Month: January 2019

Goon Sax

A BAND WITH A FULL HEAD OF STEAM

It was back in April 2016 that The Goon Sax, comprising Louis Foster, James Harrison and Riley Jones released their debut album Up To Anything. It was a charming and engaging effort, musically channelling the likes of The Modern Lovers, Orange Juice and yes, The Go-Betweens with whom Louis’s father had found fame. It has to be said that the lyrics were a tad on the rudimentary side, but then again they were the product of a trio whose average age was just 17 and not everyone at that period in their life can be a Roddy Frame or an Alex Turner.

It cannot be denied that much of the early interest in the band for many, myself included was through the Go-Betweens connection – and to think that I used to slate folk for being interested in the career of Sean Lennon just because they hoped some of his father’s talent had been passed on through the genes. But, as I said, the debut album charmed me and I was really pleased to discover that the trio could more than hold their own in the live setting, as I mentioned on this little corner of t’internet in June 2017.

The sophomore album, We’re Not Talking, was released in September 2018 and it’s one that I’ve played a lot over the past few months. I’m delighted to offer the opinion that the band have developed very nicely and given us another charming and engaging album which surpasses the quality of the debut for all sorts of reasons, not least that Riley Jones, for the first time, takes her turn alongside the boys on lead vocals, sounding in many places like Juliana Hatfield.

The production is crisper and more polished, thanks in part to the involvement of two members of Architecture in Helsinki, and the playing and singing seems far more confident and less hesitant than before. I say singing, but quite a lot of the vocal, certainly when James Harrison is involved, is of the spoken/singing style (think of an Aussie accented Jonathan Richman) which makes for a very fine contrast and allows the album to flow in unexpected directions.

The band’s sound has also developed to include keyboards and there’s even the sporadic use of strings and trumpet to add further depth to a number of the songs, not least the jaunty opener which is deserving of the term ‘indie classic’:-

Not all of the other eleven songs on the album are as immediately catchy and danceable but this is actually a strength when it comes to repeated listens, as is the fact that the three of them have such different but complementary approaches to singing leading to harmonies which border on perfection.

The highlight of the album, however, comes on the penultimate track….one which always makes me smile in the realisation that the sounds of my own youth in the early 80s won’t ever go completely out of fashion

mp3 : The Goon Sax – Get Out

The Goon Sax have come a long way in a short period and it’s quite frightening to think that they are not yet out of their teens. Part of the attraction thus far has been that they sound so innocent and sincere, with cynicism being a trait that is lacking, but as they mature and develop as individuals, and as a recording and performing band, it will be fascinating to see what comes next. Hopefully, it will be more of the same – perhaps the onset of their 20s will lead to a genuinely classic album which will stand the test of time. Time will tell, but on the basis of what they’ve given us so far, it’s a reasonable bet that they will.

JC

Simply Thrilled

BONUS POSTING: SIMPLY THRILLED #3….OMFG

Those of you who pay attention to what’s happening around these parts will be well aware that I was chuffed to bits with the way the second Simply Thrilled night panned out.

The St Andrew’s Night Shindig was an overwhelming success, selling out in its entirety and providing a very special and unique atmosphere in the basement of The Admiral Bar as those in attendance danced their socks off to all sorts of great tunes, especially over the closing couple of hours when guest DJs Aidan Moffat and Noj took control.

Among those who dropped in were The Twilight Sad, long-time friends with our guest DJs, and who wasted no time whatsoever in getting straight into the groove on the dancefloor and on the decks. As a long time fan, I couldn’t think of any more surreal or dream like event since I started all this nonsense back in 2006, never thinking it could ever be topped.

But guess what……it’s about to be, and by some measure.

The third Simply Thrilled night is taking place on Saturday 2 March, once again at The Admiral. This time, it is doubling up as the aftershow party for The Twilight Sad’s gig at Barrowlands that same evening and we have again attracted a very special guest DJ who is another friend of the band – none other than the legendary Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai.

I’m still coming to grips with it all. There’s a lot of hard work been put in behind the scenes to pull this together and for the band to give us their blessing for the event, and for Stuart to agree to come on board, is so unbelievable that I can’t actually believe it’s actually happening.

