The Songs That People Sing

Moving House

2009-09-22T18:50:00.002+01:00

I'm shifting from Blogger to Wordpress.

You can find me here:

http://thesongsthatpeoplesing.wordpress.com/

So make sure you update your links!! Unless of course you don't want to. In which case I'll understand....

:)

Les Petits Visages

2009-09-10T22:15:00.007+01:00

Or something.

Some blog tennis with those lovely people Ally and Davy.

I love those Small Faces guys. Steve Marriot is one of my favourite singers ever, and I just love the sound, that crunchy guitar, the solid but swinging rhythm section, and the Hammond organ. And most of all some of my favourite songs from the 60s. All that fuss over the Beatles or The Stones. I love them, but for me Townshend, Davies and Marriot/Lane are the Top Trumps. I wish somebody would work some of that remaster magic on the Small Faces catalogue.

A couple of useless facts. Steve Marriot was born five years later but shared the same birthday as my dear old mum. Who lived next door to the Small Faces in Pimlico. Where I was conceived.
Probably a little too much information eh?

Get Yourself Together
Tin Soldier

Somewhere else

2009-09-08T17:41:00.002+01:00

Well August came and went. And with it came a fairly big house move; one that took me somewhere else. I've been offline for nearly three weeks as well, thanks to the joys of getting anything done without a computer.

I've missed you lot!

The move has left me with a journey that is, shall we say, longer than it was previously. Long enough to catch up on books I've had sitting there and to listen to albums in their entirety instead of twenty minute snatches here and there. I'm still trying to work out where I am in the world, and not quite feeling at home yet. But it's good. I've watched the sun rise over fields this week, which is a damn sight better than the early morning faces on the tube I have to say.

All is well.

However, I've still not unpacked my precious back up drive which has my music on it so there's no tuneage for you today. Just a little hello as we get some unexpected September sunshine.

Hello!!

Guest post by accident....;)

2009-08-02T15:02:00.002+01:00

For those of you who don't read the comments.... well sometimes you really should, you're missing the best bits......

Courtesy of

dickvandyke: "Ah Primary School. It was the late 60s for me, but the sentiments remain the same ....

The schoolyard. Aged 4. Short pants. Tarmac, trepidation and snot.

I remember the obligatory boy with the white patch of sticking plaster over one eye. His hideous black-framed NHS spectacles sat upon his wart-infected ears. My new shoes were rubbing already.

The older kids in the corner mischievously sang that summer's bizarre novelty hit, "There Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haa!" Mum had cut my hair around a basin and I had a lop-sided fringe. I smelled of camomile lotion following the recent spotty Chicken Pox affair. 2lemon bon-bons gathered lint in my pocket.

The teachers looked about 55; looking back, they were probably 26! 'Maybe they'll teach me how to become a real Thunderbird?' I wondered. (I had imagination - what more would I need in life?)

And the girls. Lots of girls. Mostly pig-tailed, missing their front teeth and ugly as sin; but one or 2 were worryingly pretty. Handstands against the wall with knickers on display. It was all too much! I'd never considered that girls existed before. I had football, a dog and a tortoise - girls had never been necessary.

The bell clanged. This was it.

"You're a big boy now. These are the best days of your life". (Had I known about God then, I'd have asked him to help me). I so desparately wanted to cry when my mother said goodbye. That wretched stomach through a mangle feeling.
She spat on a handkerchief and wiped my grubby face one last time and she was gone.

I noticed a pile of freshly steaming sick was being covered by a man with a shovel and a bucket of sawdust. Some boys were still sobbing into their mothers' aprons. My bottom lip wobbled precariously - but I must've somehow realised that future playground pecking order and classroom kudos could not be gained by wailing like a 'puff'.

Besides, I'd previously learnt how to be 'mummy's brave soldier' when TV's Andy Pandy show ended, and the heart-wrenching signature tune had played .. "Time to go home, time to go home .. Andy is waving goodbye ... Goodbye".

On that very first morning at school, I remember learning 2 important things:

Lesson 1 - If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.

Lesson 2: Don't sit next to the boy who's shit himself.

As I've said before kiddo, you're not alone.

Much love."

London Bridge Is Falling Down

2009-08-01T16:28:00.002+01:00

I've been looking around myself this past year. So many things have changed as I turned 40, before and after. I'm not looking at the same landscape I was last summer. New arrivals, big changes at work, at home. Friends have left town or are leaving. Other friends are leaving each other.

This week my old primary school burnt down. A huge chunk of my life gone. Probably the last marker of my childhood gone. My old part of town has been knocked down and built up so many times. You don't expect bricks and mortar and concrete and glass to be so transient.

Anyway I'm sitting here, watching Field Of Dreams, a beautiful film about the past and putting things right, coming to terms with who we are and what we have done. And I'm reminiscing and getting a little blurry.

Lets see, what was there going on back then? What do I think of when I was at Primary School? The summer of 76, too hot to sit out in the playground, everyone sticking to the shade, water from the taps being too hot to drink.

J, (like a Lloyd Cole song most of the important women through the ages have been inital J...)who was in the same class as me throughout. Looking back over old photos she was a pretty little thing but she grew up to look like her mother. Who looked like a potato.

D, my best friend at primary school, whose surname was the same as the first name of my best friend at secondary school. One day I went to knock for him and the flat was empty. He had moved and hadn't told me it was happening.

Monkey, with one of the best theme tunes ever, the talk of the playground the monday after.

Another D, the school nutter, from a family of nutters. Who for some reason always liked me so I never felt the terror of his presence like some people did. He looked like Paul Weller, which put me off The Jam for a long while. He ended up in prison and came out a preacher.

O, who had a huge crush on me and whose brother was in one of the Guy Ritchie movies years later.

The Dump, the site of a demolished Victorian tenement, where my little gang congregated on weekends, having wars and reading our treasure trove, a stack of porn that somebody had stolen from a nearby newsagent and thrown over the corrugated iron fence of the Dump to pick up later. A stack that we arrived one Sunday morning to find burning.

And Star Wars. Batman (parka hood up, buttoned at the neck). Spiderman. Never being chosen for football. Playing kiss chase one last time on the last day of school. Getting a slap around the face from J because I finally kissed her.

And then there's my mum, bringing my sister and me up single handed, with all the things that brought, including my inclusion into the free school meals gang. Getting called a tramp was a quick way for the person doing the name calling to get a punch in the face...

London Bridge is falling down but they'll keep building a new one in it's place.

Giant Steps etc....

2009-07-20T22:30:00.002+01:00

Out of all the big events of the 20th Century, the one my mum talked about most was the moon landing. Apparently on that night she held me up to the sky to look at the moon and told me all about the astronauts being up there. I was five months old. And I can just imagine what she'd be telling us about if she was still here!

I'm about to step outside and see what I can see now forty years later and then I'm going to tell Alfie all about it!

Still Alive

2009-07-14T07:08:00.003+01:00

I had a message asking if I was still alive this week. Well, I am!

It wasn't swine flu in the end, but it was a particularly nasty infection with some symptoms that were very flu-like. A couple of weeks later and a course of antibiotics and I'm up and running again.

Now, I hear you ask, where is the blogging? Where is the music? Well, not really been up to doing much of that lately; in fact I'm not sure what I've even been listening to. It is a blip at the moment though, there's a lot of things going on obviously at home and at work so... and besides which, all my music is on a separate drive and I'm sitting in another room on a laptop. Really can't be bothered to unplug things and replug them. Sigh.

I'm hoping things will settle down somewhat in a few weeks. I may be hoping in vain mind you!

In other news I've just discovered one of you lot (Mr Planet Mondo himself) is working about thirty yards down the street from where I work. I'm not quite sure whether to buy him a pint or stalk him. :)

Anyway, here's a tune I did have to hand, and it's a cracker. One of my most favourite remixes ever, and the moment when suddenly the world joined the dots between eras for me. A real lightbulb moment!

Happy Mondays - WFL (Wrote For Luck) - Vince Clarke mix

Flying Pigs

2009-07-01T11:16:00.003+01:00

Well, I appear to have flu. And, in a borough of London that has a high Swine Flu count, there is the possibility that I too have become one of the many statistics they quote on the news. I think the last time I became a statistic was when I was unemployed years ago.

Anyway, I have to stay at home, to reduce the risk of spreading the disease. And I may be receiving a swab kit in the post so I can be checked out. Only maybe however, they don't have enough to send to every body with possible symptoms.

And so, one of my all time favourite bands reforms and plays a gig in London, and I can't go.

Damn it.

So if I can't go out then I'm going to throw open the windows and turn up the music. A classic little Northern Soul tune, that as far as I'm aware isn't available anywhere right now; full of summer. Enjoy!

Ginger Thompson - Boy Watcher

The Moment: Live!!

2009-06-28T13:20:00.003+01:00

One of my all time favourite bands, covered in these pages last summer, The Moment, are reformed and playing live in London this Wednesday July 1st, at The Fiddlers Elbow in Camden Town.

Go to this very page of the blog for details about them and to hear some tracks:

http://thesongsthatpeoplesing.blogspot.com/2008/08/moment.html

Should be a damn fine evening!

Blow Away The Cobwebs

2009-06-14T02:22:00.004+01:00

I've been in a little bubble for a little while now, months maybe. I'm going to be exposed to the real world on Monday, none of this purified air any longer, only other peoples germs and bad moods. I really do need to find a new walk, a new swagger to deal with this strange new planet I find myself on. But in the meantime the old tunes carry enough weight to lift me up ten feet high.

"First lets hear somebody sing me a record that cries pure and true"

Deep breathe in, breath out slowly. And relax.

Or alternatively, as somebody I know said earlier today:

"Gram of billy and half a bottle of vodka comming right up !!"

Dexys Midnight Runners - Let's Make This Precious

Paternity Leave

2009-06-11T10:14:00.003+01:00

Just to let you know, I'm still alive, although I look today like I've gone through a war. Little Alfie is a joy so far, fingers crossed it stays that way!!

Music calms him when he is stressed, and gets his full attention when he is calm. Favourites so far include a Lee Perry reworking of an Al Green tune that I'll remember in a moment, and the tinkly tinkly sounds of Doll On A Music Box from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The moment in that when Dick Van Dyke comes in with Truly Scrumptious actually made him visibly shiver! And the soundtracks of John Williams on random play helped me get him to sleep with a bad stomach.

In other news: I'm back at work next week, after nearly a month off. The Beautiful Wife and me are still looking at each other with that 'oh shit what have we done' face.

