Not One Of My Best Decisions

I spent Thursday and Friday in Birmingham for work, my god they used a lot of concrete building that city. When I completed what I had to do I realised that I was going to have a 4 hour wait at the airport, so I did the calculation waiting time + flight time + drive home from the airport and came to the conclusion that I would be just as quick getting in the hire car and driving north.

Getting out of Birmingham was easy enough but it took me 3 hours to get to bloody Preston due to traffic going to the V Festival and as a result I got home at 10:35 pm, an hour and a half later than if I had got the flight. Not one of my better decisions. Still I didn't spend money I haven't got in the duty free.

One observation from spending so much time in the car, Radio 1 is completely shit. Due to the lack of iPod connectivity I was forced to listen to the radio, after a brief flirtation with Radio 2, yuk and nothing interesting on Radio 4 until PM at five, there was nothing else for it but Fabulous Radio 1. I'm sorry Edith Bowman but if you think Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation is a dance classic you are sadly mistaken and in need of a full frontal lobotomy and I am not going to go into any details about the Scott Mills show, suffice to say pish of the highest order.

I'm not sure which was worse the traffic jam or Radio 1 but in combination it was probably one of the worst forms of torture imaginable and needs to banned in the Geneva Conventions

Bob Marley And The Wailers - Concrete Jungle (version)

Bobby Womack - Home Is Where The Heart Is

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Anybody up for a bit of Future Jazz? Nope, didn't think so I can imagine CTEL's back will be up straight away with the J word. Shall we call it Deep House then?

The Audience is a rather soulful piece of house by the man of many aliases, Herbert. This tune came out on the Studio! K7 label in 2001. The vocals are by Jamie Lidell and Dani Sicilian.

In my best John Thompson, as the presenter on Jazz Club, side on to the camera - Nice . . Great

Herbet feat Dani Siciliano - The Audience (vs Jamie Lidell)

A Live Review Of Sorts.

I don't do concert reviews as I tend to spend my time just enjoying gigs as opposed to getting the set order correct and being in review mode, however Tart has asked me to report back on her 2 favorite bands, so I will. If you wish to find out details of running order etc you should have no trouble as there were at least 4 people, who to me looked like weans sitting on the pews of Queen's Hall furtively making notes in little pads all the way through

I made Edinburgh from the other side of Manchester in just over 3 hrs, not bad going. There I found that the doors did not open at 7 as on the tickets and found myself queuing to get into a gig for the first time in many a year.

The first band who's name I cannot remember did absolutely nothing for me, they weren't bad or anything just not my kind of thing. So sorry, I'm sure they're all great people but just not for me so I didn't pay very much attention to them but still kept quiet.

Meursault, on the other hand were guaranteed my undivided attention and for the rather short 25 minute set they did, they did not disappoint, they exceeded my expectations, especially A Small Stretch Of Land which was quite beautiful. I will need to investigate further because this short set has just whetted my appetite and will need to see them do a full set.

One thing though, why the fuck do people persist in talking all the way through the support act at gigs? I have come to hear the bands, all of them even the ones I don't particularly like and couldn't give a flying fuck how drunk you were last night or who you got off with. If you have no interest in the band stay in the fucking bar. It is the height of ignorance to stand/sit and talk all the way through.

The feirt bunnies were given a rapturous welcome and indeed the crowd sang along and clapped out of time with the music so much so that at one point L thought that she was at a Runrig concert, having never frequented one I don't know what she was on about. The band were excellent and the 3 new tunes for the album which according to Scott is completed albeit with at least one song still untitled were very promising and I look forward to hearing in full as soon as possible. One grumble though, I did not like the version of Backwards Walk, always one my favorites, it lost all of the melancholy. Apart from that and the arseholes talking all the way through Meursault a wonderful night was had by all.

Frightened Rabbit - My Backwards Walk (Daytrotter session)

Finally I May Get To See Meursault Live

Tonight I'm off to see Frightened Rabbit as part of the music bit of the Festival but I'm more excited about finally getting to see Meursault, well I may get to see them. My boss decided to arrange the team meeting for today which would have been all well and good in the past as they were held in Edinburgh however the changes that were made whilst I was on holiday resulted in me joining a new team who have their meetings in Manchester, bugger. Not taking any chances on cancelled flights by FlyMaybe as soon as the meeting is over I will be on the M6 and trying to beat the Manchester to Edinburgh land speed record.

Frightened Rabbit - Heads Roll Off

Meursault - Nothing Broke

How about a bit of Krautrock to start off the week, krautrock with a twist in that it is from Brighton 2006 not Cologne 1976.

M's first day back at school today and not a moment too soon, wonder if my parents had the same thoughts, my father maybe my mother certainly not, being a teacher.

Fujiya & Miyagi - Conductor 71 (This track comes Weatherall approved, it says so on the sticker on the front of the cd)

Everybody Loves A Cover . . . Right?

A brace of contemporary covers for you, well from last year anyway.

