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Communication Breakdown, Classic Rock, TeamRock Ltd, Mayward House, 46-52 Pentonville Road, London N1 9HF, or email them to classic.rock@teamrock.com. We regret we cannot reply to phone calls. For more comment visit www.classicrockmagazine.com
FEELIN’ THE VINYL LOVE
Thumbs up on your latest issue about vinyl, which I really love. Only question I have is why there is no album mentioned from perhaps the biggest-selling group of the 70s – the Eagles. Whether you like them or not, they did make some landmark albums, and I miss at least one album in this article.
Grant, E Love, The Netherlands
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The vinyl issue was brilliant – even the image of Vinegar Joe’s self-titled album had me hungry for actual fish and chips. And it was interesting to find out more about Robert Palmer actually being in a band, since I thought he was just a solo artist.
Robert Thorpe, North Yorkshire
Pretty disappointed with your Vinyl issue. I thought it was going to be such a good edition that I could really smell the PVC. But apart from a few interesting sections us punters basically got another lazy list of ‘250 records you must own before you need a hearing aid’-type effort.
Enjoyed the (very) short sections on vinyl bootlegs and Record Store Day, and the Casablanca label thang was a good read. But really, c’mon! Where were the interviews with audiophiles such as Steve Albini and Jack White, or a piece on vinyl singles clubs – Sub Pop being the most famous (and best), with Nirvana’s Love Buzz (now worth thousands) being their first Club issue? An article on current ‘vinyl specialist’ labels or a handful of ‘rock stars and their vinyl collection’ interviews would’ve been interesting. I was so upset I typed ‘girls with vinyl’ into Google to console myself.
To make up for it, how about a full page each month of upcoming vinyl delights for us junkies, with details of limited runs, colours, special editions etc. You’re keeping rock alive, now how about helping keep vinyl alive too.
_Clive Roberts, Shropshire _
We have bigger plans afoot in regard to vinyl coverage, watch this space.
Erm, what happened to Communication Breakdown in issue #209 ? It is usually the first feature I turn to, and often think that one page isn’t enough either, only 4 letters in issue #207! Anyway, I’ll forgive you just this once, as long as it doesn’t happen again… Mainly ’coz I drooled over pages 84-87. My Dunlop Systemdek, with Rega arm, still purrs beautifully, as does my Mission amp, heck it’s 25 years old! No fiddly knobs – on/off switch, source, and volume, end of story. However, “her indoors’’ decided that my Heybrooks didn’t fit with the ‘decor’ and they had to go, but my vinyl lives on. Thanks for the feature, however I think that upgrade to a Linn is still just a dream!
Iain Lyall, Hamilton
Sorry Ian, in order to cram all that lovely vinyl in last month meant that the letters page took a brief sabbatical. Glad you enjoyed the gear porn though!
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Took my son to see Black Star Riders on March 20 at Shepherd’s Bush. Managed to meet the band and they were really genuine guys. They gave him a real welcome and made him feel really special. Just thought I would share the picture with you (see above) to show that the youth of today aren’t all One Direction nuts.
Dan Davies, Abergavenny
NO CONFORMITY
A fine and very interesting vinyl issue of Classic Rock, which would have been perfect except for one thing – what the fuck are you playing at by reviewing Specials reissues, and not bothering your damn arses to review one of the excellent, long-awaited Corrosion Of Conformity reunion gigs, especially when the London date was only round the corner from your bloody office, in the Electric Ballroom? Inexcusable balls-ups on your part.
Mike Foster, via email
SOUTH AFRICA’S ROCK LEGACY
During the 80s and 90s no real rock music visited the South African shores. We made our own fun and wonderful music within the borders of the Republic. Or you could do what we did – join South African Airways as flight attendants and see whatever you wanted in whatever country in the world you wanted. I am still doing it 35 years later. It was a mission to get hold of records in South Africa. As a 13-year-old boy I had to hitch-hike 12 miles to the nearest big town to buy Dark Side Of The Moon and Black Sabbath’s Vol. 4.
EMI burned down in South Africa in the early 70s, and with it went the master tapes of some of the greatest rock the world has never heard – stuff like Freedom’s Children by Astra, African Day and Africa She Too Can Cry by Hawk. I’d love you to do justice to the historical era of South African rock music and do a few pages on it. The historical value is just so amazing.
Charl Barry, Cape Town
ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY’S A-OK
It’s a rare day when I feel the need to scrawl a missive to my music tome of choice over a ‘subjective’ review of an album, but I felt the need on this day to pronounce from the rooftops that your reviewer who found Joe Bonamassa’s Rock Candy Funk Party We Want Groove album to be one to ‘avoid’ [Buyer’s Guide, CR 209] is talking out of his hoop. How he missed the cool groove of the slower tracks and stated the album ‘tanked when the pace dropped’ suggests he ain’t got no soul, baby. Sit back, crack a frothy top open and get those slower tracks sliding through your best cans. Cool, funky and essential listening, I think. It may be hard to pick a Bonamassa duffer, but this ain’t it.
Lee Cobham, via email
CULT FOLLOWING
Classic Rock is an awesome mag, which I have been an avid reader of for 14 years. But in that time I have not seen a Buyer’s Guide for a most underrated band, The Cult, and I think their back catalogue is well worth featuring – you even have the Born Into This album for one to avoid. Essential classics: Love and Sonic Temple. Apologies if you’ve done one already, and I would love to read it. Heres hoping.
A few more goth and grunge features would be much appreciated.
Gary Lawrence, via email
