August 2023 – Page 2 – THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #367: THE WAKE

It’s a four-for-one deal today.

The alphabetical rundown has reached The Wake. They’ve been on the blog a couple of times before, but here’s a reminder of the potted and far from complete history.

They were formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Gerard McInulty (aka Caesar), on guitar and vocals, Steven Allen on drums and Joe Donnelly as bassist. Previously Caesar had played with Altered Images, and was responsible for the superb Dead Pop Stars, but he left prior to the band enjoying chart success with Happy Birthday.

The Wake released their first single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling together “On Our Honeymoon” and “Give Up”. This single eventually caught the attention of Rob Gretton, who helped the band sign to Factory Records in 1982 by which time Bobby Gillespie had replaced Donnelly on bass and Carolyn Allen (the drummer’s sister) had joined to play keyboards.

The album Harmony appeared in 1982, followed by a number of singles in ’83 and ’84. The band toured with New Order in 1983, shortly after which Gillespie was asked to leave in 1983.

It is reckoned by most observers that The Wake’s best recordings came towards the end of their time with Factory, and in particular the album Here Comes Everybody (1985) and then a 4-track EP, Something That No One Else Could Bring (1987).

Copies of that quite excellent EP, which has a catalogue number of FAC 178, are very few and far between on the second-hand market, and as such the asking price has now reached £100. I’ve not got a copy, but I do have all four tracks in digital form:-

mp3: The Wake – Gruesome Castle
mp3: The Wake – Pale Spectre
mp3: The Wake – Furious Sea
mp3: The Wake – Plastic Flowers

In 1988, disillusioned with the lack of proper promotion and indeed apathy from Factory Records, The Wake left the label and signed to Sarah Records, for whom they released two singles and two LPs, the last being 1994’s Tidal Wave of Hype. When Sarah shut down in 1995, The Wake effectively dissolved.

Fast-forward to 2009. The Wake reformed as a two-piece consisting of McInulty and Carolyn Allen and recorded a new album, A Light Far Out, but it wasn’t released till April 2012 on LTM Records In July 2013. Later in the year, The Wake performed at the Indietracks Festival.

JC

Various

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #347: ‘BASS LINES’

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO JONNY THE FRIENDLY LAWYER

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I’m breaking my self-imposed unwritten rule of never having two ICAs in the same week as I want to wish Jonny the Friendly Lawyer, one of the best friends that this blog could ever ask for, a very happy 60th birthday this coming weekend.

JTFL pops in here every single day, and along with flimflamfan (whose most recent ICA on Cranes appeared just a few days ago), makes the most contributions via the comments section, often heaping praise on all sorts of contributions for the quality of the writing.

The thing is, I’ve been very lucky to meet and get to know JTFL, spending time with him on a couple of occasions, one of which also involved myself and Rachel (Mrs JC in case you weren’t aware) meeting his wonderful wife, Goldie, when they stopped off in Barcelona for a few days during a holiday to Spain. It’s long been a plan for us all to meet up again in Santa Monica where JTFL resides, and indeed plane tickets were purchased for such a trip a few years ago, only for COVID to impact on the world and do away with plans. Since then, we’ve both been just too busy with other things to make it happen, but fingers and toes are crossed for 2024…..

Jonny is a fanatical bass player, going back to his youthful days in New York, where he was part of a number of post-punk bands that gigged and recorded. He seemingly collects bass guitars with the same enthusiasm as I do vinyl records of a bygone era, and he was telling me that he’s splashed out on something rather special to mark the big birthday. He’ll no doubt bring it on stage quite soon, as he’s still involved in a couple of LA-based bands, one of which does original material while the other plays all sorts of new wave/post-punk cover songs. Maybe one day he’ll use this little corner of t’internet to share some tales.

My birthday gift is far more modest, but is delivered with a great deal of love and affection. I asked him to give me a list of the ten songs which he believes have the best bass lines so that I could turn the suggestions into an ICA. The songs are Jonny’s suggestions, the running order is mine. As indeed are the words written beneath each song in the ICA.

