Vinyl Fest #10 - Orkney Fiddle Music - The Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society

I really like this LP because of the repetitive nature of the music. It has waltzes, reels and jigs, but when does a reel become a jig?? Well, jigs are triplet-based, whereas a reel is a simple 4/4. Hornpipes have a dotted rhythm, and polkas are based around multiples of 2 beats to the bar. Here is a fuller explanation:
https://www.bitesize.irish/blog/jigs-and-reels/

The Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society is still going today. Here is their website:
https://sites.google.com/site/orkneysr/home
And here is another couple of websites with good information about them, including some players from this 1976 recording:
http://www.wrigleyandthereel.com/orkneystrathspeyandreel.html
http://www.nigelgatherer.com/perf/fiddlers/orkny.html
(You can also find them on Youtube.)

The LP was recorded at Craighall Studios, which was quite famous within the Scottish music world:
http://www.7tt77.co.uk/CRAIGHALL_STUDIOS.htm

There's a great picture of the Old Man of Hoy on the front, and this BBC documentary of the famous 1967 climb is a really great watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6aYKZwr15k

Vinyl Fest #9 - Stateless - Lene Lovich

This is the original 1978 gatefold release for the French market. It has got '33 tours' on it (rather than 33 1/3 rpm), 'Face A' rather than 'Side A', and also a SACEM (Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique) stamp on the centre label!

Lene Lovich is quite 'marmite', because of her distinctive voice, but I quite like this LP because it's a good 'foot tapper' with lots of rhythmic changes. My favourite track is Sleeping Beauty (Side A, Track 2).

The band is not the straightforward 'guitar, bass, drums' setup, but they used EMS and ARP Solina synthesizers, Hammond Organ and saxophone, which I think adds to the overall sound.

I really like the artwork. I like the monochrome, the font and the similar front and back images. The cover artwork was done by Keith Collie and he has done work which are at the National Portrait Gallery and he also has his own website:
https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp69665/keith-collie
http://keithcollie.com/kc/
Unfortunately, I cannot find any information for Glad Rocksoffski, who did the inner artwork.

Lene Lovich is still going today and has her own official website:
https://www.lenelovich.net/

Vinyl Fest #8 - Join Hands - Siouxsie and the Banshees

This is the original 1979 gatefold release of the LP.

I quite liked the music; even though it is 'power chord' based, there is still enough going on to keep you interested. And even though it is quite 'dark', it still is a pleasant listen. My favourite song is 'Icon' (Side A, Track 4).

I like the outer gatefold design because it is quite minimalistic, and I also like the inner gatefold halftone design. I do like the sleeve design as well, with lyrics on one side and nothing on the other. The other thing is the unusual design on the LP itself; one side (black) gives the tracks, the other side (white) has a nice picture on it.

The photography was done my Adrian Boot, and he's still doing creative projects today.
https://adrianboot.co.uk/

The designer, Rob O'Connor, is also still working, and started his own company, 'Stylorouge'.
https://www.roboconnorphotography.com/
http://stylorouge.co.uk/