Haircut 100 - Boxing The Compass (2026)

We're getting the band back together. And it's about damn time. What we've got here is a comeback album that makes you wonder whether four decades really passed. Haircut 100’s first studio album with Nick Heyward at the helm since Pelican West arrives with the band’s trademark ingredients in place: jangly guitars, busy rhythms, prominent horns, nonsensical lyrics, and cheerful melodies with healthy dashes of both optimism and nostalgia. Heyward’s voice has held up well and the band still understands how to make sophisticated pop sound effortless.

The album is a wonderful blend of songs that sound like they could have been on Pelican West while others remind me more of Heyward's solo material. But it's all good stuff. Long story short: this album has gotten daily play since it arrived on my front porch back on July 13 (see below) and I hereby declare it Album of the Summer for 2026. Here's hoping there's more where this came from.

While I'm certainly not disappointed in the music, I do wish a little more thought had been put into the packaging. Pelican West had a wonderful, yellow pinstriped graphic design theme that was consistent and carried out throughout the album and singles packaging. That sort of effort is certainly lacking here as the digisleeve is fairly mundane and simplistic.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart. Heck, I'm unsure this was even officially released in the U.S.

Tracks that sound like old school Haircut 100:

• Vanishing Point
• Soul Bird
• Sunshine
• Someone
• Dynamite

Tracks that sound more like Nick Heyward solo:

• Come Back To Me
• Raincloud
• The Unloving Plum
• That's A Start
• A Wonderful Life

At least that's how I categorize them today. Tomorrow I might move them around a bit.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:

1. October 16, 2025: I see new LP is announced with a release date of March 20, 2026. Excitement abounds.
2. March 11, 2026: on this date, there was only one option for purchase in the US that didn't include ridiculous tariffs, so the CD was pre-ordered from that option, Rough Trade.
3. March 22: email received from Rough Trade apologizing for the delay in shipping, but they are "working hard" to get my order to me. I then noticed the album's release date has been pushed back to May 29.
4. March 26: email received from Rough Trade that my CD will be dispatched on March 28.
5. March 30: email received from Rough Trade that my CD will be dispatched on June 19. I then discover the album's release date has been pushed back to that date. Frustration grows.
6. June 21: email received from Rough Trade apologizing for the delay in shipping, but they are once again "working hard" to get my order to me. Over the following weeks, I slowly realize I will never hear from Rough Trade again.
7. July 9: finally fed up with Rough Trade, I cancel my order with them which somehow includes a restocking fee unless I want store credit instead of a refund. A restocking fee for a CD they never had in stock? Sheesh. And I certainly did NOT want store credit as I will never use that website again. A Boxing The Compass CD is promptly ordered from Amazon (which now doesn't charge the tariff, so I've got that going for me, which is nice).
8. July 10: Amazon delivers a vinyl LP of Boxing The Compass, return/replacement is immediately requested.
9. July 13: a compact disc of Boxing The Compass finally arrives here at blog headquarters.
   
   And scene.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Live At The IndigO₂ 28th Jan 2011 (2011)
The Greatest Hits of Nick Heyward & Haircut 100 (1996)
The Best of Nick Heyward & Haircut 100 (1989)
Paint and Paint (1984)
Pelican West (1982):

• 4 CD Celebration Edition (2023)
• 2 disc Deluxe Edition (2016)
• Pelican West Plus (1992)

Elmer Bernstein - True Grit Soundtrack (1969)

This is one of the few albums I remember listening to as a small child; I suspect we probably had the LP in our house because my mother had a crush on Glen Campbell. But as a 6 or 7 year old kid developing a hunger for music, I enjoyed it to the point I eventually picked up this CD copy purely for nostalgia's sake. And I'm not disappointed.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "lusty western-styled score"
• CashBox: "The music is rugged, melodic, and highly compelling"
• Record World: "Come Oscar time, this music will be way up front for award consideration"

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #77

Tracks: Glen Campbell had a role in this movie and sang the title song. It was a successful single, peaking at #35 pop, #9 country, and #7 easy listening on the Billboard charts. It was also nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Original Song, eventually losing to Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head. The title song is so good, in fact, it appears twice on the very brief, 26 minute album. Plus, its melody is used occasionally on some of the other tracks. There's not much country or western here, to be honest, unless they had B-3 organs, vibraphones, and drum kits roaming around Arkansas in the 1880s. Other than the title song, the whole thing is late '60s overblown, variety showish, cheesy pop crossover music and I love it. I find it catchy as hell and more melodic than it has any right to be. Plus, it brings a smile to my face. What more could I possibly ask for?

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

Rimsky-Korsakov - Sheherazade (2002)

Valery Gergiev conducting the Kirov Orchestra.

I'll be honest: I bought this CD because 1) it was cheap in the clearance bin, 2) it's a SACD, and 3) I like Sheherazade (also spelled Scheherazade), so why not? Turns out to be a fantastic interpretation, made that much better by the SACD format. This is the fourth CD I own that contains Sheherazade, but this disc includes two new pieces to my shelves, In The Steppes Of Central Asia (Borodin, 1880) and Islamey (Balakirev, 1869). So we've got three of "The Five" represented here.

