Panegyric Vinyl & CDs

Review: 
For the first time ever since the mid-80s, Robert Fripp's God Save The Queen is now avaialble on fresh vinyl once more. It was the second solo album from Fripp and is made up almost entirely of so-called 'Frippertronics,' which means much of the record was performed by improvisation. Under each track are solid drums and bass to get the grooves going and guitar loops for the five tracks were recorded live in concert during 1979. It's a real left turn of an album and one that can be as mesmerising as it can wild.

Review: King Crimson of the 1970s sounded very different from the band that made this Discipline album with a newly formed line-up of Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew and Tony Levin seven years after the band first broke up. It is now 40 years young so gets the requisite reissue treatment and has also been remastered for the occasion. It comes on a mighty hefty 200g vinyl so can be played extra loud, just as it should. The record mixes up electronica, funk, pure pop, modern avant-garde and much more and was a chart success in many different countries around the world.

Review: XTC's cult 1984 album 'The Big Express' was essentially just that - a 'big expression' of brash indie noise, tempered by the shadow of the industrial old Wiltshire town in which the band grew up, Swindon. In true post-punk fashion, the band combined the electronic Linndrum with guitar, bass and vocals. But the 'Express', in their words, wasn't just self-expression; electronic rock, to XTC, also reflected the quite literal concept of the 'railway express', reflecting Swindon's reputation as one of the core towns behind the UK's railway system. A remarkable album, and a slice of history at that.