SIDE A

1. The Beat – Mirror In The Bathroom (bassist : David Steele)

A #4 hit in the UK in 1980. Dave Wakeling, the lead vocalist with The Beat, has described David Steele‘s 2/2 bassline as ‘revolutionary’ (being a total non-musician, I have no idea what that means, but it sounds ridiculously impressive).

2. 5ive Gears In Reverse – Elvis Costello and The Attractions (bassist : Bruce Thomas)

Jonny is a huge fan of the music played by The Attractions, so it was no surprise that one of their songs featuring Bruce Thomas appeared on the shortlist. If he’d asked me to guess which one, then (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea or Pump It Up, two big singles from the late 70s, would have been the first things which came to mind. But no, a fairly obscure, but brilliant, album track from Get Happy! (1980) gets the nod.

3. Walk On The Wild Side – Lou Reed (bassist : Herbie Flowers)

A #10 hit in the UK in 1973. All sorts of things make this one of THE greatest songs of all time (even as a nine-year old, I fell heavily for its charms even if I had no idea what it was about), but there can be no doubt that Herbie Flowers‘ bass playing has a lot to do with it. There’s a fabulous and very practical reason why it turned out so distinctive:-

The song is noted for its twinned ascending and descending portamento basslines played by Herbie Flowers. In an interview on BBC Radio 4 (Playing Second Fiddle, aired July 2005), Flowers claimed the reason he came up with the twin bass lines was that as a session musician, he would be paid double for playing two instruments on the same track.Flowers’s bass hook was performed on double bass overlaid by fretless Fender Jazz Bass. He was paid a £17 flat fee (equivalent to £200 in 2021)

4. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight – The Jam (bassist : Bruce Foxton)

A #15 hit in the UK in 1978. The Jam never made it big in the USA, so I was kind of surprised but chuffed, (a word Jonny laughs at when I use it on the blog), that this post-punk classic made the list. Bruce Foxton was an underated bassist, one whose contributions were very much over-shadowed by Paul Weller‘s lyrics, certainly to the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of Jam fans back in the day. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really learned to appreciate just how much the bass line, every bit as much as the angry and frightened lyric, makes this such a special song. Oh, and the backing vocals too……(which will get another mention a bit later on in this ICA)

5. This Charming Man – The Smiths (bassist : Andy Rourke)

A#25 hit in the UK in 1983. Back in the day, we all wanted to be either Morrissey or Johnny Marr. Then again, those who were paying close attention had spotted from the outset that the engine room of Mike Joyce (drums) and Andy Rourke (bass) were very much at the heart of what made The Smiths sound so fresh, invigorating and energetic. They might not have got any writing credits, but without their contributions, the records would have been a lot less essential.

SIDE B

1. Duran Duran – Girls On Film (bassist : John Taylor)

A #5 hit in the UK in 1981. I’ll be honest. I liked quite a lot of the early Duran Duran singles as they were great fun to dance to….and they were certainly more likely to invoke a conversation with the fairer sex than talking about the merits of The Clash. But I never paid attention to how good the musicianship was on the songs till many years later – all I knew back in 1981 was that the bass player was the one most girls fancied, and the one I had the least chance of ever looking like.

2. Found A Job – Talking Heads (bassist : Tina Weymouth)

It’s no real surprise that Tina Weymouth‘s bass playing gets on to the list, but yet again, the song selected by Jonny catches out us who are non-musicians. If he said ‘Talking Heads’, I’d have said ‘Psycho Killer’, as I think many others would too. But this track, from More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), is a great shout. A critic elsewhere on t’internet just a few months had this to say about the song:-

“….you might or might not notice that his (David Byrne’s) band is basically playing straight-up disco, tweaked only by yet another one of Tina Weymouth’s endlessly inventive basslines weaving in and out of the rhythm guitars…”

(Jim Connolly, Medialoper.com, 8 May 2023)

Endlessly inventive. A perfect description of what Tina Weyworth brought to her art.