First up are the Mystery Jets with their cover of a Leonna Lewis song, no wait, come back it is rather good. I hadn't heard the original or hadn't been aware that I had until fairly recently as I'm strictly a radio's 4 & 6 person. I caught it while at my parents house, who have Murdoch TV and when I'm there I tend to flick through the music channels much to the chagrin of both my parents and M who wants to watch Spongebob or the Clone Wars. I never thought that this would happen to me, shock horror, but I have to admit that I quite liked what I heard a track by a TV talentless show winner. Musical snobbery aside, it is a good track but whether it warrants being the biggest selling single worldwide in 2008 is an argument for another day. Anyway, I think that the Mystery Jets, an indie band from London do an ever better version.

Mystery Jets - Bleeding Love

Secondly we have a duet from Florence (without the Machine)and Kid Harpoon covering a Bruce Springsteen song.

In my spotty youth I loved Springsteen, The River and Nebraska were albums that my mate Ben would play all the time. Then came Born In The USA and I have to admit that even before Reagan appropriated the song for his re-election campaign I felt uncomfortable with the album. There was something about it that just put me off. From the first time I heard Born In The USA I didn't like the song. I was an earnest left wing anti Pershing and Cruise missile campaigner so anything that was so in your face proud to be an American ( or so I foolishly misinterpreted) as this song seemed, was guaranteed to get my blood boiling.

I think Born In The USA is the album that created stadium rock. I realise that there had been many stadium gigs before this but I do believe that this album was the blueprint for all those bands who have since sat down and intentionally written albums that would sound good in a stadium and for that I think Springsteen has a lot to answer for.

I'm digressing here but the point is that when I first heard I'm Going Down by Florence & Kid Harpoon the song was vaguely familiar but I would never have remembered that it came from Born In The USA, if it had not been pointed out by a friend. The reason being that even though I listen to Sprinsteen quite frequently, I think that I may have played I'm On Fire or My Hometown from that album but would never even think of playing the whole thing so had completely forgotten that there are indeed some great tracks on it.

The stripped down approach which Florence and Kid Harpoon take brings out the essence of the track and something you could imagine Springsteen himself approving of. Strangely enough, Catherine Feeny did something similar to I'm On Fire, another track from Born In The USA.

Florence & Kid Harpoon - I'm Going Down

That Bellshill Beat

I played this for the first time in ages this morning, Duglas T Stewart the man responsible for so many twee indie bands and for putting Bellshill on the map for something other than the consumption of tonic wine.

Seriously, how good is this record?

BMX Bandits - Serious Drugs

Rilo Kiley

My introduction to Rilo Kiley came via a cover mount cd from Word Magazine. The track was from their second album The Execution of All Things which I duly went out and purchased. The album lived up to the promise of the free track. It reminded me of label mates, Bright Eyes with the strong lyrics and great tunes but with the added bonus of Jenny Lewis' voice and what a voice she has.

I think that it is just as well that I bought the album before I read up on the band. As when I read that the 2 founding members were child actors from the Valley, I could feel my inherent prejudice against precocious child actors turned musicians come to the fore. The charge of tweeness which was levelled at them more than once, I thought was a little harsh, however if I had read these reviews prior to listening to the album I would probably have steered clear of them. A lesson was learnt, give things a chance before dismissing them.

Later the same year (2004) the band released an even better album in the form of More Adventurous. This album was a more polished affair with string arrangements and better production. Two singles were released from the album, the anti-war Bush baiting It's A Hit and the wonderful Portions For Foxes although there is not a track on the album that I would skip.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the follow-up, 3 years later entitled Under The Blacklight. This album has to be one of the most disappointing releases for me since EXTRMNTR. It is way too glossy, the production far too slick and the songs just not in the same league as the earlier material. I did wonder how much the critical acclaim and success of Lewis' first solo album contributed to the lacklustre tunes on this release, was she reluctant to give the band her best songs instead wishing to keep them for her second solo outing. That was until the release of said album which was just as disappointing, in my opinion as Under The Blacklight. Several reviews likened the forth album to Rumours era Fleetwood Mac. A Fleetwood Mac for the 21st Century is not something which is needed.

It looks as though Rilo Kiley are now no more and it is sad that the last thing that they produced was as slick and corporate as it was, but if you disregard this album and look back at the previous 3, Rilo Kiley leave a better than average back catalogue.

Rilo Kiley - With Arms Outstretched (The song on the Word cd)

Rilo Kiley - 15 (The only track from the final album which, to me, is any good)

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Justin Robertson is not your average dj/producer, how many others have a degree in philosophy ? He started working in the record shop Eastern Bloc in his native Manchester at exactly the time when the city was yet again coming to the attention of the rest of the world via the baggy and acid house scenes.

He started remixing and his talents were utilised by the likes of the Shamen and the Sugarcubes before releasing his first single Lionrock/Roots and Culture on his own Most Excellent label, the single was subsequently picked up and re-released by de-Construction who he continued to record for releasing 2 albums and quite a few more singles before moving on to Concrete where he recorded probably Lionrock's best known track outwith dance circles with Rude Boy Rock which if I'm not mistaken was later used in an add for some Sony product.

The track posted is the follow-up to Rude Boy Rock, Scatter and Swing which personally I love but at the time was blasted by others as being a bit too commercial.

Lionrock - Scatter & Swing


Below you will find the youtube clip for a track which I have been meaning to feature on the Friday section of this blog as it is the best dancer I have heard this year. I have had 7" for a couple of months now and was going to feature it as it was in a limited run of 500 7" singles on Acid Jazz and I believed that it should be heard by the wider world. However, Eddie Pillar, for it is the work of that old mod, has rightly given it a full release on a different label. So I implore you to go out and buy it. I am confident that once you hear it you will want to get hold of it. I liked the original but this just pisses all over it.

