Thursday, October 10, 2019

...And a Partridge That Was Practically Free

I have been spending all kinds of time with the new four-song EP 'Planet England' from heroes Robyn Hitchcock and Andy Partridge, and that also has me exploring the recesses of the Partridge discography. Those twists and turns brought me to "It'll End in Tears," the second of three singles from the Lilac Time's 1990 album '& Love for All.'

Partridge produced much of the lush long player with help from John Leckie. Until about a year ago I had nothing from the Lilac Time and only a 12" single from Stephen Duffy's "Tin Tin" days... well, outside of the sublime "She Loves Me" from the 'Some Kind of Wonderful' soundtrack. That all changed while thumbing through a bin of singles with no clue what I was about to find. Jackpot! Obviously, someone had come in recently with a stack of Duffy's work, and they were all $1 each. Sure, they were a little scratchy, but I took the lot with no regrets. It was one of those moments those of us with a passion for digging in a record store never forgets. Do you hear any of Partridge's flourishes in this one? I do. '& Love for All' is a gem I wish I had discovered about a quarter century earlier.

It'll End in Tears

10 comments:

Charity Chic said...

Result Brian!

The Swede said...

I'm spending a bit of quality time with Robyn again in a couple of weeks, I'll be sure to pass on your regards!

Echorich said...

First - Planet England is just wonderful!
Second - & Love For All is just an amazing album matching the wit and whimsey of Andy Partridge with the particular Pop instincts of Steven Duffy. It was a match made in heave for this fan.

Brian said...

CC, You would have been proud of the haul. I learned from the best.

Swede, You must be on a first-name basis with him by now. I wonder how many times you have seen him...

Echorich, I was worried about Planet England. I had these sessions built up in my mind to the point where I could have been nothing but disappointed. Thankfully, all four songs are keepers. Andy and Stephen make a good team. I really like those songs he did on Duffy's I Love My Friendstoo (even of they did stick out like sore thumbs).

Brett Alan said...

The Lilac Time have a new album, Return To Me. It's quite good.

Anonymous said...

For me those 3 albums on the Fontana label were 3 of the best albums made by any artist, with the sophomore release 'Paradise Circus' the best of the bunch.
A great find Brian!
Phil Tel Aviv

Adrien from JMVPROD said...

Never had the chance to listen to that one for now. I'll take some time today. Thanks for the recommendantion Brian

Brian said...

Bret Alan, Good to hear from you again. I have heard a couple of songs from the new album. The sound is decidedly more folk than the Fontana era. Still, good is good. I do have it on the shopping list.

Phil, It's been ages. Hope you are well. I didn't know you were such a fan. I'm with you on this time period. Wish it hadn't taken me so long to figure that out.

Adrien, Welcome. Hope you like it.

Anonymous said...

Man's a genius - apparently the band ran out of money thus AP not producing the whole of the lp.
The new lp is fantastic and up there for lp of the year

Brian said...

FORW, I'm not at all surprised you are a fan. Seems right up your alley. Your assessment of the new album puts it over the top for me. Although quite expensive to get on this side of the pond, I'm picking it up.