3. I’m The Man – Joe Jackson (bassist : Graham Maby)
4. Mayor of Simpleton – XTC (bassist : Colin Moulding)

Graham Maby and Colin Moulding are two of Jonny’s all-time favourites.

In fact, I believe that Mr Maby is the bassist he admires most, having described him in a previous guest post as ‘my hero’ and his playing as ‘irresistible’. I’m The Man was the lead single from Joe Jackson‘s second album back in 1979, but it failed to chart. It’s a frantic tune all round, one that I recall with much fondness from seeing the band play live back in the day, and I can picture Jonny, on stage with his covers band, working himself into a sweat as this one gets played.

Jonny previously contributed an ICA that was devoted to XTC songs written by Colin Moulding, so I was surprised that it’s an Andy Partridge tune which makes the cut. But then again, Jonny also previously penned an ICA that was devoted to XTC songs written by Any Partridge, and he had this to say about Mayor of Simpleton:-

Another single, this one from 1989’s Oranges and Lemons, perhaps the group’s last great LP. This one features terrific basslines from man of the match Mr. Moulding, who also provides solid backing vocals. As a rule, the songwriters usually sang lead on their songs, but Moulding’s voice was always present in the mix, much like how The Jam’s Bruce Foxton co-sang along with Paul Weller on the majority of that band’s songs. (Let’s add Foxton to the list of under-appreciated musicians from the era, while we’re at it.)

I’ll let you into a secret. Jonny is working hard at learning the difficult and complicated bass lines on Mayor of Simpleton as he wants to incorporate the song into the cover band’s setlists.

5. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division (bassist : Peter Hook)

A #13 hit in the UK in 1980. I know Peter Hook‘s bass playing is a huge part of what made Joy Division and New Order so successful. But as a non-musician, I find it hard to explain why that is. This is how his work on LWTUA is described on the website, Talking Bass:-

This is a great bass line to play for players of any level. It’s instantly recognisable. What I really like about Peter Hooks bass lines, is how melodic and creative they are. The line for ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ features the actual vocal line of the chorus alongside a drone to highlight the chord that’s played underneath. You have everything in there, the melody AND the harmony. This makes it very recognisable and hooky (excuse the pun!), he was unusual in that he plays bass as more of a lead instrument rather than the traditional supporting role bass usually occupies.

A great way, I reckon, to wrap up an ICA with a difference. It’s one that wouldn’t look too shabby as a mixtape………

mp3: Various – Ten Bass Lines for a 60th Birthday (35:26)

All the best, Jonny. Have a great day with your family and friends.

JC

Sugababes

THIS ONE IS FOR SWC

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It genuinely was a coincidence yesterday that I posted a song called ‘Kirsty’ on the same day as SWC over at No Badger Required offered up my guest post on the late and great Kirsty MacColl.

He dropped me a note when he spotted what had happened.

“Your girl band piece is up tomorrow so I demand a piece on Sugababes on tnvv tomorrow’

Here’s the thing.

I did a piece on the old blog on Sugababes. It’s gone forever as it’s one of those that hasn’t ever been captured by the Wayback Machine, otherwise I would have reproduced it today.

It was part of an occasional and short-lived series about songs you might be surprised to find in the vinyl/CD collection. It was all about the debut single.

mp3: Sugababes – Overload

I think this is a magnificently crafted piece of pop music. It was released in September 2000 and reached the Top 10 in the UK. It introduced us to the original three members of the group – Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan.

I was intending to just wax lyrically about the song. It’s one that still sounds fantastic all these years later, but having come across an article that appeared in The Observer newspaper in June 2003, I was provoked into doing something a bit more substantial.

Siobhan Donaghy sits in a restaurant in Primrose Hill, north London, sipping mineral water. Talking comes easily; she is, after all, one of three sisters, her family are Irish; there’s not a lot of peace and quiet. She is skinny, not unnaturally so, but her slenderness accentuates a vulnerability. Although it’s a busy Friday lunchtime, no one even glances at this pretty girl in loose, pale blue dungarees, strappy black T-shirt, boxfresh white Converse.

