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Evelyn,s Finest Hour

07/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The words of evelyns single "High Energy" signaled the start of a new era for me in the collecting of vinyl records as it was this song that first introduced me to the production talents of Ian Levine. Prior to this I had merely spent my money on the odd record here and there but with this I began a love affair and a passion of his talents that has seen me traipsing across the whole of the united kingdom spending hours in second hand record shops in the constant hope of finding that ONE LAST release either on vinyl or compact disc. I would NEVER PART with my collection as it is such a part of me that I will probably have THE LOT buried with me. I first became hooked on Ian,s work during his Record Shack days and now count myself lucky to have been a regular shopper in Record Shack in Berwick Street (not long before it closed) This of course was seventh heaven for me as nearly all of the twelve inch vinyl they sold was written and produced by Ian Levine along with his then musical arranger Fiachra Trench. The record sleeves themselves were always beautifully designed with full colour photos of the artists on the front. The reverse of the sleeve had either a slightly different photo of the artist with suberb graphic design and lettering. The whole package was irresistible!!!! I was very naive in those days and had NO IDEA that Record Shack was to close and vanish without trace! I can still remember the day when I travelled up to London to find the premises boarded up and empty!!!! What I did,nt realise at the time was that it would also mean the almost complete dissapearance of Ian,s work! NOBODY seemed to be stocking these records which does of course mean that my collection is more valuable. I was never interested in stupid boy bands and so when Ian embarked on producing hits for Take That, Bad Boy Inc and later Upside Down I lost interest until he returned to full glory with Motorcity Records!!!!
Evelyn Thomas will always hold a special place in my affections for introducing me to an exciting new phase in music in my life and I cannot recomend this album highly enough!!!"