Recorded under live conditions but without an audience in St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, this Scheherazade is the most red-blooded, exciting account of Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral warhorse that I know, helped by full, immediate sound of a richness rare in Russian recordings.

excerpt from https://www.gramophone.co.uk/

I'll second that. I'm not an expect on SACD by any means, but I've noticed a distinct difference between "native" digital recordings and older recordings subsequently transferred to DSD. Also listening on quality headphones makes a difference. But back to the music itself...

Tracks: I think one of the reasons I'm drawn to Sheherazade is Rimsky-Korsikov's amazing orchestration. What a master. He should write a book on the subject (spoiler: he did).

I hadn't heard In The Steppes Of Central Asia in many years. When I was studying music back in the 1980's, the piece was commonly played at orchestra concerts (particularly as a concert opener) but seems to have fallen out of favor over the past few decades - as have orchestras, but that's beyond the scope of this meager blog. And don't get me started on the many symphony fiascos here in San Antonio over the past 6 years. Anyhoo, it's nice to hear Steppes again. It is a programmatic piece written in 1880 for an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the reign of Tsar Alexander II and dedicated to Franz Liszt. The composer himself provided the following program note:

In the silence of the monotonous steppes of Central Asia is heard the unfamiliar sound of a peaceful Russian song. From the distance we hear the approach of horses and camels and the bizarre and melancholy notes of an oriental melody. A caravan approaches, escorted by Russian soldiers, and continues safely on its way through the immense desert. It disappears slowly. The notes of the Russian and Asiatic melodies join in a common harmony, which dies away as the caravan disappears in the distance.

However, it is an enjoyable 8 minutes whether you know the program or not. Fascinating side note: Borodin was a chemist and physician who wrote a little music in his spare time.

Islamey is a new piece for me. Originally written for piano in 1869, it is quite difficult and known as a virtuosic showpiece. The symphonic version heard on this disc was transcribed/arranged by Sergei Lyapunov. We're treated to three brief sections: 1) Allegro agitato, very busy and intense, 2) Tranquillo – Andantino espressivo, a slower, more romantic section that introduces a new legato theme, and 3) Allegro vivo – Presto furioso, which returns to the main theme. An exciting listen but I imagine is even more fun to perform.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: For more on my initial adventures with SACD, check out this earlier Béla Bartók post.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Scheherazade/Capriccio Espagnol/Russian Easter Overture (1995 compilation)
Scheherazade (1994) Ernest Ansermet L'Orchestra De La Suisse Romande (Ansermet)
Scheherazade/Capriccio Espagnol (1984) Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Dutoit)

Ike Quebec - Bossa Nova Soul Samba (1962)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2007 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with three bonus tracks.

According to a brief note in CashBox magazine, this album was the first Bossa Nova album released on the Blue Note label. Not particularly innovative, but quite good. Very similar to Getz albums of the time, except when Kenny Burrell gets a solo turn, then everything seems to kick up a notch.

Sadly, this was the last album Quebec recorded before his death in January 1963, at the age of 44, from lung cancer.

Quebec - tenor saxophone
Kenny Burrell - guitar
Wendell Marshall - bass
Willie Bobo - drums
Garvin Masseaux - chekere

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (★★★★): "deserving of some attention."
• DownBeat (★★★½): "a pleasant, unpretentious set of pretty ballads played with assurance and quiet passion."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My favorites are Lloro Tu Despedida, Me 'N You, Shu Shu, Blue Samba, and Linda Flor. Unusual for the time, there's nothing on this album written by Jobim.

Bonus tracks: alternate takes of Loie, Shu Shu, and Favela.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Easy Living (1987)
It Might As Well Be Spring (1964)
Blue & Sentimental (1963)
Heavy Soul (1962)

New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2025 two disc "Definitive Edition" reissue.

Slant magazine called this album "the real beginning of New Order’s career" and I must concur. Leaving behind the "Joy Division music with New Order vocals" sound of Movement, we start to hear the group's take on the emerging synth-dance music coming out of the UK at that time. They added their own spin on that sound and this album ended being highly influential. The music seamlessly combined post-punk, synth-pop, and dance music into a style that influenced alternative rock, indie dance, and electronic music for decades. The influences of records such as this often end up sounding somewhat obvious not because they lacked imagination, but because everyone else spent the next few decades borrowing from them. Somehow I never had a copy on my shelves; an oversight corrected with the purchase of these CDs.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "This record is a quantum leap over Movement, the band's first album, and over most of the music coming out of Britain lately."
• Smash Hits (6½ out of 10): "mainly murky and dull"
• Billboard: "insistent, danceable rhythms and melancholy harmonic colors coexist"
• Trouser Press: "a distinct improvement over New Order's debut album"
• Robert Christgau (B+): "I find it relatively gentle and melodic in its ambient postindustrial polyrhythms, their nicest record ever. I also think it sounds pretty much like the others."
• New Musical Express: "I suspect it'll prove one of the best records made in England this year."
• Record Mirror (+++): "a severe disappointment"

Power, Corruption & Lies placed at #262 on the 2020 edition of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and, in 1989, was placed at #94 on that magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s, calling it "a landmark album of danceable, post-punk music."

