Down The Block

I know absolutely nothing about the Rainbows and after consultation with the world wide web I'm still none the wiser. What I do know that this is a perfect example of the girl-group sound from the mid sixties. Very of it's time which is no bad thing in my book. It may have been released in 1966 on the Dot label but I can't be 100% sure as mine's is a promo copy. And that's your whack.

I'm beginning to think that I must have been a right bad bastard in a previous life. Firstly my phone fell out of my pocket yesterday and smashed . Then our evening out in Glasgow was curtailed by a right dodgy stomach which had nothing to do with dinner as it started before we even got to the restaurant meaning that we were back in the hotel by 8pm and spent the night watching the A-Team. And when I thought that it could get any worse I got home yesterday afternoon fired up the stereo and in the middle of the best album of the year so far (more of which later in the week) my lovely vintage Technics amp purchased only a fortnight ago decided to pop a channel!

The Rainbows - Down The Block

"The Best Record of The Last Twenty Years"?

The purists won't like this!

I absolutely love it. I know that a lot of people will be sneering at this and will accuse Lisa Stansfield of bandwagon jumping but when the result is this good who gives a fuck. Carry On is a track from Stansfield's latest album, "Seven",  her first in ten years and the original track is good but Andy Lewis' remix aims the track directly towards the sprung maple dancefloor and in doing so creates something really special, that stomping beat the insistent strings and Stansfield's voice, pleading and just this side of manic at times, magic!

The song has been released as a limited 7" single available here.

I'm not quite sure if I agree with Ian Levine's comment that "it is the best record of the last twenty years" but I do agree that it's the best thing that Stansfield has ever done.

Fuck the purists.

Lisa Stansfield - Carry On (Andy Lewis remix)

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Today's Guerilla classic puts the emphasis directly on the house aside of things moving away from the more progressive sounds usually released by the label. The track is also not that typical of the sounds produced by React 2 Rhythm. The band are probably best known for their track Intoxication which came with two absolutely cracking remixes from a little known duo at the time who would go on to be the epitome of Progressive house, Leftfield.

React to Rhythm had been together since the late 80s but it was 1990 before they released their first single, "Rhythm Addiction" on William Orbit's Guerilla label. An album and four further 12" singles would be released before they split in 1992.

All Or Nothing, as I said is probably the most out and out housey thing produced by the band this could have something to do with the main mix being rejigged by a relatively unknown Miami dj, Danny Tenaglia , who like Leftfield would go on to be a household name amongst House heads remixing a myriad of artists from A Guy Called Gerald to Yoko Ono.

This weekend I will be mostly relaxing as Airdrie are now free of the battle for League One survival. I will however be willing them on to another victory over Stenhousemuir  to make it seven games unbeaten on the bounce and only one defeat in 15 matches. Quite a feat when compared to the team's form up until the end of January. Then it's off into Glasgow with L for an overnight to commiserate on turning 45.

Have a good weekend people

React 2 Rhythm - All Or Nothing (Danny's Fireball mix)

The 45 That's Been With Me The Longest

Forty-five as I keep telling myself is just a number, before yesterday it was always a pretty cool number but now I'm not so sure. Today I find it a tad depressing.

Earlier this year I thought about doing the 45 at forty-five countdown, JC's excellent feature from a few years ago but to be honest I found it rather too difficult a task to choose between the singles in the red box and anyway my absolute favourite was released 6 years prior to my birth and therefore would be excluded as I couldn't possibly have bought it at the time. So I have decided to post the single that I have owned the longest, thirty five years sometime this year.

I bought Alternative Ulster at the record stall at Wishaw Market. The stall had a lot of the punk singles of the time but mainly specialised in Heavy Metal and also had a large stock of badges and patches. I would become a regular customer over the next couple of years badgering my mum to take me to Wishaw on a Saturday so I could root through the singles and if none took my fancy I would always come back with at least a couple of badges. Luckily my aunt and uncle lived in the town so regular visits were not a problem.

The single was bought  at the time as much for the cover as the music. I used to sit and look at it for ages wondering what it would be like to have soldiers on your street, a prospect which was not without it's merits to a ten year old who wasn't really aware of why the troops were on the streets in Northern Ireland.

Even now when I hear that simple guitar intro the hairs on my neck stand up and my pulse beats that little bit faster. Back in 1979 I could make out most of the lyrics but didn't have a clue what they were on about but I knew that they were angry and felt that they meant it. The track was raw, fast and furious and more's to the point when I got it home and played it on my parents Philips music centre my mum said that it was a horrible racket and to turn it off. What better recommendation was there than your parents hating a song.

Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster

Mine's On The 45

Another year fucking older! Me and the boy Gedge.

