Levitation - Meanwhile Gardens [12", 2LP]

This album has a very interesting history. In 1990, Terry Bickers left The House Of Love. Together with their drummer David Francolini and 3 others he formed a new band: LEVITATION. They released a few EP's and a full length on Rough Trade, called Need For Not. Then they signed to Chrysalis and recorded enough material for two whole albums, but during that period there were arguments and at some point Bickers walked off stage during a concert. A new singer, Steve Ludwin, took his place eventually and even their album MEANWHILE GARDENS was released with the new singer's vocals replacing the original recordings of Bickers'. It came out on CD only, in Australia in 1994.

Now, after 22 years, Flashback Records did a great job releasing the album as it was meant to be. They got the original band members to authorize the album with a definitive tracklisting order, and -most importantly- with Bickers' original vocals. It was remastered from the original analogue tapes. Earlier this year they already released the limited Never Odd Or Even 12" for Record Store Day, with 3 songs from these sessions that hadn't made it to the album.

It's a brilliant psychedelic, progressive rock album. Labeling it as such might suggest it's boring and unnecessarily bombastic, but it's everything but that. It's gentle, subtle and can be very strong at the same time. And Terry Bickers' vocals are just really good. Hard to describe how it sounds, but if you like bands like Porcupine Tree, Radiohead and Mogwai, you're in for a treat. And it never sounds outdated, after all those years. My favourite songs are King Of Mice and I Believe, but there are plenty of more gems like that on this album.

Label: Flashback Records

Cat.nr.: FB009

Year of release: 2015

SIDE A:

01. Food For Power

02. Gardens Overflowing

03. Bodiless

SIDE B:

01. Magnifying Glass

02. King Of Mice

03. Imagine The Sharks

SIDE C:

01. Evergreen

02. Even When Your Eyes Are Open

03. I Believe

SIDE D:

01. Burrows

02. Sacred Lover

Various Artists - Holidays In The Sun [12", 2LP]

Bumped into this HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN compilation on my way out of the Utrecht record fair a few weeks ago. A double LP for a ridiculously cheap price (just over 1 euro per side) and in mint condition, or at least the records are. Clearly never played. I've never seen this compilation before but that is probably because it was only released in Greece, and those albums rarely show up in the western parts of Europe. It's from 1994, which means there are probably not many copies floating around, since vinyl was already clearly on its way back at that time. But for this price and with the tracklisting on the back i knew i couldn't go wrong at all, even though i already have a lot of these songs on other vinyl releases. It covers alternative rock, (post-)punk, new wave and synthpop - and all of them hits! Just check below and you'll see what i mean.
By the way, Gary Numan's "Cars" is the '93 Sprint Mix version. It's not credited like that on the cover though.

Label: Mercury / Polygram Greece
Cat.nr.: 516 849-1
Year of release: 1994

SIDE A:
01. SEX PISTOLS - Pretty Vacant
02. BAUHAUS - She's In Parties
03. XTC - Making Plans For Nigel
04. JOE JACKSON - I'm The Man
05. GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOURS - Hey Lord Don't Ask Me Questions

SIDE B:
01. SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES - Christine
02. MAGAZINE - Shot By Both Sides
03. THE JAM - Going Underground
04. P.I.L. - This Is Not A Love Song
05. GARY NUMAN - Cars

SIDE C:
01. VIOLENT FEMMES - Blister In The Sun
02. IGGY POP - Real Wild Child (Wild One)
03. MADNESS - Baggy Trousers
04. NEW ORDER - True Faith
05. HEAVEN 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
06. LES NEGRESSES VERTES - Sous Le Soleil De Bodega

SIDE D:
01. NICK CAVE - Deanna
02. THE HOUSEMARTINS - Me And The Farmer
03. THE LA'S - There She Goes
04. THE HOUSE OF LOVE - Shine On
05. INSPIRAL CARPETS - This Is How It Feels
06. THE MISSION - Butterfly On A Wheel

The House Of Love - The Girl With The Loneliest Eyes [12", Promo]