Just Because

How about a bit of a cajun cover version of an old Chuck Berry tune. Have no idea why this was running about my head today

Johnnie Allan - Promised Land

Hoi Smith, Where's The Bloody Album?

The work ethic that Mark E Smith bangs on about in every interview he does seems to have eluded him of late. It has been over a year since the last album launch which was also a rather tardy release. I keep checking the "unofficial" Fall website, hoping to see a post informing the masses of the imminent release of a new album by the gruppe, but nothing. The nearest their is is the live cd/dvd package of the gig at the last night of The Hammersmith Palais which I have pre-ordered twice already and will not hold my breath for it actually being released on the 24th August.

Another thing which has pissed me off this year is the distinct lack of Fall gigs north of the border, one earlier this year and that was part of a festival. I wasn't paying fifty quid to see forty five minutes in the dubious acoustics of the Arches. I may be mad but I'm not stupid.

This week I was informed that I will have to go to Berlin with work in October which just so happens is when the Fall have penciled in a few dates round the country, none in Scotland as yet but you can bet your bottom dollar that when the Scottish dates are announced it will be the bloody week I will be in Berlin and I don't think that the powers that be will be very sympathetic or realise the importance of seeing the Fall live.

The Fall - Garden (Peel session)

The above post was just another excuse to slip on something by the world's greatest band

Lead Me On

Today's track was a crossover hit at the turn of the century. It was an in demand record on both the modern and northern dance floors and an original 7" will cost you upwards of £50 these days.

Lead Me On by Gwen McCrae was given a full release by Universal in 1972 but as is often the case with tracks posted on this blog did not see much chart action. The song was an old gospel - blues song recorded by Bobby Bland which Gwen injected with a lot of soul and a smokey late night feel.

Gwen McCrae - Lead Me On

GDMFSOB

I have avidly collected the works of Josh Davis since the first time I heard In Flux which was also my introduction to Mo Wax, James Lavelle and the whole headz culture which I eagerly embraced.

There is something about collages made from snatches of dialogue, samples, laid back beats and turntablism that floats my boat. I can got lost in these strung out, cinematic odysseys and long ago stopped trying to spot the samples.

The one thing about DJ Shadow is that every so often he does something that once you listen to it makes perfect sense but on first hearing of, you think, what is he up to? This was what went through my head when I first got my hands on Mashin' On The Motorway and noticed that the main track was a collaboration with Roots Manuva. However after listening to the track it was such an obvious pairing, the pre-eminent turntablist and the UK's best and most unorthodox rapper.

If you get the chance check out his mix cd with Cut Chemist, Brainfreeze, another venture which on hindsight is exactly what he should have done.

GDMFSOB would possibly have been the phrase I would have uttered when the alarm went off this morning, if I resided on the West Coast of the USA as opposed to west central Scotland where we just say, shit!

DJ Shadow - GDMFSOB (UNKLE uncensored)

One Goodbye In Ten

Shara Nelson is best known for her vocal on one of my top 5 favorite tracks, Unfinished Sympathy. Before this she had released a single as a solo artist and also worked with Jah Wobble and Adrian Sherwood.Unfinished Sympathy wasn't here first collaboration with Daddy Gee, Mushroom and 3-D, she had previously supplied the vocals for their cover of the Bacharach & David's classic The Look Of Love when they were still the Wild Bunch.

The track posted, One Goodbye In Ten was the third single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows and was co-written by Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne). As with Unfinished Sympathy, there are lush strings and a huge sound to the track. It also reminds me of the track Waking With A Stranger which featured here earlier this year.

Shara Nelson - One Goodbye In Ten

I've Got The Bends From Pressure

I was digging through a pile of 12" singles last night to rip to I-Tunes and came across a my James singles and decided to stick a couple on. I had forgotten how much I liked James.

A friend introduced me to them via the Stutter album in about 1987 and I must have played Johnny Yen over and over again. I followed the band from then on buying the following 2 albums but it wasn't until Sit Down that I started buying the singles. I suppose the highlight for me was the Weatherall mix of Come Home, where Weatherall made an already great song into a strung out 8 and a half minute masterpiece.

The band were always on the ball with their re-mixers all of whom seemed to add a little something to already good tracks making them that little bit different from the remix by numbers going on in the baggy scene (for want of a better term) at the time.

The remix posted, is another mix of Come Home, remixed by Youth, bass player with Killing Joke, Butterfly records owner and much sought after producer and re-mixer during the early 90s. Check out his collaboration as the Fireman with Paul McCartney, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (Fuck me, just checked on Discogs and it's up there for 160 quid, may need to sell my copy as it isn't that good). The Youth Pressure Dub mix was on the b-side of the Sound 12" which I remember buying from Tower records in Glasgow one drunken night when it used to be open til midnight, dangerous stuff.

James also had some classic T-shirts, everybody used to bang on about Inspiral Carpets shirts but the James ones were far superior. I must have had about half a dozen different ones, none of which would remotely fit me these days if I had kept them.

