Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 15/10/2026I’m a huge fan of John Prine and was lucky enough to see him over here before he left us. So…his first 7 albums, beautifully remastered in a nice box with lyrics that a laureate would envy. No wonder he was Dylan’s favourite songwriter. 140 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Took me a little while to acquire the taste but now love this ‘punk-blues’ explosion. It MUST be Jon Spencer’s favourite record 040 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 28/09/2026The Tubs in Leeds doing their thing. Jangle pop it most certainly isn’t - far too much punky poke for that. Great stuff and touring… 020 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Acquired quite a few Cherry Red comps down the years. This is probably the most played and led to the most investigation. ‘Dream Pop, Shoegaze & Ethereal Rock 1986-1995’. 030 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Unpopular view, perhaps, but Suede’s zenith so far. 5 discs, including the obligatory S.Wilson mix. The revelation here are the 24 b-sides and bonus tracks (inc ‘Shipbuilding’) which more than hold their own. A completist obligatory purchase. 240 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Top 3 Bob. Jack Frost should have really touted his production skills abroad. The grainy, wild mercury sound is a world beater. 0120 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 17/09/2026A curious comp this. Veers between the bleedin’ obvious to the bizarre. The bits in between are where it excels - Glaxo Babies, Dillinger, Angelic Upstarts, Black Uhuru. Cherry Red still leading the way with boxes of this type. 130 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 16/09/2026First saw Flamin' Groovies in the summer of '77 on the same bill as The Damned and The Adverts. 50(!) years later at the Brudenell the 78yo Cyril Jordan is still up front. Old school power pop will never die. Great fun. 140 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 15/09/2026The new album by Wild Pink is a 2026 contender. 9 songs, 33 minutes. Springsteenenian in its character sketches and behind the brutal guitars a captivating subtlety and intelligence at work. 220 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 12/09/2026My favourite vinyl vendor at Leeds Record Fair caught my eye on walking in. More than happy with the first press of Armed Forces + Hollywood High EP and inserts for an embarrassingly low price. #elvis 280 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Finally got hold of my favourite Luna LP. Lunapark. 1992 originally. 12 addictive, diaphanous pop belters. 030 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Acquired this today for not very much money at all. The 12 The Byrds albums with extras. The Dylan covers are legendary, of course, but McGuinn was an incredible songwriting machine 1250 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Lifes Rich Pageant plus some VERY deep cuts from the Stipe-endorsed Shannon/ Narducy REM band in Leeds. An uncanny recreation of the magic. Shannon is eerily convincing in the lead role. I STILL can't decipher the lyrics to Radio Free Europe and have absolutely no intention of looking them up. 270 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 06/09/2026A casual stroll to the annual local annual festival yielded a new Blackstar repress and an Upsetters classic 120 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Not my top Tom but the song writing and the arrangements on Wildflowers are beyond belief. Credited as solo but the Heartbreakers are all over it. The ‘All The Rest’ disc illustrates how he omitted fully formed songs that lesser artists would have killed to write. 161 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 03/09/2026So much great new music out…this is probably the pick. It has a slacker charm, tightly packed with hooks and killer lyrics. For those who appreciate Kurt Vile, early Wilco, Pavement etc 130 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Finally, Billy Strings has hooked me. This is a colossal achievement with country A-listers all over it, T-Bone Burnett producing. 040 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Tonight Matthew, I will be Jim Morrison. High-level unstructured bombast from Cameron Winter et al. I don't think I ever seen a front man so fucking bored by his own tunes. Not that the 15,000 (fifteen thousand) tented capacity at Leeds gave a damn. 020 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Huge crowd for Westfield Cowboy at Leeds. How does EVERYONE know the words to songs barely released. Strong Undertones vibes and they’re great 380 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Immaculate next day service @burningshed.com and the Mott box plus huge discount. 141 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Willie Nelson is 93. These will be his 34th and 35th shows of 2026. 040 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Curious and at times baffling, with a full orchestra and primitive drum machine, Robin Gibb’s solo recordings after the first Bee Gees split is an artefact of stunning quality. Bob Stanley liner notes. 140 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Original 1969 pressing of John Stewart’s ‘California Bloodlines’ picked up in Leeds Market earlier today for an obscene £3. An absolute classic of its kind with Bob’s Nashville Skyline band - virtually unplayed. By the writer of ‘Daydream Believer’ and ‘Runaway Train’. 150 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Believe the hype. Just wow. ‘Back when no one could tell us apart And I'd turn down the music to parallel park’. 010 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Contains the best version of Radio Free Europe (and judging by the sleeve notes the group agrees). The end of the IRS years and never quite - quite - the same. 050 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 11/08/2026A meaty, full throttle re-mastering of the 50-year old Flamin’ Groovies high point is out. For fans of ANY kind of music. 261 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 10/08/2026I’ve only been a vinyl person since Xmas so, after many hours of research, I’m ready to declare that - new or old - this, so far, is the winner. 3200 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 06/08/2026This has more than stood the test of time, comfortably the best solo LP by a C an S or an N 290 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Sigh…walked past today and still empty, presumably rotting from the inside and home to some of the best nights of my life. White Stripes, QOSA, Guided By Voices, Flaming Lips, TFC, Longpigs, Sparklehorse, At The Drive-In, Cooper Temple Clause, err Marion 2101 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 28/07/2026In the history of popular music these ears have consumed I can’t recall a better produced album. ‘Made to be played loud at low volume’; the chemistry that Nick Lowe bottled, by accident or design, is extraordinary. 020 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 26/07/2026In awe, somewhat, at the quality of the material Lloyd Cole and the Commotions consigned to the largely unheard segment of their oeuvre 070 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Flaming Lips mayhem. To describe one of their shows as subdued is a first. Wayne Coyne shared that his older brother had died in the last few days and he’d been unable to get home. Bloody hell, as most of his songs deal with the joys of life and the inevitability of death, it was an emotional night. 0110 0
Steve @steveswift.bsky.social · 19/07/2026David Byrne in Halifax- an extravaganza for the ages. Two hours of choreographed, multi-sensory disorientation, underpinned by grooves, shapes and serious musicianship. 3171 0