And my old iPod nano died a death so I've gone for a proper one. 120 gigs. Already full. And a cabinet of CDs that are nowhere near a computer. I need to do some editing. Two months of music if left to play, without hearing the same song twice. Wonderful Radio Simon.

Anyway, I'll be back to something resembling normal service sometime soon!

Pssst....

2009-05-25T16:40:00.002+01:00

.....The new Madness album The Liberty Of Norton Folgate....it is superb. Easily the best album they've made, but also one of the best 'London' albums I've heard in a while. Cracking songs, including the early doors favourite of mine Sugar And Spice, which is luvverly!

Like Adam over there I'm not going to post anything from it, because it is really worth your dough.

Go and buy!!!!

Meanwhile little sunshine is even more luvverly...sigh....

It's A Boy!

2009-05-22T06:27:00.003+01:00

The drinks are on me. I'm completely blown away. I love my wife so much. And now my little man.

Random Play: Sneaker Pimps

2009-05-12T01:19:00.005+01:00

Here's a tune from the mid 90s, Sneaker Pimps and their major hit 6 Underground. I loved this tune: this version is the album mix, which isn't as concise as the single mix. I think I've about 5 or 6 mixes of this.

Looking back over everything the mid 90s might just be my favourite time for music.

Meanwhile: a quick rush through the blogs I've had going on in my head that I can't quite be bothered to write or upload for!:

ashes to ashes, episode 4 of this series was everything the rest of this series and the first series for that matter should have been: dark and humourous rather than tongue in cheek and strong in story and acting. The rest of Ashes To Ashes feels like a blurry mess compared to this one. "pigbag - papa's got a brand new pigbag"

last gang in town: I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that I'll never form the next Clash, I'll never be the next Joe Strummer. Does this mean I'm growing up? Although I'm still convinced I'll be the next Han Solo when they remake Star Wars. "the clash - stay free"

40 and frisky. I'm absolutely obsessed with Pokerface by Lady GaGa. Damn fine pop music with a soaring chorus. Even if it does sample Boney M. I never thought I'd still get obsessed with pop music once I was...middle aged. Is middle aged the new teens? "Lady GaGa - Pokerface"

I can't quite believe the stories about the MPs and their expenses. Part of me, the cynic isn't surprised. Another part wonders if any of us wouldn't take the option if it was given to us to have our bills paid for us. I worked in the music industry for a few years, and have many friends who still do. Freebies were our lifeblood, mostly because wages were so crappy. And would you say no to free albums or gig tickets? But those freebies weren't paid out of taxpayers pockets. Tax payers who are being told how bad the recession is and could be, by these people who are then claiming for help on second homes and swimming pools and luxury furnishings. But mostly I'm surprised by how many of them really don't look sorry or apologetic: surprise and annoyance is what I'm seeing in most of their faces; surprise that people are angry and annoyance that they may have to give up these perks. Latest news is that some of them might be investigated by the police to see if fraud has occurred, and the possibility of huge tax bills on the horizon is very likely. Which is I guess a way of saying you have to give it back. Wonder where it will end up then? "booker-t & the mgs - hang em high"

Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground

Random Play: Madness

2009-05-10T13:13:00.002+01:00

Sunday, scrambled eggs, Joss Whedon's Firefly, toys made out of socks, good coffee and a hint of sunshine through the blinds.

And some Madness best played loud.

Madness - On The Beat Pete

Random Play: Generation X

2009-05-08T14:36:00.003+01:00

Generation X's version of Shaking All Over today; a fantastic song and Gen X do it justice. In fact Billy Idol was probably born to perform it and it's filled with some great guitar work too. All of which go together to make it one of my favourite cover versions, and certainly my favourite Gen X performance.

Meanwhile in other news: all my plans for the week have been left by the wayside. A week bookended by 'false labour' has left us feeling absolutely knackered. Strangely calm however.

Very exciting!

Generation X - Shaking All Over

Relax

2009-05-03T09:02:00.002+01:00

Bank Holiday Weekend. Now we're into May the clock is ticking. I'm finding that I'm actually quite calm, but I can't really focus on anything, hence the lack of posts this week, even though the frazzled mind of the previous weeks has relaxed.

Musically I'm exploring the pastoral side of pop, lots of relaxing sounds. Although I'm punctuating that with some spiky punk. More on that later on the week. In the meantime sit back and enjoy some Young Marble Giants and their wonderful Wurlitzer Jukebox.

Heading to the pub for Sunday roast later, which will be nice. Remember, take time to enjoy the weekend, whatever you're doing. Be careful out there!

Young Marble Giants - Wurlitzer Jukebox

Frazzled Sunday

2009-04-26T10:00:00.002+01:00

I'm still overloading this week, so writing isn't really a priority. Have some lovely Sunday tunes to relax and unwind to. Then pop over to Rol's pages for a whole load more.

Happy Sunday.

Nick Drake - Sunday
Bert Jansch - Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning
Nick Heyward - On A Sunday

Sunday Soothers

2009-04-19T10:02:00.004+01:00

I've just had a monumentally busy week, the kind of week that leaves you feeling like your brain is melting. The kind of week that leaves you wanting to drift away on a gentle breeze come the weekend. So, as the April sunshine begins to burn away the morning haze I'm contemplating an afternoon in the park just lazing around. Probably won't happen but it's a nice place to be in my head.

And as a soundtrack to that vision here's a few of what may have to become a necessary place to be in the next few months....sunday's soothers.....

XTC - Summer's Cauldron
The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
Robert Wyatt - Sea Song
Lulu - To Sir With Love

Something Soulful

2009-04-14T07:17:00.003+01:00

I know next to nothing about this one. Cynthia Sheeler and "I'll Cry Over You".

Cynthia was from New Orleans, the record was on the JB's label; and that's the next to nothing.

Oh and it's lovely.

Anybody have anything more to add I'll be grateful.

Cynthia Sheeler - I'll Cry Over You

Incredible String Band

2009-04-13T10:34:00.003+01:00

I've been, and continue to be, very busy at the moment. The clock is ticking down until we meet our new arrival. It's not long now. So posts may start to become sporadic for a little while.

Meanwhile I've developed something of an obsession with The Incredible String Band. The ISB were a psychedelic folk band formed in the late 60s by contemporaries of Bert Jansch and John Martyn. I can't say I've ever heard anything quite like them. Other people have worked in similar areas, but some of this stuff is out there.

Rainbow is from their 1970 album U. U was the recorded version of a stageshow they had been touring and was a double album recorded in just 48 hours. Rainbow itself clocks in at 15 minutes, and is stunning, being about five or six different songs in one, moving from slow delicate piano piece to raucous passionate proclaiming. Far out. Man.

The Incredible String Band - Rainbow

Paul Haig Day

2009-04-06T07:55:00.003+01:00

It's Paul Haig Day on the blogs. Go to the good man JC's pages here at the Vinyl Villain for information.

My little tribute to Paul is from a different angle today, because one of my favourite records he was involved in was the collection Memory Palace, a series of recordings made with Billy Mackenzie in the 90s. It's an amazing record, showing that, at the time of recording, both musicians best was still ahead of them. Sadly these recordings didn't see the light of day until after Billy's death.

It's a pretty diverse collection and yet one that hangs together beautifully; electronics next to guitars; moody cold ballads next to uptempo rockers. And the mighty Give Me Time, a Bond theme that never was.

Meanwhile Paul has released a long and interesting series of excellent albums; Cinematique 2 is a particular favourite that gets a regular listen. Please go here to Paul's own record label Rhythm Of Life and investigate immediately!

Happy Monday!

Haig/Mackenzie - Give Me Time
Haig/Mackenzie - Thunderstorm
Haig/Mackenzie - Take A Chance
Haig/Mackenzie - Listen To Me
Haig/Mackenzie - Listen Again

JB's All Stars

2009-04-05T17:33:00.002+01:00

Here's The Specials drummer John Bradbury, with his Northern Soul revival band JB's All Stars, on The Tube back in late 83, early 1984. I can remember this performance, but I must admit to forgetting the waistcoats and haircuts...I recommend you close your eyes and just listen! Some great songs and a really quite energetic and exciting performance. JB's All Stars!

All At Sea

2009-04-02T22:05:00.002+01:00

There's been something in the air this week; people I know seem to be feeling the same. Like we're all adrift, being taken by the tides. Flotsam and jetsam.

I guess when everything is uncertain you can't plan. It can feel like you don't know where you're going to, not knowing what shore you're going to end up on.

So while we're all lost at sea here's some tunes that sound very nice together, and are providing a suitable soundtrack.

Just remember folks it will all be ok. Even when the map says: "Here Be Dragons"...

The Style Council - It's A Very Deep Sea
Robert Wyatt - Team Spirit
Aztec Camera - Stray

Random Play: Goldfrapp

2009-04-01T00:08:00.002+01:00

Goldfrapp's Black Cherry album was a huge album for my wife and me. It pretty much soundtracked our first six months to a year together. It was the only new album I'd bought that year. At the time I was sharing a flat with two other guys. One of them used to borrow it to soundtrack nocturnal visits from ladyfriends. I nearly bought a second copy so I could listen to it at least some of the time.

The big track on there for us was Train. I can recall many occasions when it provided a suitable soundtrack, but by far the funniest was the day after my birthday party that year. A friend had made special cookies as a present. We'd watched people visibly melting under their influence. Strong was not the word. And the wife and I finished them between us. All the while listening to Train on a loop. And then dissolving into hysterical laughter for several hours. All the while listening to Train on a loop. On a loop. On a loop. On a...you get the picture. I laughed so much that day that I couldn't breath, my sides ached so much. And Train? I can still listen to it over and over and over. A brilliant track from one of my most favourite albums.

Goldfrapp - Train

Random Play: Wet Wet Wet

2009-03-31T17:50:00.004+01:00

Wet Wet Wet. I know. I know. Yes, that song. It did my head in too. I won't mention it, so you don't get it into your heads. Fifteen bloody weeks at number one though. Yeah, it definately did my head in.

But I'll let you into a little secret. I own their first two albums. Actually I think I've three albums, because there's one they did with Willie Mitchell in Memphis.

Anyway, despite being a fairly slick pin up band they were musically into a lot of the same stuff I listen to and post on here - for instance Dexys and Costello and old soul. So when my sister got a huge crush on their keyboard player back in the 80s I listened to their albums when she was out, having to buy them later on for myself.