And you, dear readers, can take advantage of the pre-sale, with access to Early Bird tickets, costing £5, available from https://www.wegottickets.com/sct/9jzYdwGvmD

Doors will open at 11pm and the event will go on until 3am.

All proceeds are going to a very special charity, the Scott Hutchison Fund, which, in the words of the members of Frightened Rabbit, will “form the basis for a Mental Health Charity to be set up fully in the coming months….able to help others the way Scott did with kindness, empathy and hope.”

It would be great to see some of you there. It really does have the makings of something incredibly special.

JC

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

REASONS WHY I SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION (2)

From wiki:-

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, also sometimes known as Rolling Blackouts C.F., is an Australian indie rock band. It was formed in Melbourne in 2013 by singer-guitarists Fran Keaney, Tom Russo & Joe White. The band’s five members are Keaney, his cousin Joe White, Tom Russo, his brother Joe Russo (bass guitar), and Marcel Tussie (drums). Their debut EP, Talk Tight, was released in 2016 on Ivy League Records. It was followed by their second EP, the French Press, which was mixed by Doug Boehm and released in 2017 on Sub Pop Records. Their debut full-length album, Hope Downs, was released on 15 June 2018 on Sub Pop.

It was around the time of the debut album that I first came across them, thanks to a profile in the Guardian newspaper which made reference to them ‘breathing excitement back into a too often uninspiring indie scene’. Comparisons were made to The Go-Betweens which I took to be just lazy journalism until I went scouting around t’internet and found myself understanding where the thought had come from (Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever don’t rely on one lead vocalist) albeit I thought their material was a bit too one-paced for it to be totally valid.

I also found there was more than a touch of 80s R.E.M. about them in terms of the tunes, albeit the production was clearer and crisper and then there was the NYC influences of the likes of Television and early Strokes. In short, there was much to appreciate, albeit none of it seemed to be life-changing.

It was an album which I put on the longlist for Xmas, albeit it was still six months off.

I’ve now been listening to it for a few days and regretting my decision to wait as an early purchase would have made me want to go catch them live, albeit as it turns out they had already been to Glasgow in advance of the release of the album – but there was a later show in September at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto which actually coincided with a trip over there for some golf and baseball but I wasn’t paying attention. I’m kicking myself very very hard right now.

If, buts and maybes…..I don’t have too many of them these days, but missing that show is one of them.

mp3 : Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Exclusive Grave
mp3 : Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Talking Straight

The rest of the album is just as good.

JC

Adam Stafford

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS OFTEN A CRUEL ONE

While it has its moments, this blog has never been the best for delivering new or breaking news….it’s far too retro in style and scope for the most part. One of the consequences is that you’ll rarely find reviews of freshly released albums but another is that, all too often, something of significance will have occurred and I’ll have fail miserably in providing the sort of coverage the event deserves.

It was Mike over at Manic Pop Thrills who carried this snippet of news back on 14 November 2018:-

“Talk about burying bad news on a busy news day.

As half the country was fixating on Brexit and how many resignations might happen as a consequence, around 5 pm this evening Falkirk based musician/film maker Adam Stafford was announcing a different type of resignation on Twitter:

Thanks folks, that’s it. I’m finished with releasing and performing music. There was a bunch of Y’all is Fantasy Island reunion and solo shows booked for the new year, but I’m cancelling them this afternoon…

it’s been a weird year but it’s all getting mentally draining now and there is only so long you can throw everything into something and get so little back, only so long you can play to half empty rooms to muted applause…

only so long you can slavishly obsess over an LP that no one particularly wants or needs. So thanks to everyone who has been kind over the years, especially to @gerryloves & @SongbyToad & @CreativeScots . So long for now xo”

Mike went on to pay a very fine tribute to Adam….which can be read in full here….and I can’t better these particular words that he used:-

“Even if Adam was only playing to half a dozen people, he still put in a mesmeric performance as he was never less than fully committed to the moment on stage.

On record, with the assistance of long term collaborator, Robbie Lesiuk, he always strived for the imaginative, often meshing what on the face it would appear to be contradictory styles into something wonderful and cohesive. Over a trilogy of albums for Song, By Toad he veered at will from abstract soundscapes to accessible pop gems, yet all the time sounding only like himself.