James - Come Home (Youth Pressure dub)

John Hughes RIP

Although his films were formulaic and American, there was something about Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and my favourite, Some Kind Of Wonderful which made me watch and love them. I think it may have been to do with the great music that was used in the soundtracks or possibly Mary Stuart Masterson, Mia Sara and Molly Ringwald.

Whether it be the Smiths or Otis Redding in Pretty In Pink, or a little known Jesus and The Mary Chain track, albeit remixed in Some Kind Of Wonderful , Hughes had an ear for good music.

Sad to say that with Hughes' demise yesterday another part of my youth has been assigned to history.

If you fancy hearing good cover versions of songs used in Hughes' films check out American Laundromat Records High School Reunion, although no longer available on cd, I think it is still on ITunes.





Here are a couple of originals from the soundtracks and a couple of covers from the ALR cd
Stephen Duffy - She Loves Me

Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness

The Atomic Hep Cats - Bring On The Dancing Horses

The Caulfield Sisters - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want This Time

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

I take you back to my formative years, when ox blood Docs, Levi 501's and flat tops were the order of the day and you just couldn't get rid of the smell of 2-stroke oil.

I've posted before of the joys of the testosterone and brown ale fuelled events known as Scooter dances and how they always ended up one of 2 ways for our club, either embroiled in a battle or heading home in the mini bus sans at least one or two of our mob. Once we forgot one mate who phoned us up later saying that he was penniless and couldn't get home. He was told not to worry, get a taxi and one of us would pay for it once he got to the friend's house where we were crashing that night. We proceeded to empty the coppers jar and count out the 10 quid or so, left it on the coffee table for him and all went to bed pissing ourselves laughing. The next morning we were confronted by the moodiest bastard in the world but still couldn't stop laughing.

Back to the scooter nights and the strict music policy, it had to be punk, psychobilly and soul no deviation, no Smiths here or any other what was termed student music apart from probably the Wedding Present who were deemed thrashy enough.

Spear of Destiny's Liberator was a definite floor filler and also a stick on for the odd bloody nose or black eye from an over enthusiastic slammer. If slamming is dancing then this must be the slam dancer's anthem. Being a bit of a pussy I stayed well clear of the dancefloor during this track but loved it none the less.

Spear Of Destiny - Liberator (extended mix)

Funnily it seems a bit tame now!

Bat's 1977 - 1982 Compilation Tape Side 2

It's time for side 2 of the tape and this is the side which introduced me to a few new bands at the time. There are at least 2 tracks that I don't know what they are or who they are by but I'm sure that you clever train spotters will be able to put me right. There is one absolute stinker, I wonder if you can guess which one it is?

The Jonathan Richman track That Summer Feeling isn't on this tape, it would have made the title wrong anyway as it was from 1984, however this means that there is another tape lurking in the wine boxes which musically will be of a similar standard as it was compiled by the same person. Further investigation will proceed this weekend.

The reason that I have used the term compilation tapes as opposed to mix tapes is, as far back as I can remember we always called them compilations, the term mixtape only came into being at the beginning of the nineties and referred to acid house and dance tapes where the songs were actually mixed together. At least that is how I remember it.

Buzzcocks - Promises
Orange Juice - Felicity
unknown track
Clive Langer And The Boxes - Half As Nice
The Farmer's Boy's - Country Mile
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
The Knack - My Sharona
Angelic Upstarts - England (WTF?)
Squeeze - Is That Love
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Jilted John - Gordon Is A Moron
Souixsie And The Banshees - Christine
Stranglers - Walk On By
The Clash - Spanish Bombs
The Jagz - Back Of My Hand
unknown track
The Dickies ? - I Like It (not sure it is them but it's the sort of thing they did)

Bat's 1977 - 1982 Compilation Tape Side 1

After writing yesterday's post I decided to root about the wine boxes and see if I could find the tape that I was going on about. Eventually after a bit of digging I struck gold and decided to go through it and to my surprise there are some tracks that I don't remember being on there, a couple I can't believe are included that I must have fast forwarded through, three that I don't have a clue what they are and one that's not there which I could have sworn was.

Here is a list of what was on side one.

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Aztec Camera - Oblivious
The Piranhas - Getting Beaten Up Is Part Of Growing Up
Pretenders - Back On The Chain Gang
Echo and The Bunnymen - Rescue
The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
The Cars - My Best Friend's Girlfriend
The Jam - The Eton Rifles
The Ramones - Needles and Pins
Blondie - Dreaming
Elvis Costello - Lip Service
Sham 69 - You're A Better Man Than I
Skids - Into The Valley
Unknown track

Most of the tracks are readily available these days but back then if you didn't have the vinyl you had to rely on mates with older brothers, cheers Bat and Tank.

If anyone can tell me what the unknown track is I would be grateful. Sorry for the sound quality of said track but it came off of a tape that I reckon must be 25 years old.

Side 2 tomorrow

Country Line

I recently purchased a wonderful, chunky old Technics 630 tape deck from ebay for the very reasonable price of 20 quid plus another £10 for next day courier delivery. It had been bugging me for some time that I no longer had something to play all my old cassettes on, actually ever since I made a half arsed attempt to clear out the cupboard on the half landing where all the junk gets forgotten about. During this futile attempt to de-clutter I came across 3 wine crates full of tapes, most mine but some L's and even though we no longer had the facility to play them I just couldn't bring myself to take them to the cowp.

