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Baker's Dozen

Batting Order: Neil Hannon's Favourite Albums
Laurie Tuffrey , July 4th, 2013 08:11

The Divine Comedy man picks out the gems in his record collection following the release of his second album with The Duckworth Lewis Method this week

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Roxy Music - Flesh And Blood
I would have encountered it at the same time as O.M.D. and The Human League, but I wouldn't have liked it as much back then because I was a kid and Roxy Music were terribly sophisticated and grown-up. I love the kind of perfection of the music: every note is thought out, it's not a splurge, it's just "now the saxophone will do this" and the drums are terribly, ever so just how they ought to be. It's wonderful music, really beautifully produced. Also, 'Same Old Scene' is one of my favourite songs - it really bolts along in a way that I don't quite understand. I've never really got to the bottom of how it works, because it doesn't really have a four-on-the-floor, it doesn't have a shuffle-y thing, it just kind of happens and it's really exciting, and I don't want to know how it happens, because that would ruin it. The longer you do this job, the more you understand about how things are done. It ruins quite a lot of records!