Fine Young Cannibals - I'm Not The Man I Used To Be

Don't Freeze On Me

Don't Freeze On Me is a humdinger of an R& B rocker from  L.A released in 1962. It is the flip side to a much more pedestrian tune "It Might As Well Be Spring " from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "State Fair" which is not without it's merits but pales in comparison to this belter. I know nothing at all about the singer Jessie Mae and with the voice that she ably demonstrates on both sides of this forty-five find it hard to believe that this is the only single she produced. But as is common in this sphere of music during the 60s that may be exactly what happened. Time and time again you find the same story,  somebody went  into a studio somewhere in the US cut a record and more often than not if it wasn't picked up nationally went back to the day job. I suppose it would have been impossible for all of the records produced at this time to have been picked up and I doff my cap to the many crate diggers out there who continue to discover these gems.

Jessie Mae - Don't Freeze On Me

Get Aboard The Soul Train

Dorothy Norwood will not win any awards for the lyrical content  for the lyrics for today's track but that doesn't matter as it's the groove and the way the words are belted out not the actual words that are important on this piece of smouldering funk.

As far as I can find out "Get On Board The Soul Train" is the flip to Dorothy's first single which seems a bit puzzling as it appears that she was releasing albums for five years prior to  "There's Got To Be Rain In Your Life (To Appreciate The Sunshine)". The a-side is a good ballad but it's Get Aboard that does it for me.

You are most cordially invited to get on board.

Dorothy Norwood - Get Aboard The Soul Train

Easter Parade

Not sure if this really fits with the mellow Sunday theme, the lyrics certainly don't but I think that this Billy Franks classic should be given frequent airings and not just at Easter as should Eventide the excellent album that the song comes from.  My relationship with this song was recorded here. Once again I raise a glass to Mr Davy H for enabling me to hear this song again after over twenty years.

The Faith Brothers - Easter Parade.

New Music Saturday

It's Record Shop Day today but I didn't get up at 06:00,  trek into the town and queue outside Monorail for a couple of hours this morning, as after scouring the list of releases extensively I couldn't find anything that warranted that sort of effort this year. I will visit Monorail later in the week or maybe next weekend and see if the couple of things that did interest me are still available, if not nae dram as they say. I decided that the money saved will be put to better use on a couple of northern soul singles that I am trying to find at the moment.

Anyway back to the what I think will be short lived series of posts on new music. Mike at Crashing Through Publicity sent me through something a few weeks ago that caught my eye.The blurb said that Luxembourg Signal was the new project featuring members of The Trembling Blue Stars whom I loved. Although Distant Drive isn't the most cutting edge piece of music it is a damn fine example of jingle jangle, summery indie guitar music which harks back to the time when every release from Sarah records was an essential purchase if you wore stripey t-shirt and anorak.

The single will be released on the 29th of April on limited 7" and digital form and is well worth purchasing.

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

That was a quick week off! The boys were away to York with their Gran and Granpa and I was fucking painting again! I just love annual leave, it's such a relaxing time. Anyway that's another room finished only another two and the bloody hall and stairs to go by which time no doubt another room will be needing done again.

Shall we get back to the Guerilla back catalogue this Easter Friday and probably my favourite release on the label although the lack of correct English in the tittle still irritates me. U Make Me Feel So Good was released in 1992 and was the work of Charlie Hall and Lol Hammond. It is a typical progressive throbber and none the worse for that although even back then the main vocal sample had been a little overused but really fits in with the vibe of the tune. Listening to this last night brought back some happy memories and doesn't really sound that dated although others will probably disagree with that. The Drum Club produced some excellent 12" singles although for some strange reason I never got round to buying any of their three LPs.

A crucial match for Airdrie tomorrow, a victory would see us safe from relegation or having to get involved in the play-offs something that a couple of months ago would have looked inconceivable.

Have a good Easter weekend people.

The Drum Club - U Make Me Feel So Good

The Glories

I don't know that much about The Glories, in fact apart from this single the only other song I have heard by them is a rather wonderful version of Try A Little Tenderness not a patch on Otis' of course but then I don't think anybody will ever come close to matching his rendition for me. Give Me My Freedom is a different type of tune altogether, an up tempo girl group dancer very much in the vein of Martha and The Vandellas which was popular in Mr M's in the late 70s it was released on the Date label in 1967.

I just love this kind of thing.

The Glories - (I Love You Babe But) Give Me My Freedom

Mellow Sunday

I posted this cover of the Anne Briggs song a couple of years ago but think that it warrants a further listen.  I found a mint promo copy of the album that this comes from in the "dance 12" section of Oxfam Music on Byres Road for a quid about a year ago. Somebody not only fucked up on the filing but also the price!

Rose Melberg - The Time Has Come.

New Music Saturday

Not sure how much mileage there will be with this feature but over the past few weeks a few things have arrived in my inbox that I have really liked  and thought that if I found one a week that Iliked I could post them on a Saturday as I post bugger all else.

The first thing that attracted me to today's track Rain was the fact that it came with a Pilooski edit, whose stuff I usually love, however on this release it is the least interesting mix and doesn't really do anything for me.

For me the original mix of the tune has a very 80s feel to it, not something I that I would usually endorse but it does work. The pick of the bunch is fellow frenchman Ivan Smagghe's dub, a deep dubby krautrock type track which I think that a couple of bloggers might also like.