Since getting the tape deck rigged up I have been delving into these crates, there are loads of Essential Mixes from 1993 to about 1996, plenty of Weatherall mix tapes and a whole load of my old dance mixes which I am too scared to listen to as there is bound to be some horrendous attempts at beat mixing and more than several train crashes.

There are also loads of bootlegs everything from Crass at the ZigZag Club, through the Smiths at the Barrowlands in 84 to really badly recorded Velvet Underground ones. Most of these were purchased at Revolver record stall at the Barras at over inflated prices, as the quality of the tapes that you took home never seemed as good as the ones the shady guy with the ponytail let you hear when you were buying them.

In fact the first tape I put in the deck was a Billy Bragg bootleg from a concert at the Barras in Nov 86 which I was at. Unfortunately the deck took a serious dislike to the TDK D 120 and chewed it up, which did not bode well, however up til now that is the only thing that the machine has chewed up, thankfully.

Getting back to the point of the post, while trailing through one of the crates I found a cover simply titled 77 to 82, a rather wide time frame for a single c90 granted but every track was brilliant. This was a tape that my best mate's elder brother had put together and I had "borrowed" in order to record. This tape was my introduction to Jonathan Richman's That Summer Feeling and the track I'm going to post today. There are probably loads more tracks I first heard on this tape but these are the only that stick out. It would probably have helped if W had listed the tracks on the cover and it would be handy if the tape was actually in the cover and I could play it but it's not and I haven't had the time to search for it.

The track is called Country Mile and it was the b side of the third single More Than A Dream by The Farmer's Boys.

The Farmer's Boys were a band from Norwich who formed in 1982 and split in 1985. They released 9 singles and 2 albums in their time and are probably best known for their cover of the Cliff Richard song In The Country, no don't click away, they were actually pretty good.

The Farmer's Boys - The Country Line

I'm hoping that I come across the c90 that D did for me back in 1987 which consists of From Across the Kitchen Table over both sides of the tape as mentioned in the first post on here, as I know that I haven't thrown that out.

Lone Justice

Lone Justice have featured on this blog before with their cover of Sweet Jane. The couple of tracks posted today come from their self titled first album, which is an absolute gem, very rough with Maria McKee's vocal delivery not dissimilar to Janis Joplin's.

I first saw Lone Justice on the Whistle Test and something about them got me interested. I can't remember just what it was, as country rock or cowpunk as some music journalist labelled them was not the sort of thing that I was listening to at the time ( I think I spent much of 1985 with Psychocandy on repeat). Something made my go to Glasgow in search of the album which did not disappoint on first listen and still sounded good at the weekend when I played it again for the first time in ages. It doesn't sound quite as raw now as I thought it did but McKee's vocal sounds as good as ever, she really can belt it out.

Lone Justice went on to make a second album which was not a patch on the first, it sounded too smooth, too well produced. I blame Bonzo, I blame him for a lot of things but this time with some justification. After the critical success of the first album Lone Justice went on tour with the Irish band and McKee started hanging about with them, then they go into the studio and produce a bland soulless album, coincidence? I think not.

Shortly after the release of the second album, McKee broke up the band and embarked on a solo career. The first 2 albums of which are excellent, however the following 2 I couldn't get into at all and haven't bothered with anything since.

Interesting fact or possibly not, Ricky Ross wrote Real Gone Kid about McKee after Deacon Blue supported Lone Justice.

Lone Justice - After The Flood

Lone Justice - Ways To Be Wicked

Back To Pit Boots and Purridge

I'm back to work today after 2 weeks rest and recuperation. It won't be that bad, I just wonder how many efficiency and cost saving measures have been implemented in my absence, it is a given that there will be at least one.

Spare a thought for L though as today is also her first day back after a little longer than myself, six and a half months to be exact. It is going to to be a bit of a culture shock for both her and our youngest, who will be packed off with his brother to their Gran's.

Here's one of L's favorite tracks and another which may very well sum up her mood tomorrow night.

Ted Hawkins - Bring It On Home To Me

Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum

FYI - "back to pit boots and purridge on Monday, Sarah", were the immortal words which my uncle Jimmy would say with a deep sigh every time it was back to work after a holiday, when I was wee I never understood why he would talk about pit boots when he worked in the steelworks.

The Power Of Advertising

I was watching the telly the other night and during the break Hannibal Lecter was banging on about the scene in Blade Runner where Rutger Hauer was on the rooftop and does the tears in the rain speech, in the vain attempt to get me to subscribe to Rupert Murdoch's Shit TV.

I haven't seen Blade Runner for quite a few years, it used to be essential post pub/club viewing with a few spliffs in one of my mates flat, when the debates would start over whether Deckard was a replicant himself or which of the 7 versions was actually the best. Personally I liked the voice over on the original release but I know most folk don't.

One thing that was never argued about was the soundtrack and how good it was. There was the odd gripe about the inferior New American Orchestra recording which was released in 1982 but when Vangelis' score was finally available on CD in 1994 this was no longer an issue. Since then there have been several bootleg soundtracks slipped out and Vangelis released a 3 disc version containing the original score, unreleased tracks and a third disc of music inspired by Blade Runner, none of which I have heard as having the 1994 version this package is very low on the wants list.