I call bullshit on this reissue for not including
"the HIT Dance Single 'BLUE MONDAY b/w THE BEACH' (FACTUS 10)."
Those tracks were originally on the cassette and
there's plenty of room on these two discs ferchrissakes.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I gravitate towards the dancier stuff which, to my ear, is Age Of Consent, The Village, Your Silent Face, and Ecstasy.

Bonus tracks: I can't resist the siren call of bonus tracks, particularly if the reissue carries a designation such as this "Definitive Edition." It's just too much for the collector in me to pass up. Unfortunately, all we've got here are demos which they've titled "writing session recordings" and they're about as exciting as reading the unedited first draft of a young adult novel. The exceptions here are tracks 7-10, the John Peel session from 1982. The band delivers more relaxed versions of four tunes: Turn The Heater On, We All Stand, Too Late, and 5-8-6. Turn the Heater On (a Keith Hudson cover) and Too Late were only ever recorded for the Peel session and neither were ever performed live.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I have a particular memory of this album and the first time I held an import copy back in late '83, but that tale is rather mean-spirited and I gain nothing from sharing it here. I'll just mention that all involved were knuckleheaded teenaged boys and leave it at that.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Waiting For The Sirens' Call (2005)	Republic© (1993)
Get Ready (2001)	Bizarre Love Triangle (1986)
(the best of) New Order (1995)	Brotherhood (1986)
(the rest of) New Order (1995)	Movement (1981)

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - 662 (2021)

The second release from this blues phenom who was only 22 at the time he recorded the album. From the album's press release:

Ingram describes 662 (the number is northern Mississippi's telephone area code) as "a presentation of my life in and away from the Delta." The album overflows with hard-hitting original songs, jaw-dropping guitar work and deep, soul-possessed vocals.

Right up my alley. This Mississippi rockin' boogie blues with hooks galore is perfect for summer driving and/or just sittin' and sippin' on the porch in the South Texas heat and humidity (speaking from personal experience).

The album won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Kingfish and the album won five(!) awards at the 29th Annual Living Blues Awards from Living Blues magazine. Speaking of magazine awards, DownBeat magazine named it as Best Blues Album in its 70th Annual Critics Poll:

Press of the time:

• Living Blues: "each note sounds right, each string-bend and grunge-flecked wail appropriate in its place"
• Blues Blast: "No longer the 'future of the blues' - as Guitar Player magazine once called him, Kingfish’s time is NOW!"
• Blues Rock Review (9 out 10): "Ingram shows that he has only sharpened his ability to cut, soar, and amaze with nothing more than a couple of choice guitar licks, or a flurry of emotive runs."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Blues: #1

Tracks: Unlike many blues albums, there's enough variety here to make this a top-to-bottom listen. If pressed to pick favorites, today I'll go with 662, Another Life Goes By, Not Gonna Lie, I Got To See You, and the autobiographical Something In The Dirt.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I picked up my copy of this CD in an autographed digisleeve at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi in October 2025 when my wife and I traveled parts of the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Billy Joel - Fantasies & Delusions, Op. 1 - 10 (2001)

Performed by Hyung-ki (Richard) Joo, half of the comedy duo Igudesman & Joo.

Listening to whatever this is, I'm reminded of the following quote from Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton:

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” ― Dr. Ian Malcolm

Yeah, Joel could attempt some "serious" composition, but should he? As it is, he just joins the other pop/rock songsmiths that have tried the thing with similar undemanding, lackluster, disappointing results (I'm looking at you Sir Paul and Joe Jackson although I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting at present).

Press of the time:

• Washington Post: "little more than a garland of homages to some important masters -- not quite mimicry, but pretty close."
• Billboard: "ambitious, impressionistic"
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "for the most part, Joel doesn't let his delusions get the best of him."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #83
• Billboard Classical: #1

Tracks: It's all derivative of Debussy, Chopin, Faure, and other European composers from the late 19th/early 20th century. He's got the harmony down, but it lacks in melody and form.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I bought this CD when released, quickly traded it in, then inherited today's CD from my father upon his passing. Or did I give him my copy instead of trading it in and now it's returned to me in some sort of karmic retribution? Anyway...

Previously revisited for the blog:

My Lives (2005)	The Nylon Curtain (1982)
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert (2000)	Songs in the Attic (1981)
To Make You Feel My Love (1997)	Glass Houses (1980)
River Of Dreams (1993)	52nd Street (1978)
Storm Front (1989)	The Stranger (1977)
The Bridge (1986)	Turnstiles (1976)
An Innocent Man (1983)	Streetlife Serenade (1974)
	Piano Man (1973)