neil diamond - delirious love (mp3)

scanning through the archives of the hype machine i was surprised to see that not many people had picked up on tracks from oldies favourite neil diamond's new album. with rick rubin at the helm many, myself included, were expecting diamond's credibility to soar, with the hipkids crying his praises to all who would hear. strange how they haven't, but i'll give it a go instead - 12 songs is a wonderfully crafted album, as stripped down and simple as it's title indicates - there are no delusions of grandeur, no overly-complicated orchestral arrangements, just one man and his guitar, and a little help from his friends. this track in particular gains so much from the simplicity, so as when the steel guitar explodes later in the track it commands your full attention. disregard your preconceptions, forget about whether your mum and dad would like it, try and repress any negative childhood memories you may have attached, and check this out.

my broadband at home is out of action, so apologies again for the sporadic updates. hopefully service will resume to regular posts within the next few weeks, possibly with promised assistance from mark!

randy watson experience - be still my beating heart (sting cover) (mp3)

please note - enjoyment of the following post may be dependant on which side of the atlantic you reside. americans seem to love sting, and hold him with a reverence which seems strange to people on this end of the pond. we stare on in disbelief at the scores of sting sample-led hip-hop records which offer him instant credibility, and this still shows no signs of abaiting. it can't be denied that the man can write a great tune (with "shape of my heart" being a personal favourite), and this cover version from ubiquity's upcoming "rewind 5" compilation shows just that.

?uestlove's pet project the randy watson experience apply their beautiful soul-tinged perspective to the track, with shifting, often unsettling vocals playing as an important piece as ?uestloves drumming in this perfect piece of late-night lounging. rewind 5 is on 11th april.

isolee - lost (mp3)

there are some things that just radiate quality once they have a nationality attatched to them. english fish & chips. swiss watches. brazilian women. and german techno. nobody (bar the detroit masters) do it like the germans. epic lengths, subtle changes and intricate layers of melody are staple characteristics. rajko müller knows this, knows how high the bar is set, and still manages to clear it quite confidently everytime he steps into the studio. whilst the scene has morphed through guises such as intelligent dance music, click-house and, more recently, minimal, isolee has managed to stay at the forefront of any movement and craft his own unique and immediately noticeable style. last year's we are monster was a rare treat - an album by a dance artist but not for dancing, with no claims of "this one's for the clubs", just 10 perfect tracks lovingly crafted into a headphone masterpiece.

but it's good to know that when he makes a track for the dancefloors, it doesn't dissapoint. this is from western store, a compilation of tracks released on 12" through playhouse inbetween rajko's two albums. there are so many gems on there, but I had to pick this just for it's jaw dropping conclusion, where the track seems to end only to pick back up again in spectacular fashion. pick it up from here.

"lost" is a quite apt title for a first post in four weeks. i've just moved into my first home, and completed what must be one of the most stressful events in anyone's life. thank's for the kind "where are you" requests whilst we've been away, it's nice to know people pay attention to this thing of ours!