Due to Dr Lecter and Murdoch's advert i decided it was about time that I watched Blade Runner again, so headed to Amazon where it can be picked up in the "final" cut for a very reasonable £4.96 quite a bit cheaper than a subscription to satellite tv.

Here are two of my favorite tracks from the soundtrack.

Vangelis - Memories of Green

Vangelis - Tears In Rain

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance.

After a week of rather frenzied Rave and Techno, I think that it is time for some for soulful dance floor fodder. The tracks posted today are probably 2 of the best known northern soul tracks and are number 23 and 24 in the Northern Soul Top 500. They are songs that I flogged to death when I was younger but don't get played very often these days which is a shame as they are excellent dancers and great tunes. Marc Almond must have thought so too as Soft Cell covered both of these.

First up and at number 23 in the a fore mentioned tome is Judy Clay with a track released on the Strider label in 1966 and almost charted in the UK. What is on the poppier side of northern soul but no less a track for it.

Judy Street - What

At number 24 we find Gloria Jones with the tune that started my obsession with this genre of music over 25 years ago when I found out that the Soft Cell version was a cover and invested in couple of compilation albums, Casino Classics Chapters one. The track was released in the US in 1965 on the Champion Records label and as is the norm in northern soul failed to chart. It was picked up by the Wigan Djs in late 1973 and the rest as they say is history.

Gloria Jones - Tainted Love

More Powerful Than You Could Possibly Imagine

Not a lot needs to said about this track. My favorite early Rave anthem it's got everything from the Italian house like piano to the Obi Wan sample this has to be one of the best tracks of 1990. Never got sick of hearing the intro when out clubbing and it still sounds fresh to these ears at least today.

I've posted the original and the Raid At Dawn mix from the remix twelve.

Together - Hardcore Uproar

Together - Hardcore Uproar ( Raid At Dawn)

Kettles, Don't Get The Stripey Stuff, It Nips My Gums

The holy grail of 80's TV comedy drama dropped through my letterbox this morning.

The BBC finally decided to release Tuttu Frutti on DVD. I have been waiting for this event for nearly 20 years, it will be that long since I lost my VHS copy of this brilliant show. It has never been explained as to why this show was only repeated once, later the same year as first released. When interviewed John Byrne only comment was that he intended it to be a one off.


The story revolves around a washed up covers band the Majestics who need to find a new singer after the death of theirs in an road traffic accident involving a kebab. The younger brother of the dead singer is drafted in to fulfill their obligations around a 25th anniversary tour and a documentary.

The series made stars out of Robbie Coltraine, Emma Thompson and Richard Wilson the devious, conniving manager, Eddie Clockerty.

Posted is the original of a track that Coltraine and Thompson duet on to great effect in the series.

Mickey and Sylvia - Love Is Strange

Guess what I will be watching tonight?

Just Because

Davy H over at the Ghost of Electricity has a post about the wonderful Candi Staton and mentions that the tracks come from a split album with Staton on one side and Bettye Swann on the other. On reading this I thought I would post 2 tracks from the only split LP that I own and it is a belter Hendrix and Otis Live at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Jimi Hendrix - Like A Rolling Stone

Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness

The Baron Of Techno

Dave Clarke started off as as hip hop / electro dj in the mid 80's and changed to acid house in the late 8os and by the early 90s was an influential Face on the Techno scene.

His dj sets as you would expect from someone who started in hip hop are full of cut ups and scratching, the music being predominately from the darker end of the dance spectrum.

He first came to prominence with the Red series of 3 rather brilliant 12" singles on the Bush and deConstruction label. Clarke also recorded a session and 2 live mixes for John Peel who gave him the moniker of "The Baron of Techno".

Dave Clarke - Protective Custody

Rave - Scots Style

Around about the end of 1991 beginning of 1992, 2 distinct camps were forming amongst my friends into dance music some of us were embracing progressive house and the slower bpms while others were getting into the much harder sounds coming out of the Rave scene and stuff coming from the continent and the Netherlands in particular. I think that a lot of this had to do with the less pure MDMA and the greater use of speed within this group.

As I've said before I was generally not into this type of music. One track however that I did quite like was Energy Rush by Suburban Delay which I bought at the time as it was the first release on Clubscene records an off shoot from a free club listing and review magazine distributed around Central Scotland. This track was first released in 1992 and was later re-released with a terrible vocal track over the top.

Please forgive the crackles on the rip, this was a track which I used to stick on to placate the cheesy quavers in the pub where I worked at the time and ended up having to be played at least once every night.

Suburban Delay - Energy Rush

Shame

I think that a couple of days of not too serious,  early 90's oldskool Rave is in order. After posting Acen yesterday, I decided to dig through my twelves and find some tunes in a similar vein. There aren't that many as at this time I was mostly buying Boy's Own, Cowboy, Guerilla and similar stuff. Of those that I found very few have stood the test of time and a couple are just plain pish, however I have found some that are worth listening to again.

Although seen as a joke by a lot of people due to the face masks and NBC suits Altern-8 produced some really good singles and were leading figures in the Rave scene. Can't really tell you that much about them, although I seem to remember that they got up to quite a few scams, like turning up outside Shelley's nightclub and performing on the back of a flatbed truck, not in the same league as the KLF but entertaining.