This particular promo version of THE GIRL WITH THE LONELIEST EYES by THE HOUSE OF LOVE is not listed at Discogs at this point. I guess i'll fix that in the near future ;) Anyway it must be a rather rare edition, since the press sheet was still included and it says that only "200 special DJ's" received this promo. The single was the first one of their album Babe Rainbow, released the next year. The band didn't release their strongest material around that time (to my humble opinion), but i do really like the gentle track Tea In The Sun on this EP. A nice crate digging find from Utrecht, a few days ago.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: HOLDJ 512
Year of release: 1991

SIDE A:
01. The Girl With The Loneliest Eyes
02. Purple Killer Rose

SIDE B:
01. Tea In The Sun
02. Pink Frost

Various Artists - Doing It For The Kids [12", LP]

This legendary compilation on Creation Records was something i've been looking for for quite a while. Ten days ago I went to London to see Slowdive and while i was over anyway, of course i had to do some vinyl digging. UK labels Creation and 4AD releases being my main interest, i thought that London would be the place to be to find some nice rarities. And although i did find a few nice things like this compilation and some other stuff i'll be writing about on this blog sooner or later, the general impression of the vinyl stores in London sadly wasn't too good. I mostly walked around in Soho, Camden and Islington but most of the few stores that i came across (only around 12 in total) were pretty expensive or just not very well-assorted. Sister Ray, Reckless, Rough Trade East and Flashback were definitely the best ones. Ah well; perhaps i just expected too much of a city with 7.5 million inhabitants.
Back to the vinyl: this DOING IT FOR THE KIDS LP was released in August 1988 (on the same day as You Made Me Realise by My Bloody Valentine and Destroy The Heart by The House Of Love) and was preceeded by a concert in Kentish Town where many of the featured bands were playing, like My Bloody Valentine, The House Of Love, Felt, Heidy Berry and Primal Scream. The compilation states on the cover that it's an 'LP for the price of a 7" single'. That's not really what it goes for anymore these days, athough i must say that this copy was fairly priced. I've seen another one later in another store and that was 3 times more expensive, while the condition of this copy was actually better. All in all this is a great compilation and i'm happy i can finally add this to my Creation collection.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRELP 037
Year of release: 1988

SIDE A:
01. THE JASMINE MINKS - Cut Me Deep
02. FELT - Ballad Of The Band
03. THE HOUSE OF LOVE - Christine
04. THE WEATHER PROPHETS - Well Done Sonny
05. PRIMALSCREAM - All Fall Down
06. BIFF BANG POW! - She Paints
07. THE JAZZ BUTCHER - Lot 49

SIDE B:
01. HEIDI BERRY - North Shore Train
02. NIKKI SUDDEN - Death Is Hanging Over Me
03. MY BLOODY VALENTINE - Cigarette In My Bed
04. PACIFIC - Jetstream
05. THE TIMES - Godevil
06. MOMUS - A Complete History Of Sexual Jealousy (Parts 17-24)
07. EMILY - Reflect On Rye
08. RAZORCUTS - Brighter Now

The House Of Love - I Don't Know Why I Love You [7"]

Found this single at the Utrecht record fair last April. The regular I DON'T KNOW WHY I LOVE YOU 7"single (which would appear on their s/t album on Fontana) was released  in a black sleeve, with the song Secrets on the B-side. There was also a numbered limited edition however, in a white sleeve, with another B-side. No idea how many were made of this; my number is # 0255. The cover is a gatefold but there's only one disc inside. Not really the best song by THE HOUSE OF LOVE, but still a nice and catchy tune and definitely one of the better ones on the Fontana album.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: HOLG 2
Year of release: 1989

SIDE A:
01. I Don't Know Why I Love You

SIDE B:
01. Love II

The House Of Love - Shine On (Fuck Version) [7", Flexidisc]

