S/D -- The Numero Group

I liked "Wayfaring Strangers" myself. esp. the Caroline Peyton song, and the one about the ocean told from the ocean's point of view. they're great packages, too.

I just got the new Detroit comp (the Big Mack label) but I haven't had time to digest. haven't heard the early comps.

Then the Wildman
Called the Lady's hand
For there came a day
When he could not wait
He said, ''Pretty woman,
Don't let it go.
This is magic
We'll never know again.''
She said, ''I won't let you in.''
I'm not loving anyone these days
And I can't take your crazy ways.
So the time passed
And the Lady grew sad.
For she had not planned
To love the Wildman.

Delivered with even a hint of camp or irony, these lyrics -- and the song -- would crumble. But Reilly plays it straight, putting the song over perfectly. I still think it's a hit-or-miss compilation, but I'm beginning to appreciate its considerable charm.

It's really amazing to me that the artists this label unearths didn't find a bigger audience (or any audience) in their day. Maybe 20 years from now, the Numero Group will be re-releasing Iron & Wine, Howe Gelb and Low.

On Wayfaring, Caroline Peyton is amazing. I did a piece on her and this other lady, both of whom ended up in Nashville, for the Scene a couple months ago. You can find it on nashscene.com, it's called "Who Knows Where the Time Goes," I think, I don't have the link handy. Anyway, Peyton is seriously talented, and thriving--she did legit Broadway stuff and sang in Disney animated movies, and has done well. She lives in Emmylou Harris' old house, in Nashville. Fascinating to talk to, and I actually got her to lend me her "Mock Up" LP from '72, from which "Engram" on Wayfaring is drawn.

He's always playing way ahead of the beat; he's floppy and his time flops all over the place, I guess; it's indefinite and that's the one thing a drummer isn't (usually) supposed to be. I guess it's the same guy on most of it? Plus, that band, they were originaly a marching band, and that shows as well. It doesn't strike me as small-group drumming, fundamentally.

But altho he's not a good drummer, he's really interesting. I mean I'm not hung up on all that too much--the music works, most of it. It's weird music from the drumming on up; so maybe he's a *great* drummer and realized how strange the whole project was and played accordingly.

I think I really like this Big Mack comp, too.

The New Times article is available online, at

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/2006-02-16/music/music2.html

When you mentioned that you're a music writer, it reminded me of the sheer number of really talented music critics that post on ILM. I've seen contributors who appear to be from all the major online music websites, e.g., Pitchfork, Stylus, Popmatters, and major print publications, e.g., Village Voice, No Depression. None of this would matter, of course, if the posts were all snippy and lacked content, but I've been amazed by the thoughtfulness of the posts and of the forum's contributors (not that anyone would care about my opinion on the subject). How did you all find this board?

-- Daniel (n.1)

_____________________________
(n.1) I should receive the Big Mack album over the next day or so.

dude

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/resizeImage/htdocs/export_images/620/620.x600.mr.abcsofsoul.jpg

Winight's Lunar Rotation is really good, for the most part (the impaled falsettoes etc are mostly at the beginning) You can still hear one of the better tracks, read a review of it and the whole set:
http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=688

Twilight's Lunar Rotation is ok, but it could've easily been one disc rather than 2.

Obviously you mean Twinight, no worries there... Thing is, Kent had already done a Twinight comp so it was imperative that this be as exhaustive as possible. It is a superb Chicago soul music collection for the real Shy collector. I wish I had the product itself but their discs are too dang expensive. I know they are nice etc etc but I just aint got that kinda scratch. (Plus I own that Kent rcd already so I wasn't about to buy all them trx again).

Big to the southside anyway...

They have two new discs either out now or on the way: Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts of Deep City, which is a follow-up to the fantastic Deep City label and Wayfaring Strangers: Guitar Soli.

Twilight's Lunar Rotation is ok, but it could've easily been one disc rather than 2.

