Thursday 31 January 2013

So Long My Love



This song has been described as "Suicide meets the Shangri-La's" which I suppose is quite apt. To me it feels like an 80's take on what future music will sound like as the Tomorrow's World moniker would suggest.

It was recorded by Lou Hayter from New Young Pony Club and Jean-Benoit  Dunckel half of French band Air. It was a limited release from the Vinyl Factory but was supposed to be receiving a full release on hipster label Kitsune.. The version posted is the alternative version on the b-side which to be honest isn't that different from the version on the flip.

Tomorrow's World - So Long My Love

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Will You?



This song came into my head last night while I was driving down the road from Aberdeen, for no reason that I can fathom.

I tried to remember the film that it came from which I watched on more than one occassion but the only thing that I can really remember is Hazel O'Connor's costume during the concert scene near the end when the band perform Eigth Day.

Anyway, this is rather lovely, even the sax solo and a good one to put on a compilation tape when trying to show a young lady your sensitive side I always found.

Hazel O'Connor - Will You

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Marionettes



There hasn't been much new music recently that has made any impression on me and I had half decided not to go out of my way tring to find new stuff and instead spend my free time trying to find the elusive northern soul singles that are on my wants list and just be happy listening to what I've got maybe finding a gem or two that I have overlooked by not listening to enough.

But then last week a wee email flies into my inbox from a band from Aberdeen who I have never heard of.  As the email was addressed to Drew and not the usual Bill, they had obviously at least read one post on the blog and the fact that I have a fondness for the Granite City I decided to give the tracks a listen.

I was duly impressed by both tunes and I would urge you to give them a listen. I'm not saying that the music will change your life but it if you like jangly guitar music there is every chance that you will find this right up your street.

The single Tea Party will be released digitally on 4th February and can be purchased here and will also be avalable on love 7" vinyl later in the month

Marionettes - Tea Parties

Monday 28 January 2013

Steal Away



Steal Away has been covered many times by the likes of Etta James, Little Milton and even Frank Zappa but for me the original is the best. Jimmy Hughes is credited with the writing of the song, however he based the song on an old spiritual, Steal Away To Jesus.

It is said that the song was recorded at the Fame Studios in one take making an extremely powerful vocal performace all the more remarkably. This was the first of a handful of singles and one album that Hughes recorded for Rich Hall's label before moving on to Stax in 1968 only to jack it all in two years later disillusioned by the music business.

Jimmy Hughes - Steal Away

Friday 25 January 2013

It's Friday . . . Let's Take Some Time Out



I'm not really in the mood for dancing today. 

I will not be sorry to see the back of January!

Here's a great version of Killermont Street from the Boy Wonder recorded at Ronnie Scott's twenty odd years ago.

Have a good weekend people.

Aztec Camera - Killermont Street (Live Ronnie Scott's 23/06/91)

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Nothing To Be Done



Sometimes when I'm feeling a bit down I like to put on the BMX Bandits or the Pastels and be transported back to a time when I still had the optimism of youth and Glasgow/ Lanarkshire had a thriving indie music scene which 99.9 per cent of the 'shire was blissfully unaware of.

This should have been a single and it should have been huge.

The Pastels - Nothing To Be Done

Tuesday 22 January 2013

That's Just Fucking Typical!



I had been looking for a decent copy of my second favourite version of Louie Louie for quite some time, over ten years,  so last month when one became available on Discogs, I thought that Christmas had come, well it had really but to tell you the truth I was more excited about finally getting my hands on this single more than the celebration of the birth of the son of the Lord.

When the single arrived I inspected it and although not in mint condition I would say that it was a vg or maybe once I cleaned it up it would be a vg +. So I put it on the Technics dropped the needle and was pleasantly surprised at the lack of surface noise. Brilliant I thought but as the tune started I was sure that I could here a faint click and as the song went on I was sure of it,  there was definitely a click, not loud granted but it was there.

As soon as it finished I took the vinyl off the turntable to check it out and on first look nothing it looked fine but on closer inspection above the middle of the U in Columbia was a hairline crack. Damn,  blast and jeepers were not the words that came from my mouth on finding this.