And that’s not to mention the ‘Reverse Drift’ soundtrack to his book of photos on Gerry Loves Records or even the ‘Torments Through Supernatural Flogging’ EP only available through his own Bandcamp.

His final album, this year’s astonishing ‘Fire Behind The Curtain‘, is a remarkable, all-instrumental double album, arguably his defining statement. It’s incomprehensible that this record won’t be in every Top 10 list for 2018 – other than for the fact that most people simply won’t have heard of him.”

I never got round to reviewing Fire Behind The Curtain, partly on the basis of rarely reviewing new LPs (which itself is based on not wanting to post mp3s of new material), but also for the fact that I know my love for Adam’s music isn’t widely shared among regular readers. Although it comes nowhere near as close to Adam’s frustration about playing to empty rooms and making music that nobody wants to hear, it is frustrating to put together a lovingly crafted blog post and find it achieves no feedback and very few hits and so there ‘why bother’ conclusion is reached.

Adam’s final album was an astonishing and deep piece of work but had an ambition that was unlikely to bring him many new fans who were previously unaware of his genius, a description I’ve often applied to him in the past and will continue to do so in perpetuity. The album, if it does indeed prove to be his last, is a tremendous swansong not just for the artist but also the label Song, By Toad which wound down last year after ten incredible and innovate years.

mp3 : Adam Stafford – Sails Cutting Through An Autumn Night

The news of his quitting the music business was difficult to absorb and even now, some two months on, I’m still quite bitter about it – not at Adam, but for the fact that so many who are lauded daily have less talent in their entire body than Mr Stafford has in his pinky-nail. But then again, that’s the cruel and unjust nature of the music industry.

The signs that he was nearing the end of his tether can be gleaned from some of the media interviews he gave in May 2018 to accompany the release of the new material. He admitted that the second half of the album was written during ‘a horrendous bout of bad mental health – and the music reflects that.’ He also added:-

“I’ve created all of my output suffering from depression; it’s just now I’m having more guts to discuss it openly. I hope in some small way I can help reduce the stigma because I have friends who really struggle with it too but are too proud to talk about it.”

It is alarming to realise that those words appeared in The Scotsman just 24 hours before the discovery of the body of Scott Hutchison, someone who was well known to Adam given that his own first band, Y’All Is Fantasy Island, were often on the same bills as Frightened Rabbit back in the days when the latter were setting out. Adam’s interview would have been given before Scott’s initial disappearance and there’s no question that the grim outcome would have shaken him to the core.

I have been fortunate enough to get to know Adam Stafford a little bit over the past few years, stemming back to him accepting an offer to support Butcher Boy at a gig that I promoted back in 2011. I’ve seen him live on numerous occasions at all sorts of venues. He cared passionately about his art and on every single occasion, whether there were just a handful of paying punters or the venue was packed and hot, he never failed to give it his all, ending every show drenched in sweat and on the verge of seemingly physical exhaustion.

I’ve learned over those years that he is a very modest and unassuming individual, someone who is genuinely grateful when anyone comes up to him to offer thanks and/or congratulations. I think I can just about get away with calling him a friend, and my hope is that over the coming weeks or months, however long it takes, I’ll hook up with him for a sit down and a gab. I’ve made the offer and said that I’d be happy to keep music off the agenda – so with a bit of luck he can educate me on aspects of his other passion, movies and film-making.

I’m going to end this with another opportunity to enjoy a criminally neglected 45 from the Y’All Is Fantasy Island era, one which would have sounded superb blasting out of the transistor radio during the daytime and as part of chart rundowns. It formed part of my set at the last Simply Thrilled Night and I’ve every intention of airing it again next time around:-

mp3 : Y’All Is Fantasy Island – With Handclaps

One day, I’ll find time to pull together an ICA.

JC

Dream Wife

REASONS WHY I SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION (1)

My only legitimate excuse is that I spend so much faffing about on here sorting out so much old music that I naturally will miss out on all that’s fresh and good.

About four weeks ago, I had thought 2018 had been a quiet year for decent music, based on how little I had actually purchased.  As ever, I did hang off getting hold of everything as there always needs to be a list given to Mrs Villain  for Christmas and the 5 albums of booty from that were duly received.  But having compiled said list from stuff that I knew, I found myself reading a few of the end of year round ups (especially those over at The Sound Of Being OK) at which point I realised just how much I missed out on.  There was a post-Xmas trip to Fopp Records in Glasgow with the intention to pick up a few things and I ended spending an absolute fortune.

