MOODY "The Gentle Rain" (Polydor Circle Of Sound, 1973, UK)
A conversation regarding this legendary UK album filled a car journey as Wuggsy and I completed our recent Charity Shop Challenge. It was still at the back of my mind when the "Top 10 albums..." thread started and a number of plussers included the Moody album within their selections.
So, I'd like to share my story with this album and invite you all to share yours. I might ask a couple of questions along the way.
Right, let's get the money shot out of the way. I own an original copy. There you go, I said it. However that isn't a story, more of a statement. I've owned a copy for around 4-5 years now, but my story begins over 15 years ago...
I first became aware of this album in around 1994-5 when a list from CASHBAH RECORDS (I believe the dealer's name was Oliver, operating out of Glasgow at this time - did he move onto Barcelona..?) dropped through my letterbox, offering a copy of The Gentle Rain for sale priced at £200. It was positioned in the Library section of the sales catalogue, which piqued my interest as I was fiending over De Wolfes and KPM's, what with it being the mid 90's and the pinnacle of the "could it be Hawkshaw" library/easy renaissance. I remember reading the sale pitch for the album and - being a penniless student - feeling deflated that I could never afford a copy. The real trouble was, it being 1995 and the internet in it's infancy, I had no idea what the album looked like. There wasn't any information or pictures to be easily sourced.
Anyone I mentioned Moody "The Gentle Rain" to hadn't heard of it either. It assumed mythical rare status in my mind immediately.
I moved to Glasgow in the autumn of 1995 and a record shop in the West End on The Great Western Road became my regular lunchtime hang out. To quote Spinal Tap "don't look for it, it isn't there anymore". In fact it only opened for about 12-18 months as it was closed by the time I left Glasgow in 1997. I digress. Anyway, the shop was a cool place to hang out - they had lots of jazz, funk and soul for sale, lots of OST's. I recall this was where a guy called Marc used to hang out - think he had something to do with the Dealer's Choice bootlegs and the some of the other comp's that came out around that time. The young cat Blue Boy ("Remember Me") used to call in to buy records.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to buy that copy of the Incredible Bongo Band off the wall, all my budget would handle was a £5 outlay on the Nuggets 3 "Diggin' Deeper" bootleg. Mind you, what a compilation that was - Holy Thursday! Ripped open By Metal Explosions! You've Come This Way Before! A mystery version of "Get Out Of My Life Woman" (that would later be revealed as being ripped from John Schroder's Working In A Soul Mine).
Wait a minute, what's this..?
"I Can Feel The Earth Move" by Gentle Rain.
Could that be the Moody album that I'd read about earlier in the year..? I could only assume it was; the Casbah Records listing mentioned that "The Gentle Rain" track-list included a cover version of the Carole King classic. Included on a bootleg compilation, I was not surprised there appeared to be some subterfuge regarding the artist name - there always was.
So, my quest for a copy of Moody began. The write up in a dealer catalogue and the subsequent inclusion of a track on a bootleg comp was my hook.
Q1 - Do you own a copy of this record..?
Q2 - When and how did you first hear about it..?
A conversation regarding this legendary UK album filled a car journey as Wuggsy and I completed our recent Charity Shop Challenge. It was still at the back of my mind when the "Top 10 albums..." thread started and a number of plussers included the Moody album within their selections.
So, I'd like to share my story with this album and invite you all to share yours. I might ask a couple of questions along the way.
Right, let's get the money shot out of the way. I own an original copy. There you go, I said it. However that isn't a story, more of a statement. I've owned a copy for around 4-5 years now, but my story begins over 15 years ago...
I first became aware of this album in around 1994-5 when a list from CASHBAH RECORDS (I believe the dealer's name was Oliver, operating out of Glasgow at this time - did he move onto Barcelona..?) dropped through my letterbox, offering a copy of The Gentle Rain for sale priced at £200. It was positioned in the Library section of the sales catalogue, which piqued my interest as I was fiending over De Wolfes and KPM's, what with it being the mid 90's and the pinnacle of the "could it be Hawkshaw" library/easy renaissance. I remember reading the sale pitch for the album and - being a penniless student - feeling deflated that I could never afford a copy. The real trouble was, it being 1995 and the internet in it's infancy, I had no idea what the album looked like. There wasn't any information or pictures to be easily sourced.
Anyone I mentioned Moody "The Gentle Rain" to hadn't heard of it either. It assumed mythical rare status in my mind immediately.
I moved to Glasgow in the autumn of 1995 and a record shop in the West End on The Great Western Road became my regular lunchtime hang out. To quote Spinal Tap "don't look for it, it isn't there anymore". In fact it only opened for about 12-18 months as it was closed by the time I left Glasgow in 1997. I digress. Anyway, the shop was a cool place to hang out - they had lots of jazz, funk and soul for sale, lots of OST's. I recall this was where a guy called Marc used to hang out - think he had something to do with the Dealer's Choice bootlegs and the some of the other comp's that came out around that time. The young cat Blue Boy ("Remember Me") used to call in to buy records.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to buy that copy of the Incredible Bongo Band off the wall, all my budget would handle was a £5 outlay on the Nuggets 3 "Diggin' Deeper" bootleg. Mind you, what a compilation that was - Holy Thursday! Ripped open By Metal Explosions! You've Come This Way Before! A mystery version of "Get Out Of My Life Woman" (that would later be revealed as being ripped from John Schroder's Working In A Soul Mine).
Wait a minute, what's this..?
"I Can Feel The Earth Move" by Gentle Rain.
Could that be the Moody album that I'd read about earlier in the year..? I could only assume it was; the Casbah Records listing mentioned that "The Gentle Rain" track-list included a cover version of the Carole King classic. Included on a bootleg compilation, I was not surprised there appeared to be some subterfuge regarding the artist name - there always was.
So, my quest for a copy of Moody began. The write up in a dealer catalogue and the subsequent inclusion of a track on a bootleg comp was my hook.
Q1 - Do you own a copy of this record..?
Q2 - When and how did you first hear about it..?
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