The first thing I did was put the record back on the deck and record both sides before the clicking got worse.

Then I sent an email to Blackprineiv in NYC who I had purchased the single from, who really couldn't have been fairer, within a couple of hours he had responded and gave me a full refund. Which was great but really doesn't make up for the cruelty of eventually finding a copy of the single but which cannot be played without doing more damage to the vinyl and the stylus.

Alas, my search goes on for a vg, at least,  copy of the second most covered song in pop music.

Paul Revere And The Raiders - Louie, Louie

Monday 21 January 2013

Can You Remember



This is another of those tracks that I would love to own on 7" single and for years it would have been within my price range as it used to sell for around a fiver, however at the turn of the century people began to realise that there weren't many copies around  and prices rocketed. Nowadays you would be lucky to get a copy for anything less than £175. Not as much as a Belstaff jacket granted but well out of my league.

Rhonda Davis - Can You Remember.

Saturday 19 January 2013

Janis Joplin



Janis Joplin would have been seventy today, if she had lived but let's face it there wasn't much chance that she would have made thirty never mind the big seven O, sadly.

When we are on the subject of rock legends, could somebody tell me what all the fuss is over this Bowie track? Piece of sentimental, winsome pish which would have been ignored if it was any lesser mortal.

Janis Joplin - Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)


Friday 18 January 2013

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



As my friends will testify, I'm fond of a good bit of acid and today's track is a very good bit if acid.

Acid Bass by Spanky was originally released on Acid Trax 3 on the Trax label in 1989. The edit posted comes from a great compilation released in in 2010 called Trax re-edited where some top djs and producers re-edited spome of the many highlights from the Trax back catalogue.

On the sleeve notes for the re-edit of Acid Bass Neville Watson describes perfectly the times, the original track and the reason behind his edit.

"Sitting in my friend Sid's car at a party on Ditching Beacon in Brighton, doing that thing where there's a perfectly good time to be had in a field right next to you but for some reason it seems much more fun sitting in the car listening to tunes and blissing out. Through the chemical fog, tough, reverberating 808 drums came thumping from the car stereo, carving their way through the previous track like a logging firm in a rainforest. Then the acid. Proper acid. Mean. The sort of acid that makes you screw up your faceand nod your head involuntarily. The sort of 303 line that feels like it's twisting your insides out through the top of your head. The sort of music that creates a feeling so strong in you that you can't quite believe it was made with two pieces- three tops-of equipment.
And then it was gone as quickly as it came. I turned to Sid "What the fuck was that?"
"Spanky, Acid Bass, on Trax," sid replies.
"Why did you mix it out of it so quickly? It was just getting going!"
"I had to, it's only three minutes long."
"Shit." 
If ever a track needed an edit."

Have a good weekend people

Spanky - Acid Bass

Thursday 17 January 2013

Ain't Nobody's Business



One of the things that I love about northern soul is the sheer randomness of it. More often than not the record which you love will be the only thing or one of very few releases by that person; which consequently leads to one of my frustrations with the scene,  in that the fact that singer or band didn't release much and that the tracks never even troubled the lower reaches of the charts very little is known about the records or artists.

Today's post is a prime example, all I know is that Ernie Marbray was from the Bay Area and wrote this belter of a track. Oh, and to get your hands on a copy of the single you will need at least a hundred and twenty quid.

I really wish the picture above was of this on my turntable and not just a scan of the single but alas the posted mp3 comes courtsey of Goldmine Northern Soul Time cd and not the vinyl. Maybe one day.

Ernie Marbray - Aint Nobody's Business

Tuesday 15 January 2013

King Kong



Probably stepping on Swiss Adam's toes here but this song is a belter of a rockabilly track that I have been itching to post for a while.

