The Highwaymen – A country music supergroup of the late 80’s.  Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, kris Kristoffersen and Willie Nelson; all Superstars whose stars had maybe faded as times changed.  They had appeared together in a film and recorded 3 albums over 10 years.  A few country hits but eventually they went their separate ways.  I have a Greatest Hits Collection as I am a big fan of both Cash and Kris.  I had barely heard any of these songs before I bought the record – again, a charity shop find I suspect.  Quite a nice listen, a touch too country in some ways, but pretty good.  They all take vocal duties, but best are those by Johnny Cash.  Quite a few of the songs are re-recordings of Kris Kristofferson songs – ‘Desperados Waiting For A Train’, ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ and also a great version of ‘Deportees’, which I think first appeared on a Byrds album, but which Dylan covered brilliantly on the Rolling Thunder Tour.  Maybe I should look out for some of the original albums…

Rupert Hine – A surprise favourite, ever since I bought an LP back in the early seventies called Unfinished Picture.  I knew nothing about Rupert but had read a review in City Limits and took a punt.  He had released one album prior to this, which I tracked down a few years ago.  Pick Up A Bone (1971) was a flop but was the debut album by Rupert and his then writing partner David McIver.  I think Rupert did all the singing and David wrote the lyrics.  A strange album, sometimes whimsical and sometimes a bit angry sounding.  I came to this after his second album and was quite disappointed, but being the completist I am I had to have it.  Re-listening I see signs of the artist that Rupert would become but this record seems a bit hesitant, a bit unsure of itself.  Best songs, ‘Me You Mine’ and ‘Landscape’ – but most of the rest leave me wondering just what was the point.  Still, this was 1971, when record companies were willing to take a chance on new artists, and more importantly give them the freedom to mature and produce really good stuff like Rupert’s second album Unfinished Picture (1973).   This album, by a then unknown artist, was rarely off my turntable.  I loved his off-kilter style and the crazy lyrics (again by David McIver); it was in fact ‘Indie-Pop’ long before the genre was invented.  Rupert plays guitar and piano, and some of the tracks like ‘Doubtfully Grey’ are acoustic, almost a demo but hauntingly beautiful; on others, the production is quite incredible – the whole album was recorded in a church in Paddington; the track ‘Anvils In Five’ featured a thunderstorm recorded as the track was sung.   Rupert was already recording other artists and his skills are used on this record to great effect.  I love every track and especially his voice; as you know it is the voice I especially love with singers, where they are instantly recognisable and the words sound as though they really mean them and are singing just for me. Other great tracks ‘Don’t Be Alarmed’ and ‘Concord(e) Pastiche’.  All round a superb album.

Rupert spent the rest of the Seventies in a band Quantum Jump, I had both albums on vinyl and cassette but so far not on CD.  Then in 1981 a new solo album Immunity.  And what an album, the voice and lyrics emanate panic and danger – lyrics on this and the next 2 albums by poet Jeanette Obstoj, music, production and most instruments by Rupert.   This is one of my all-time favourite records, the production is so clear and different from almost everything else I might have heard.  And the singing and the words are just brilliant.  Hard to pick favourite tracks as they are all good; maybe ‘Samsara’ really stands out, and ‘Psycho Surrender’ and ‘Surface Tension’ always give me that warm feeling of recognition.   Obviously on a roll he followed this the following year with Waving Not Drowning (a quote from Sylvia Plath, and incidentally the title of a different song by Clifford T. Ward {see W}).  Another excellent album, if slightly too close in tone to Immunity.  Still pretty good, favourite songs – ‘The Set Up’, ‘Dark Windows’ and ‘The Outsider’.  The following year he released The Wildest Wish To Fly.  At the time, 1983, I thought he was sounding too samey – but on re-listening I hear new elements to his music.  True, the same sense of danger but a slightly softer production – and the songs seem to have more sections in them.  Anyway, another pretty damned good record from Mr. Hine – best songs – the title song, and ‘Firefly in the Night’.  In the late Eighties, as well as being a full-time producer he released a trio of albums under the band name Thinkman – which was essentially Rupert and a handful of session players.  The first was The Formula (1986).  I came to these rather late, as I had not realised who Thinkman were – however, the albums are pretty good and not that different really from his eponymous records.  This one seems a bit flat and samey; best songs ‘The Formula’ and ‘There Shines The Promised Land’.   Next was Life is A Fulltime Occupation (1989) ; well not my favourite record of his – it seemed a bit too much like its predecessor, a bit ranty – best songs ‘Dance Yourself Sane’ and ‘Bad Angel’.   He did release one other Thinkman disc but I don’t have it (yet).  Then his last solo album in 1994 The Deep End, which surprisingly is really good.  Quite a few slower, dare we say it, love songs – or at least more conventional sounding.  The production is still crystal clear and full of unusual sound collages, especially the final track ‘The Other End’.  But really quite a good record – which was completely ignored by the buying public as per usual.  Favourite songs include ‘Thursday’s Child’, ‘Let It Rain’ and ‘Silver Shoes In The Rain’.  A lovely album.  And sadly Rupert passed away in 2020 – so that is it…