Obviously you mean Twinight, no worries there... Thing is, Kent had already done a Twinight comp so it was imperative that this be as exhaustive as possible. It is a superb Chicago soul music collection for the real Shy collector. I wish I had the product itself but their discs are too dang expensive. I know they are nice etc etc but I just aint got that kinda scratch. (Plus I own that Kent rcd already so I wasn't about to buy all them trx again).

If you think you got it all on the Kent CD or that this could have been one disc, you're missing out. The booklet alone is worth the 25 bucks. Have you seen the photos? The Kent booklet had like three, this thing's got like 30. I mean, who else was going to track down the Mystiques?

Pick up those Twinight 45s if you get a chance. Can't imagine they'll be around long.

ok, you talked me into it!

(I did actually mean the Numero Group thing was a great collection, not the as-usual raggedy-ass Kent one. All I meant is I hadn't sprung for the actual CDs yet.)

Now we just need a Mar-V-Lus comp ... and make sure it includes Von Freeman's 45 ! my copy is sorta crackly.

Anyone heard the new one yet? I got it this week (I'm on The Numero Group's annual plan). So far, v. good (on limited, partial spins). Not sure it's as gripping as some of the label's prior releases, but they're all so solid that this isn't much of a criticism.

Very much hooked on the Jackie Stoudamire tracks.

Stoudemire -- excuse me.

I've been enjoying the Guitar Soli comp (vol. 2 of Wayfaring Strangers, I guess) -- some wild Fahey/Kottke/Etc kinda dudes on there. A cool glimpse into a weird little subculture of musicians, great liners, packaging, the whole shebang. I've always eyed the soul comps on Numero, but haven't made the plunge just yet. what's the one to start with?

I say the Eccentric Soul: Deep City Label disc is the place to start.

revive

nobody?

Hah I still haven't heard anything (and their packaging still bugs me.)

what would you like us to say?

x-post

"(and their packaging still bugs me.)"

you must be talking about CDs. cuz the vinyl packages are a fetishist's dream.

guitar soli double vinyl is sooooooo beautiful. and an amazing collection.

I am talking about the CDs. Everything is white with a grainy Jandek pic on the front.

I enjoy the soul stuff, etc, but I can live happily with just the Antena.

for real? weird. they put such care into the vinyl. the design of those soul comps should be winning awards.

x-post

they went cardboard and ink starting with #18. Not sure if this is just an interruption or a new paradigm.

scott, i would like you to SEARCH and DESTROY

http://i31.tinypic.com/ao0qxw.jpg

I love this label

also http://i31.tinypic.com/ao0qxw.jpg

not super-impressed w/ "wayfaring stranger: ladies of the canyon". i'm really enjoying the "bearded ladies" comp on finders keepers much more (although i guess that comps not as historically specific).

the two "cult cargo" comps are pretty awesome, even though i expected them to be much much more tropical and much less US-oriented.

i've only heard a few of the eccentric soul volumes. "kid soul" is pretty good but i don't think it really keeps up over the whole disk. but "capsoul" and "outskirts of deep city" are really fantastic.

very interested in hearing the "bandit", "big mack" and "twinight" volumes.

If you liked Outskirts Of Deep City, you should definitely consider the prior disc, The Deep City Label. It has even stronger material, especially from a group called The Moovers (e.g., Someone To Fulfill My Needs and Darlin I'll Go).

Curt1s, those promo pictures you posted above are for which Numero disc? I don't recognize them (and I think I have all but 3 of the label's discs).

No, they just appeared on an Audio Downloads page on my account. After ordering sale CDs, they sent me this email:

"Due to popular demand, the Numero Group is paying a brief visit to the 21st Century to deliver you these popular packets of bits known as MPEG-2 Audio Layer IIIs, or mp3s as the kids are calling them. Enjoy your digital audio files by logging back into your account and downloading them to your preferred device or brain implant."

they had download cards for the first project 12

I decided to splurge on the Unwound box set. It's only 20 quid or so more than what I paid for the Husker Du one two years ago, so I reason that's a great deal for 11 discs and a book.

prices have gone back up. I assumed that until the 6th August included the 6th August.
Well I got some stuff. Was just thinking of grabbing more thgough.
Do wish they weren't dropping cds though.