Here's a couple of b-sides from their early singles. The first Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight is a James Taylor tune that the Isley Brothers once covered to great effect, and the second World In Another reminds me of one of Wet Wet Wet's other favourites Scritti Politti for some reason.

These are probably my favourite recordings by them, just because they're not as slick as some of the more known tunes. And Marti Pellow was a great singer.

Yeah. I know. But I don't care!

Wet Wet Wet - Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
Wet Wet Wet - World In Another

It's A Shame

2009-03-31T07:19:00.002+01:00

I've had It's A Shame by The Detroit Spinners going around and around in my head for a couple of days now. It's a song that does this on a regular basis. I'm not sure if that means that I love the song more than most or if it's just super catchy. I find myself singing it to myself walking down the street, or while I'm cooking.

It is a great track mind you, and what I didn't know for years was that Stevie Wonder wrote and produced it, and plays a lot of the instruments on it. Listen to the brass lines and you can hear Stevie's melodic touch quite clearly.

Here's the original by The Detroit Spinners (just The Spinners in the US, renamed in the UK to avoid confusing them with our middle of the road folk group of the same name) and a lovely reggae version by Alton Ellis. I'll have this going around and around and around in my head all day now...

Detroit Spinners - It's A Shame
Alton Ellis - It's A Shame

Sounds For Sunday: Get Happy!! The Originals

2009-03-29T09:56:00.004+01:00

I managed to forget Sounds For Sunday last week. Not quite sure how.

Anyway, I'm on a Costello kick this week: primarily with The Attractions because they were superb. I'm never sure which album is my favourite of those years, at the moment Trust is actually up there. But along with Blood And Chocolate, Get Happy!! is my most listened to Costello album. Loads of songs, mostly played at high energy and filled with soul influences.

Hmm. Motown grooves played with punk energy and topped with snarled vocals singing intelligent lyrics. Weller as always was keeping watch I think, but this album really did show the way for a lot of bands in the early 80s. And what an album, Costello wrote better songs probably, and The Attractions played better elsewhere, but there's something about Get Happy!! that is just so direct and powerful. And some great choices of covers. Sam And Dave's I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down was a ballad and beautiful with it, and there is a Costello version in the same style, but somewhere along the way he sped it up. I Stand Accused was by Jerry Butler originally. Now I don't seem to have it, even after some searching. What I do have is an lovely Al Green version. Again it's a ballad, which is a huge contrast to Costello's extremely speedy version. On the other hand Costello's version of Betty Everett's Getting Mighty Crowded is quite faithful to the original, with a great vocal, and the Attractions powering on like Booker T & The MGs on speed. It's very Mod with a capital M. (It also ended up on a b-side at the time rather than on the album but we'll forget about that for the moment...)

Get Happy!!

Sam & Dave - I Can't Stand Up
Al Green - I Stand Accused
Betty Everett - Getting Mighty Crowded

Soulful Kind Of Friday Night

2009-03-27T23:20:00.002Z

Something soulful and full of strings for you this evening.

Sam Fletcher's I'd Think It Over is lovely, a big jazzy orchestral swaggering piece of soulfulness to dance circles around the front room. It builds beautifully, rising up and up to a nicely dramatic chorus. It makes me want to wear a sharp suit, drink whisky on the rocks and smoke french cigarettes. Whilst wearing shades inside. At night-time.

Enjoy.

Sam Fletcher - I'd Think It Over

Town Cryer

2009-03-25T18:05:00.004Z

Adam at Pretending Life Is Like A Song posted the wonderful Town Cryer by Elvis Costello recently. It's a wonderful song, with a great Costello vocal, changing the way he sings each repetition of the lines until you feel like he's been singing four or five different songs at once. And then there's the beautiful arrangement, those orchestral parts that feel like the sun coming up.

I didn't realise that I had three versions of the song however. The original and an acoustic demo which is lovely. And a very strange fast version, all jerky early 80s funk moves and Hammond Organ washes. I don't think either of the other versions are as good as the original, but they're great indications of how good the song is that it stands up to the differences. I especially like the vocal breakdown at the end of the fast version. Fun.

Town Cryer (demo version)
Town Cryer (fast version)

Random Play: Tracie Young!

2009-03-24T23:19:00.002Z

Can't be posting Respond Records without mentioning Tracie. Tracie was the reason I bought Beat Surrender, and then Speak Like A Child and then a whole load of music. It was all her fault. There I've admitted it. I got into a whole youth sub-culture (so sub by this point that I was surfacing on the other side of the planet) because of a crush on a girl. All my Motown and Trojan and Who and Small Faces and Moment and Fred Perry shirts because of a girl. Tracie! Can't forget that exclamation point.

Ah but what a girl. One of my favourite vocals ever by anybody on The Boy Hairdresser, a Weller original that was the b-side to Give It Some Emotion, Tracie's second single. I love the high note she hits on the last verse, the one after the spoken middle. (Who was that speaking? Weller, Mick Talbot, or the late great Vaughn Toulouse?)

And then some eagle eyed folk may have noticed this posted in comments earlier on in the week, but I'll post it 'officially': I Love You When You Sleep, a great song written by one Elvis Costello.

Ah what a song. Absolutely gorgeous.

Keeps On Burning indeed!

Tracie! - Boy Hairdresser
Tracie! - I Love You When You Sleep

Rubber Reggae

2009-03-24T08:15:00.003Z

It's a great game isn't it - recreating Beatles albums purely with cover versions. Here's a handful of great covers of tunes from Rubber Soul, all from the Trojan Beatles box set.

Willie Lindo - Norwegian Wood
Ernie Smith - You Won't See Me
Jackie Robinson - In My Life
Joe White - If I Needed Someone

So, name some tunes to finish the album - in any style of music...

Happy Tuesday!!

Random Play: Love: Alone Again Or

2009-03-23T20:44:00.002Z

An absolutely beautiful and melancholy baroque pop masterpiece. I love the strings and the mariachi brass, and the sense of cold at it's heart.

Definitely and definitively classic.

Love - Alone Again Or

Meaty Big And Bouncy

2009-03-23T17:04:00.007Z

(Lee at Crying All The Way To The Chip Shop was reminiscing today about our diets back in the 70s and how steak was a luxury and seen as posh or upmarket. This was in part my response over there, and also a tiny bit of response over here.)

Back in the 70s and early 80s my mum worked at Smithfield Meat Market, doing the books for a big Scottish beef firm. Part of her weekly wages was a certain percentage in 'meat' so to speak.

And no I don't mean she was sleeping with the boss.

Anyway, she regularly brought home a leg of lamb, 2 chickens, sausages, pork chops most weeks. But I can't recall any occasion when she came home with steaks. Given that she worked for a Scottish beef company it's a bit odd. Steak must have been their prime resource or something.

I can remember vividly when we were able to start buying anything but the crap food from shops though. It was spring 1982 in our part of London when Safeway opened up one of their big stores near the Barbican. Cartons of orange juice. Fruit and veg that wasn't simply potatoes carrots and apples. Starfruit and kiwi fruit! And avocadoes. And cook in the oven pizzas with deep crust!

But still we wanted fish fingers and fray bentos pies. Bad pop - "it's frothy man" anybody?

Is there a link between the country's diet and the music we listened to I wonder though? Lumpy bad food in the 70s and then the colourful more healthy option in the early 80s: Did all that early 80s pop sound that much brighter and bubblier because I wasn't so full of crap?

Here's some of the bubbliest and brightest from that summer when Safeway opened.

Madness - House Of Fun
The Associates - Party Fears Two
ABC - The Look Of Love Part 1
Duran Duran - Rio

The Questions - Price You Pay

2009-03-23T08:00:00.005Z

I posted The Questions last week and their song Tuesday Sunshine. I had a few requests for one of their other songs, Price You Pay, which came out in the spring of 1983 and takes me right back whenever I hear it.

I hear it quite often because it is probably one of my all time favourite singles. I love it, from the drum intro, to the Paul Barry ad-libs over the fade. I always think it should have been a huge hit. But that's how it goes sometimes.

The real sound of spring in my head.

The Questions - Price You Pay

Random Play: Dodgy

2009-03-21T10:46:00.002Z

Not exactly random, but one of the un-posted uploaded tracks I had access to whilst sitting at the in-laws on a Saturday morning.

Good Enough, probably Dodgy's biggest hit, is such a summer feel-good tune. The summer of 96 was pretty damn good, looking back it counts as one of my favourite summers ever. Good good times. It was such a hopeful time, sunshine, good music, a new band I was starting, new friends. It really felt like the beginning of something. In hindsight it was a slight detour. I'm not sure things were as good as that for some time after. But anyway they were as good as that, and much better. So there's always an upside...

I love this track because it's a great track, but also because that feeling of hope is in it's grooves. I know it wasn't just me at the time, because I've talked about this with other people and they point at the approaching Labour government, Oasis and Blur, any number of dance tracks, Pulp and that other grooves full of hope track from the time Wake Up Boo! There really was a feeling in the air at the time, and that was before the beer or chemicals kicked in.

Funnily enough, and it may be the impending parenthood, but I'm starting to feel like that about this year. It'll be more than good enough!

Dodgy - Good Enough

Late Night Feelings: Prefab Sprout

2009-03-19T00:57:00.005Z

Nothing major, just a headful of all the things that have been happening, all the things that are going to happen, and a few things that will hopefully never happen. I could do with a cigarette, but music is better.

And so this song to soothe the way. An acoustic version from the re-issue of Steve McQueen. Lovely.

Prefab Sprout - Appetite

How Did I Miss This? The Chemical Brothers: Saturate

2009-03-18T17:30:00.004Z

Just about two years after it came out I got around to listening in full to the last Chemical Brothers album We Are The Night. When I listened to it before I must have been on full on skim mode because I completely missed Saturate.

Not this time. WOW.

A track that could sound like bleepy trance by numbers doesn't. Oh it comes close, simplistic sequencing and beats for the most part and lazy layering of riffs. But it's kind of nice. Then the chorus kicks in. And I mean kicks in, a huge ascending riff over a mammoth break beat that just goes sky high. Vertical Take Off. Talk about hands in the air, really beautiful and soaring and melodic, more like Orbital at their best than the Chems. I mean they've made some amazing music but it's not always about melody with them. But this is probably the best tune I've heard from them in years, maybe ever. Absolutely. Love. It.

Better late than never.