Things move fast in the world of pop. Back in 2000 Siobhan had her first top 10 single. She was 16, as was Keisha Buchanan; the third Sugababe, Mutya Buena, was 15. A smoothly produced, seductive R&B track, ‘Overload’ stayed in the top 30 for six weeks, delivered a silver disc and was nominated for Best British Single at the Brits: not bad for a debut single. At the start of 2001 Sugababes released their debut album, the mature, classy One Touch . It was critically acclaimed and went gold.

Sugababes had been brought together by Ron Tom, who worked with the fantastically successful All Saints (Ron Tom was managing Siobhan for two years before he found Mutya; Mutya had known Keisha since they were eight). The girls signed to London, the same record label as All Saints; they lured Cameron McVey, husband of Neneh Cherry, producer of Massive Attack and All Saints, into the studio. With their slick R&B pop and honey vocals, Sugababes were worthy successors to All Saints.

Anyone coming to the article with no knowledge of the group would think they had been spat out by the industry, given that it had opened with Siobhan not being recognised. However, the piece was reflecting on the fact that, at the age of 19, she was about to embark on a solo comeback, having quit the group back in 2000 at the age of 17. In her own words:-

‘I was 12 when I met the manager, 14 when I met the girls, 16 on the first release, 17 when I left. At which point I was happy never to work again. I had got to the point where I’d look in the mirror and not know who I was. I felt like I didn’t have a personality. I’d lost my identity… I felt like a zombie. A dead person.’

The author of the piece later writes:-

At 17, she had learned the rules of the music business the hard way. Like any other big business, it is motivated by money. Creativity is a means to an end. It has no time to indulge depressed young girls.

It’s a sobering thought that many of us who love music to the extent of buying records, attending gigs and hoovering up merchandise are, to a large part, simply propping up large businesses. OK, it has changed a bit in recent years as in many cases the support goes direct to the singers and bands (especially those who are starting out or are increasingly involved in self-releasing their material), but all too often, the money we spend on music, and indeed on all forms of the creative and performing arts, ends up in the pockets of those with no real talent other than the ability to make a quick buck….with no better example being those involved in the selling and distribution of tickets. But that’s for a rant for some other time…..

Sugababes weren’t as manufactured as was perhaps portrayed when they burst onto the scene. The trio contributed a great deal beyond their vocal talents to the debut album, to the extent of receiving writing credits on nine of its twelve tracks. A long career surely beckoned….which of course proved to be the case.

There have been six #1 hits in the UK, beginning with Freak Like Me in 2002, with the last of them being About You Now in 2008, by which time just Keisha Buchanan was left from the original trio.

A year later, she quit, but to nobody’s surprise the management and record label brought in a replacement and work got underway on new material, all of which was critically panned on release, but more crucially didn’t sell well.

To nobody’s surprise, the record industry pulled the plug on Sugababes.

In 2012, it was revealed that the group had been re-formed by the original trio but under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan. They had no legal rights to the name Sugababes.

They finally won a long battle to get their name back in 2019, since when they have recorded and toured to what remains a fairly loyal fanbase.

I’ve nothing else in the collection other than the debut single on CD. It’s far from the most valuable piece of plastic lining the shelves of Villain Towers as it can be bought for as little as 23p on Discogs. But what price can you really put on such a piece of great pop music?

Here’s the two other tracks on the CD:-

mp3: Sugababes – Lush Life
mp3: Sugababes – Overload (instrumental)

Oh, and click here if you want to read what I’ve got to say today about some more contemporary and ‘punky’ girl groups over at No Badger Required.

JC

BOB

BOB – KIRSTY (PLUS THREE)

BOB_Kirsty_Front

This one comes courtesy of its inclusion in the C88 box set, issued by Cherry Red Records in 2017.

