I remember when...

I enjoyed this interview with Ken Ishiwata,from this Saturday's (June16th 2012 Telegraph)

I don't know about you but it makes me feel very old-were has all the time gone!)

Forget Discs And Get Into The Cube!

Just came across this article in the September 1991 issue page 6.

I remember at the time reading it and thinking how futuristic,will the world of films,hi-fi and audi ever be remotely like that!

How times have changed.

The comment from Virgin's Simon Burke back in 1991 about the prospect of technology like the cube becoming reality is interesting in the light of today's world of torrents,file sharing and so on:

You know the albums I mean-the drums sound like someone hitting a biscuit tin covered with  a tea cosy-The bass- muffled muddy, indistinct.Vocals hazy & garbled.

For me nothing can make Genesis' 'Duke' sound any better, a really weird sounding album on all hi-fi I've ever owned.

Also,always had trouble with Elton John's 'Someone saved my life tonight'.

Some albums sound so bright,clean & warm even when played on humble equipment.

What albums have you found to be badly produced?

Back in the good old days (cue the Hovis theme tune, trousers tucked into the socks instead of bicycle clips, jumpers for goalposts etc etc)'The Towers' used to have an advice line on Friday afternoons only. Gawd I tried for weeks to get thru, and finally did and had good advice from Ketan.

Did anyone else use this service?

Thinking ahead to the spring clean, and I've realised that whilst I've dusted my beloved Rotel tape deck every week for the last few years, I've not actually switched it on.

I chucked out my recorded tapes years ago, and whilst I've got some new TDK SAX-90's *somewhere* just in case, I can't actually see it getting used any time soon, if at all. Thinking about it, when did WhatHiFi stop including cassette tape in the awards section?

Just discovered a pile of vinyl at home(childhood home) that I didn't know my brother had.(don't worry,it's still his,just borrowed for listening)

Flicking through the known ones (BD -Freewheeling, Bringing it all back home etc, Disraeli Gears ,Elegy/Nice) then the unknown.

The White Album,complete with lyric sheet and pristine photos- research shows a 73 repress in heavyweight vinyl, then Magical Mystery tour ,original 1968 import  with picture book. Beggars Banquet FFSS version.Imagine with pig photo.Sometime in New York City with photo.

I thought we had a fairly good Technics Hi -Fi In the early 1980's.

Then my brother brought home his bosses newfangled cd player and a handfull of CD's.

'I've go a pretty decent system.'I thought.'This CD player won't show up my record player,tape deck and tuner.'

My brother started to spin a few discs.....'the best of Joe Walsh- help me through the night'  .....'Simon & Garfunkel-old friends'.....you guessed right...'Dire Straits- Brothers In Arms'....'The Who I- can see for miles'.....

I was just totally blown away......

K-Tel records. In fact anything from K-Tel: Brush 'o' Matic; A weird bottle opener...

Back to records, who remembers a series of compilation LPs called 'Top Of The Pops'. For those of you under 40 it's a little like 'Now...' albums. But these had non of the original artists and they always had these cheesey looking women dressed like Bronco Billy or biggles. All very bizaare.

Please feel free to add to my 70s hate list

One I vaguely remember was made by Wharfedale. I heard it briefly in a shop and it looked very sparse, just a volume, bass/treble and a 'selector' knob. I remember the guy saying that it was a limited edition, yet apart from colour, I've drawn a blank. I've surfed the web but can't find anything in relation to Wharfedale amps (picture-wise).