I think that this is the best thing that they produced.

Altern-8 vs Evelyn king - Shame

Better Late Than Never

Just back. Had a great week up north and it only rained once, granted it lasted all day but still it was only one day out of seven which must be some kind of record for Scotland during the month of July.

I meant to do a post on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing the other week and schedule it for last Monday but never got round to it. I don't know whether I believe that Armstrong, Aldrin and the other ten astronauts have set foot on the moon, I would like to believe that they did, however the sceptic in me thinks that it is all a little to convenient and also with Tricky Dickie in the White House at the time anything is possible.

Anyway, here is a nice bit of breakbeat to celebrate with.

Acen - Trip To The Moon (the darkness)

BTW I also saw Elvis last week, he is working in a chippy in Inverness

Go North, Middle aged man.

Nothing to see here for the next week.

It is the Glasgow Fair and I have decided that it's about time that I revived the family tradition of all getting in the car and going South for a couple of weeks, although I have decided to put my own slant on it, we are going away for a week and up North rather than down South.

So I will leave you with a track from a criminally under represented form of music on this blog, hip hop, something I will strive to sort out in the coming months.

The Ultramagnetic MC's - Travelling At The Speed Of Thought

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Back to the heady days of progressive house during the early nineties when leather trousers and long hair were de rigueur in clubbing circles for today's offering.

Rejuvination were Glen Gibbons and Jim Muotune who along with the Slam boys and Dave Clarke founded probably the best label out of Glasgow since Postcard, Soma Quality Recordings. In fact they shared the billing with Slam on the first ever Soma release Eterna/IBO. This track was their second single from 1993, so probably after the leather trousers had been thrown to the back of the wardrobe by the uber trendies.

This track reminds me of the Arches in Glasgow and I especially love the breakdown about half way through.

Rejuvination - Requiem

A Couple of Songs of Love and Longing

It's been nearly a couple of weeks since we've had any soul posted here, can't quite believe that I could go that long without a bit of motown or something similar.

Here are two classic songs of lost love and longing which Motown do so well.

First up is Martha Reeves with a single from the early 70's which did nothing at the time but has been heard regularly at soul nights over the past decade.

Martha Reeves - No One There.

Next we have the Blue Sharks version of a tune made famous by the Velvelettes one of whom Sandra Tille joined Martha Reeves as a Vandella. I prefer this version by a band that I know nothing about and have never even seen a copy of this single.

The Blue Sharks - These Things Will Keep Me Lovin' You

Graceland

I don't really know that much about The Bible (the band, don't know that much about the book either to be honest), I suppose you could wiki them if you wanted. The track Graceland is quite a typical mid eighties sounding indie tune which I flogged to death at the time of release and doesn't sound too shabby today either.

Wonder why I never bought anything else by them other than this single?

The version posted is the re-recording from 1989 and not the original mix which is far too crackly to inflict upon you.

The Bible - Graceland

I Knew These People

Today's track is a bit of a curiosity. I say track but it is really a scene from one of my favorite films which was included in it's entirety on the soundtrack album.

Paris Texas was a film directed by Wim Wenders from a story written by Sam Shepherd and starring Harry Dean Stanton. At it's basics it is the story of an amnesiac who has reappeared after 4 years and of his attempt to make sense of what happened and try to reconcile his family on his return. The film is beautifully shot and has some wonderful performances notably Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. Or as one of my less discerning friends once said, "self indulgent, chin stroking pish".

I've never been a great fan of Ry Cooder's music but I don't think that this film would have half the impact without the harsh, jarring sound of his steel guitar and especially the acoustic Spanish guitar which breaks in half way through the track posted and which turns an already emotional scene into a heartbreaking one.

Enjoy.

Ry Cooder - I Knew These People

Long White Car

From a band with one ex member of Altered Images yesterday to another today.

Hipsway were formed by ex Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone in 1984 with Harry Travers and and Graham Skinner both from the band White Savages who had supported Altered Images on tour. During the formative days of the band James Grant who had left Friends Again and had yet to form Love And Money helped out on guitar and this may explain the slight similarity between a couple of Hipsway numbers and the songs of Grant's previous band.

Hipsway's eponymous album was released in 1986 and did fairly well in the UK. Their biggest chart success was the Honeythief which reached #17 in the UK charts. However in Scotland they are probably better know for the track Tinder which was used in the ad campaign for a certain Scottish Lager which doesn't start with a T.

McElhone frustrated by the lack of success and a split which had appeared in the band left in 1986 to form the rock then blue eyed soul band Texas. The band continued and released a 2nd album in 1989 called Scratch The Surface which I have no knowledge of as by this time I had found house music and had little time for anything else.

The track posted, is in my opinion the best thing that Hipsway ever did and was also the final single from the first album and reached the giddy heights of # 55.

Hipsway - Long White Car

Breakdown

Just the thing for a Sunday. Another slice of One Dove, this time the forth track released as a single from the Morning Dove White album. If you don't own this album, why not?. It can be picked up from Amazon Marketplace for the paltry sum of £2.99. You owe it to yourself to have a copy of this album.

I've posted both the album and Weatherall's Squire Black Dove Rides Out mixes.

One Dove - Breakdown

One Dove - Breakdown (Squire Black Dove Rides Out)

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Today's number comes courtesy of Amsterdam in the early 1990's.