Also discovered that pretty much all of the Numero group stuff is up on bandcamp which is useful.

I’m eternally grateful to Numero for reissuing that Jordan De La Sierra album, the most beautiful cloudy piano minimalism I’ve ever heard

THought that Willie Wright was in the sale possibly cos I discovered it on the bandcamp page. It does sound really good so shame it won't be around in that media though that label again. Is anybody else likely to pick things up on cd or is the death knell slowly tolling. I do find it a convenient format but maybe it is just too easy to copy.
Also just found the Happy Rhodes and Medusa over the last couple of days. THink medusa may have been talked about elsewhere when it was first out but somehow never got around to getting it.
ho hum.

anyone check out the seafaring strangers private label soft rock one from a couple years ago? stumbled on it this week and it's putting me in a great mood.

that “back to the streets” song is dope as hell. First heard it on the first soft rock for hard times mix.

yeah that song is a banger. the whole comp is a lot of fun, some goofy jams and some stuff that is genuinely inspired. "don't it make you feel" sounds like a cass mccombs tune. "madam operator" is just smooth as hell.

Ha, bang-on re: the Cass-ness of that "Don't It Make You Feel" track; also not worlds away from Donnie & Joe Emerson in terms of contemporaries--cool Beach Boys-y bass harmonica on that one, too.

hah yeah i love the harmonica hits. great arranging.

that “back to the streets” song is dope as hell

love that one, amazing song

http://www.numerogroup.com/d/reach-ride-the-algorithm

haha, i've read the email, i read part of that, i read the product page - and only now do i understand that no, there's not going to be a tracklist

TRACK LIST

Lenny White - Enchanted Pool Suite: Prelude & Part 1
Masumi HaraTo - Live In The Sea
Alex Johnson - The Kiss
LaRhonda LeGette - Thou Art With Me
Ascending Wave Modulation - Del Sol
A.R.T. Wilson - Past Life Regression
John D. Curnow - Wisconsin Bird Songs
Calvin Keys - Touch
Suse Millemann - Open Heart-Hawk Belly
Batang Frisco - Myth
Bob Siebert - Rain
Reach - Gold Dust Twins

whoops

Ascending Wave - Modulation Del Sol*

that Bob Siebert album is gorgeous, I got a cd of it that has some newer solo piano bonus tracks.. kind of a jazzy debussy-ish thing? very very cool. I asked them via email if they were planning on doing a physical release of the (also hot) Calvin Keys album that “touch” comes from... they said they’re partnering with another label to put it out later this year.

Great article!

oh duh, thanks Evan! i didn't see there was another tab on the website with the tracklist.

bummer though, i already know all of those songs inside-out

Gotta say I'm not a big fan of the move towards gimmicky packaging at the expense of actual liner notes. I understand the appeal of building an alternate reality with all the kayfabe stuff (Numero 95 and etc.), but context is one of the main things physical releases still have over browsing youtube or whatever.

Also if I'm reading the liner notes while listening that means I'm not on my phone.

yeah. the imaginary/conceptual releases are a fun idea in the abstract, an interesting take on how a reissue label continues and stays fresh in the 2020s, but I agree that I'm not terribly interested in reissue comps with fake liner notes or none at all.

It just bums me out so much that one of the few reissue labels that put so much time, care and thoughtfulness into their packaging is moving further and further away from physical releases. I mean, I get that physical media for reissues is a niche within a niche at this point, but if a label with the quality control and respect of Numero can't keep it up, it doesn't give me a lot of faith for other labels.

I'm not paying a ton of attention so I'm really asking here- is that what is happening? Or is it that they're expanding their catalog overall but most of the expansion is digital format?

