It has been far too long since the talents of the Boy Wonder have appeared on this blog.
In my book he is the finest song writer and one of the best guitarists of his generation. Hyperbole? maybe, but you would have to come up with an extremely convincing argument for me to even begin to swither from this position.
There are very few songwriters amongst his contemporaries who could have written the lyrics to songs like We Could Send Letters, The Birth Of The True, Killermont Street and above all Good Morning Britain.
When you see him live you realise just how much of a virtuoso he is, especially when playing The Boy Wonders or Spanish Horses. If you are still to be convinced of his prowess, seek out the Vinyl Villain's footage of him letting rip during A Girl Like You at the ABC in Glasgow when he was playing guitar for Edwyn Collins.
After writing the last couple of paragraphs, I've had to rethink the post I was in the midst of writing.
The post was supposed to bring to your attention the delights of the Frestonia album, much over looked and underrated in my opinion, I may do this at a later date. But now I just want to post Good Morning Britain as the lyrical content seem strangely pertinent in relation to goings on in the UK over the last couple of weeks but then again maybe that's just me.
Written in the darkest days of Thatcher's stranglehold on this country. Frame pens a state of the nation address in a verse for each of the four home nations of the UK. In it's original form the song was a rather powerful rallying cry made even more so with the aid of Mick Jones on rhythm guitar and vocals but later Frame would turn the song into a rather sad and moving lament. I've posted both version, see which you prefer.
Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain
Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain (Live From Ronnie Scott's)
8 comments:
Brilliant tune - guaranteed to put a smile on one's face and a spring in one's step.
Superb stuff. Had the pleasure of seeing Roddy's 'sad lament' version back in '91. I didn't sport the fringed jacket around EK for nothing. The man's a genius. And let's forget the gems like Green Jacket Grey which were never committed to vinyl and remain frozen as demo expressions of early brilliance . Beautiful imagery and chords from a 16 year old from Westwood, EK. Last saw in London at Shep Bush Empire in '06. Still magical. And my wife had the pleasure of sitting next to Edwyn and Grace. A fitting way to watch Roddy. I'm proud to say the great man even bought me a pair of biker's boots once when I was still at school in EK and he'd already fled to London in the months before HLHR was released. Still my favourite album of all time. There's some truly poor remixes of 'Britain' but I still prefer his slow version, with the Skye Boat Song inserted for poignancy. A proud new town EK kid, now living in Sydney, thanks you graciously.
Ah, the Ronnie Scott's version is so good, one of my favourite Roddy performances of all time.
Meanwhile, Frestonia is a great album, in my mind the most consistent Aztec Camera album, apart from the first.
High Land, Hard Rain is a work of genius, especially since he was only about six when he wrote the songs.
great song, brilliant stuff
Like Simon said with that live versh. Top stuff.
Yes. Thank you drew.
I suspect it is a pertinant time to play it again.
The past is steeped in shame, but tomorrow's fair game.
... Indeed.
I loved this when it first came out, never bought it and then managed to find the CD single some time afterwards and played it endlessly. I then found it last week on a compilation CD I'd made for the car (not got round to an mp3 player quite yet!).
Truly stunning stuff indeed with genuinely heartfelt lyrics to give you a kick up the arse and remind you where you've come from and far more importantly where not to go back.
Post a Comment