I'm sure that I've mentioned that my interest in Pink Floyd waned after Animals , was non-existent by the issue of The Wall, and this album really wasn't on my radar by 1994. But, as is the mantra on this blog, for a couple of quid in a charity shop, I'll give it a go. The penultimate Floyd album of original material, it's clearly now driven by Dave Gilmour. Dealing with themes around communication (a coded message to the estranged Roger Waters?), it came out to mixed reviews

The third one of the Manics' haul from a Falmouth charity shop is their 2010 release, described by the band at the time as "one last shot at mass communication". They're still going strong. I'm running out of things to say about the band, so straight to the music. I'm feeling a strong start, with two solid rock tracks, the low charting single (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love and Postcards From A Young Man , the lyrics and feel are uplifting, until those awful strings kick

While I'm a huge fan of being able to stream anything I want to hear, it's no substitute for a physical copy of an album. Similarly, the easy access of information via the internet has removed a lot of the mystique that browsing for music had half a century ago. Never again am I likely to head into a music store and find something by a favourite band, which I had no idea existed, since everything available is so well documented. So, charity shops are more fun, not just for t

More Richard Hawley picked up in a local charity shop, this one being his 6th studio album from 2009. I've grown to admire Hawley's songwriting and performance, although at times the country and western influence hasn't worked for me. This album seems more introspective than some others and I've found myself enjoying it more with each listening We open with As The Dawn Breaks, a dreamy flowing intro (Thomas Bloch on cristal baschet and glass harmonica), which continues its ha

Another one that cost a pound in a charity shop raid, this is a 1998 concert that Robinson gave at Abbey Road to celebrate the first birthday of the Merlin Network One, a short lived worldwide 24 hours entertainment broadcast net on short wave. Now an avuncular 6 Music elder statesman DJ, it's forgotten that Robinson was once an angry young man, particularly pioneering gay rights, and continues to campaign in many areas. I had seen Tom Robinson Band, almost twenty years earli

This is the second of the Manics' albums picked up in Falmouth a couple of weeks ago, their 2013 release, intended as a more sedate, acoustic offering. By all accounts it was well received at the time, let's see how it's held up. I want to like the Manics, really I do. They hail from my wife's home town of Blackwood, I'm completely in sympathy with their political stance on most things, and I'm delighted to hear them shout it loud. When they get it right (to my untrained ears

This one was another holiday purchase, from a charity shop in Penzance, who seemed to have recently received the entire back catalogue of the Dave Matthews Band, with whom I'm unfamiliar, but have many preconceived ideas. You'd be forgiven for thinking that I spend my entire time scouring charity shops searching for CDs to enhance my collection, but that's simply not the case. Sometimes, as in Rugby today, I buy books instead. This, though, felt like a win, rather than a punt

I can't remember when this was recommended to me, but regular readers will know I'm a recent discoverer of the world of Wilson and...

Across to Newquay, and another raid on a charity shop netting me another half dozen discs for a quid each, including this 1984 Bunnymen...

A short holiday to Cornwall a couple of weeks ago was an excuse to plunder some new charity shops for their CD sections. There's a huge...

This one is the third and final one of my Fall purchases from Rock On Records in Stamford a couple of weeks ago. It's apparently the...

Final purchase from the bloke at the boot fair a couple of weeks ago was this 2016 release from the reformed Pixies, an album I wasn't...

There was a point to this blog - it was meant to get me to listen to every one of my CDs, and to thin them out by getting rid of ones I...

My second purchase from Rock On Records in Stamford was The Fall's 1982 follow up to the hugely praised and groundbreaking Hex Enduction...

Yet another charity shop purchase from last week's Stamford visit, a quid for a Tom Waits album I'd oft listened to, but hadn't got round...

On last week's visit to Stamford, I sought out Rock On! Records , a tiny shop run by Ted Carroll, a name I knew from 1970s punk (ish)...

Second selection from last week's boot fair purchases was this unofficial release of Pink Floyd's 1972 concert at Boston Music Hall...

On a visit to Stamford yesterday, I popped into Oxfam, to see their CD wares, and had to think about this one. On the one hand, it's a...

I've had a particularly good week for picking up reasonably priced CDs, which started last Saturday at the local boot fair, where there's...

This was always an album which was going to be replaced on CD before the vinyl was sold, and this special edition to mark the 25th...