The Chemical Brothers - Saturate

Tuesday Sunshine

2009-03-17T07:41:00.003Z

Rol at Sunset Over Slawit is doing a series about days of the week in music. It's Tuesday today over there, so I thought I'd post my favourite day of the week song ever.

Tuesday Sunshine came out around this time in 1984...25 years ago...wow. I was in the middle of being ill, stuck at home for a month, and I absolutely hated every song on the radio, which all seemed to be songs from Footloose, a film I still haven't seen all the way through. The Questions were one of the groups on Paul Weller's Respond Records and had released one of my favourite singles of 1983, The Price You Pay. So you can imagine I was quite excited to get my hands on Tuesday Sunshine. I played it over and over again, quite annoying my mum.

Listening to it now it's not quite the classic it seemed. Great vocals, musically a mix of Weller's Speak Like A Child and the Chairman Of The Board's Everything's Tuesday. It's great, but unlike The Price You Pay, I don't listen to it much anymore. It is however perfect for a sunny March morning.

The Questions didn't last much longer, releasing one album that summer. Paul Barry, vocals and bass is now a songwriter for hire, famously being one of the writers of Cher's Believe.

Happy Tuesday!!

The Questions - Tuesday Sunshine

Sounds For Sunday

2009-03-15T08:42:00.004Z

Here's a vintage dance pop tune that's a little bit more 'modern' than usual. Weird to be calling a tune from 1990 'vintage', but blimey it's nearly 20 years ago...oh well....

JC over at Vinyl Villain has posted Chic's Good Times, which prompted me to mention Johnny Marr's love of Chic and the influence of Nile Rodger on his playing. Which reminded me of this track, Still Feel The Rain by Stex on which Johnny plays. I know very little about Stex other than Stephen Lironi (Mr Claire Grogan and ex Altered Images/Black Grape) produced it and Johnny played guitar. And it featured over at Acid Ted before Christmas.

This is the Grid remix which sets the main JM riff way out front for a large portion of the track. That synth brass is pretty unfortunate however. But it's a great track that takes me back, this got played out quite often for a while.

Stex - Still Feel The Rain

Random Play: The Perfections

2009-03-12T18:23:00.004Z

Get your dancing feet on for this prime bit of seventies soul, with those scratchy funk guitars and cool brass lines that influenced so many early 80s records.

An original copy of The Perfections "Can This Be Real?" has been known to sell for as much as £300 on ebay!!!. I'm no purist, I'm glad I can get to hear these things, no matter what the format!

Enjoy!!

The Perfections - Can This Be Real?

Random Play: The Smithereens

2009-03-11T22:27:00.004Z

Sometimes a song takes you back so vividly that you can feel the sun on your face from a summer over twenty years ago.

The Smithereens are a New Jersey based power-pop band that have been around for nearly 30 years. Back in the mid 80s they released this single, with an old friend of theirs Suzanne Vega on gorgeous backing vocals. Her presence helped get the track played on radio, I bought it and played it to death; smoking cigarettes late at night, cursing lyric writers who could catch my state of mind so easily. "I'm alone and lonely every night" as the slow jazzy acoustic groove smouldered away.

Ah broken hearts. Bastard bastard things. Thankfully the only trace of a fractured aorta is in the songs of my life....

The Smithereens - In A Lonely Place

Random Play: John's Children

2009-03-11T21:54:00.002Z

John's Children were a 60's Mod band mostly known for featuring Marc Bolan in their line up for about six months in 1967; during which time they released one of Marc's songs Desdemona as a single. The song was banned in the UK for the lyric "Lift up your skirt and fly". Not long after Marc was on his merry way towards Tyrannosaurus Rex/T-Rex and fame.

Desdemona is a cool little art-rocker with some great acid guitars and the unmistakeable sound of Marc's vocals on the chorus. Apparently The Jam covered it live back in the day, but I've never been able to track down a recording...if anybody has one......!!

John's Children - Desdemona

Jane: It's A Fine Day

2009-03-11T20:03:00.002Z

This track still has the power to stop me in dead in my tracks whenever it comes on.

"We will have salad...."

Jane - It's A Fine Day

Random Play: The Proclaimers

2009-03-11T16:40:00.002Z

Ah I love this track. Taken from The Proclaimers first album This Is The Story, The Joyful Kilmarnock Blues is that rare thing, a white soul song that conveys joy, ecstasy, pure uplifting soul. There are a few people that have done it, Van is one and dear Kevin Rowland is another. Craig and Charlie have always 'proclaimed' their love for Kevin and he was quite involved with them in the early days, advising and paying for studio time so they could record demos. And his influence is quite apparent on this.

And yet who knew you could create something so uplifting out of a visit to a Hibs away game?

Just listen to those soaring vocals and the urgency of the second half of the track, and tell me you don't feel your soul take flight?

"I'm not gonna talk about doubts and confusion on a night when I can see with my eyes shut"

The Proclaimers - The Joyful Kilmarnock Blues

Groovin' On A Sunday Afternoon....

2009-03-08T15:52:00.002Z

I had a whole post worked out in my head about this track and how the original is one of my all time favourite songs and performances. A couple of pints of Guinness later and a decent pub roast and I'm kicking back with a cuppa, probably heading for a snooze.

So, one of those times when the music needs to do the talking I think.

The Young Rascals - Groovin'
Booker T & The MGs - Groovin'
Marvin Gaye - Groovin'
Willie Mitchell - Groovin'
Aretha Franklin - Groovin'

Friday

2009-03-06T18:49:00.003Z

Ok, forget dancing on Fridays, here's three tracks that sound more like the Fridays of my life. Saturday night was always for dancing, Friday was more for going down the pub after wherever I'd been that day.

It's really difficult to explain how much The Pogues meant to me. More Last Gang In Town than The Clash, almost more fire and passion than The Jam and Dexys combined and in my opinion the best lyricist of all time in Shane MacGowan. And they arrived in my life when I was about 17, searching for identity, and jumping on my Celt ancestry like it was a runaway horse.

Here's three tracks, two of which are not so typical of The Pogues and probably their best song ever.

First up is the full length Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, where The Pogues turn to Stone of the Rolling variety. "I love your lips and I love your eyes, I love your breasts and I love your thighs" Great to turn up loud and jump up and down to.

Next is Haunted from the Sid & Nancy soundtrack, featuring Cait O'Riordan on vocals. This one is more like The Pogues doing Phil Spector by way of the Jesus & Mary Chain. And as far as I'm concerned it's as good as that sounds, one of my favourite songs from the mid 80s, all spaced out romance.

But not as good as this next one: Rainy Night In Soho. I posted this last year sometime, but it was the remixed/re-recorded/whatever version. This is the original version from the Poguetry In Motion EP, which I absolutely adore. It's rougher around the edges and simply majestic. Is there a better lyric than this song contains?

"There's a light I hold before me and you're the measure of my dreams" indeed. Indeed.

The Pogues - Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
The Pogues - Haunted
The Pogues - Rainy Night In Soho

Random Play: Madness

2009-03-03T17:03:00.002Z

Is it just me that thinks the theme tune to The Sweeney was the blueprint to the Madness sound?

"We're The Sweeney, son, and we haven't had our dinner yet"

Madness - Embarrassment
Madness - Our House
The Sweeney Theme

Tunng

2009-03-02T18:19:00.005Z

I've been travelling lately. Picking up information and ideas. Finding out things I didn't know, hearing songs I never knew existed, and hearing things I knew about with new ears. Folk is a funny thing. Twiddley diddley-ey-ay. But of course it's not, it's blood and guts and sex and drugs and rock n roll. And twee whimsy too, absolutely off it's face on scrumpy to the point of hallucination.

It's weird, there's so many connections through my music collection to the folk scene. And I've been on it's outskirts forever. Hey, I know who Cecil Sharp was. If you don't, start googling. It's worth finding out about.

And "The Songs That People Sing" was itself a song about the traditions and songs and stories that get passed down by word of mouth. "Somebody should write down the songs that people sing" was the line. Catch those things before they disappear from the world, lost forever.

Anyway, I've been through the British folk revival from the sixties, your Davey Grahams and Bert Janschs; your Fairports and Wicker Man. I've followed those bands down and their peers and sons daughters of peers. Meanwhile I've also been listening to some electronic bleeps and glitches from Boards Of Canada, not thinking for one moment that I'd be able to find connection with the plucked acoustic instruments of folk, and found the connection there was via The Incredible String Band. Strange psychedelic soundscapes that also sound like the soundtrack to Bagpuss.

So I've been strumming my own DADGAD tuned guitar over bleepy techno until my fingers bleed. Which is nicer than it sounds! And somebody said, hey that sounds like Tunng. So off I went down another funny little path and found this little collective Tunng, folk and folk influenced pop over glitchy beats, like a cross between Simon & Garfunkel and Boards Of Canada, or the music from Bagpuss with extra Clanger. Beautifully laid back and imaginatively arranged with some great melodies and lyrics. Three albums so far and the sound of a band who are improving with every step. Take a listen to these tasters then go and search them out. As much to do with the Fairports as they are to do with Super Furry Animals. Dreamy and incredibly detailed, probably best listened to over headphones...

Pastoral and yet sounding like the city centre all at once.

Aphex Twin Folk Music.

Tunng - Secrets
Tunng - The Wind Up Bird
Tunng - Bullets
Tunng - Surprise Me

Sounds For Sunday Part 2

2009-03-02T07:59:00.004Z

Matt from Worksop pointed out one absolutely cracking track that might make you go out and buy Felix catfood so I'm going to post that, and as a thank you for reminding me about it I'm also putting up Don Thomas, Come On Train, which is one of my all time favourite Northern tunes, hell, one of my all time favourite tunes by anybody. Beautiful stuff, I absolutely adore the Don Thomas vocals. I'm going to go away and sing very loudly now! And not think about it's connection to Visa one little bit!

Rubin - You've Been Away

*Notice*

Well, Don Thomas was up but no more. I got an email from the nice folks from New State Music who are releasing the track and it's remix, asking me nicely if I'd remove it. And of course I will! Both the original and it's remix are available from iTunes here. Go and buy!!

Sounds For Sunday

2009-03-01T08:51:00.002Z

Things have been a bit...interesting this week.

There have been letters from lawyers telling me I may have money, letters from employers telling me my job may be at risk, letters from musicians I've admired telling me they like my writings about them and an evening spent in a West End theatre listening to ABBA, which the Bump very much enjoyed if the movement was anything to go by.

