Tuesday, July 15, 2014

"I've Always Been A Sucker For Compilations" ... Part 1





Hello friends,


and yes, indeed I am and ever have been! I dunno why this is, to be absolutely frank to you, but you wouldn't believe how much money I spent on compilation albums in the last 30 plus years. Perhaps it's the thought of getting a great variety for more or less small money, a thought which cannot be fully neglected at the very least.


However, looking at what's left of my compilations, I thought I start with a new series, which might or might not be continued here on Sexyloser: my compilation albums, as picked by Little Loser.


'Daddy, do I have to close my eyes again", he asked, and I said "yes, son, you better should or they'll accuse you for not being objective enough". From my chair I couldn't really see whether he did so or not, but he immediately came up with the above, the thickest - and pinkest - record in the collection. So I strongly doubt whether his eyes were at all closed, but that doesn't matter, because he's five and cannot read anyway, so let's pretend this to be a fully random pick:


"La Vie En Rose" was - and still is, I suspect - a double LP label - compilation on pink vinyl from New Rose Records from Paris, France from 1985. It comes in a thick pink cardboard gatefold box, so perhaps this is the reason why Little Loser picked this one and not another one.


I remember buying this record when it came out at the mighty Plattenbörse in Aachen, back then t.h.e. record shop to go to. Also I remember that I struggled for a few weeks whether I should buy it or not, because it wasn't the cheapest of offerings, that's for sure.


Today, of course, I'm glad I did, as you will be able to confirm when you listen to the tunes I chose for you. The rest of the album is not too shabby either, but the songs below are top nutch. As you can tell, I also seem to be a sucker for a neat cover version ....


New Rose Records always were a strange beast, being active from 1980 to 1994 they managed to gather a grand variety of artists, mainly post punk/gothic/cold wave bands, but also bands that were into genres you wouldn't normally expect to get along very well with the aforementioned "punky" bands. But their strange combinations worked out apparently and the label created some real gems!

As I said, I still like this record a lot, a much treasured item. Here are some of the tunes for you to enjoy:



 



 


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Top stuff, as I'm sure you agree! And isn't "Charles De Goal" a wonderful name? Especially now that Germany is Fussballweltmeister once again?

See you soon, leave comments, take good care,

Dirk


Edit 14.08.14: Steven from Belgium wanted to hear Desperate Dave's contributions to the album as well, apparently he is a guy with an appetite for the bizarre .... either way: here you are, Steven:


mp3: Desperate Dave - 'All Time Rock 'n' Roll Classics Parts I - IV' ('85)


Cheers,


Dirk

10 comments:

drew said...

I meant to congratulate both yourself and Walter on your national team's victory. Well deserved in the end but I do wish Mueller wouldn't go to ground so easily, nearly as easily as Klinsmanm.

Walter said...

Hi Dirk, me and my wife are sitting on the balcony drinking one more bottle of red wine and listening to the music you gave to us. It's fantastic. I really like the songs. Especially Charles De Gaulle. You made us a big pleasure. Please keep us posting more than you did the last month.

Dirk said...

Thanks, Drew: next time your team will do better, for sure.

And Walter: thanks! This means a lot to me, because that's EXACTLY why I keep this blog running ...

Charity Chic said...

All new names to me Dirk with the exception of The Replacements. Looking forward to having a listen

george said...

Never heard of any o fthe acts. Except the Replacements. I'm really hoping Charles de Goal is good/

Anonymous said...

I do love a compilation! Look forward to listening to this. One of my all time favourites was a 10" double entitled "Catch a Wave" Played it to death! Wish I still had it :(

Dirk said...

Yes, deadboy, the Catch A Wave - compilation has some real crackers on it: you can get it on discogs for 8 quid! Be quick before I stop contemplating ...

I'll be off for a week tomorrow, but after that the series will continue ...

Anonymous said...

Many many thanks, Dirk! Could you please also offer us the Desperate Dave-tracks? I remember John Peel playing one of the tunes on BFBS (Köln). Cheers from Belgium. Steven

Dirk said...

Dunno if you can see this thru a new comment only, Steven, but I've now added the Desperate Dave tunes for you!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Dirk! Really makes my day. Fond memories. Just like you, I'm trying to recompile some of my worn out Peel-cassettes. :-) Cheers!