The embed function doesn't appear to be working so here is he link to the soundcloud page

https://soundcloud.com/tim-paris/sets/rain-ep/s-ZcZ7k

Here's the PR bumf :-

April 14^th marks the release of the ‘Rain’ EP from Paris-born London resident Tim Paris out on influential cult label My Favorite Robot Records. Tim is best known currently as one half of It’s a Fine Line with Ivan Smagghe, and as a respected underground figure with releases on leading labels including Young Turks, Kompakt, Moshi Moshi, PIAS, Items&Things, Soma, F Communications, Souvenir and Eskimo.

Opening with the original mix of ‘Rain’ which features the sultry vocal tones of Coco Solid and captures quintessential vintage indie melancholy. It’s merged with subtly modern electronica, occupying a sonic space akin to M83 and I Break Horses.

The EP comes complete with an inspired selection of remixes; Pilooski’s captivating remix is dark, heady and bass-heavy, Ivan Smagghe delivers a haunting dub edit, and the EP closes with Tim Paris’ own entrancing Liquid mix of the same track.

‘Rain’ also features on Tim Paris’ debut album ‘Dancers’ which is also released on My Favorite Robot Records on 24^th March.

Yet more impressive facts come in the shape of Paris’ other killer remixes (that he’s done either solo or with Smagghe) for The XX, Femi Kuti, Battant, Au Revoire Simone, Ewan Pearson and Tiga, plus his long list of DJ fans that includes James Holden, Trevor Jackson, Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones, Soul Clap, Ewan Pearson, Michael Mayer, Magda, Laurent Garnier, Tiefschwarz, Catz n' Dogz, James Priestley, Mandy and Joakim.

Following an illustrious career as a DJ, producer, musician and owner of highly-regarded label Marketing Music, Paris’ skill is more than simply the manufacturer of nightclub fodder. His new album is populated by fully-developed songs that effortlessly merge synth pop, proper indie, new wave, post punk, disco, house and electronica into a shimmering and seductive whole.

My Favorite Robot Records is a Canadian based label that has received much praise for recently released full length albums from the likes of Jori Hulkkonen, Fairmont, & Sid Le Rockand has been a home for Tim's releases and remixes in recent years.

The multi-talented Coco Solid is musician, writer and artist Jessica Lee Hansell hailing from Aotearoa, New Zealand. Acclaimed on her home-turf and abroad, the outspoken Maori-Samoan-German Aucklander is an eclectic artist that’s part of Parallel Dance Ensemble (Permanent Vacation Records) and electro punk noize quartet Badd Energy

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Back to the Guerilla twelves as promised and this one's from 1993. Schudelfloss is the work of Dr Atomic (Steve Perret and Justin Parfitt) and as far as I'm aware the only thing that they ever produced but what a track. A prime example of the kind of stuff that was floating my boat around this time. One of those tracks yoy could lose yourself in and topped off with samples of HAL 9000. The version posted is the Dentalfloss dub mix, remixed by Spooky which has always been my favourite. A favourite of both Sasha and John Digweed in it's High On Hedonism mix it featured in the second Digweed Renaissance compilation.

It's a tricky one for the Diamonds tomorrow away to Brechin City. I will be glued to the radio and Twitter.

Have a good weekend people.

Dr Atomic - Schudelfloss (Dentalfloss Dub mix)

Valley Girl

Slipping a note under your father's studio door offering to do some vocals on his recordings is quite a novel approach to trying to spend some time with a parent but that is what Moon Unit Zappa did. She then hung about the studio reciting words and phrases she had picked up from school and the malls of the San Fernando Valley. Her father then inserted the vocals into a track he had been working on resulting in Valley Girl the only Frank Zappa single ever to chart in the Billboard charts in the US.

The record was nominated for a Grammy, not bad for a satirical comment on the Californian youth of the early 80s. The song has nothing whatsoever to do with the appalling film Valley Girl, starring Nicolas Cage, released the following year which Zappa tried to stop.

I got into Zappa in my early teens when Jim, one of the older hippies I was hanging about with lent me Zappa In New York and The Mothers,  Fillmore East albums. I still listen to him on occasions but now find it difficult to make it through a whole album in one sitting.

Frank Zappa - Valley Girl

Fuck Your Parochial Backward Looking Shite!

I got really annoyed yesterday,  not only was I informed that the mint vintage Technics SU 7300 amp that I had purchased and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of had gone walk about. Apparently I had taken ownership of and signed for it the previous afternoon. When I informed the useless fucker on the other end of the phone I had done no such thing the reply I received was "well somebody's signed for it"! The upshot is that it is now under investigation. So who ever the thieving bastard is I hope he gets electrocuted and blows up his whole system when he connects the amp up and switches it on.

The thing that really vexed me and ensured that yesterday was not going to be one to record for posterity was an interview that Steve Lamacq did with Evan Davies. According to the dj that who do with a decent feed btw,  "grunge had been all encompassing for the previous few years". Fucking really!! Not the way I and the thousands and thousands of people who were out dancing every weekend  remember it. Bob Stanley was a bit more level headed about the whole thing but when he said that basically outside of the confines of the UK  nobody gave a shit Lamacq countered  that it was all about the "UK celebrating itself" what a load of pish. As for Evan Davis' insightful questioning well he should maybe stick to the economics because he gave the impression that knows hee haw about music, Saint Etienne were Europop, apparently! FFS!