Musically I've been on a funny little journey down a folky acoustic path, mixed in with some electronic music that at first glance had nothing to do with anything else. Typically, some investigation led me to discover that I was dancing around on the same path. There will be some tunes from that source later on in the week. If my bleeding fingers let me type.

Meanwhile on a Sunday we have some typically Northern(ish) tunes that may have a funny effect on you. If you find yourself wanting to go out and buy some Adidas gear, or Lambrini; or if you find yourself in KFC or running manically around Boots then it's not my fault.

Happy Sunday!

Frankie Valli - Beggin' (Pilooski edit)
Little Milton - More And More
Al Wilson - The Snake
Ernie K Doe - Here Come The Girls
The Flirtations - Nothing But A Heartache

*You have to laugh sometimes. I wrote this piece this morning, and then this evening an advert for a credit card comes on with yet another classic piece of Northern, Come On Train by Don Thomas.

That's not exactly a well known tune however, so it suggests that the person involved is a fan of the music. Good God man, how do you listen to this stuff afterwards? Don't you forever associate it with a commercial?

I'd suggest laying off the old soul for ad campaigns. There must be some other type of music that's ripe for use. And that I can't stand. Please!!

Sounds For Sunday

2009-02-22T16:11:00.004Z

It so easily could have felt like the longest winter ever. One of the side effects of children - so my mum used to tell me - was that time moved so much faster. Never enough time, she used to say, never enough time. And while for a brief moment during the last six months I was frozen in place, now I'm thawing out and time is moving normally, fast even thanks to my own incoming offspring. I knew I was coming back to life, when I was finally able to write about how I was feeling recently. I normally am only able to write about my feelings when I'm on the other side of them. While I'm in the middle of a storm I'm too busy trying to survive.

I certainly wouldn't have been able to get through the winter without The Beautiful Wife. So I'll dedicate this Sounds For Sunday to her. Five years ago this weekend we became an official couple, after several months of dancing around the fact. Everybody knew what was going on, but sometimes you just have to be patient. And now look at where we are, where we've come, the road we've travelled on to this point, and the road we're about to travel on.

Like nobody's business... x

The tune today is Sister Sledge, Thinking Of You. Which is another one of those that I forget about until I hear it; a fantastic performance, song, and production, possibly the best Chic production. A perfect tune for the imminent rise of spring and drifting away with somebody special.

Sister Sledge - Thinking Of You

Random Play

2009-02-20T19:09:00.002Z

Everyone else seems to go for a dance on Friday. I think I'll go a little bit dreamy.

I inherited from a family friend the first four Blondie albums back in about 1982. When we were younger kids we used to listen to them in his front room and pretend we were Clem Burke, while his twin sister pretended to be Debbie Harry.

And here I am 30 years later still listening to them. And going off in a day dream to the best whoaah woahs ever.

Happy Friday!

Blondie - Shayla

Random Play: Donovan

2009-02-19T17:21:00.004Z

I've a pile of albums around here that I may only listen to a handful of tracks from. Maybe a greatest hits that only four out of the twenty tracks were the reason for purchasing. I've a few of Donovan's sixties albums which I listen to quite often, and a best of that is only useful for some of the 60s singles. But occasionally the odd track will come up on random by these sorts of people and I'll sit back and go "what is that??!"

Rock 'n' Roll Souljer is from Donovan's mid 70s output, when he wasn't anywhere near as successful as he had been. Unsurprisingly this track pretty much disappeared from trace. Which is a shame because it's damn good.

What does it sound like? Well, I've always thought that Bowie and Bolan owed Donovan a lot, musically, vocally, even image at various times (have you seen early pictures of Bolan in the Fisherman's cap?); so it's probably not a surprise that Donovan may have repaid the favour. Rock 'n' Roll Souljer is a glam rock pop stomper that sounds like T-Rex, Bowie and Steve Harley's Come Up And See Me. And yes it does make me smile!

Donovan - Rock 'n' Roll Souljer

Acoustic randomness

2009-02-16T17:48:00.005Z

Turning 40 was pretty painless thanks to The Beautiful Wife. Film and pizza on the day (Slumdog Millionaire - very very good, if you're a Danny Boyle fan then you will enjoy it and the cast is excellent); then my favourite Thai restaurant on Sunday with friends, organised in secret by TBW. Highlight of the day was surely singing a duet with my best mate's 9 month old daughter.

Monday finds me in acoustic reverie with a random selection from iTunes that are running on repeat currently in this house.

Firstly as a result of his passing I've been digging into John Martyn's earlier works and, in one of those funny little connections I find myself posting John The Baptist a week after posting Salome. It's a song I know, but you know sometimes tunes just make sense at a particular time. Well this just gets me right now, I love the opening lines:

"I'm John the Baptist
And this is my friend Salome
And you can bet it's my head she wants
And not my heart only
If you see me smiling
And you wonder why
You can bet it's a private joke
Between her and I."

And when John and Beverley repeat the verse as a duet halfway through I just melt. And the harmonies over the end are just beautiful.

Next up on the playlist is Kevin Mcdermott and a little tune from a little solo album (Slow Time And Temptation) he made back in the mid 80s called Farewell To Jenny Lynd, which I think is one of the most beautiful little songs ever, with a gorgeous melody and some great vocals.

Give Me Another Chance by Big Star has been a favourite around these parts in small bursts for a couple of years, a big Beatley melody that sparkles across slow strummed acoustics. It sounds like the sun coming out on a frozen winter morning.

Then a very random little tune, a demo of the song I Start Counting by Basil Kirchin which comes from a compilation called Fuzzy Felt Folk. Basil Kirchin had a long and interesting career, big band jazz, film soundtracks and experimental found sound albums and is well worth investigating. There are other versions, for instance you may know one by Dusty Springfield. But this is lovely.

Finally Sally Free And Easy by Davy Graham from his album Folk Blues And Beyond. A hugely talented and influential musician who passed away last December and whose death should have gotten just as much attention around the blogs as John Martyn. This probably isn't hugely representative of his work but it's a cool little folk pop tune all the same.

John And Beverley Martyn - John The Baptist

Kevin McDermott - Farewell To Jenny Lynd

Big Star - Give Me Another Chance

Basil Kirchin - I Start Counting

Davy Graham - Sally Free And Easy

February 14th #2

2009-02-14T02:00:00.001Z

Happy Birthday. Me. 40. Whoah.

February 14th #1

2009-02-13T20:20:00.004Z

Happy Valentines Day to my beautiful wife x

Pulp:Babies

2009-02-11T16:45:00.002Z

I had a whole thing about brown corduroy, old sofas and Soft Cell, somehow tied up with Abigail's Party and Jarvis being the best pop star ever lined up for this. Then I watched the video, which somehow does exactly the same without being poncey.

This song features my favourite lyric and my favourite exclamation in a song ever.

Random Play: U2

2009-02-10T07:30:00.002Z

Quite possibly my favourite U2 track, Salome was a b-side from their Achtung Baby sessions. I've heard the various demos of the track and it was quite different, sounding more like the noisy Krautrock of Zoo Station than the glam rock of the finished track. The major change was the addition of a chorus, which when it kicks in just makes me go all peculiar. Bono's doing his best Elvis impression and the band sound like prime era Adam & The Ants, especially on that chorus.

Love it.

U2 - Salome

Sounds For Sunday On Monday

2009-02-09T10:34:00.003Z

I'm on a bit of a Beatles kick this week, especially the mid period pre Revolver. Beatles For Sale is probably my favourite album of theirs alongside Rubber Soul and Revolver, and the singles around 64-65 are sublime.

Anyway, the following was named by John himself as a huge influence on a couple of singles from that time.

Friday

2009-02-06T17:02:00.003Z

"So anyway I look across the room and I can see you sitting at the table talking to some random. You're smiling at me and I know you're starting to feel the tingle, the little shivers up and down the arms. I take a drag on my cigarette and try and focus on the conversation I'm having. A little difficult, made even more so by the appearance of Other-D on his hands and knees in front of the washing machine. A moment later he sticks his head in the drum and starts singing.

I step back a little from the chatter, at least mentally if not physically. I'm starting to feel each and every rumble of that bass, the tempo rising, the clitter clatter of the percussion. Meanwhile the sounds of the room start to move away from me, like I'm climbing upward through a tunnel. There's only the tune and me left and your eyes across the room clocking what's happening, just as it's happening to you. There's a taste of puke in my mouth as my stomach feels it before I do, then I'm going off like a rocket, over the top on the roller coaster and there's a whooshing in my head, ears, body. My skin spikes, and again, blue wireframe over everything.

I let it take me, like a leaf on the breeze, up and down and sideways. I feel like I need to hang on to something, somebody, anything. Instead I sway slightly and take a deep deep puff on my cigarette. Across the room you laugh a little, quietly and mouth the word 'jesus' at me. Other-D is still singing in the washing machine, the kick drum is getting faster, the ascending note over the top rising upwards, ever upwards. Then the roof goes off again. Main man D and his lady E start nodding their heads in time with each other and the waves. Then they look in my direction and smile, kindred spirits."

The Chemical Brothers - The Sunshine Underground

Sounds For Sunday: WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-01T08:30:00.002Z

Something a bit more up to date than usual; this is only 10 years old.

Blimey, 10 years old already! I've got Basement Jaxx today with the absolutely amazing Red Alert which I've had on replay all week. A prime slice of punk funk that just grooves all the way from start to finish, with an outstanding vocal performance and so many things going on that the track feels like it's on the verge of explosion at any moment.

Basement Jaxx - Red Alert

And as an extra, something that might sound a bit familiar to those of you who know the track:

Random soul: Vee Gees - Talkin'

2009-01-30T23:14:00.004Z

I got given a home burnt compilation not so long ago. This track was on it. I have no idea who the Vee Gees were/are. I know this came out in about 1974 and was on the Jump Off label. That's it, the track has travelled down from some original source like a lost treasure.

But it's fantastic.

Just listen to that groove, the guitars and the harmonies. It's a little bit Philly. But it's quite trippy, those layered harmonies and the almost bluesy guitars take it off in some other direction. Musically it almost reminds me of Orange Juice...And in the centre is a great vocal. Really rich and lush.

Whatever. It's damn damn good.

Vee Gees - Talkin'

(anybody got any more information?)

January 29th: a slight re-awakening....

2009-01-29T17:57:00.004Z

I'm not sure if it's my mum dying or impending fatherhood that's done it; but at some point in the last six months my creativity died a death. I've been a musician for over twenty years, but I haven't played a note in months. And it's weird, part of me wants to play but another part really isn't fussed. I did pick up my guitar the other week, but there was nothing there.