BOB have had a couple of mentions before, both within a period of 18 days in June 2018. The first post focussed on the debut EP, What A Performance, while the second post on a later single, Convenience, was triggered by some comments left behind at the time of the first post.

I’m now getting round to drawing attention to the band’s second EP, released on Sombrero Records in June 1988:-

mp3: BOB – Kirsty

The C88 book notes very accurately describe this one as being yet another wonderful example of BOB’s talents for lilting, fey, melodic songs.

Here’s the three other tracks on the EP:

mp3: BOB – The Hippy Goes Fishing
mp3: BOB – Banwell Blues No.2
mp3: BOB – Times Like These

I’m beginning to really kick myself for not knowing about BOB back in the day…..there’s a real warmth and happiness to their brand of pop music.

Addendum

This is just a complete coincidence…..but it does indeed look like perfect planning.

I’ve contributed a guest posting to the wonderful No Badger Required blog that has been published today. It’s all about the late Kirsty MacColl. Click here if you’d like to read it.

JC

Fad Gadget

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #027

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#027– Fad Gadget – ‘Back To Nature’ (Mute Records ’79)

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Hello friends,

well, the ‘E’s’ are done, so let’s start with the artists beginning with an ‘F’, Fad Gadget, or Frank Tovey to his mother and perhaps to you as well, being the first one.

To be fair, I only know a handful of his songs, but the one I chose for today, I certainly do know by heart! I was 11 when it was released, too young to know anything. But ‘Back To Nature’ was still constantly played in all of the New Wave/Gothic clubs I went to in town when I was old enough to do so, you simply could not avoid this tune – even if you wanted to.

Now, this might either demonstrate how outdated the clubs were I went to in the mid-Eighties, then again it might as well show what a killer tune this ‘oldie’ was … and perhaps still is. Anyway, people literally stormed the dance floor whenever the DJ put it on, so it must have had its fans even it was already six or seven years old at the time. Me, well, by and large you only saw me on the dance floor when I was crossing it on me way to the bar. But still I enjoyed listening to ‘Back To Nature’ mightily, each and every bloody time. And I still do so today, it’s one of those records that has stood the test of time, if you ask me.

Fad Gadget was the first artist to sign to Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Miller had just released the first single on Mute under his ‘The Normal’ – moniker, ‘T.V.O.D.’, but perhaps better known for its B-Side, ‘Warm Leatherette’. Spoiler alert: no, this song, as mighty as it may be, will not feature in a later post, because I stupidly sold this single years ago!

(JC interjects…….if anyone wants to read the story of T.V.O.D/Warm Leatherette, click here to be taken to a previous post from back in November 2019.

Anyway: because of this record, Miller, contrary to Gadget, knew what he was doing in the studio, so basically he turned out to be the “mastermind” behind ‘Back To Nature’ as far as recording/producing was concerned. And the sales results for this second single on Mute show that both folks must have done a pretty good job – it was a great success for the label.

As I said, a song I never get tired of. I hope the same is true for you. But perhaps, who knows, there are even one or two people who never heard of it, and, again, who knows, it might even meet with those two people’s approval. And if this happens, well, to quote Tom Cruise: “mission accomplished!”.

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mp3: Fad Gadget – Back To Nature

Fad Gadget died in 2002, aged only 45. As mentioned above, I didn’t really follow his output in his later years, perhaps I should have done this. Then again, with this record alone, at least to me, he was a groundbreaker for synth music and most surely an inspiration for many many bands to come.

Enjoy,

Dirk

Cranes

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #346: THE CRANES

A GUEST POSTING by flimflamfan

cranes

Cranes – From When The Fuse Was Lit, an ICA

2023 saw the proper re-emergence of Cranes. First there was news of the John Peel Sessions being released and then… three gigs; two in London (of course) and one in Portsmouth (their hometown). Then bam! Another re-release – see below.

The only two musicians to appear on all releases are siblings Alison and Jim Shaw. I think it fair to say that Cranes are an indie band; surfacing with Bite Back! then Dedicated and latterly their own imprint Dadaphonic, despite a very brief encounter with Elefant.