Here's the thing I had very little time for this "little Englander" scene  fuelled by second hand dusted down riffs and lyrics about very big houses in the country or being a rock and roll star. I did like a bit of Pulp though,  but I never really grouped them in with "Brit Pap". I preferred the sounds that were being made by people in their bedrooms with the aid of synths and samplers and aimed predominately at the feet.

I think that the whole "Brit Pop" thing was the invention of those who couldn't dance or were unwilling to look like a twat on the dance floor combined with those who were too young for the late 80s dance and indie thing,  felt cheated and needed a "scene" of their own, so hyped up a load of mediocre bands and created a monster.

Anyway, enough of the rant but the way that the BBC have been going on about this you would be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody else making music in 1994 other than smart arsed ex students and gobshites from Manchester. Here is one of my favourites from that year and not a guitar in sight.

Sabres Of Paradise - Wilmot

Update - the amp has duly arrived. Apparently a problem with the labels. Not caring it looks great and has a deep warm sound. Still pissed off about all this Brit Pop stuff, of course.

Holly

An early contender for album of the year came out a couple of weeks ago. Holly by Nick Waterhouse is a no messing slice of R&B. Everything about this album screams retro from the Van Morrison vocal styling through the five tracks on each side to the mega thick vinyl and heavy duty cardboard sleeve. But it sounds so fresh to me. It is rather short, with a running time of just thirty minutes. That's not a problem, however because as soon as it's finished I just flip it over and start again. Waterhouse's first album, Time's All Gone was good but this one is so much better, tighter and with a swagger about it. I would really love to hear these tracks live in a small club somewhere.

Nick Waterhouse - Sleepin' Pills

Hank Sample

Hank is not the kind of name that I would associate with soul  and when I first came across this single I had to think twice as to whether to take a punt on it. When I got it home I was glad that I did there is a mid tempo King Floyd penned track with some great brass stabs but it is the ballad on the other side that I play the most, there is something about the quiver in Hank's voice that grabs me. The lyrics are all about Hank giving his all and being under appreciated in his eyes anyway, nothing ground breaking there but it has something that has me picking it out of the box and giving it an airing on a regular basis.

It transpires, after a little research on the excellent "Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven" that Hank had dabbled in many aspects of the music bis.  Production with the Fabulettes. Singing not only as a solo artist but also as a member of the Enticers and the Jades. He also had a stake in a few record labels in New Orleans. But his main thing was as a dj in the Big Easy.

Still don't think that Hank is a soulie type name though.

Hank Sample - You're Being Unfair To Me

Mellow Sunday

"She" is from a cd that I had forgotten about and which was bought on a whim as I really liked the cover. All I know about Iowa Super Soccer is that they are from Poland and their first album, Lullabies To Keep Your Eyes Closed To, from which this tune has been selected was released in 2008. They released a second album in 2010 but as yet I haven't bought that one. Not sure why because I really like their first effort.

Iowa Super Soccer - She

It's Friday . . . Let's Pay Our Respects

My wander through some of the finer moments of the Guerilla back catalogue will have to be put back another week. After the terrible news of the untimely death of one of the founding fathers of a genre of music that changed my life and that of millions of others it was only fitting that I pay tribute on a Friday.

You can find obituaries to the musical pioneer Frankie Knuckles all over the net from the Guardian to the Economist websites and I don't really want to rehash other peoples words. All I would add is that his productions and remixes have given me a lot of pleasure over the years, stirred my emotions as much as some the greatest soul sides and without the aid of chemical stimulants. Also from reading the obits and also the post by Echorich on his blog that until he mentioned it in a comment at SA's bit I was totally oblivious to, Knuckles seems to have been an all round nice guy into the bargain.

My big problem is picking something to post, Your Love and Tears are too obvious and will have been posted all over the web and most of the other 12" singles I posses have yet to be ripped to the computer. So I decided to go for one of his remixes which was kind of obvious because if anybody could make a good track into something really special it was Knuckles and if anyone had the ability to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear it was him, well him and Weatherall but in completely different ways. My initial thought was his Def mix of Change by Lisa Stansfield which I was sure that I had but cannot find at the moment. Then it was going to be his mix of Let No Man Put Asunder until I remembered the brilliant mix of Fire Island's cover of Shout It To The Top. So I played both and couldn't decide between them and as a result you have two classic mixes from the man to listen to.

Rest easy Frankie in the knowledge that not only did you give pleasure to millions of people but you were also responsible in a large part,  for a skinny, white,  lower middle class Scots boy's conversion to and worship of house music.

Have a good weekend people.

Fire Island feat Loleatta Holloway - Shout It To The Top (Frankie Knuckles Classic Club mix)

First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder (Frankie Knuckles 12" remix)

Marta Ren and The Groovelvets

I think that a little bit of Portuguese funk by way of Italy is the order of the day.