I’m now ploughing my way through everything and the idea of this short and occasional series will be to highlight those bands that I’m ashamed to have neglected previously.

I’m starting with Dream Wife whose self-titled debut album was released as far back as January 2018….and I’m completely at a loss as to how I missed out.

TSOBO said this about them:-

At the end of last year (2017) I was about to proclaim that guitar music was dead. Stone Cold Dead. Last year there were about two good records made by guitar bands, about seven by bands with keyboards and about twenty by rappers. This year that trend appears to have reversed itself and right at the start of the year Dream Wife exploded into our lives.

In January Dream Wife dropped their self titled debut album and it made those short dark evenings, those dreary rain sodden evenings just absolutely fly by. They were cool, they were exciting and almost singlehandedly they injected some adrenaline into the veins of guitar music.

The thing about Dream Wife is that the three of them are best friends, and when they recorded this album they sound like they are having the times of their absolute lives. The fact that they are making songs that amazing just adds to the brilliance of it.

I’m going to go with a slightly obvious comparison here, but you will need to close your eyes and cast your mind back. Remember the first time you heard ‘Cannonball’ by The Breeders. Remember how your hairs on your arm stood up and you asked yourself ‘what the hell was that?’ and then spent the rest of the day playing it to absolute death. You remember that. Well that’s what I felt like when I heard ‘Hey Heartbreaker’ by Dream Wife. Even though it contains handclaps.

Dream Wife take all the best bits of timeless indie pop, throw in some attitude lifted almost directly from the days of L7 or Bikini Kill add a bit of colour and then sprinkle brilliance over the top of it. The end result is utterly brilliant.

I listened to the three songs accompanying the review and was blown away.  It was that record alone that led to me making the trip into Fopp and I was stunned to find that copies of the album, on vinyl, were down to £10. It has proved to be the best bargain I’ve had in decades.

Dream Wife is an astounding record. In addition to the bands referenced in the TSOBO review you can add Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Blondie, Kenickie and Elastica as influences while having bringing a passion and energy that had me harking back to the new wave era of my late teens and early 20s.  They’ve also written what surely is the anthem for the #metoo movement:-

mp3 : Dream Wife – Somebody

Like most ‘new’ bands, there loads of stuff to look at over at Vevo and You Tube, including plenty of live clips which provide evidence that the trio (plus male drummer) can rock with the best of them.  Seek them out and enjoy.

JC

 

Beastie Boys

THE BEASTIE BOYS BOOK

Santa was really good to me…but then again she always is. A sackful of music and books greeted my awakening on 25 December, and everything on the wish list was able to be ticked off.

I then spent the best part of a full week engrossed with the near 600 pages of The Beastie Boys Book.

I’ve always considered myself more an admirer than fan of the band, owning some but not albums, grateful that they had gone on to prove there was so much more to them than the cartoon antics and childish japes that were associated with their breakthrough album and tour back in the mid-late 80s.  The reason I was keen to get my hands on the book was the near universal positive reviews, from critics and fans alike, with many saying it was as good a rock/pop/music bio as any.

First up, let me say that the early reviews are bang on as it is a superb book – entertaining, engaging and incredibly informative.  It is, in the words of the promotional material issued by the publishers:-

“…their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam “AD-ROCK” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the almost impossible-to-fathom overnight success of their debut studio album Licensed to Ill; that album’s messy fallout; their break with Def Jam, move to Los Angeles, and rebirth as musicians and social activists, with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul’s Boutique. For more than twenty years, this band has had a wide-ranging and lasting influence on popular culture.

With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys’ New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises.”

It’s also something of a love-letter to the late Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, the member of the band who passed away from cancer in May 2012, without whom you get the distinct impression very little of what happened and how it happened would have ensued.

The Beastie Boys Book was an expensive gift, with a cover price of £32 (albeit you can get it discounted from many places) but the reason is immediately with a high-quality design, layout and lavish production to be enjoyed.  It is, indeed, like no other rock biography I’ve ever come across (and I’ve about 200 of the things lining shelves and taking up space in Villain Towers) with dozens of chapters/short stories/montages covering every aspect of their career, some of which, as indicated above, come from guest contributors.