Sometime ago I was listening to an interview with Keb Darge, the northern soul and funk dj who branched out into rockabilly and has compiled some very good compilation albums with the like of Cut Chemist and Little Edith. In this interview he was going on about playing "safety records" and mentioned the reaction there was on the dance floor every time he played King Kong which got me kind of curious as I had never heard of the song. So I looked it up, loved what I heard and sought out the 7" single. Only after buying it, did I realise that I already had it on the Keb Darge and Paul Weller Lost and Found compilation, a compilation I obviously hadn't played much. Better to have it on 7" anyway.

Big 'T' Tyler - King Kong

Monday 14 January 2013

So Many Days



Don't know very much about this record or the girl group behind it but it really is a belter of an early girl group sound. I bought this repro 7" single a couple of year ago, I think hat it originally came out on the King label but don't quote me on that.
 
The Vonns - So Many Days

Saturday 12 January 2013

Happy Birthday Leo



It is the second son's fourth birthday which will inevitably lead to building up more Lego. When asked what song he wanted to hear he retorted "me only like Too Much Apple Pie" easily pleased this one.. Who am I to refuse the boy on his birthday even although it was featured in August last year, so I've dug out the live version from the set Gedge and Co did for Peel's 50th Birthday.

No lies, I actually typed  too much into the search function of iTunes before I realised what I was doing.

The Wedding Present - Kennedy

Friday 11 January 2013

Just Because



It has been asked for by a friend.

Kirsty MacColl - Days

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance



I don't really know that much about this tune. I think that it is either Dutch or German in origin. The original mix starts off with a long piano intro and then turns into a pretty perfuntory trance track nothing special. But on the other side the Slam boys sprinkle it with their magic and turn it into a different beast altogether.

Have a good weekend people.

State Of House - Pacific Dance (Slam mix)

Thursday 10 January 2013

Ella Guru



I had nearly forgotten all about this band until they popped up on the iPod the other day which is rather surprising as from the time of the release of the first ep and for a considerable time their singles and album were never far from the deck and cd player.

The band hailed from Liverpool and between 2003/2004 they released an ep a couple of singles and an album and then disappeared.

Ella Guru - Park Lane Speakers

Wednesday 9 January 2013

My World Is Empty Without You



As I mentioned on my review of the non event that was the Fall at the Arches at the tail end of last year, the best thing about it was the dj set by JD Twitch and one track in particular got under my skin and that was the Manjah dub of the Supremes,  My Heart Is Empty Without You, one of my favourite track by the most successful girl group of all time.

I decided, as I do that the download that I had was not enough and started to seek out the 12" single that it featured on but to no avail. But during my search I came across a reggaefied version for sale on 7" and on the b-side it said instrumental which I took to mean a dub version as appear on the flip side of a lot of reggae singles and so I decided that it was worth a punt.

The single duly arrived and I played the b-side and was slightly disappointed that it wasn't the dub that I had heard at the Arches but when I flipped it over and heard the a-side I was duly impressed, whoever it was that had done the mix had made a spot on job and for the first time in my life I was hearing Diana Ross' vocals to a reggae beat.

I suspect that this single isn't entirely legal but it's good all the same.

The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (Reggae remix)

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Who Would Have Thought That This Guff Would Last 4 Years?



When I started this blog four years ago and up until last Saturday I thought that the birth of Across The Kitchen Table was the only auspicious thing to have happened on 08th January in cultural terms anyway. It turns out that seventy four years previously on this date in Tupelo, Mississippi a child was born who arguably would have nearly as much influence in his time on popular music as this blog has over the last 48 months.

When I was younger I was never a big Elvis fan, probably due to hearing the soundtrack to G.I. Blues on a loop from when I brother was old enough to start demanding that my mum put it on the record player, Wooden bloody Heart playing over and over and over again. Or it could have something to do with all of those shit films that were always on on Boxing Day or Ne'erday.

My dislike was further reinforced by punk and all the pot shots taken by those charismatic front men whose careers lasted a couple of singles at most some of which were good but most of which were shit. I suppose he was an easy target, definitely a large enough one in the years before his death and a caricature of his former self.

