Back In the Saddle Again

Problems fixed!!! Welcome to the new and improved Big Rock Candy Mountain.

I wanted to do a post about the fantastic Toe-Rag Studios in London, England. Naturally, the essential Fire of Love scooped me on the mention. Not the first time he's done that. The dirty no good so and so. No matter. One can never have enough Toe-Rag.

As I was going through my collection looking for tracks, I was astounded by just how many of my favorite rekkids and cd's had been recorded at Toe-Rag. Obviously the studio has gained a bit of notoriety of late due to a certain husband/sister/wife/brother duo who recorded their last platter there. But it's been the homebase of Thee esteemed Billy Childish, Holly Golightly, The Kaisers, and others of their ilk since it's inception in 1992, birthed by one Liam Watson, formerly of Armitage Shanks.

What makes Toe-Rag special, in addition to the acts it attracts, is it's overall philosophy of recording. From their website (linked above): >"Toe-Rag is a predominately analogue based recording studio....acoustically designed and custom built throughout. The living room is approximately 17ft x 14ft with 11ft high ceilings. The control room is approximately 14ft x 9ft also with 11 ft high ceilings."

What does that mean? I dunno, really, except that, like vinyl vs. cd, the sound comes out warmer, more human, more live sounding.

Most of the bands recording there deserve their own posts, and Mr. Childish has been long overdue. So for today, I pulled a few tracks from Sympathy For the Record Industry's collection Sympathetic Sounds of Toe-Rag. The sound is 50's trash rock filtered through a haze of blues'n'garage, and oh so very British. Enjoy.

Gustav Temple and the Blades: Puddings and Pies (mp3)

Ludella Black: I've Just Seen a Face(mp3)

The Masonics: Ooh Poo Pa Doo(mp3)

(right click, save target as...no more yousendits!!!!)

If yr budget allows, and you enjoy the music, please consider buying direct from Sympathy For the Record Industry, or from yr local independent retailer. If yr budget does not allow, please say nice things about the bands to yr friends.