Wrench (Fuse Cassette. 1986)

Things have been relatively non-existent for the band since their last proper gig (in London) in 2012 – although their actual last gig was at a festival, Electric Picnic, Galway. There have been and continue to be re-releases of albums that were previously released on vinyl, or that have never been released on vinyl – the latest being La Tragédie d’Oreste et Électre, all courtesy of Music On Vinyl.

My initial intention was to re-buy all of the re-releases from Music on Vinyl, whether I had them originally on vinyl or cd (or both). I’d convinced myself I ‘needed’ them. I put my ‘need’ on pause as more albums were released and decided that to begin to re-buy would be a costly effort and, surprise, surprise… I didn’t really ‘need’ what I already had.

However, I did fall foul of the John Peel Sessions. I did have this digitally but no physical format had previously been released and so I bought the limited-edition cd, ‘Dinked’ vinyl edition and limited edition first-press black vinyl edition. When the releases arrived, I initially felt quite content, but soon after realised I’d probably never open any of them, let alone play them. This was a relatively new phenomena for me – having only recently re-bought two treasured LPs I knew I’d never open, or play. I previously bought music to play. To pour over art work. To enjoy. Here I was, coldly and callously, collecting. It felt weird. I have a collection. I was a collector but, I was connected to what I was buying and there was a reward in the pleasure of the music. Something had changed. I didn’t like it.

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Since that day, I have vowed that I will only buy a physical format if I intend to listen to it. That seems an odd thing to agree with oneself, but there you are. The ICA is presented in a chronological order and features some of today’s Cranes favourites. They may not all be tomorrow’s Cranes favourites.

All of the above is a prelude to me as ‘Cranes fan’. The fan who just couldn’t wait to get that new single/LP home and listen to it again and again and again…

I was introduced to Cranes by a friend, the Self-Non-Self LP – other reminiscences are available. I was immediately taken by the vocals and later the tracks Joy Lies Within and Focus Breathe (which vocally reminded me of Lisa Gerard – always a good thing). I liked this band. I bought the LP.

Focus Breathe (Self-Non-Self, LP. 1989)

As we drafted our playlists for our ‘ultra-cool’ club night Cranes featured – possibly the only time they ever did, at that time, in a Glasgow disco. It was my friend’s section of the playlist, not mine.

Give (Inescapable, EP. 1990)

While others pondered and attempted to pigeonhole the band’s sound – I viewed them simply as post-punk. They were making the kind of racket that didn’t fit within either confines of shoegaze or goth.

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Starblood (Wings Of Joy, LP. 1991)

With each new release, I became more and more captivated. Wings Of Joy stripped back some of the noise to allow us to hear such beauty as Tomorrow’s Tears.

Far Away (Forever, LP. 1993)

That stripped back sound continued on the following LP, Forever – possibly their best known? It may seem a bit contrived of me to omit Jewel – I didn’t do so lightly. Jewel was, at this time, without doubt the song that most people would associate with Cranes. Released as a 3 x 7” box set with different mixes but oddly no standard 12”.

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Everywhere (Forever, LP. 1993)

Loved was the last (at the time) LP to be released on vinyl. On the LP, and as a b-side to the single Shining Road, sat Paris and Rome. A remix by Flood originally appears on the 12” promo and has since been replicated elsewhere.

Paris and Rome – Flood remix (12” promo. 1994)

In 1996 Cranes released La Tragédie D’Oreste Et Électre. The LP was recorded prior to 1994’s Loved LP but was delayed due to copyright issues with the estate of Jean-Paul Sartre whose words are used as lyrics. The LP is sung/spoken entirely, in French, by Alison. It reminds me of LPs Tindersticks would go on to record to greater acclaim.

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Cranes go pop? Well, as pop as Cranes can go…

Can’t Get Free (Population Four, LP. 1996)

In 1997 EP Collection Volumes 1 & 2 was released. The CD held no surprises but I was more than happy to add this to my collection. It’s been played – lots.

