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Baker's Dozen

An Unexpected Journey: Elijah Wood's Favourite Albums
Ben Graham , May 27th, 2016 07:28

As his new film The Trust hits the cinemas, actor, movie producer and DJ Elijah Wood tells us about 13 albums that have blown him away at various points in his life

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Manfred Man Chapter III- S/T

This is a new favourite, and a record that I haven't been able to stop listening to for the last six months. It's funny; a friend of mine named Zack who I DJ with regularly introduced me to it. He said this is the sound of heroin! It's very much a counterpoint in some ways to the first couple of Stooges records, I think, sonically, but it takes it in a very different direction. I'm struck by the horns on the record, which are abrasive and extremely powerful, and kind of shocking in the way that they're used. There are almost breakbeat elements to the drumming on the record and groove elements that are really incredible, that I keep returning to. I think his voice is extraordinary. It has a sonic tone to the entire thing that feels very modern and intense without being punk rock. It's just become a real favourite of mine.

Chapter III is just astonishing. It really is. It's incredible. And that's my favourite thing about being a music enthusiast and a record collector, that you're never not discovering something. And more often than not I find I'm still discovering records from the past. It's my favourite music to discover because I feel there are so many gems to uncover yet, and we find that every year. So many records are reissued, these hidden gems that never got their due in the day. I tend to spend more time digging into the past than I do looking forward. I'm a little disappointed musically these days! Admittedly part of it is not spending enough time with it, but I'm always blown away by things that I hear from the past, and this is a good example of that.