Writing has suffered too. Look at the blog entries prior to the middle of August; loads of them, but afterwards I've been lucky if I manage one a week. I'm so used to being a participant in the things I'm interested in that this is all something new. Being a passive audience member was never really my thing.

There's a certain amount of fear involved too. I'm not sure I want to write about some of the things in my head. It's not that I'm bottling anything up, I'm not, but I'm not sure I want any kind of record of how I've been feeling; unless it's the good stuff of course!

It's kind of locked me into certain listening patterns where music is concerned. For the most part my default setting now is soul and reggae. Yes, I know, that's been a constant since I've been posting, but there's been other things in there too. Not so much anymore.

It's odd. It's kind of like waking up and finding that your face has changed. I don't quite feel like me anymore. God knows what the next few months are going to do to me!

=================================================================

Meanwhile the death of a computer and a new one with far more memory has led me to sit at the computer with piles of albums to load on. Which has led me to realise how many of the albums I bought in the 90s were dance albums. Underworld, Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Aphex Twin, the Chemical Brothers, Tricky, Sabres Of Paradise. I've had all of these on heavy rotation this week. I'd forgotten how much great music came out in the 90s. You see a lot of nostalgia for Brit-Pop and grunge and Take That. But far less for the dance scene. It really was an amazing scene, with so much talent and imagination. I was born too late for the 60s, was way too young for punk and was just a little too young to fully appreciate the early 80s scene. So when dance music took off in the late 80s I jumped on it and never really jumped off for most of the next decade.

The earlier tunes were a lot like 60s soul, perfect for compilations, not really great for whole albums. But the mid 90s left me with some of my favourite albums ever. Orbital's Insides, Underworld's Beaucoup Fish, The Chems' Dig Your Own Hole, Sabres Of Paradise Haunted Dancehall are absolutely fantastic albums, full of amazing tunes, lush layered textures. They sound amazing and hold so many memories that's it's frightening to believe how old some of them are...

Here's the opening track from Underworld's Beaucoup Fish, Cups. I love the opening string melody that seems to morph into something from Blade Runner. Then it's shift down into a chunky minimal electric piano techno. It's pretty damn laid back but throughout the first six minutes there's an undercurrent of tension that builds up with some faster harder riffs getting louder in the mix until the breakdown, where those lovely big squelchy chords come in before the big percussion attack kicks in for the last couple of minutes.

Underworld - Cups

Random Play: Rufus & Chaka Khan

2009-01-23T20:14:00.003Z

Oh I love this song. I forget about it, and then I hear it and fall in love all over again. That lovely little riff, the groove and then The Voice. One of the best and most soulful performances of all time. There are people who think the 80s were plastic and soulless. And yes, there is 80s music that is just that. And then there's this. Lovely.

Rufus & Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody

Random Play: American Music Club

2009-01-23T10:36:00.002Z

Quite simply one of my favourite bands, and in their singer/songwriter Mark Eitzel, one of my favourite songwriters ever. If you haven't heard of them or even if you have and haven't investigated you owe it to yourself to go have a listen.

American Music Club - Why Won't You Stay

You can find their albums here: GO BUY!

Random play: Diana Ross

2009-01-19T17:27:00.006Z

Ain't No Mountain High Enough from Diana's first solo album; easily the best song she ever recorded, probably my favourite Ashford and Simpson tune, and a better version than Marvin and Tammi's in my opinion.

This is the full length album version which, from the beautiful string intro (I suspect this was playing in the studio somewhere when ABC were working on the Lexicon Of Love), to the huge testifying of the coda, is epic with a capital E.

And then there is that moment, the massive crescendo in the middle that for me the whole song revolves around. "I know, I know you must follow the sun where ever it leads" the track is just rising upwards behind Diana's spoken part teasing you for the longest time, "just remember what I told you the day I set you free"...... And then BANG "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" over those funky stop starts. I don't think Diana ever sounded better or more soulful on the second half of this song, and the arrangement and playing (the fabulous Funk Brothers) is just superb.

It's one of those Motown tunes that everybody knows, but it never ever sounds stale to me. It defines the word "Uplifting".

Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Take Heart

2009-01-18T11:55:00.002Z

Ah. I had a little treasure trove of Motown for the first Sounds On Sunday of 2009 but I'm a little blown away by the news I've just read. Tony Hart has died aged 83.

Such a huge part of my childhood. I loved to draw and paint growing up; my life plan involved art. The first 20 years of my life was about the pencil and the blank piece of paper.

I never did make the Gallery, but never mind. Here's to the big gallery in the sky.

The Isley Brothers - Behind A Painted Smile

The Bump

2009-01-16T18:54:00.002Z

The Bump loves bass!!!

Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Favourite Dish

Patrick McGoohan RIP

2009-01-14T18:22:00.000Z

2009-01-13T19:47:00.003Z

Just been on a long weekend to Amsterdam with The Beautiful Wife. We took the Eurostar to Brussels and then a train from there to Amsterdam, because of The Bump. It was a beautiful journey between Brussels and Amsterdam, everything was covered in a layer of snow and the sun was setting.

Amsterdam is a lovely city. Thankfully the snow hadn't fallen there, but it was frozen. The canals were iced over; on Saturday apparently thousands of Amsterdam residents were out on their skates.

Walked past the coffee shops and red light district. But didn't inhale.

Actually the city is changing. It reminded me of Dublin when they decided that city was going to become more cultural, less of a stag destination. The red light district is shrinking in much the same way Soho disappeared and the coffee shops are going through a bit of a crisis. You see Amsterdam has a smoking ban, you can't smoke tobacco in bars and cafes. So in the coffee shops you can smoke joints of pure weed, but not watered down with tobacco, because that's bad for you....

Anyway, here's one of the tunes I had on my iPod over the weekend. I've been digging out my Lee Perry lately and this tune always gets me dancing. This is the full 9 minute version, so watch out, the file is quite large...

Junior Murvin (Featuring Dillinger) - Roots Train

Wednesday

2009-01-07T17:35:00.005Z

Oh I'm not a happy bunny today. I feel particularly "grumpy old man" today.

I hate:

People trying to sell me things. I don't care if it is cheaper than what I'm paying elsewhere. If I want to pay less I will find a way to pay less myself. Not from somebody doorstepping me while I'm trying to unwind from a day at work.

Talking of which:

How do some people get a job? I work with a lot of people, perfectly nice well educated people. But without a lick of common sense between them. And if I have to tell somebody the same thing three times in a row before it starts to sink in again I will murder that somebody.

And then there's this other thing. There are people in the world who, I think, believe me to be a bit of a worrier. I'm not, I just like occasionally to dot the i's and cross the t's before I sit back and say "sod it, que sera". It's born a little of experience, flying by the seat of your pants can sometimes leave you in mid air with your arse on show.

But I tell you this, I try not to say it, we'll skirt around it, but it's sitting there like some bloody great shining mountain in the middle of us. I Told You So. If you climb to the top of it you'll see a flag with my face on it. You didn't listen and look where it's got you. In a bloody mess up to your armpits. Which could have been avoided. Oh yes it could.

I gave up smoking a month ago. I don't miss it that much. Honestly.

Meanwhile in my head it's 1966 and I've got not a care in the world and this is the soundtrack:

Pierro Piccioni - Fumo Di Londra

Random Play: Merton Parkas

2009-01-06T17:13:00.002Z

Before he took his place in The Style Council as Robin to Weller's Batman, Mick Talbot, along with his brother Danny had been in one hit Mod revival wonders Merton Parkas. The Mertons were always seen as a plastic parka sort of a band, playing a sort of pub rock Madness meets Chas and Dave sort of thing. And listening to their one and only album Face In The Crowd does little to change your mind. There are one or two decent tracks on there, but mostly it's forgettable.

But listening to later single Put Me In The Picture and unreleased at the time Flat 19 suggests that they were simply a victim of being signed too soon. Given time they could have been much much better. Put Me In The Picture has a lovely lilting melancholy chorus; and Flat 19's swooning melodies are supported by beautiful Hammond parts. They remind me of Madness on Keep Moving from a few years later, there's the same clipped London tones underpinned by a sadness. These are, in my mind anyway, great songs which leave behind the feeling that the 79 Mod Revival had more talent than history records.

(Flat 19 came out as the b-side to a single with a cover of Band Of Gold on the A a few years later; on Well Suspect Records, a label run by Eddie Pillar who later set up Acid Jazz Records)

Merton Parkas - Put Me In The Picture
Merton Parkas - Flat 19

Sounds For Sunday

2009-01-04T11:24:00.003Z

Welcome to 2009...a beautiful little piece of jazzy dub from one of the founder members of The Skatalites. Enjoy!

Tommy McCook - Rasta De Master

Sounds For Sunday

2008-12-21T14:10:00.002Z

The Festive edition.

I have to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas. We had a couple of bad ones when I was a kid, where we lost some relatives, so I associate it with sadness and loneliness. I try to get into the spirit but it doesn't always happen. What I'd really love one day is to just have a really simple Christmas, not to go mad, not to overdo it on food and alcohol, not to feel the pressure to make a big spend. An old fashioned simple day.

It would be nice to feel like I wasn't drowning in a sea of cheese where music is concerned too. There is some room for it, but not all the time. I just get fed up of the jingling of bells over every track.

Anyway here's a few tunes that I hope sidestep the cheese somewhat. These will be playing on Christmas Day as I..sip...my first drink.

Happy Christmas!!!

Alton Ellis And The Lipsticks - Merry Merry Christmas
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - Jingle Bells
The Aggrovators - Santa Claus Dub
Diana Ross And The Supremes - My Favourite Things
The Kingstonians - Merry Christmas
The Jackson 5 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Maytals - Happy Christmas

Rumours

2008-12-20T14:24:00.002Z

Well this year is the last I'll spend as a 30 something; I lost a parent and found out I'm to become a parent myself. Quite big events all.

And impacting on life in strange little ways. Musically I've always been fairly much the same since I was a teenager. Paul Weller, The Clash, The Who, 2 Tone, punk and old soul and reggae, with a detour into dance music during the late 80s early 90s.

But I've found that, during the 'shock' period after my loss and discovery of impending parenthood that my old records didn't feel the same. So away mostly for the rare Northern soul sides and onto the iPod with my Sigur Ros albums which I'd quite liked before. Now they sound like masterpieces.