The early part of the book, before they became famous, was a particularly superb read.  It is a recollection of teenage life and events in NYC in the late 70s and early 80s in which I imagined blog friends Echorich and Jonny the Friendly Lawyer were privy to have been part of.  Indeed, I half-expected both of them to have their names appear in the appendix at the back.  The amount of info and detail constantly led me to put the book down and pick up the i-phone to find out more, whether it be a venue, a person who was central to the particular part of the story or the neighbourhood in which it was set.  Indeed, this continued to be the case throughout the book, which is why it ended up taking six days to read.

I went into the book knowing the basics about the band.  I ended it with a huge admiration for them, genuinely believing that they were bona-fide geniuses (and Yauch in particular) with an uncanny ability to look beyond what was happening in the now and to be at the forefront of what was about to happen.  The book sheds light on all this, and it pays credit to those who brought certain things to their attention, such as the nerdy fan who helped them be among the first musicians to grasp the significance of the internet.

There is also a great deal of self-deprecating humour, including what must be the best and funniest review of an album ever committed to paper (pages 384-386 on Ill Communication), and the opportunity is also taken to say sorry for a few wrongs that have been committed throughout the course of the career.

It is a very entertaining book, packed with words and photos that will make you smile and laugh out loud. It is also very moving in places, none more so than the words which deal with the death of their great friend and colleague:-

“Getting into details of what was going on personally after the record (Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, 2012) came out is a heavy thing to write about. It was unintentionally our last record. The band didn’t break up. We didn’t go our separate ways. No solo project fucked things up to cause animosity. This was our last record because Adam got cancer and died. If that hadn’t happened, we would probably be making a new record as you readd this. Sadly, it didn’t turn out that way. Sadly. Sadly. Too fucking sad to write about.”

And that is the only reference to what happened….nothing about how unjust it was, how angry it made them feel or how bitter they are are having a career abruptly come to a halt.

I cannot recommend The Beastie Boys book highly enough.  I’m sure, as is the case with all biographies, there will be some who were part of or close to the scene who will find things to nitpick about or point out inaccuracies in the stories being told, but I’m more than happy to take this is as the definitive version.

Oh, and it is also has given me hints and pointers for a few new posts at this little corner of t’internet as well as making me determined to make sure that I get all of their albums into the collection at some point over the coming years:-

mp3 : The Beastie Boys – Ch-Check It Out

JC

 

 

Edwyn Collins

FROM THE ARCHIVES – 6 JANUARY 2007

PUT THE NEEDLE INTO YOUR GROOVE

I’ve no football match today, so here’s a bonus posting.

Santa Claus was very very good to me. Mrs Villain scoured e-bay for something unusual, and a box of 7″ singles from Altered Images/Edwyn Collins/Orange Juice ended up coming down the chimney in the old man’s sack. A total of 30 records going back to the Postcard era and containing a few rare gems such as flexidiscs and a Clare Grogan solo single.*

And now that I’ve got my act together and sorted out a replacement stylus for the USB Turntable, I thought I’d share one of the more rare recordings with you.

It’s a very early solo single from 1987 , produced by Robin Guthrie from Cocteau Twins. Like so many songs I end up posting on this blog, it should have been a hit…..but wasn’t.

mp3 : Edwyn Collins – Don’t Shilly Shally (Side One)
mp3 : Edwyn Collins – If Ever You’re Ready (Side Two)

The single is on the Elevation label (part of WEA Records) and has the catalogue number ACID4.

*from recollection, the job lot was a little over £30, including postage.  The mania from a vinyl revival was still a couple of years off…..you’d certainly be looking at £100 and upwards nowadays….there were three postcard singles in the bundle along with every 7″, in mint condition, released by Altered Images, including rare picture discs.

JC

Various

FROM THE ARCHIVES – 5 JANUARY 2008

HATS OFF TO THE BUSKERS

I don’t know if the ongoing slump in record/CD sales is being mirrored similarly in the circulation figures of music papers and magazines.

