Slowly getting around to entering CDs I bought while I was away. It will take a while though. Tonight should be a good night at Bar d’O – the keyboardist from Combustible Edison, Brother Cleve, is spinning, along with a guy from the exotica list who has very cool taste. I hope I can stay awake; that jet lag is really getting to me, and I keep falling asleep in the evenings before I get around to actually doing anything.

Smiths: 'Louder than Bombs' (CD; wea; 1984-1987)
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I actually never owned this album originally, never needing to, since I owned all the songs it compiles on either 'hatful of hollow', 'the world won't listen' or the 'sheila take a bow' 12". Still, it's interesting to hear them in this context. We are also offered alternate, slightly unfamiliar single versions of some songs, such as 'stretch out and wait' and the fully instrumented version of 'back to the old house'. Some songs have dated better than others. It's all still great. 'rubber ring', 'william....', 'sheila...', 'girl afraid'...so many songs really stand out, but there's nothing bad on here at all. I still resent them for stealing my childhood though...

Compilation - Tindersticks: 'Donkeys' (CD; Island; 1992-1997)
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This is an unusual compilation. It's not one I rushed to buy; in fact I only really bought it because I found it so cheaply. It's pretty nice though, compiling unusual early Tindersticks recordings, many of which I quite liked at the time. Some of their best tracks are here - 'marbles', 'her' and 'travelling light', for example. 'Her' in particular is great, and the version here is gritty and superbly twangy, just like the peel session version which was what first got me into the group. I got a big nostalgia trip hearing 'here', just because I was a big fan of the Pavement original back in 1992. This pretty little version is quite fun too. I guess the bottom line for me and Tindersticks is that I can't help but agree with the acquaintance of mine who commented that 'Stuart Staples always sings as if he has his mouth half full of sandwich'. I can't love the man's voice, but they remain a superb group, capable of creating incredible atmosphere. To be fair, this does end up being a very strong release, with more greate tracks like the duet with Isabella Rosselini - 'a marriage made in heaven', which borrows its introduction from Lee Hazlewood's 'sand', and the harsh piano bass of the single 'bathtime'.