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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Roddy Frame was slightly ahead of his time. In 1983, when he wrote, arranged and--with the help of his band, Aztec Camera--recorded High Land, Hard Rain, he was just 19 years old; and Britpop, the genre Aztec Camera in part inspired, wouldn't become popular for another decade. There is certainly more to High Land, Hard Rain than Britpop, however. Frame, a stellar acoustic guitar strummer, fills the 13 songs with jazz chords, and Aztec Camera's grooves foreshadow British jazz popsters the Style Council and Everything But the Girl. Whether making you dance ("Oblivious", "Queen's Tattoos") or reflect ("The Bugle Sounds Again", "We Could Send Letters"), Frame proves a master craftsman. A bonus tip: the sing-songy "Walk Out to Winter" is a fine addition to any holiday mix. --Bill Crandall
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Roddy Frame had just turned 19 when this album was released and the astonishing maturity and depth of the songs within this collection would have amazed most of his acolytes - were it not for the fact that he had recorded Just Like Gold three years previously. I still remember seeing Roddy perform Oblivious on the Tube in his fringe suede jacket and thinking 'you can't do that!'. But Roddy, touted by Elvis Costello no less as the best songwriter in the world, has suprised and delighted people throughout his career with finely crafted and touching examples of the songwriters art. This is the Aztec's first, and probably best set of songs, culled largely from the Postcard years but they touch the emotional and musical heights reached by the best of Roddy's work. Buy this album now - or you will lose out on the most engaging combination of words and melody this century. And that's no overstatement....
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Roddy Frame has released some excellent albums and singles over the years, but this little masterpiece may well be his career highlight - all the more amazing when you consider that he was only 19 when the album was released.
It still sounds great today - minor quibbles over some dated 1980s production touches aside - and heralded the arrival of one of the most literate and thoughtful songwriters of the post punk period. Frame's remarkable maturity and guitar virtuosity appear to best effect on the highlights - Oblivious, We Could Send Letters and, best of all, Walk Out to Winter - but the rest of the album suffers little in comparison.
A great purchase - and one you'll always want to dip into.
It still sounds great today - minor quibbles over some dated 1980s production touches aside - and heralded the arrival of one of the most literate and thoughtful songwriters of the post punk period. Frame's remarkable maturity and guitar virtuosity appear to best effect on the highlights - Oblivious, We Could Send Letters and, best of all, Walk Out to Winter - but the rest of the album suffers little in comparison.
A great purchase - and one you'll always want to dip into.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Scotland, early eighties. The semi-cult Postcard label was defining a sound with its principal acts, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera. It was no surprise then that at the tender age of 16, Roddy Frame was plucked from school and allowed to cut his debut album, High Land, Hard Rain for major label Warners, and before excessive record company advances and shoulder holder synth-boxes took stock, it was amazing what a young lad could do. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Frame and Aztec Camera took us on a musical trip beyond his years. The singles Pillar to Post and Oblivious created an almost folk beat-pop, yet whilst donning his balladeers hat, Frame proved a dab hand at the slower numbers with tales of yearning (We Could Send Letters), and heart-ache (The Bugle Sounds Again). Finishing with the flurry of Queens Tattoos, in under 40 minutes Roddy Frame had delivered a record of surprising vulnerability and quality. What wasn't surprising was his steady slide into the all encompasing fog of eighties over-production and pap pop. In that one young year of his life however, he produced something that shone.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
And all before he was 20
High Land, Hard Rain, the debut album by Aztec Camera, released in 1983 is a well-crafted, multi-layered pop the kind of pop record you were afraid they didn't make anymore. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2010 by Mr. Percy Frizelle
This album has changed my entire life!!
Well, I'm a 30-something Asian musician,guitarist and song-writer.By the time highland,hardrain came out<early 80's>I was a captain of my school football team. Read more
Published on 21 July 2005 by "ahyern69"
brilliant
roddy frame and aztec camera at their best. it still sounds fresh after all these years. awesome.
Published on 19 July 2005 by "gabriella10000"
17 years old - and still not a surly teenager
Blimey! I dragged this one out on vinyl from the record box last night and was amazed how fresh and charming it sounded 17 years since it came out and I bought it. Classic.
Published on 4 Sep 2000
The greatest album of all time?
I know that is quite a statement, but High Land, Hard Rain is an outstanding album of supreme lyrical and musical skill. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2000 by M. J. Webber
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