Nowadays I’ll only buy something if there’s the promise of a decent-length article on someone I particularly admire. Failing that, I’ll grab a hold of a magazine or two to take away on holiday just in case there turns out to be a hellishly long flight delay and the battery on the i-pod decides to give up the good fight.

Every now and again I will hand over a few pounds if the CD that’s attached to the cover is of any interest. I rarely give a second glance to a CD that is a round-up of tracks from recent LP releases, but I’ll admit to being a sucker when a special effort is made to produce a tribute CD. I did the other month with an edition of Uncut which comes with Like A Hurricane – A Tribute to Neil Young.

I mention this as a rather rambling intro to what today’s songs are all about.

A few years ago, mid- 2003 to be precise, I actually bought two copies of a particular edition of Uncut, simply because they had two separate CDs entitled White Riot – A Tribute to The Clash, featuring a total of 32 singers and bands doing cover versions of the songs of Strummer/Jones (and Simonen and Headon).

Like most tribute albums, some of the offerings turned out to be half-decent, and one or two I would even go as far as to say are truly inspired. Others are just insipid, while others are plain weird.

Most annoying of all however, is the fact that a couple of them are what I would class as lazy – covers which note for note and beat for beat are far too similar to the original.

Some of the songs were taken from other tribute LPs or were a gathering together of b-sides or album tracks, while some turned out to be exclusive recordings previously unavailable before (or indeed since). And while I would never dream of claiming that any of them were superior to the original recordings, there’s some of them been given space on the above mentioned i-pod.

Things like these:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins – 1977
mp3 : The National – Clampdown
mp3 : Josh Rouse – Straight To Hell
mp3 : Pete Wylie – Stay Free

Incidentally, the last of the above was recorded live at a tiny pub in Haddington, East Lothian at a gig that I’m sure a mate of mine was at. If you’re reading this Mr Greer, be sure to tell us all if that was indeed the case.

JC

Various

FROM THE ARCHIVES – 4 JANUARY 2017

OVERDOSING ON COVER VERSIONS (8)

Is it really any wonder that all us adolescents fell for Siouxsie Sioux when she had been photographed ‘dressed’ like she is above

The finest moment in any of her records comes, and I use the word advisedly, at the 4:55 mark on the 12″ version of this marvellous single from 1982:-

mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Slowdive (12″ version)

A mate of mine once took that one second gasp and recorded it back to back something like 30 times in a row just so that he could imagine the punk/goth goddess was having an orgasm.

Twenty three years later, a very intriguing version of it, originally recorded for a radio session, was snuck out on a b-side:-

mp3 : LCD Soundsystem – Slowdive

As far as I know, the band Slowdive never made a cover of the song albeit they did record a song by that name as their first ever single back in 1990:-

mp3 : Slowdive – Slowdive

JC

Pretenders

FROM THE ARCHIVES – 3 JANUARY 2013

TALK ABOUT GREAT POP MUSIC

The cover of the NME from 18 October 1980 featuring James Honeyman-Scott and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders – those were the days my friends when being on the cover of that paper meant something.

The thing is, James and Chrissie were on the cover despite not really having anything to promote, but obviously were of such interest and significance that they were seen as liable to attract additional readers that week.

They’re are a band that not too many bloggers seem to write about, certainly compared to many of their contemporaries, and I’m certainly guilty of neglecting them over the years at TVV. But over the festive period I gave listen to their Greatest Hits CD for the first time in years and realised that I’d forgotten just how great their earliest releases really were.

Stop Your Sobbing – a cover of a Kinks song that spent nine weeks on the chart between February and April 1979, peaking at #34

Kid – one of THE great records of a great year for music; it spent seven weeks on the chart in July and August 1979, peaking at #33

Brass In Pocket – the #1 hit that brought them to the attention of a wider public. Seventeen weeks on the chart between November 1979 and April 1980

Talk Of The Town – held back until Brass In Pocket slipped off the radar, eight weeks on the chart in April and May 1980, peaking at #8

Message Of Love – the comeback single after a period out of the spotlight. Seven weeks on the chart in February and March 1981, peaking at #11

Some of you might only know the band only through Brass In Pocket or the later radio-friendly rubbish like Don’t Get Me Wrong or the perennial Xmas effort 2000 Miles. It’s hard to imagine that previously, The Pretenders had been a more than half-decent band. But then again, that was before the deaths of two of the four founding members….

mp3 : The Pretenders – Stop Your Sobbing
mp3 : The Pretenders – Kid
mp3 : The Pretenders – Talk Of The Town
mp3 : The Pretenders – Message Of Love

JC

Wild Swans

FROM THE ARCHIVES – 2 JANUARY 2016

A LAZY STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE : 45 45s AT 45 (31)
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FRIDAY 11 APRIL 2008

Wild%20Swans%20Backside

Now look, its my chart and I’ll have obscure 45s in it if I want to.