Marta Ren apparently is the number 1 soul diva in Portugal a former member of the band Sloppy Joe and vocalist with The Bombazines. Here she is more than ably backed by the 8 piece band The Groovelvets.

2 Kinds of Men was released last year on the excellent Record Kicks label based in Milan whose back catalogue is worth digging deeper into.

Marta Ren & The Groovelvets - 2 Kinds Of Men

Bandwagon Jumping? Moi!

A few weeks ago SA posted that he had produced a mix for the brilliant Cooking Up A Quiet Storm, where quite a few people featured down the right hand side of the blog had also contributed. Not one to be outdone by the actions of others. I too have compiled a playlist and submitted it for Mark's approval, it has been edited and uploaded to mixcloud. Have a listen.

Chop It Up - compiled by Across The Kitchen Table by Cooking Up A Quiet Storm on Mixcloud

My Middle Name Is Misery

I have been listening to the 68 Comeback Special discs a lot recently. It must have been quite amazing at the time when this was broadcast to see a man that most people thought was washed up by nearly a decade of starring in pish films and whose relevance had never been lower pull off probably the greatest comeback since Lazarus. You get the feeling from the recording that Elvis was having a ball during the four onee hour performances.

It is easy to sneer at Elvis but when you listen to this, the recordings before he went into the army and the From Elvis In Memphis recordings you kind of appreciate him as an artist. Although for somebody of my generation let alone those younger it is nigh on impossible to comprehend just how dangerous and exciting this guy was in the 50s.

Btw - Time to rejoice I am in my favourite town in the world today, fucking Luton!

Elvis - Trouble/Guitar Man

Keep On Talking

Another classic piece of soul from Muscle Shoals, and the writing partnership of Dann Penn and Spooner Oldham. This is the only single that James Barnett ever recorded but what a single. Released in 1966 produced by Rich Hall and released on the Fame Recording Co label.

James Barnett - Keep On Talking

Mellow Sunday

Sigh!

Gorgeous and slightly less heartbreaking without the vocals.

Spiritualized - Broken Heart (Instrumental) (Japanese Version)

The Duplettes

I have been getting more stuff through for review recently than before which is strange as that is not what the blog is all about and I have never sought out stuff from people. I do feel guilty that most of the time I don't give the stuff a chance maybe click on the email and as soon as I see the words "Hey Bill" I click delete, or "we just love your blog how about featuring these guys who we think will be the next One Direction". Sometimes I do get round to following the soundcloud links and more often than not it is not the sort of thing that would fit here.

One sure fire way to get me to click on the link is to have "ettes" at the end of your name. Last week a guy called Jim sent me an email which started

"Hi Drew

We are an acoustic duo called the Duplettes from East London playing a mixture of Soul and Americana"

This did pique my interest somewhat, not only had he gotten my name right and therefore had read at least something on the blog but he had "ettes" in his duo's name and dropped in the word Soul. The mixture of Soul and Amercana also intrigued me, was I going to get covers of Grandaddy or Lampchop in a soul styling or  I've Been Loving You Too Long ala Ryan Adams. So I clicked on the link and was quite pleasantly surprised, lovely, soulful  vocals backed by acoustic guitar. Just the thing for a Monday morning when procrastinating.

I decided to delve further, listening to the rest of the forthcoming ep and then a visit to their website where the Soul/Americana thing fell into place with a rather good rendition of my favourite Kings of Leon track.

The ep is to be released on 8th April and can be streamed here  and if you like what you hear you can pre-order it from here . Below is the cover of A Beautiful War.

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

What with being away this week and having loads on I haven't as promised selected any more Guerilla tracks to stumble down memory lane to.

But here is a track that the good people at Piccadilly Records sent to me last weekend and has taken up residence on the turntable. I was going to wait until the weather was a bit warmer but I think that you will all want to either buy the 12" or pop over to Juno's website and buy the download. It is a stonking piece of life affirming happy house but without the cheese.

Have a good weekend people

And by the way the visuals are nothing to do with me, the soundcloud link is broken and this the only other source I could find was this  as I have yet to rip the vinyl to the laptop.

He Was A Friend Of Mine

The Organ Grinder's Monkey is the latest project from Meursault. The idea was to crowd source the money for the band to go to SXSW by offering to record an album half of which would be Meursault originals and the others covers all suggested by those who had pledged to the cause.

The results are quite astounding There are covers from bands such as Guided By Voices and Wreckless Eric and the re-recordings especially that of One Day This'll All Be Fields are well worth having also. This album is more than just a off the cuff recording to fund a trip but something that is well worth owning in it's own right and something that Neil and everybody else involved in the project should be immensely proud of.

The track posted is not available for download but if you like what you hear go here and buy the album. It's worth it. Trust me.

Meursault - He Was A Friend Of Mine

Mary's Gun

I'm over in Belfast for a couple of days my third favourite city in the UK after Glasgow and Manchester. I actually look forward to going over the water for work, it was better when Head was still open as it wasn't far from where I stay and was open pretty late so I could waste a bit of time digging through the crates that were scattered up the back of the shop. Now it's the Guinness I look forward to.

