Sean Rowley
Related: compilation - music
Profile
If you want a definition of the word eclectic then a quick look in Mr Rowley's record box will certainly point you in the right direction.
Sean Rowley is best known as the man behind the 'All Back to Mine' concept, which was successfully translated into TV and radio programmes and compilation CDs. He's currently hosting a weekly radio show on BBC London. Sean was inspired by the late Roger Scott, a London-based radio presenter who championed doo-wop, gospel and 60s pop. -- http://www.dmcworld.com/backtomine/index.asp
CDs
- Back To Mine (2003) - mixed by Tricky, Various Artists [Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
1. The Cure - Lullaby 2. Little Kings - How We Ride (Exclusive - On Tricky's Label Brown Punk) 3. Eric B & Rakim - My Melody 4. The Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom 5. Doctor John - Loop Guru 6. Rodagan & Tricka - Believe This (Exclusive - On Tricky's Label Brown Punk) 7. Morphine - Potion 8. The Buzzcocks - You Tear Me Up 9. Le Tigre - Much Finer (Original Version) 10. Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse 11. Kat Cross - Symphony for Irony 12. Kate Bush - Eat The Music 13. Costanza - Desire (Exclusive - On Tricky's Label Brown Punk) 14. Chet Baker - My Funny Valentine 15. Little Kings feat. Shola - Days Like ThisI bought this on impulse, struck by the eclecticness of the selection of songs and with a certain amount of trust in Tricky as an arbiter of good music. It works and really holds its own as a compilation, though be warned - if you don't usually buy these sorts of CDs - the sleeve doesn't alert you to the fact that the songs are mixed into each other, meaning you only get a couple of minutes of each song, which is annoying if you are a purist like me. Buy the vinyl version, and then you won't have to suffer Chet Baker's most plaintive vocal performance being overlaid with some bland trip-hop.
I would say that 85% of the songs are of a good quality, but they are classics and you will probably know them already - Lullaby, Night Nurse, Mirror In The Bathroom, My Melody, Much Finer are brilliant songs and the beatmixing just about does them justice. The surprise hit of the album for me was Kate Bush's Eat The Music, which is a joyous uptempo folk affair. However, Tricky's various pubescent protegees let the side down a bit, their contributions being outdated in style and devoid of much tune, and by the end of the album (when they feature most heavily) whoever was at the help of the ProTools seems to have lost most of his inspiration.--tricky_kidder, amazon.co.uk
Along with Portishead, Tricky is Bristol's latest contribution to dirt slow and schizophrenically strange music with roots in HipHop jams, spliffing up and dub encounters. For origins, look back to The Wild Bunch, then Massive Attack, Smith & Mighty, Nellee Hooper. For results, see Soul II Soul and Björk. --David Toop in the A-Z of dub
- Back to Mine - Orb [1 CD, Amazon US]
1. Polynominal-C - Aphex Twin 2. Be No One - Charles Webster 3. Nitrogen Pt. 1 - Juno Reactor 4. Interim - B12 5. Ow Much! - Creature 6. Have You Seen Her - The Chi-Lites 7. I Wanna Be A Fishy - Thomas Fehlmann 8. Falling - Julee Cruise 9. The Land Of Green Ginger - The Orb 10. Blue Calx - Aphex Twin 11. Barbie Girl (TF Long Version) - Electric Chairs 12. You Don’t Fool Me - Joachim Spieth 13. Hempire - F.F.W.D 14. The Light 3000 - Schneider TM vs. KPT. michi.gan [...] - Everything But The Girl - Back to Mine - Various Artists[1 CD, Amazon US]
1. Friends and Enemies - DJ Cam 2. All Alone (No One To Be With) - Slick Rick 3. Bayou - Deadly Avenger 4. Stars All Seem To Weep - Beth Orton 5. Flow - Model 500 (G-Funk mix) 6. Cascades Of Colour - The Ananda Project feat. Gaelle Adisson (Wamdue Black mix) 7. Do It Now - Dubtribe Sound System 8. Wonderful Life - Carl Craig 9. To Cry About - Mary Margaret O'Hara 10. Silent Treatment - The Roots 11. Funky For You (Spacehopper Mix) - Deadbeats 12. Someday We'll All Be Free - Donny Hathaway - Groove Armada
