Tag Archives: Associates

Alan Rankine: 1958-2023

It’s the first post of a new year and I had everything all worked out. A review I had been thinking of for months that kept getting bumped for this, that, and the other thing. Then I got word that … Continue reading

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Associates “Sulk” Ultrabox Aims For Excess…As Ever [part 8]

[…continued from last post] The primordial version of “No” was as different from the elaborate and layered album production as possible. For a start, it’s all performed on guitar, bass and drums! The mournful tone of Rankine’s guitar was still … Continue reading

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Associates “Sulk” Ultrabox Aims For Excess…As Ever [part 7]

[…continued from last post] The June third Peel Session from 1982, was broadcast just three weeks after “Sulk” was released. The band were obviously racing towards the horizon as the new session [possibly after drummer John Murphy was out of … Continue reading

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Associates “Sulk” Ultrabox Aims For Excess…As Ever [part 6]

[…continued from last post] Next in the program was the phalanx of hit singles…boom…boom…boom! Having first heard “Party Fears Two” in 7″ form on “Popera” in 1990 meant that the succinct single mix made that heavy first impression. Listening to … Continue reading

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Associates “Sulk” Ultrabox Aims For Excess…As Ever [part 5]

[…continued from last post] The monitor mix of “It’s Better This Way” was not an instrumental. Instead, it was another case of Billy MacKenzie attacking the song from one of many different angles. It went back to the B-side of … Continue reading

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Associates “Sulk” Ultrabox Aims For Excess…As Ever [part 4]

[…continued from last post] Associates: Sulk [2022 remaster] – UK – 3x CD [2022] Disc 2: OUT-TAKES, MONITOR MIXES & RARITIES Ulcragyceptimol (Demo) I Never Will (Demo) Club Country (Demo) Me, Myself and the Tragic Story (John Leckie Recording) Australia … Continue reading

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Associates “Sulk” Ultrabox Aims For Excess…As Ever [part 3]

[…continued from last post] Following the pensive “Skipping,” the album got a jolt of the closest it came to Rock energy with “It’s Better This Way.” Rankine’s anxious, ominous guitar chords proffered a cinematic foreshadowing of emotional dread in the … Continue reading

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