It wasn't until my mid twenties when a friend gave me the Elvis Presley album, the compilation of the early Sun Sessions that I started to take notice and from then on I started to look at the "King" in a different light. It is quite a job separating the wheat from the chaff as far as the recordings go and there are loads of crap compilations out there but for me my preference is still those raw pre-army recordings and my favourite as I've mentioned before is Crawfish from King Creole. But I do love the Elvis in Memphis album if I block out the abomination that is Mama Liked The Roses.

Anyway, instead of the obligatory Pale Fountains song today I thought that I would post something by the big man.

BTW if you have done so before the Peter Guralnick books Last Train From Memphis and Careless Love are absolutely essential reading if you have any interest in Presley.

*Apparently David Bowie was also born on this day.

E P - Mystery Train

Monday 7 January 2013

Back To Pit Boots and Porridge



Back to work.

Bugger me, if that was not the quickest two weeks of the year. I don't feel as if I have had a break.

I love this song and it kind of sums up how I will probably be feeling for the rest of January.

Irene Reid - Every Day I Have The Blues.

Sunday 6 January 2013

Thinking of The Three Of You


Today's post is for a someone that I like to think of as a friend, although I have never met him, his wife and their daughter.

DVD's wife is very seriously ill in hospital and my thoughts are with him and his loved ones today. This was their song on their wedding day.

No matter how much your loved ones are getting on your nerves today, I think that we should all follow DVD's advice and "hold your family today. Hold them very close". And also spare a thought for one of our friends and his family.

The Style Council - You're The Best Thing

Saturday 5 January 2013

Ever So Slightly Underwhelmed



I'm not sure if I like this or not, It's the first release in the Battle Box series from the Vinyl Factory and is a collaboration between Robert del Naja and Guy Garvey. I'm not sure what I was expecting but  feel slightly underwhelmed by the release. Like all Vinyl Factory releases it is beautifully crafted on heavyweight white vinyl but there is something missing. Maybe it is just because the last few Massive Attack releases have been so good that this one just doesn't make the grade.

The version posted is the b-side, remixed by up and coming producer Guy Andrews.

Battle Box 1 (Guy Andrews remix)

Friday 4 January 2013

It's Friday . . . Let's Relax



I don't really feel like dancing,  do you?

Instead let's relax and those of us in Western Europe sit back and think of warmer weather in sunnier climes. Maybe pour yourself an Estella Damm or something similar and kid on you are sitting outside the Cafe del Mar.

Have a good weekend people

John Martyn - Sunshine's Better (Talvin Singh mix)

Thursday 3 January 2013

Irreplaceable



Today I will be mostly clearing up the midden that Maxyboy calls a bedroom. There will probably be quite a lot of silent anger as I find various things broken that cost more than a few quid and also some wonderment as I find some long discarded food that has evolved into a new life form. A calming soundtrack will be needed.

Here is a rather good cover of one of my favourite Beyonce tracks by a duo not really renowned for their subtlety. I think it was done for one of those Live Lounge things on either Radio's 1 or 2.

Sleigh Bells - Irreplaceable

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Thank God That's Over!



I'm not really as anti-social as it must sometimes seem on this blog, it's just I like to socialise with people I know. I 'm not one for being in a room full of people I really don't know that well and being forced to be sociable,  feigning interest when somebody gives me their life story or participating in idle chit chat. I suppose that does make me anti-social, anyway I'm glad that the party season is over and I can get back to normal.

Here is a track that Anto brought to my attention in one of his comments. Not being a listener to fabulous Radio 1 I nearly missed this. Miss Banks has a truly filthy mouth but for all that I really quite like the track. Just don't play loud in front of children or parents.

Azeilia Banks - 212


Tuesday 1 January 2013

Ne'erday




Up at the crack of eleven and no hangover, brilliant!

Now it's down to the in-laws for stovies and then onto my mother's for steak pie. I think that I will have to be rolled home. To tell you the truth I would rather sit here and listen to some music and drink some Irn Bru.

I think that mellow tunes are the order of the day.

Moodswings - Spiritual High (moodfood megamix)