As we’ve previously reported, erm, several times already, the much-loved radio DJ John Peel’s record collection is going through a slow process of digitisation over at The Space, with (at least for the time being) the first 100 records from each letter of the alphabet going up each week. We’ve already had A-D – in fact, a couple of our writers have been brought to their knees by their valiant efforts at listening through the entire of A (click here) and C (click here) respectively – and now it’s the turn of ‘E’, which went online today. Click here to browse through the whole section.
Now, what’s been cast into relief by this open browsing availability is that, despite the many gems dotted around in Peel’s records (and the rather fetching volumes of vinyl and careful card index system he’d put into place, appealing to the inner geek), they’re cushioned by a fair amount of music that might have remained, shall we say, obscure for a reason. So here are a few observations cribbed from a scan through the ‘E’ section.
- Peel appears to have been rather a fan of Don Henley’s soft-rock crew The Eagles, boasting no fewer than seven of their albums. Or, to be more precise, six albums and their greatest hits. Which might naturally beg the question: why, when you already own six Eagles albums, would you ice that particular cake with a greatest hits?
- A clue: perhaps it’s as cushioning to protect some of the earlier records in the section from the massive low-end shockwaves emanating from his copy of Earth 2 (Low Frequency Version), which sits there brilliantly brooding like a grumpy, stoned monster. If you don’t already own this album, check yourself, post-haste.
- Eat Static’s Abduction sits in the collection later, a reminder of just how fucking awesome/fucking awful (delete according to preference) a cocktail of big speakers, woodland and a handful of liberty caps can be.
- Other notable multiples in ‘E’ include Sheena Easton, Earth, Wind & Fire and Echo & The Bunnymen.
- ‘E’ finishes with one of those punk obscurities that have been studded around this first five letters – Making Dick Dance, by Ed Gein’s Car. A quick Google search reveals they were a New York band operational between 1982 and 1987, and were named after a rather unpleasant looking American chap who murdered a few people. YouTube yielded results on this one – listen to ‘Annette’ below, whose reference to a "battery-operated TV" neatly sets up the time frame we’re dealing with.