My first ever flexidisc is number 3 out of 4 singles by THE HOUSE OF LOVE that i bought at the Utrecht recordfair last weekend. The version of SHINE ON on this single (called "Fuck Version" for a reason unknown to me) is a quiet and acoustic solo rendition of the song by Guy Chadwick, recorded in Holland "during Guy Chadwick's infamous and well-documented breakdown". That's at least how it's described in the CD booklet of the Pensioners On Ecstasy compilation, the only other release that had this version featured a bit later. Last year it appeared on the deluxe CD edition of their s/t Creation album as well, as one of many bonus tracks. Apparently this 7" was given away for free at shows; but how many were made, and at which shows exactly they were given away, i have no idea of.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CREFRE 5
Year of release: 1988

SIDE A:
01. Shine On (Fuck Version)

SIDE B:
-

The House Of Love - Destroy The Heart [7"]

This DESTROY THE HEART 7" by THE HOUSE OF LOVE was the second of four The House Of Love 7"es that i bought last weekend at the recordfair in Utrecht. I already have the 12" version, but this one wasn't very expensive so it is a welcome addition to my Creation Records collection.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 057
Year of release: 1988

SIDE A:
01. Destroy The Heart

SIDE B:
01. Blind

The House Of Love - Christine [7"]

CHRISTINE is definitely my favourite song by THE HOUSE OF LOVE; a true classic indie tune of the late eighties. I've been looking for this particular single for quite some time because it's the only vinyl release that has the slightly psychedelic Loneliness Is A Gun track on it. The CD edition of the so-called German Album has it, but the vinyl edition does not. So i was happy to find it last weekend at the recordfair in Utrecht, as you can imagine.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 053
Year of release: 1988

SIDE A:
01. Christine

SIDE B:
01. Loneliness Is A Gun

The House Of Love - The House Of Love [12", LP]

This LP is a compilation from THE HOUSE OF LOVE's first two singles on Creation Records, plus two tracks that were new at the time. It was only released in Germany, before their self-titled album came out, and in 2007 it was reissued (with a bunch of extra tracks) as a CD on the Renascent label as "The German Album" for that matter. To my opinion, the early version of Shine On on this LP is much better than the polished version that became an indie hit two years later when they had signed to Fontana. But i've written earlier already of course that i think that their most interesting stuff was released on Creation.


Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: RTD/CRE 9-63
Year of release: 1987

SIDE A:
01. Shine On
02. Plastic
03. Love
04. Real Animal

SIDE B:
01. The Hedonist
02. Flow
03. Nothing To Me
04. Welt

The House Of Love - The House Of Love [12", LP]

After they'd released a self-titled album on Creation in 1988, THE HOUSE OF LOVE did it once again on Fontana in 1990. And although as far as i'm concerned it doesn't even come close to the Creation album, their two biggest hits (Shine On and Beatles And The Stones) are featured on this release.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: 842 293-1           
Year of release: 1990

SIDE A:
01. Hannah
02. Shine On
03. Beatles And The Stones
04. Shake And Crawl
05. Hedonist
06. I Don't Know Why I Love You

SIDE B:
01. Never
02. Someone's Got To Love You
03. In A Room
04. Blind
05. 32nd Floor
06. Se Dest

The House Of Love - The House Of Love [12", LP]

I've been looking quite long for the s/t debut by THE HOUSE OF LOVE; it's not an album you run into everyday. But finally earlier this week i came across this LP in a very good condition at Iki-Pop in Turku, Finland. A great store by the way if you're looking for old punk and new wave vinyls.
I love this album; one of the finest ever released on Creation. Their later releases on Fontana are much less interesting, as far as i'm concerned.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRELP 34
Year of release: 1988

SIDE A:
01. Christine
02. Hope
03. Road
04. Sulphur
05. Man To Child

SIDE B:
01. Salome
02. Love In A Car
03. Happy
04. Fisherman's Tale
05. Touch Me

The House Of Love - Destroy The Heart [12"]

A great song by a great band. THE HOUSE OF LOVE made some really fine tunes in the late 80's. Most people (if at all) probably know them from their "hit" later on (Beatles And The Stones) which they had while they were signed to Fontana, but i personally like their Creation Records period better. Christine is my favourite song from that period, but DESTROY THE HEART is a good second.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 057 T
Year of release: 1988

SIDE A:
01. Destroy The Heart

SIDE B:
01. Blind
02. Mr. Jo