AndyJan 6, 2023

Carved out the afternoon for #writing. While I do so, I’m #NowListening to #Mutations by #Beck.

#SeaChange is held in high regard, but, for me, this, of the two, is the perfect album. This too is primarily acoustic, lush strings, & rich melody, but with added weirdness. Which is what I want from Beck. & #Nobody’sFaultButMyOwn is up there for sheer melancholy strangeness.

This is the 2017 reissue which beats out the 1998 for clarity & soundstage.

#NowPlaying #Vinyl #VinylRecords #Music

Show threadKenny BrownJan 6, 2023
@AndyT a reminder to check this out on streaming platforms. He hit a fairly hot streak around that time. I was mainly buying cds but given that #vinyl is more available these days I might be tempted
Show threadAndyJan 6, 2023

@kennybrown131 I agree - it was quite a run.

I remember liking #MellowGold a lot - Truck Driving Neighbours Downstairs, Beercan, & the like… But it was unpolished.

Then came #Odelay - just great song after great song, Mutations, #MidnightVultures (which felt a bit under-appreciated at the time), & then #SeaChange… Which is quite some run.

Then #Guero, which retread some of the same ground as Odelay, but delivered & more (I just love #BlackTamborine, #Girl, #RentalCar, in particular).

Show threadKenny BrownJan 6, 2023
@AndyT saw the Midnite Vultures tour, really top show. Mutations streaming via Qobuz at 24/196 hi-res at the moment. Lush
Show threadAndyJan 6, 2023

@kennybrown131 I saw that same tour at the Manchester Apollo - it was really something else.

I was lucky enough to see him between Mellow Gold and just before Odelay broke. It was a small venue of around 500 people and he performed Rowboat and Truck Driving Neighbours with just an acoustic guitar. That segment of the gig was one of the best live performances I’ve had the pleasure to see. The Midnight Vultures tour, taken as a whole, was one of my top 10 gigs.

Great performer.

Show threadKenny BrownJan 6, 2023
@AndyT we are in agreement, a top performer. Nice Rega there btw. Have had a few of theirs in my time. What amp and speakers do you use? I’ve a #Linn with #MoonAce amp and #totem speakers
Show threadAndyJan 7, 2023
@kennybrown131 Sorry - in terms of amp, Rega Elex-R with the Graham Slee Accession as a discrete photo stage. I am happy with the Elex-R, but the Accession made all the difference. The Dynavector 10X5mk2 cart was a little too shrill through the built in preamp on the Elex-R. The Accession really smooths that out. Plus, now I’m on a real jazz kick, the mono switch on the Accession is almost worth the cost of the upgrade.
Show threadKenny BrownJan 7, 2023
@AndyT you’ve some nice kit. I have a friend who has a Graham Slee phono stage too. He swears by it
Show threadAndy

@kennybrown131 Initially I was intending to stick with the integrated phono stage in my Elex-R, but the Dynavector cart was really bright &, on some stuff, quite unpleasant.

Initially, I went with Graham Slee because they have a loan scheme (you can try at home) & the community is just so helpful. As soon as I added the Accession to my system, I could hear the difference. & it wasn’t just taming the brightness of the Dynavector - everything sound more natural with better definition.

Jan 8, 2023 at 4:49pmWeb
Show threadAndyJan 8, 2023
@kennybrown131 A fairly minor thing in the scheme of things, but the mono switch was very welcome - getting into jazz, a growing proportion of my collection is now mono and messing around with Y-cables to sum the channels felt like a recipe for disaster. At some point I was definitely going to damage the tonearm cables on the P8. :)