Still got your record player? Dig it out. The crunchier the music, the better it sounds on vinyl: a broader noise, bigger than you get from a CD and many times fuller than what you’d hear from an execrable mp3 player. Technology does not always improve stuff. Five Teenage Fanclub albums have been re-released on vinyl, each one with its retinue of freebie extras, unreleased singles and so on, at about £18 a pop. I’ve chosen the three best.
The raw Bandwagonesque set the power-pop template: The Byrds, Alex Chilton and Crazy Horse compressed into very agreeable three minutes slabs. It gave them an unrepeated US hit in ‘Star Sign’ and a concert staple in ‘The Concept’. Better still is Thirteen, which was unceremoniously panned by the critics on its release. The sound is muddier, darker, from the T.Rex-ish thundering which kicks off the album to the lengthy Neil Young-ish workout ‘Gene Clark’, but they have never written a better bunch of tunes.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in