Mary's Gun was the second single released by Novella, back in 2012. It was recorded in The Horrors studio and produced by Joshua Third. I'm sure that I read somewhere that it was based upon a story about Mary Weiss, lead vocalist with The Shangri-Las and her habit of carrying a firearm upon her person. That maybe utter nonsense as I can't find any verification for it anywhere but I'm sure I read it somewhere. Anyway, it's a rather good piece of Jesus And The Mary Chain/My Bloody Valentine influenced indie.

Novella - Mary's Gun

Ain't No Need

Here is an absolutely great piece of early R&B from Honey Brown. I can found out absolutely bugger all about Ms Brown and I suspect that that may not be her real name anyway. The label says that Club 51 records were based in the Windy City, so Ms Brown may have been from the Illinois area but that is pure speculation.

I bought this single a few years ago, as I liked the label and I hadn't heard that much from Chicago that I didn't like,
well apart from Chicago and I don't even know if they are from the city and don't really care anyway. But this 45 was one of my better spur of the moment decisions.

Honey Brown - Ain't No Need

Oh My Soul

Words cannot describe just how utterly wonderful this record is so I won't even bother. Just give it a listen, you will not be disappointed.

Swordsmen - Oh My Soul

Mellow Sunday

Five One. Five fucking One!!! That was not expected.

Sometimes you need something a bit spiritual and if that is the case it's best to seek out the Reverend.

Al Green - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

After last week's blast from the heady days of progressive house I think that we should stick with my favourite genre of dance music today and maybe for the next couple of weeks.

Today's track was the first single from Charlie May and Duncan Forbes better known as Spooky which was released in 1992 on that most proggy of prog house labels Guerilla. Between 1992 and the following year William Orbit's label released some absolute belters of track in fact I think that we could have a wee Guerilla series on Fridays.

Tonight I will mostly be praying to the gods of football that Airdrie can get another victory tomorrow and move us further away from the relegation zone.

Have a good weekend people.

Spooky - Land Of Oz (Poppyfield mix)

Voodoo Woman

This came out a couple of years ago in a run of only 300 7" singles pressed on rather lovely white vinyl. Prior to this she released a single on Acid Jazz and she was the featured vocalist on Take Care of My Love by Nick Pride & The Pimptones which I was going to feature soon.

This is another of those singles that I found hiding in the boxes at the weekend.

Jess Roberts - Voodoo Woman

Little Girl

This R&B stormer from 1960 is another one of the singles that I ripped on Sunday. I don't know much about this record or Sugar Boy Williams but it is thought that he was from the New York area, as Herald records who put out the single was an N.Y.C. label.  It is an absolute top notch single but pretty hard to get hold of in the original, mines was a repro that I got a few years ago.

Sugar Boy Williams - Little Girl.

Midnight Express

I'm in the mood for a bit of frenetic raw guitar driven instrumental Rockabilly with a bit of mad sax blowing thrown in for good measure. Another track from the double cd that just keeps giving, "Killer Rhythms & Red Hot Beats".

The Dawnbeats hailed from Columbus Ohio and the single Midnight Express was released on the local Amp label, I'm guessing some time around the mid 50s. Clocking in at 01:59, it's brief and to the point. Magic stuff!

The Dawnbeats - Midnight Express.

The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven

I spent a rather pleasant Saturday afternoon trying to put my boxes of soul 7" singles in some sort of order. This was after a visit to Darcy's bit where he mentioned that he had just completed this task. I failed in my task and ended up just playing random singles. I did manage to put the Reggae/Rock n Roll/Garage box in order but that only holds around 100 and is only 3/4 full.

Anyway, while searching through the boxes I found quite a few 45s that I had yet to rip to the hard drive and so spent a further relaxing afternoon yesterday uploading tracks to iTunes.

Here is one of the singles that I found. "The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven" is a rather lovely soul ballad. Written, produced and the first single released on Van McCoy's Vando label in 1967.

Apologies for the background noise, although the vinyl looks near mint it does have quite a bit of surface noise.

Chris Bartley - The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven

Mellow Sunday

I have a sore head.

Eighteenth parties ain't what they used to be! Why would you have a party without girls? Apparently "they just cause fights and waste your night".

Jesus, I despair for the youth of this nation and we are allowing them to vote later this year!

Roddy Frame - Inside Out (Live Paisley Abbey)

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

A lovely throbby, squidgy progressive monster is the order of the day and a track that I thought that I had posted previously before in one form or another but apparently not.

Sugar Daddy was the seventh release on Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise imprint. Secret Knowledge consisted of veteran rock journalist, producer dj and party animal Kris Needs ably assisted by vocalist Wonder Schnedier. They also released a belter of a track as Delta Lady on Hard Hands.

When trying to decide which mix to post I found two copies of the remix 12" which was a bit of a surprise. In the end I have chosen the Disco Evangelists remix, the Out Of Our Brains On The 5.15 mix, a reference to The Who and Quadrophenia, not sure that too many mods embraced progressive house, none of the ones I knew did.