The Wild Swans were one of the key bands in the Liverpool Scene that also produced Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and Pete Wylie/Wah! As a band, they were in and out of existence from 1980 to 1986, during which time they recorded a number of BBC sessions but released just one single (released in 1982) and no LP. Then, in 1988, they reformed and finally recorded an album which was disowned almost immediately by all concerned and thus received a limited release…

Talk about perverse…..

Somehow a further album was recorded in 1989 (despite the departure of half of the band), but again to little acclaim. The Wild Swans called it a day shortly afterwards and retreated into cult obscurity.

Revolutionary Spirit/God Forbid was the last single to be released on the legendary label Zoo Records which was run by the equally legendary Bill Drummond. As I mentioned above, it came out in 1982. It was produced by the late Pete De Freitas who also drums on the record.

I remember hearing both sides of the single on Radio 1 – it was most likely on the John Peel show but I can’t be certain – and then trying to track it down in shops in the coming days. It proved an impossible task. One of my mates did however know someone who had a copy (I think it was a cousin in Liverpool) and he sent us up cassettes of the record.

In those days, maybe it was the sheer obscurity of the songs that helped make it all so special but in all truth they both perfectly capture so much of what was great about the sound of new young Liverpool. It took me until 1990 to finally got a hold of my own copy of the songs thanks to the purchase of a Zoo compilation which brought together every single the label had released between 1978 and 1982. It was so good to finally get ‘clean’ copies to listen to.

Lead singer Paul Simpson enjoyed more cult success with his next band, Care, alongside Ian Broudie who would then find fame and fortune with The Lightning Seeds. Much of the distinctive sound of The Wild Swans was down to guitarist Jeremy Kelly and he became part of Lotus Eaters who were one-hit wonders with The First Picture Of You in 1983.

As mentioned above, The Wild Swans did reform in 1988 to release a debut album, and while they still had a hardcore following of fans, their time had come and gone. The music they were now making was part of a different era, and certainly to the ears of this listener, was a disappointment, being nowhere near the class of the debut single, nor have the consistency of the releases by Care. I have however, since re-assessed things somewhat over the past few decades and have a fair bit of time for much of the later material. But they never quite matched the majesty of the Zoo single.

Oh and despite the wonders of e-bay and my rekindled interest in vinyl, I have still not yet been able to pick up a reasonably-priced vinyl copy of the single, originally released in February 1982**:-

mp3 : The Wild Swans – Revolutionary Spirit
mp3 : The Wid Swans – God Forbid

** that was back in 2008. I now have a copy in the collection, albeit it’s not in all great condition.

PS : If you’re wondering about the photo that now accompanies this post, its of the fantastically entertaining Dirk from Germany who runs a superb blog called Sexy Loser.

By ‘sheer coincidence’, he also posted Revolutionary Spirit on the day of this original posting and and he couldn’t resist showing off that he has long had a mint vinyl copy of the single……

I’m determined to meet the handsome devil in the flesh one day…..***

PPS : ***regular readers will know the dream became reality in May 2017. Click here for a reminder of part 1 and here for part 2.

I’ve got to get myself to Germany in 2019……..

JC

Altered Images, Ballboy

FROM THE ARCHIVES – 1 JANUARY 2012 (and a few other New Year’s Days)

MORE BITS OF BLOGGING TRADITION

mp3 : Altered Images – Happy New Year

It might only be 23 seconds long, but the sentiment is there.

Here’s hoping 2012 2019 turns out to be a good ‘un for all concerned.

mp3 : Ballboy – Welcome To The New Year

And my oh my, haven’t this lot’s image changed a fair bit since 1983……

Tune in all year from 7 January 2019 for new random and incoherent thoughts from your humble scribe.

JC