Get Down Tonight is by Fierce Ruling Diva and is basically a techno track built round a KC and the Sunshine Band sample. The track is tucked away on side c of the double pack 12" Anarchic Adjustments by the duo.

For the life of me I cannot understand what possessed me to buy this 12" as after pulling it out and listening to it last night, this track is the only redeeming feature on an otherwise piss poor, in my opinion, couple of records. The music is not the sort of thing that I was listening to back then, it is the sort of thing that a lot of people I knew were listening to but I couldn't stand. The tunes that the Clubscene label up here in Scotland tried to emulate and which were very popular in the Central Belt and the North East of England.

Fierce Ruling Diva are probably best remembered for the track You Gotta Believe, which I also possess for some reason. I'm not sure that the drugs were ever good enough to make me want these singles.

A few years later, I do remember an add for crap American beer using another track built around the same sample.

Fierce Ruling Diva - Get Down Tonight

just because

The Fall - Lost In Music

Touched By The Hand Of God VI

It has been well over a week since his lordship made an appearance here. Although you will have a hard time finding the post as Blogger have done to me as they have done many times before to others and just pulled the post regarding the XX Teens. No more from them or Mute, here, I fear.

Anyway today's cut from remixer extraordinaire is also the first single of the duo then known as the Dust Brothers laterly the Chemical Brothers. It is from the period when Weatherall could do no wrong, every mix better than the one before. This one still sounds as good to these ears as it did 16 years ago.

The Dust Brothers - Song To The Siren (Full Sabre mix)

BTW - C give M my best.

Faking The Books

No it's not either Ralph Madoff or Fred the Shed's theme tune but a rather good album of electronica by Lali Puna from Weilhiem, Germany.

On first listen the album sound very cold and soulless however after repeated listens it begins to feel less stark and minimal, warmer and somewhat more human than it did at first. The album has been compared to Radiohead but I think that that is just because both Johnny Greenwood and Thom York have mentioned them in interviews. They remind me of a less dancier Ladytron but that may have more to do with Valerie Trebeljahr's vocal delivery more than anything else.

Lali Puna have released 3 albums, a compilation of remixes and early singles and 5 singles in their 11years as a band.

The track posted is the title track to their last album first released in 2004. It has one of those melodies that gets lodged in your brain for days after listening to it.

Lali Puna - Faking The Books

Copyright Infringement . . . again

It looks as though Mute records or the XX Teens don't like tracks being posted trying to highlight the band, as I just received another copyright infringement notice from Box.net. Oh well, hope everybody who wanted the track got it and if you liked what you heard please still buy the album, it is as I said rather good.

Lady Sovereign - Public Warning 2

How Festivals Conquered the World

Excellent article from Sylvia Patterson on the state of festivals from the only Sunday paper in Scotland worth reading

How Festivals Conquered the World

Edwyn Collins - The Campaign For Real Rock

Quiet Please!

It's Sunday and I have a hangover. This used to be a fairly regular occurrence but not recently. I should know better that to drink more than 2 glasses of red wine. I always feel like shit if I drink red wine all night.

I need something mellow and soothing which will not tax my brain too much or make it throb more than it all ready is.

This track by Spiritualized fits the bill nicely.

Jason Pierce and Spiritualized get a fair deal of criticism for the themes of God, redemption and drugs in their music which I've never really understood as with the name Spiritualized and Pierce being well known for his drug consumption he is hardly going to sing about picking up girls in a sports car while cruising about New Jersey or somewhere is he?

Spiritualized - Feel So Sad (Rhapsodies)

As an added bonus the original mix of Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space which was blocked from release by the estate of Elvis Presley, something to do with not wanting Presley image being associated with drug taking, as if.

Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Original Elvis Mix)

Candi Staton

For those of you who think that all there was to Candi Staton was Young Hearts Run Free or as the featured singer on a rather good house track by The Source, I implore you to check out this album. If you like classic tracks performed by an excellent band and sung with real passion then this album is for you.

The album is a collection of Staton's recordings on Rick Hall's Fame label, out of Muscle Shoals Alabama, from 1969 - 1973. This covers the release of her first 2 albums. If there is a better example of Southern Soul then I would like to hear it. The matrial on this album had been unavailable for nearly thirty years until Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's label decided to release this compilation in 2003, something I will be forever more grateful to him for than anything else he has done.

Since the release of this album, Candi Staton has released 2 further albums of new material and the voice is nearly as impressive as it is on tracks originally recorded nearly 40 years previously. She came to Glasgow in February this year and unfortunatley I couldn't go due to baby L being born a month earlier and asking for 2 passes on the same week may have been seen as kicking the arse out of it from some quarters.

Candi Staton - He Called Me Baby

Candi Staton - Stand By Your Man

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Let's have some soothing, cool Northern Soul today. Don't know much about today's record apart from the fact that it will set you back upwards of 500 quid, if you're lucky enough to find a copy.

Frankly, in this heat I can't be bothered even trying to write anything remotely interesting and lately I have been wondering why bother anyway?

Bobby Kline - Say Something Nice To Me

He Got Game

One of the lesser played singles by the best that hip hop crew ever. With a little help from Buffalo Springfield.

Public Enemy - He Got Game