What else suddenly sounded good was Paul Simon; something about that weary resignation just feels like home. And now I find myself really loving Rumours. Yes. Fleetwood Mac. I started the year with an iPod full of rare soul and reggae sides and find myself finishing it with soft rock from the 70s.

There's just something about it's warmth and semi acoustics, the harmonies and the underlying tension that just makes it crackle like a real fire. And the fact that there's no trace of irony involved, no tongue in cheek: they mean it. Man. And there's a feeling that this is the blueprint for a whole generations music. No, it's not The Clash. But there is a sense of cool about it that I didn't think it would contain. Maybe I'm just getting old....

Sounds For Sunday

2008-12-14T11:00:00.002Z

Fred Parris was (and still is) the lead voice in the classic doo wop group The Five Satins, who had a huge hit with In the Still of the Nite.

Dark At The Top Of My Heart is a little later, late 60s, early 70s. But over a pulsating bass and funky backbeat the doo wop roots stand proud. Listen to the harmonies over the 'top of my heart' line.

Beautiful stuff.

Fred Parris - Dark At The Top Of My Heart

Leaves That Are Green

2008-12-13T08:59:00.001Z

Well, the opening line to this song was a bit of a surprise I must say....

Takedowns Galore

2008-12-11T11:03:00.004Z

I managed to be under the radar for the first group of takedowns that were hitting seemingly everybody else. I had a visit from the 'web sheriff' asking politely to take something down but that was all.

This week I've had FOUR removals. To be honest it doesn't bother me that much, the thought of some big corporation scanning the web looking for these things. Copyright law is copyright law, like it or not. And that's a whole blog worth of thought and argument right there.

What does bother me is the fact that two of the tracks removed are pretty rare. You can't buy them, so nobody's sales are being affected. Which leads me to believe, (because anybody can make a complaint and get your post removed, it doesn't have to be a big corporation bullying us little folk)that it was actually some collector worrying about the value of his/her collection being affected by the availability of a tune.

Yup that's right. I think it was somebody just like me. One of the little folk.

And that's really sad.

(Any more removals may just lead to the blog disappearing. Blogger do that from time to time. If that happens don't panic. Take note of my blog list to the right and keep an eye open on their comments. I'll be back if my pages do a disappearing act.....)

Sounds For Sunday

2008-12-07T12:17:00.002Z

Here's a little Otis for today. It was 41 years ago on the 10th of this month that we lost the man, who was only 26 when he went.

Party Chambers

2008-12-06T11:46:00.003Z

Adam over here is talking about The Style Council and their first album Introducing today. It made me think about their first b-side, Party Chambers, which to me is one of those Weller B-sides that stay with you long after you're sick of the A-side. It's also pretty typical of a Weller strand that sort of got lost. It's jazzy, but it's not really jazz; it kind of sounds like 60s film soundtrack music, but modernised and Weller-fied. I'd sit it alongside The Jam tracks like The Great Depression and Shopping, both for quality B-side status and for their musical similarities.

I love the Moogy solo over the finish, it ends too abruptly for me: I could listen to that for hours.

I was 14 when I heard this first and in the midst of a huge teenage crush/unrequited love thing. It reminds me of wet pavements and Benson & Hedges; of really good chip shop chips and Coke of the cola variety. It sounds like the ups when she chose to smile at me and the downs when she ignored me completely.

"Let me sink in sadness, cause I can't forget her;
She was on my mind and
Try as I might I spend all my time thinking about her"

The Style Council - Party Chambers

Carnaby Street

2008-12-01T17:01:00.003Z

A lesser known tune by Booker T & The MGs here today.

Carnaby Street was a tribute to and inspired by the British groups as they moved from beat pop to psychedelia. It appeared on their Hip Hug-Her album in 1967. It's quite unusual for Booker and the boys; it's less of dance track and more jangly 6ts pop, that autumnal sound that I associate with 1966-67: it's very very Small Faces in it's style, with some lovely riffs and changes and an absolutely soaring Hammond chorus. Enjoy!

(Some research made today found an interview here with Ian McLagan of the Small Faces that suggests they were 'inspired' by this instrumental in their creation of their own classic Tin Soldier.)

Booker T & The MGs - Carnaby Street

Sounds For Sunday

2008-11-30T10:33:00.004Z

There's a scary version of Try A Little Tenderness on the TV as I'm sitting here, which is so shouty and forced and completely un-soulful that it's making me feel a little ill.

So here's some classic tunes that pretty much define soulful without even breaking a sweat. These are in their full length form too, so watch out: there's about half an hour's music in these three tracks!

Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up
William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You've Got
The Temptations - Papa Was A Rolling Stone

Sounds For Sunday

2008-11-23T14:54:00.003Z

1983 was a turning point for me in a lot of ways. Where music was concerned it was the moment where I stopped simply discovering music from it being played to me via the radio or TV and went out and found it. It was the year I became a soul fan.

Several things came together to make that happen. I started to become interested in what influenced the bands I liked. Before then the records they made seemed to be in a vacuum. They came fully formed and I didn't really care who the bands had listened to to come up with their music. It was all new.

But in 1982-83 I started to realise that these bands didn't exist in a bubble of their own, they were part of a bigger thing. Weller would talk about Motown and The Clash and The Who. Joboxers took over presenting a radio show and talked about Northern Soul, Madness did something similar and talked about Costello. Costello would talk about Burt Bacharach. And then when you would work your way backwards through those people you would then find that, hey wait a minute that sounds familiar and work forwards again through other bands. So, while Weller loved Motown, so obviously did the Human League. Joboxers loved Northern Soul and so did Soft Cell.

And so it began.

A couple of years ago my mum was retiring, moving out of London and going back to her hometown in Wales. When she packed up I gave her a hand and found a couple of suitcases in cupboards filled with my own stuff, leftovers from my teens that I'd never taken with me when I left home. There were old comics and pin-ups, copies of Smash Hits and old school jotters. Some of those were filled with lists of songs that I would hear on the radio and make note of so I could get them later. One in particular was kept by the radio specially for a show that I used to listen to on Capital Radio, Pete Young's Soul Cellar. In the winter of 1983 that became a huge favourite of mine as I claimed that particular style and sound for my own.

Flicking through that one I realised that I actually owned most of the tunes listed these days. But back then though you couldn't get some of the sounds for love or money. Well you could, but you had to be prepared to spend loads. Today's sounds are a selection of that list. Listening to them now I can remember that feeling in the pit of my stomach, that excitement at hearing them, but also that desire to own them myself.

Booker T & The MGs - Slim Jenkins' Place
The Soul Sisters - I Can't Stand It
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - If You Can Want

Friday

2008-11-14T17:29:00.003Z

It's funny. You spend your whole life thinking about, chasing, and if you're lucky having:

Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex.Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Sex.

And then you remember what sex is actually for.

Positively so...

In six months time there'll be a mini-me or mini-wife. I'm absolutely over the moon right now, especially given the times that we've been through in recent months.

You'll maybe understand that I'm not really up to blogging lately; the last few months have left me a little drained in that department!

And this week there'll be no posting because it's time to go and visit the family. So in the meantime here's some Stevie Wonder to make the weekend go down a little easier.

Sounds For Sunday

2008-11-02T11:14:00.003Z

This is something a little bit special today. "I Cried" by Tammi Montgomery was a single in 1963. Tammi was 18 years old and signed to James Brown's Try Me label. This song was her only release for the label. You can hear James Brown all over it, the backing track is pretty much note for note one of his more famous ballads. I'll leave you to work out which one.

It's a beautiful track though, with an amazing vocal, and the gorgeous flute parts just send shivers down my spine.

It's even more special for it's place in soul history. Because, two years later Tammi was signed to Motown and became the more well known Tammi Terrell. Tammi died at the tragically young age of 24 after leaving behind some great music, especially the ballads with Marvin Gaye. And this:

Tammi Montgomery - I Cried

Enjoy.

1990s

2008-10-30T20:38:00.004Z

An album from the past couple of years that I keep finding myself listening to, usually very loudly is the debut album 'Cookies' by 1990s. I'm a sucker for glam punk pop with loud shiny sharp guitars. And this is loud, shiny and sharp and wasted around the edges, albeit with a tongue firmly in cheek. If you like your Clash and Pistols, Ziggy Stardust and New York Dolls then you'll probably like this.

Enjoying Myself
You're Supposed To Be My Friend
Pollo kshields

Simply thrilling. Honey.

Big Audio Dynamite

2008-10-27T18:37:00.004Z

I was listening to the last Clash album the other day, Cut The Crap. My God, never again. Luckily there was another Clash album. Of sorts. The second album by Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite, produced by and partly written with Joe Strummer. One of my favourite albums. Beyond The Pale is quite possibly the best song by Strummer/Jones and one I identified with, being about immigration bringing people to London and the troubles they face.

My dad and his family came to the UK from Mauritius in the early 60s, and a lot of my mates growing up were Jamaican or Turkish, the two main immigrant communities in our area. Beyond The Pale was something of an anthem for me and my best mate.

Big Audio Dynamite - V.Thirteen
Big Audio Dynamite - Limbo The Law
Big Audio Dynamite - Beyond The Pale

"If you don`t know where I come from
You better stear clear of my trail
From the dark side of London
And that`s way beyond the pale
My grandpa came from Russia
Stowed away hidden in some bales
And he took my grandma dancing
To the air raid sirens hail

Saint George used his sword
On the immigrant poor
`Cos he can`t kill no dragon
If I was in those shoes
I`d say Soweto`s gonna happen here too
I gotta get a message through
Tell everybody the news

And with the winter coming...

Crossing all the borders
Through the smoke of war and rain
Papers out of order
On a military train
A coat a bag a baby
Status: refugee
These are the people of my family

Don`t anybody know that
This city was made
Of immigrant blood and money
If I was in those shoes
A blackshirt with the playboy blues
I gotta get a message through
Tell everybody the news

And with the winter coming...

Now there`s a rocker in Vladivostok
Got every side by Jerry Lee
But for accidents of disorder
That guy could well be me
I want everybody to know this
I want everyone to hear
Immigration built the nation
You got a bloodclaat standing here

Saint George used his sword
On the immigrant poor
`Cos he can`t kill no dragon
If I was in those shoes
I`d say Soweto`s gonna happen here too
I gotta get a message through
Tell everybody the news

And with the winter coming...

Don`t anybody know that
The city was made
Of immigrant blood and money
If I was in those shoes
A blackshirt with the playboy blues
I gotta get a message through
Tell everybody the news

And with the winter coming.."

