ROBERT DERBY - I'M NORMAL (1980)
This early one-man album demonstrates what could be done in the pre-tech
days by a crafty auteur with two tape decks, a basement and a lot of
patience. Far worse-sounding albums have been recorded by rooms full of
session pros in 32-track studios. If you dig LMNOP's catchy pop, then
you'll enjoy Derby's light rock-pop which benefits from skillful
arrangements and his multi instrumental prowess; underdeveloped
material and a samey blandness are the record's shortcomings. (Cachalot
later repackaged "I'm Normal" with the similarly solitary Ian North album
"My Girlfriend's Dead", overstating their achievements by titling the pair
Modern Renaissance Men, but while Ian North's was reissued on CD,
Robert Derby has never been reissued.) (Trouser Press).
Originally posted on PPC (September 2007) in mp3, it is available 17 years later for the first time in lossless format.
2 comments:
New to me. Awesome!
I was hunting round your site and saw this Robert Derby release. What caught my eye was that it was on the same label my old friend Ian North was on so I thought "why not"? It's really good ! Thanks Angelo
Post a Comment