I will mostly be feeling old this weekend, as my nephew celebrates his 18th birthday!!! I remember babysitting him the morning after the general election in 1997 and thinking we will discuss this glorious day in years to come my boy. oh the optimism. It is ironic on another level as the most I get out of him these days is the odd grunt and unintelligible phrase.

Have a good weekend people.

Secret Knowledge - Sugar Daddy (Out Of Our Brains on the 5.15 mix)

Why Not a Single?

I have felt the need to purchase a Kings of Leon album although there are a few things that I have liked over the years which have fortunately been released as 7" singles which makes the fact that the latest track which received much airplay on 6Music and which has gotten under my skin, Beautiful War incredibly frustrating. I may have to by the album!

Here is an earlier track by the Followill brothers and their cousin which I enjoyed immensely and was released as a 7".

Kings of Leon - The Bucket

I Found You

Here is probably my favourite song from an album that was on heavy rotation on the turntable during the second half of 2012.

Let's hope that this good weather holds out until the weekend and I can get out on the scooter for the first time this year. I used to sneer at fair weather scooterists when I had no alternative but to ride it in all weathers but fuck that,  I'm too old to spend all day drying out and heating up.

Alabama Shakes - I Found You 

I Wish I Had A Wooden Heart

Something a bit funky for a Tuesday.

I Wish I Had A Wooden Heart has absolutely nothing to do with Elvis Presley and a dreadful film about the capers of GI's in Germany in the 1950s. It is the lead track from a sampler for the "David Holmes Presents The Free Association" album.

The Free Association was a Holmes side project which included the musicians Stephen Hilton, Sean Reveron and Pati Yang. They released two albums and three singles including a rather good cover of Rodriquez' Sugarman.

The Free Association - I Wish I Had A Wooden Heart

In The Same Old Way (I Still Love You)

In The Same Old Way is a track that I have been trying to get on vinyl for quite a few years but any time I have bid on it I have lost out in the last couple of minutes. Recently I have seen a couple of promo copies going for £82 and £85 but when money's tight it's quite hard to justify that kind of money on a single. So when a few weeks ago I saw a listing on ebay for pressing your own tunes onto a 7" single this Scotty Williams track was the first that came into my head quickly followed by Indian Giver by the Chantelles.

The single duly arrived and I have to say that the quality of the sound is very good to these ears although I can't compare it to the original single, it will do (barely) until I can justify the price of an original.

And since then I have had a further single pressed with Jean 1, the track from the White Label Stolen Voices project on, which should have been a single in any case.

I still get shivers and goosebumps when I hear this song. it is just so damned good.

Scotty Williams - In The Same Old Way (I Still Love You)

Mellow Sunday

Here is something that dropped into my inbox the other day which I thought was very good and perfect for a mellow Sunday. I know bugger all about Dead Crow Pirates as the email with the soundcloud link attached said very little apart from "best listened to at night with headphones and a cup of tea" It works equally as well with a cup of tea on a Sunday morning. Oh and they are a collective from Birmingham.

The whole ep can be purchased here 

Thanks Doug

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

As far as I'm aware Jamie xx hasn't released anything for a while,  don't think that he has remixed much recently either. Anyway here is a track that he released back in 2011 on Numbers as a single and  I banged on about to anyone who would listen, not that many did. I really like the steel drums and the twisted vocal sample. It's probably not the right time of the year for this kind of track but it kind of lifts the gloom for me.

I'm going out for a few pints with the Vinyl Villain tonight. It's been a while so I'm sure that there will be much pish talked.

Have a good weekend people.

Jamie xx - Far Nearer

Bring It On Home To Me

The Sam Cook penned  Bring It On Home To Me must be in my top hundred songs of all time but not the Cook version but the version by Ted Hawkins. L has been known to give it laldy after a couple of shandies on occasion usually followed by The Wild Rover to the tune of Ghost Riders In The Sky then it usually descends into songs about heather and bonnie braes at which point I tend to either zone out or leave the room.

Last Saturday night I was listening to It's Too Late To Stop Now, the first track on the third side is Van Morrison's rendition of the song which I had sort of forgotten about, I played it four times on the bounce before listening to the rest of the album which is up there with the best live albums ever released. I think that on the recordings that make up this double album Morrison has been captured at the peak of his powers. It is scary to think that it was forty one years ago . If you have never heard this album go out and buy it. If you have any interest in Van Morrison at all you will love it, it's difficult to pick out favourite tracks as the whole thing is wonderful put if I was pushed I would have to include the afore mentioned  Sam Cook cover, Saint Dominic's Preview and the sublime Cyprus Avenue.

I think at the moment I prefer the Northern Irishman's take on Bring It On Home To Me but I do have a lot of memories that could be soundtracked with the Ted Hawkins version.

Grumpy Irishman - Bring It On Home To Me (Live)

It Was A Good Day

You know it's true what they say about money not being able to buy happiness no matter what a certain credit card company would have you believe.