Bongo Jams A Speciality

2008-10-19T09:00:00.002+01:00

(otherwise known as Sounds For Sunday..)

I've been on something of a Clash tip this week. Makes for poor blogging though, because as I said the other day, they mean so much to me that I find it difficult to put anything into words.

Here's a little something Clash connected today: the original version of Revolution Rock, which The Clash covered on their best album London Calling.

Revolution Rock - Danny Ray

What did you want to be when you grew up dad?

2008-10-15T21:51:00.002+01:00

Well, for my part I wanted to be Joe Strummer. My first electric guitar was a Telecaster because of him, and when pushed I will say The Clash are my all time favourite band. It's difficult to write about them for me. There's just too many things to speak about, the bass lines, the guitars, the drums, Mick's vocals, Joe chewing a mouthful of angry wasps over the top.

And the way they looked too. I can honestly say that for me no other band looked as good as The Clash. They were just the perfect band.

Strummer and Jones weren't necessarily the best singers ever - they wouldn't get past the first audition for something like X Factor thank God, but they were amongst the best vocalists ever.

One of my favourite performances by the band is The Magnificent Seven (although I found out recently that bass line was a loop played by the Blockheads' bass player who was standing in for Paul temporarily). It's the energy of the thing, the excitement you can feel from the speakers at this band from London playing the first white rap tune. It's brilliantly ridiculous, Joe sounding like he was singing what he saw as somebody flicked through the TV channels.

What have we got? Magnificence!

The Magnificent Seven - The Clash

It's The End Of The World As We Know It...

2008-10-12T15:08:00.002+01:00

...And I feel fine...

Armagideon Times - Willie Williams

*this is still a 'sounds for sunday' and, no, I'm not going anywhere......

Tell It Like It Is

2008-10-09T18:41:00.003+01:00

This version of the soul classic is a live version by The Neville Brothers with Aaron. I first heard it on the soundtrack to 80s movie The Big Easy; I'm not sure where it actually came from before that. If anybody knows leave me a comment!

I've been thinking about my favourite performances a lot lately and this definitely fits in with that. I've heard a lot of different versions of this song but none are quite as...slinky as this one. In The Big Easy it's playing in the background when Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin's characters get it together. It's definitely a good tune for those kind of moments....

A classic performance of a classic tune. It doesn't get much better than this...

Aaron Neville & The Neville Brothers - Tell It Like It Is

Pop Quiz answers....

2008-10-07T17:11:00.004+01:00

On Sunday I asked the following:

"Ok, Dancing In The Street inspired which classic rock tune/riff?
In My Lonely Street was ripped off by which Mod icon for one of his excellent b-sides? And name the song...
And finally the Rolling Stones cover of Marvin Gaye's version of Hitch-Hike inspired which 80s Indie anthem?"

And the answers....drum roll please...or at least a bacon roll...

Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones

Apparently the famous guitar line is a magpie moment of Dancing In The Streets, even though Keef thought it was an unconcious rip . So much so that he wanted to bin it at one point...sometimes I listen to this song after not having heard it for a while. And do you know what? It's great!

Headstart For Happiness - The Style Council

Not really a surprise that Weller would nick a riff from somewhere, especially a Motown tune that was covered by 60s Mods The Action.

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

I remember an interview with Johnny Marr back in the 80s where the interviewer suggested the intro to this had been 'inspired' by The Velvets "There She Goes Again". Which would have been a very mid 80s indie influence. He put them right by saying he'd got it from the song Hitch Hike, but not the Marvin Gaye version, the Rolling Stones version. Around that same time Julian Cope was waxing lyrical about the Stones too. For some reason - their dinosaur status most likely - the Stones were not supposed to be an acceptable indie influence around the mid 80s. It wasn't until the Stone Roses came along that changed as I recall.

And finally: Does anybody have Seven Ways To Love by Cola Boy? I would be most grateful: I can't find my copy of it anywhere!!

***Thanks to the long time lurker I now have a copy again. Which is very nice! Thank you so much*******

Sounds For Sunday Part Two

2008-10-05T11:21:00.002+01:00

A little pop quiz for part two:

Three tracks by Martha Reeves And The Vandellas.

Dancing In The Street
In My Lonely Room
Hitch- Hike

Ok, Dancing In The Street inspired which classic rock tune/riff?
In My Lonely Street was ripped off by which Mod icon for one of his excellent b-sides? And name the song...
And finally the Rolling Stones cover of Marvin Gaye's version of Hitch-Hike inspired which 80s Indie anthem?

Sounds For Sunday

2008-10-05T10:48:00.003+01:00

A handful of cover versions today of a song that has always irritated me in it's original form. Yesterday by The Beatles. I don't know why it irritates me so, it always has. Even as a child I found it to be cheesy. The fact that we sometimes sang it in school assembly probably didn't help.

That's a little strange looking back: but there were a few teachers that were definite hippies. One of my teachers had a boyfriend who would sometimes come to the school in his Afghan coat and play songs on his guitar. They drove a VW minibus covered in flower transfers. This was when I was about six or seven. We thought they were great.

Anyway here's three versions that make me listen to this song with new ears.

Marvin Gaye - Yesterday
The Bar-Kays - Yesterday
Roosevelt 'Rosey' Grier - Yesterday

The last one is probably my favourite here. And Rosey Grier's story is pretty amazing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Grier

I have Funky16Corners blog to thank for introducing me to this one! Lovely stuff!

Love And Money - Dear John

2008-10-02T08:29:00.003+01:00

Back in the mid 80s I was walking around imagining myself some rock n roll poet, like Joe Strummer if he'd written love songs with the conviction he wrote about everything else. My flag was unrequited love, and I carried it high. Strangely though the one song that seemed to make sense of how I felt was Love And Money's Dear John. James Grant had been a member of the should have been huge Friends Again. And with Love And Money it looked for five minutes like that success was in reach. Almost but not quite. Which lends this track a sense of failure which is bittersweet.

It's funny, all the Wellers, Strummers, Ray Davies, Costellos don't get me quite like this one..a contender for my favourite lyric of all time....hey, I was 17....!

"Up it rose like the morning sun
Letting me know the day had begun
My cigarettes my naivety
Never meant so much to me
Out of the blue out of the air
Like the silken fingers through my hair
the night was young the truth was fey
You took my hand and led me astray

Well I never felt like I belonged
For I know this world is the world of the strong
But like the wind it came with gifts of pain
Putting words on the tip of my tongue
When you lose that thread you lose yourself
You know you're always ready to fall
Well I used to wonder but now I know
That the broken hearted are beautiful

In another time in another place
With the will to defy and the power to take
I walk like a man dance like a fool
And I carry a photograph of you
Well remember those days when dreams were dreams
When the music played everybody screamed
Well I used to wonder but now I know
That the broken hearted are beautiful

Dear John I'm in heaven
For so long I could not live with myself
Now only time will tell
but I don't want to be forgiven"

Love And Money - Dear John

Forest Fire

2008-09-23T16:34:00.003+01:00

The opening moments a churchy organ underpinning a visual image of a girl crossing herself as she gets dressed, vague impressions of a wild living thing, a good girl gone bad; reinforced by the second verse which introduces our (anti-)hero. Both consumed by this 'forest fire', driving and living too fast.

"I believe in love, I'll believe in anything
That's gonna get me what I want and get me off my knees"

The rise in tension for the 'doo doo' middle section which only grows for the next section:

"Hey pick you up, put you down
Rip you up and spin you round
Just like we said we would
'cause we're a forest fire
Believe you me, we'll tear this place down"

The way Lloyd's voice almost breaks on the falsetto across "spin you round" breaks my heart.

The drop down into the last verse failing to resolve the tension and Lloyd's final aside to camera "It's just a simple metaphor, It's for a burning love; Don't it make you smile like a forest fire" almost convinces you he's being too clever clever, almost makes you believe he's trying it on to get what he wants, but the tremelo guitar solo brimming over with melodic feedback tells a different story. This guitar gently weeps. The feedback almost sings and the track burns down to the end.

There was lots of talk about Lloyd and Co making a kind of garage soul, somewhere between Lou Reed and Al Green in the press at the time. This track was the closest they came to that. Simply beautiful.

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Forest Fire

Sounds For Sunday: JJ Barnes

2008-09-21T10:10:00.005+01:00

JJ Barnes was from Detroit, and released some cracking tunes. At one point he was signed to Motown, but because he sounded a lot like Marvin Gaye they didn't know what to do with him. And yes there similarities to Marvin vocally. But there are, as I said, cracking tunes, including an incredible version of Daytripper that in my opinion outdoes Otis' version by a mile. Listen and enjoy.

(Check out last week's Sunday sounds for a couple more tracks by Mr Barnes too..)

JJ Barnes - Forgive Me
JJ Barnes - Our Love Is In The Pocket
JJ Barnes - Snowflake
JJ Barnes - Call On Me Baby
JJ Barnes - Welcome Back Now That I've Got You Back
JJ Barnes - I Need A Change
JJ Barnes - Sweet Sherry
JJ Barnes - Time Is Love
JJ Barnes - No Ifs, Ands Or Buts
JJ Barnes - Daytripper

Diana Ross: Love Hangover

2008-09-19T17:31:00.003+01:00

Simply one of the sexiest grooves ever.

Diana Ross - Love Hangover

Random Play: Spandau Ballet

2008-09-19T15:45:00.005+01:00

I came back from my exile in the Welsh Valleys to find lots of blogs about Spandau Ballet, and discarded freebies from the Daily Mail littering the streets. Well not so many.

I always liked Spandau. I grew up in the same part of town, a few of them were ex pupils at my secondary school. And there was something about their sound I liked right the way through until Through The Barricades - which I hated!

I liked the songs, the grooves on some of their earlier tunes, Gary Kemp's guitar playing was pretty good, there were always good backing vocals and the Communication 12" was the first I ever bought. Spandau also provided a soundtrack to teenage romances.

Lyrically there were a few nuggets that still stick in my head - the 'pill on my tongue' line in True, the mildly ridiculous but true line in I'll Fly For You: "I'm just an average boy, You're more than average girl, And when you sing to me the shoo be doos, You sing so well"....Yeah, I know, it's not great but it sums up pretty much how I've felt with every girl since I was 14.

And then there was Instinction's "steal a cake to eat the moon"...what the hell was that all about? Great single though!

Anyway here's that Communication 12" which I still love and listen to now. Have a great Friday!

Spandau Ballet - Communication 12"