Over 40 free tracks! There has to be a new season coming as far as the music industry is concerned, because there’s a tide of free sample tracks both on Amazon US and Amazon UK this weekend. The UK selection is heavy with old names you might have expected to be in comfortable retirement by now. The US selection is far more varied and inventive. I’ve listened to them all so you don’t have to – just grab the ones that sound good to you.
A note on downloads. Amazon UK still only allows downloads from UK IP addresses and to UK accounts. Amazon US seems to have dropped the IP blocks so those of us with US accounts are once again able to shop from anywhere – no idea how long that will last, and of course all these tracks will corrode over time and become chargeable.
The chocolaty tones of aging folk-rocker Richard Thompson enrobe this live sampler from his forthcoming new album, full of pub-rock energy yet still with the fiddles and folk that hark back to Fairport Convention.
Talking chocolate voices, Tom Jones is still going strong and this new track is actually remarkably strong. The electric blues guitar construction and insistent drum make for a good sound even for a Jones sceptic like me.
This freebie is presumably from a forthcoming album “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin” and yes, that’s as middle-of-the-road muzak as it sounds. This track tries to be Beach Boys Meet Gershwin but to my ears their minders didn’t get their zimmer frames close enough for it to actually work.
I like this one. The word “charming” has to tag the clangy piano, softly-spoken male vocals, glockenspiel detailing, falsetto harmonies and slightly depressive lyric, yet it all holds together beautifully.
That’s unmistakably David Grey’s voice but the music is a little overwhelming and the tune lacks the hook you might expect from him. Guessing old fans may not like the forthcoming album.
They’ve been so thrilled to actually have a free sampler on the UK store that Amazon has been promoting it to death on Twitter. But it’s worth the download. Full of big names, there are some good tracks on here not least of which is the deep and moving Naked As We Came by Iron & Wine.
I have to agree, yes, yes. This is a good, strong, textured and varied track with a rich bass that I’m enjoying listening to. Starts almost rocksteady and evolves into lyrical and tasty.
If I was a huge Foals fan I suspect I’d be raving about this one. As it is, I find it likeable shoegaze rock that will happily fill the time before I put Engineers on again (the band with Simon Phipps as lead singer).
A small gift while I take a few days off. A rare Amazon UK free MP3 sampler (people located outside the UK need not even try, Amazon UK uses an IP whitelist). This is worth downloading just for the Iron & Wine track.
Here are links to three of the free tracks I’ve found on Amazon UK over the last week (you have to be in the UK to download these). The best is probably the dark and brooding Robert Rich track but I bet the retro (very short) Phil Collins track will appeal to plenty, even if not much to me.
In the best traditions of both british music and democracy, Thea Gilmore wrote a song to celebrate the election. Some people – politicians in particular – seem to think that the election is the chance for British citizens to express their views. We then hear ridiculous statements about how “the electorate has voted clearly to…” {demand tax cuts | oppose health care reform | say no to proprortional representation | demand electoral reform|…} from people with the predictive chops of a fairground fortune teller.
Rubbish. I voted for a representative. I wanted to be represented. To do that requires constant consultation. An election doesn’t have enough bits to encode everything I want to say to my representatives. So I’ll still be using my voice.
It’s Saturday, and we’re sitting around listening to the rich soundscape of the new Hybrid album Disappear Here (there’s a free track from it on Amazon UK). One thing led to another and now we’re listening to their latest dub set (the second one in the list below) on SoundCloud. Blissful.
More of my weekly music picks. They are free of charge, as long as you’re in the right place to get them. This week’s favourites: The Six Degrees Sampler and the great Loscil ambient track.
Acoustic Spanish guitar lead, dreamy electronica backing, earnest piano melody growing to sustained sound-wall with psychotic fiddler – yes, people, we have a decent instrumental chill-out track on our hands.
A taster for the latest teen heartthrob. Disco heaven but I’ll be waiting until his voice breaks before I listen again.
If you don’t already have it, bookmark Mercedes-Benz Mixtape. Every eight weeks the M-B marketing folks post a new mix of new artists on this page, complete with a zip-file of the MP3s for easy download from anywhere (mouse over the player and click “MP3 Downloads”).
Another week, more music picks (a bit early because there has been some great stuff this week). I keep playing Lake Orchard and I think JagaJazzist is a real find here.
Another group I’ve missed all these years, playing musical yet experimental jazz that is definitely worth a try. Video below too. Sample track: Going Down
Actually it wasn’t all that lazy, there has been so much to do. But here are some music picks for the week – don’t miss the Sister Hazel double album if you’re in the US, and the Turin Brakes track is the pick for the UK.
§ I’m still listening to new music and it seems the proximity of SXSW is triggering a cascade of releases. Here are some samples from this week’s listening.
All views expressed on this blog are those of Simon Phipps and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other entity, including current and former employers and clients. See my full disclosure of interests.
Over 40 free tracks! There has to be a new season coming as far as the music industry is concerned, because there’s a tide of free sample tracks both on Amazon US and Amazon UK this weekend. The UK selection is heavy with old names you might have expected to be in comfortable retirement by now. The US selection is far more varied and inventive. I’ve listened to them all so you don’t have to – just grab the ones that sound good to you.
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