Not one of the best months for vinyl from our Italian record fiends. But as always a few releases mark the mark. A 12' pressing of the once horribly sleeved I Dig Everything The 1966 Pye Singles (and recent CD version) see DAVID BOWIE's cool mod era singles finally get a decent vinyl treatment, thankfully featuring a nice set of pics! Man, Bowie was such a top ace face - and loaded with top tunes too! If you like MOR reggae then Jamaica's move towards the mainstream with JOHN HOLT's 1000 Volts Of Holt, which is a relatively enjoyable selection of cover versions, may appeal, whilst rocksteady pioneers THE MELODIANS get a decent double-vinyl anthology with The Rivers Of Babylon. BERT JANSCH's Rosemary Lane from 1971 is a subtle selection of trad and original material that show quite why Jansch at this time was at the top of his game. Of course, there's no disputing that BLACK SABBATH's We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'n' Roll is a fab compilation of the band's crucial period, but if a fan like me you'll have all the tracks on this album anyway. However, for the uninitiated it's an ideal introduction to the best of the Ozzy era. MOTORHEAD's Bomber album from 1979 is also acceptably heavy and nasty, but unfortunately that's about it for this month, the rest of the releases feature a stew of non-friendly punk and metal, with more from GBH, DISCHARGE and ANGEL WITCH. EEK!!!!
Jon 'Mojo' Mills