 'Christmas with Satan'; there are tracks by both Alan Vega and Suicide. You can't go wrong.
Phil Spector: A Christmas Gift Darlene Love, The Ronettes and the rest. Spector's 'Christmas Gift' remains uniquely brilliant. Perhaps not quite so off the wall as the ZE offering (above), but still a whole heap better than a lot of what clogs up the airwaves this time of year.
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan: Sunday At Devil Dirt ... And this is their 2nd. One of the team here saw them at Union Chapel in Islington this week, and two others saw the gig at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. Two gigs and repeated playings in the office and car, but still the albums sound fresh. Her Myspace page gives a good taster.
The Who: Who's Next In many eyes, the Who's real masterpiece. Nothing weak on it, and it never seems to grow old.
Ian Hunter The first album after his Mott The Hoople days. A brilliant joint effort with the late, great Mick Ronson. Hunter's songwriting's always good and is often exceptional. (Hello Richie.)
Scientist: Dub From The Ghetto If you only owned one dub album from the late 70s/early 80s, this wouldn't be a bad choice at all. This may be to do it an injustice, but whatever else it is, it's great music to work to.
Susumu Yokota: Sakura What 'ambient' music should be - intelligent, interesting, adventurous; happy in the background but properly worthy of your full attention. Gorgeous.
Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid The album that bought Elbow to a wider audience - and deservedly so. It lives up to expectations, and that doesn't happen too often in life or music.
Gillian Welch: Time (The Revelator) Ooooh, so good it hurts. Worth the asking price just for 'I Dream A Highway' (but the rest is brilliant too).
Alice Cooper: Killer In 1971 this made waves. Surprisingly, it still stands up as a good record. Behind all the image stuff, there's good rock and roll going on here.
Patti Smith: Horses Ms Smith's debut was stunning in '75 and remains so now. As the Amazon review says, "Smith was full of piss and vinegar, seriously interested in bringing together high art and low three-chord rock & roll." Is there a more noble mission?
Little Axe: Stone Cold Ohio Little Axe - aka Skip McDonald - brings you a fusion of blues and dub and ... it just sounds wonderful. Laid back but never soporific.
John Metcalfe: A Darker Sunset Metcalfe is a New Zealand composer who's worked with the Durutti Column amongst (many) others. His concerts with The Bays and Heritage Orchestra in 2008 were just stunning if the one we saw in Basingstoke was typical. To call this 'background music' or 'film-soundtrack-ish' would be a dismal failure on our part. It's far more than that but - unlike so much contemporary composition - it's always listenable. John Metcalfe's site often has samples and useful links.
Santogold A really brave - and successful - blend of a lot of things - from reggae and punk to disco and dancehall. Nothing formulaic here whatsoever. It's great when something new is this fresh.
