As I’ve started ripping my CDs onto the iPod, I’ve been viewing and playing more of my CD collection than I have in quite some time. Here are some of my favourite obscure CDs:
Doug Anthony Allstars – Icon — the DAAS at their irreverent and musical best, with a lot of tracks being studio versions of songs from their original appearances on The Big Gig. People keep telling me how rare this is on CD, maybe because when it came out (1990) not that many people had CD players, so as it’s out of print, not many copies are around secondhand. If I dig around among the VHS tapes, I might even find the film clip of I Want To Spill The Blood Of A Hippy.
Eric Clapton (with Michael Kamen) – Edge Of Darkness — the soundtrack for the remarkable, subversive, addictive, eco-terrorism TV series. The one time I played LaserTag, we got them to play this during the game, and boy did it suit it. Eighteen minutes of sometimes frenetic but always atmospheric piano and electric guitar bliss. It’s one of those tiny CDs too, you don’t see too many of them around, though virtually all CD players can handle them.
Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison – Live on the Riverboat — their band Ocean Colour Scene is obscure enough outside the UK, but this is an acoustic concert of theirs, recorded on a boat, which curiously doesn’t include their Riverboat Song. The disc came in a thoroughly annoying plastic cover with simulated blue water (actually jelly stuff) inside.
Jellyfish – Spilt Milk — another band pretty much unheard of outside their homeland, the US, and probably not overly prominent within it. I’m not sure why they appealed so much when I saw their New Mistake video clip on Rage years and years ago. Maybe it’s validation of video clips as a marketing tool. A curious mix of rock, Queen-like harmonies and orchestration, and… ummm… oh, I don’t know. He’s my best friend sounds so innocent until you realise what it’s about. And I’d love to know who Ghost At Number One is taking a swipe at. Sadly the band vanished after a couple of albums.
And yes, all these are now on my iPod.
3 replies on “My favourite obscure CDs”
I haven’t even THOUGHT of ‘I Want to Spill The Blood of a Hippy’ for YEARS. I was such a DAAS fan – I even had Richard’s autograph on my wardrobe door!
what i would give to have a copy of DAAS today… unfortunately my ex got all the videos and cds :(
A long time ago i was listening to a friends icon copy and the song “Bottle” really hit a cord. Don’t ask me how but some time later I was dreaming of that song and woke up to find it playing on 3RRR at 3.40 in the morning! That freaked me out a little. Great album though.