I had one such moment last week. It has been quite a dispiriting and dismal experience being an Airdrie supporter so far this season , defeat after humiliating defeat in a stadium nearly empty and getting emptier each home game. It has been difficult to be positive.  When Willie is nearly ready to leave early you know things are bad. It must have been hellish for Max going to school on a Monday. It is bad enough for him that he doesn't support either of the bigots in Scottish football or Motherwell but with the sustained humpings we were getting it must have been nigh on unbearable.

But over the past six or seven weeks things have been on the up. The team have been playing with more confidence and looking more like a team rather than a bunch of individuals who come together on a Saturday to be humiliated to an ever dwindling audience.

And on Saturday we had one of those days which makes everything worthwhile we soundly thrashed a team that were five places above us in the league. On the way into the game I would have settled for a draw but thought that our unbeaten  spell was coming to an end.  But from the whistle each member of the team  showed a commitment that had been severely lacking over the past year or so. After getting a player sent off Ayr tried every dirty trick in the book to get the better of us but for once they didn't succeed, for once the decisions of the referee went our way and for one of the very few times in the past couple of years we were triumphant.

What made the occasion one to really cherish was the fact that three generations of my family were present as well as Stiff , Willie and their father who have been going for ever. I know that most of you will be thinking so what? But it really was one of those moments that gives you a natural high and the smiles on everyone's faces as we left New Broomfield was priceless. Normal service may well resume in the coming weeks and we could be fighting relegation at the end of the season but on Saturday we all had that euphoric feeling that really is impossible to buy but if you could bottle and sell would make you extremely wealthy.

Hurry On Boys really has nothing to do with this but it is one of those tunes that has that  kind of euphoric feel to it and the Skids are a band that I have always associated with the football although they are from Dunfermline.

The Skids - Hurry On Boys

Our Troubles End Tonight

I bought the Lucky Jim album Our Troubles End Tonight on a whim. I was wandering around Fopp on Rose Street in Edinburgh one lunchtime in 2004, probably just to get me out of the office at lunch time. It was one of those days that I was in for nothing in particular,  back then and if I'm truthful even now I'm very loathed to leave a record shop without purchasing something. It seems to me to be a bit of a waste of time if you don't at least have something to take home after all that effort of browsing the shelves.

Anyway, I'm not quite sure why I bought this album, it was a new release and Fopp used to have a rack of these with complimentary reviews written next to them which very rarely correlated with the music that you ended up listening to. I do remember when I listened to the album back at my desk in the office I was rather taken a back as it was nothing like I expected to be. It was all acoustic guitar and sounded like a throwback to a time when John Martyn was still a bit of a folkie and his pal Nick Drake was still alive. It's an album full of stuff that certainly sign posted it's influnces , "You're Lovely To Me"  is a kind of lightweight Dylan type thing  which was later picked up and used to sell bread. You could imagine Scott Walker recording  Leah and their is an excruciatingly limp hippy dippy track  Lesbia.  But all told not an unpleasant listen and a cd that I haveplayed more than a couple of times over the years. But certainly not the the sort of thing you would associate with Damien Harris' Skint label which released the album.

The album is certainly worth a listen. I feel sorry for Gordon Grahame as James Blunt has built a successful career and shifted millions of records on a vastly inferior version of this kind of thing.

By far my favourite track is the duet with Heather Banks on The Honeymooners which has echoes of Leonard Cohen and Lee Hazelwood but brings to mind Past, Present and Future by the Shangri-Las to me for some reason.

Lucky Jim - The Honeymooners

I Don't Know

Justine "Baby" Washington is probably best know for her 1963 hit "That's How Heartaches Are Made". Today's track "I Don't Know" was released in 1969 however my copy comes from the 10 x 7" rather handsome Cotillion box set that came out for last year's Record Shop Day also included in the set are singles by Moses Smith and Walter Jackson and seven other Cotillion artists.

Baby Washington - I Don't Know

Mellow Sunday

This blog is not well know for it's high end culture in fact that is most definitely the first time that that phrase has been used around here. But today you are in for a shock as I post a tune (if that's what you call it, according to wiki it's a movement) that is so far out of my comfort zone that it is practically in another galaxy.

The first time I heard this astoundingly beautiful and moving  piece of music was on Sunday the 09th January 2005.  The reason I know this is not due to my amazing memory but as a result of consulting the BBC website, as that is the day that the eight discs of one time SAS trooper now incredibly rich author of appalling fiction Andy McNabb was on Desert Island Discs. I listened to McNabb with more than a little cynicism as I had read, Bravo Two Zero,  The One That Got Away and Michel Asher's book which purports to tell the true story behind the fuck-up but all this is by the by. When The Swan came over the airwaves it stopped me in my tracks and nearly took my breath away (you want cliches worse than that read McNabb's books). When it was finished I made a note of the name and searched the internet for it. Apparently the author's fifth! wife plays it on the cello.

I am not going to bullshit you about me knowing anything about Le cygne if you want to know more go here. I just think as I said above that it is one of the most beautiful and emotional pieces of music I've ever heard.

See Me See Culture!

Yo-Yo Ma - The Swan