Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The love of vinyl knows no bounds. The one-time message from the so thought of great and good that vinyl was a dying, cumbersome beast, has in fact turned out to be the worst kind of propaganda to have sullied the listening public’s appetite for searching out music history. Instead of being drawn into the fast-consuming affair to which compact discs and then downloads afforded the listener into consuming music at the touch of a button, vinyl was, and remains an experience to which overrides the immediate and asks only for care and attention.
It is to such previous methods that when a band re-releases an album that had once only been available on other formats, the excitement for the fan should arguably be one that cannot be contained, after all there is something to be said for the physical, for the hefty weight you have carried around town, it is after all an event, an occasion to savour as you hold the object in your hands with a greater assurance that you can muster whilst holding a C.D., it almost makes you believe in the job of the old prospector, that Going For Gold is the ultimate satisfaction in life.
Memories of musical conquest abound as songs such as Disco Down, Chasing Rainbows, She Left Me On Friday, Dolphin, Devil In Your Shoes, Where Have You Been Tonight, The Heroes, Mark and Ocean Pie abound as the marking of the 20th anniversary release of Shed Seven’s compilation and greatest hits package is highlighted with abundant class that registers just how great a band they were.
As part of the much-vaunted Brit-pop era, Shed Seven perhaps didn’t get as much national attention as they deserved, like the avant-garde Pulp, the music that the band created was arguably of a higher social value than by some who caressed the genre with greater success. However, that is not to say that the music was not appreciated, that it didn’t carry the hearts of the fans who took it upon face value and who took the first three albums, Change Giver, Maximum High and Let It Ride into the top 20 album chart with spirit and belief.
The deluxe vinyl reissue hits home with the force of the York Minster bells tolling out the chimes of midnight just how intelligent the music and lyrics of the band were, that the song writing had bite but also an element of dangerous humour attached to it, to be socially conscious and to collude, to contribute in the downfall of the sell by date of others is wondrous achievement.
A remarkable album reborn, one that gold is to be admired, but one that understands that the flesh and bone, the thoughts of society and the individual are worth so much more than trinkets and shallow base medals.
Shed Seven’s deluxe vinyl reissue of Going For Gold is out now
Ian D. Hall