I think it's the latter, so far, but they have explicitly said they aren't doing CDs anymore and hinted multiple times that they may be scaling back vinyl as well.

this gimmicky stuff is incredibly lame, did they determine that most people don’t read liner notes or something? depressing.

what release are y'all talking about?

xp ive always assumed its a combination of them looking at the decline in physical sales plus the idea of them prepping the 247th comp of local soul singles from Wichita Falls or w/e and thinking they need to find a different way forward

which i can relate to, but as a fan of lavishly notated historical reissues is still a drag

I remain totally baffled by this conversation

are the liners for that Reach comp fake or something?

Sorry, I was talking more generally wrt what they've been saying about physical releases in general. I'm not sure which comp has the fake(?) liners.

xp lack of geographic/contextual cohesiveness at the expense of packaging that looks like cigrette boxes

https://www.discogs.com/Various-NuLeaf/master/1781797

ah, thank you. that one makes more sense.

I do like the Reach comp, fwiw, and it has extensive liner notes that seem real to me.

this one rules and i quickly got over the fact there were no liner notes.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Planisphere/release/13692923

yeah I mean I love comps like those, it’s just I really admired/enjoyed numero’s nerdiness/throughness/idk tbh they’ve been going this way for years idk what I’m complying about lol

speaking as a Light Sounds Dark fan, lol, hypocrisy

Ha ha. Light Sounds Dark take it to ridiculous degrees but then they are bootlegs pretty much so i guess they have to. i do love a dose of LSD too though.

i guess for Numero comps it depends on the comp. For some I'd want to know what time the drummer was born but some, like 'Planisphere' I'm happy to listen as a sort of anonymoys concept album.

plus the idea of them prepping the 247th comp of local soul singles from Wichita Falls or w/e

I LOLd

but probably because I'm in the key demo for such things

what release are y'all talking about?

The one brimstead posted is what prompted my post - doubly annoying because part of the gimmick there is it's a cigarette case so at the top there's a "seal" you have to rip to get at the actual record, so you're damaging the gimmick - but I was also thinking of stuff like Escape From Synth City and "imaginary soundtrack" You're Not From Around Here. They seem to all be part of the Cabinet Of Curiosities line:

http://www.numerogroup.com/d/the-cabinet-of-curiosities-a-numero-universe

I'm generally trying to buy less vinyl these days so I don't have any particular views on the packages here - but I think the point of these Cabinet of Curiosities comps is the rather abstracted, conceptual links they draw between things rather than it documenting a scene/period/genre/location. Tbh this approach will rise or fall on the music, but what I will say is that the extended essay thing about the Reach comp (linked further up the thread) had me adding the album to my basket without listening to a single note. (And I think Numero 95 is a great concept, though obviously the jury's out on whether it'll hold up as a listening experience.)

i guess the danger w/out the historical scene is it just becomes guys playlisting things. i trust them based on previous experiences with them but don't necessarily trust it as a permanent direction, and think there are lots of scenes and styles of music that could use this kind of curatorial ear that have been ignored

Their Spotify playlists are the only Spotify playlists I trust

I'm generally trying to buy less vinyl these days so I don't have any particular views on the packages here - but I think the point of these Cabinet of Curiosities comps is the rather abstracted, conceptual links they draw between things rather than it documenting a scene/period/genre/location.

Yes, but these links are interesting in and of themselves and thus worthy of liner notes instead of just telegraphing "you know, super mario" or "well it's like noir" via packaging. This is even more the case because the artists featured on these compilations are as obscure as anything Numero put out, so it's not like a playlist where some David Bowie b-side follows an Ebo Taylor track or whatever.

Fair point - I'm mainly thinking about the Reach comp here, where the online notes not only set out their stall well but persuaded me to actually buy it. (It's really good.)

"Santa Claus Ain't A Hippie", from the recently released Christmas Dreamers: Yuletide Country (1960​-​1972) is like a Marine Todd meme in song; totally baffling premise of hippies protesting against Santa and the song's protagonist righteously defending his honour.

It came out three years after "Okie From Muskogee" so was prolly riding the wave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-MBp1V7WRs

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— numerogroup (@numerogroup) August 10, 2022

technicolor paradise 3LP repressed, your choice of four different colors. still regret selling the original so i went for “moon mist”

90s bands anniversary gig. Anyone go?