- Back to Mine - Various Artists[1 CD, Amazon US]
1. Description of a fool (Groove Armada's acoustic mix) - Tribe Called Quest 2. Playing your game baby - Barry White 3. Piano grand - Tony D 4. Stanway's revenge - Sidewinder (2) 5. Snappiness (instrumental) - BBG 6. Encounters - Ray Mang 7. Sound of music - Dayton 8. Your song (Tim Love mix) - Groove Armada 9. Next type of motion - Roots Manuva 10. Light my fire - Al Green 11. I Should've Known Better - Mica Paris 12. Destination (Beach Towel Mix) - Schmoov 13. 'Tall Stories - Chaser (Lars from Mars mix) 14. Pharoahs - Tears for Fears
Prior to the breakthrough success of their second album, Vertigo, Groove Armada (Tom Findlay and Andy Cato) were better known as successful club DJs, plying their trade in clubs the length and breadth of England, from Tangled in Manchester to the End in London. For their first mix CD they eschew uptempo dance-floor tunes in favor of a far more laid-back repertoire--think "At the River" rather than "If Everybody Looked the Same." It's an eclectic mixture of classic and modern--from Barry White to Tears for Fears, stopping at all stations along the way. Unlike many of these kinds of compilations, there's not a duff track on here, and standouts like Al Green's "Light My Fire" and Tony D's "Piano Grand" make the cherry on top. Vertigo was justifiably lauded as the Best Chill-Out Album at the U.K.'s Ministry Magazine Awards in 1999; Back to Mine is a worthy heir to the throne. --Helen Marquis - All Back to Mine (2000) - Various Artists [Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Strange games and funky things - Love Unlimited Orchestra 2. Going back to my roots - Havens, Richie 3. Thank you - Sly & The Family Stone 4. Make me believe in you - Patti Jo 5. Moses - Crystalites 6. 90% of me - McRae, Gwen 7. Buzzsaw - Turtles 8. Uptown - Chambers Brothers 9. Sliced tomatoes - Just Brothers 10. Do you believe in magic - Lovin' Spoonful 11. Soul at sunrise - Juggy 12. You've been gone too long - Sexton, Ann 13. Get out of my life woman - Dorsey, Lee 14. Holy are you - Electric Prunes 15. Four horsemen - Aphrodite's Child 16. Holy Thursday - Axelrod, David
Smokin' smokin' smokin'! Sean Rowley's TV series of the same name took the train to nerdville more than a few times, but this CD is essential listening. From Love Unlimited Orchestra's widescreen disco heaven to Axelrod's genius closing psych-out, via storming funk, soul, reggae, R&B, you name it, this comp is a blinder from start to finish. Sure, it bedhops genres like the naughty musical tart it is, but that just goes to prove the substance of the old cliche about there being only good and bad music. This is squarely in the former camp. For true music lovers, "All Back To Mine" is elevating and educating...:-).Hats off to Sean Rowley for this faultless comp. All back to his I say! - New Order - Back to Mine - Various Artists[1 CD, Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Big Eyed Beans From Venus - Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band 2. Higher Than the Sun - Primal Scream 3. he Rain - Missy Elliot (Supa Dupa Fly) 4. Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground 5. M62 Song - Doves 6. In Every Dream Home a Heartache - Roxy Music 7. Was Dog a Doughnut? - Cat Stevens 8. Bassline - Mantronix 9. Cherry Red - The Groundhogs 10. Energy Flash - Joey Beltram 11. I Feel Love - Donna Summer (Patrick Cowley mix) 12. Mushroom - Can 13. The Dance - Rhythim is Rhythim 14. E=MC2 - Giorgio Vs Talla 2XLC
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