There was quite a hiatus until the release of the LP Future Songs. It is here that Cranes brought me to tears. The culprit, Driving In The Sun. The utter fragility of this song continues to make me weep. I have a wonderful memory of being in Madrid, the song playing loudly as I looked out over the rooftops towards Plaza de España, the evening sun casting light and shadow. The LP ends with the wonderfully titled The Maker Of Heavenly Trousers, a nod to the book of the same name.

Driving In The Sun (Future Songs, LP. 2001)

In 2002/2003 the band released Submarine and Live In Italy, respectively. Submarine, a maxi-single consisted of remixed songs from Future Songs. It’s the only Cranes release that I don’t care for.

Particles and Waves seemed to sneak out. It contained 10 songs book-ended by Vanishing Point and Light Song. How is it that something so beautiful can go largely unnoticed?

Light Song (Particles and Waves, LP. 2004)

The final Cranes LP (thus far), coincidentally named Cranes, is probably their most ambient to date. I can’t help but wonder which direction would have followed? 15 years later, I’m no closer to knowing the answer to that question.

High and Low (Cranes, LP. 2008)

The release of the John Peel Sessions masquerading as an LP was quite the stretch for me. Four songs from 1989 plus another three from 1990 equals seven songs. Seven songs – to my mind – does not an LP make. But… I forgive them in the hope that a new LP is forthcoming.

I can think of no other band that I owned all t-shirts of (long and short sleeve versions) all the way from the first to the last. I treasure my records, my CDs. I, on occasion, carefully look through my signed copy of Til The Stars Shine (a lyric booklet) handmade by Alison and chuckle gently and my silly collecting ways.

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I hope you enjoy some of these songs. I found it a difficult, personal challenge to whittle my choices down for this ICA knowing full well my choices will have changed as soon as I send this to JC.

Bonus Tracks

Happy Xmas (War is Over) ( Ancienne Belgique, CD single. 1996)

flimflamfan

Pet Shop Boys

PET SHOP BOYS SINGLES (Part Twenty-eight)

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The next single to be lifted from Super was issued on CD and digital form on 16 September 2016.

mp3: Pet Shop Boys – Say It To Me (new radio mix)

Say It To Me is a banger of a tune, and the new radio mix doesn’t actually sound all that different from the album version. In days gone by, this would have smashed into higher echelons of the singles chart.

Here’s the two new tracks that came with it:-

mp3: Pet Shop Boys – A Cloud In A Box
mp3: Pet Shop Boys – The Dead Can Dance

See that comment I made about the single being a banger? Well, feel free to take and multiply it by a thousand to get the best description of A Cloud In A Box. Faithless meets Left To My Own Devices. It’s rather wonderful.

The Dead Can Dance is another song that deserved a far better fate than relegation to a b-side. It’s not anywhere as immediate as A Cloud…..but with a hypnotic and repetitive beat and rhythm, there’s a claim to be made that’s it is another of the many dozens of three-minute-long PSB classics that not many have heard before.

JC

Vultures

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #366: THE VULTURES

From the booklet which accompanied the box set, Big Gold Dreams (A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989)

Forming at Edinburgh College of Art, and named out of a desire to sound tougher than many of their contemporaries, The Vultures were a quartet comprising Janie Nicoll, Allison Young, Anna Watkins and Ian Binns.

Capturing the band’s spiky brand of post-punk girl-pop, their sole output was a four-track 12″ EP on Nardonik label, produced by Jamie Watson following demos recorded by Angus McPake and Douglas Hart.

Sharing equipment and rehearsal space with Jesse Garon and The Desperados, Rote Kapelle and other regulars at the Onion Cellar club, The Vultures ended up supporting My Bloody Valentine. Torn between the pressures of impending art school degree shows and life in the back of a transit van, they called it a day not long afterwards. Nicoll is now an artist of note.

Here’s the song included within the boxset:-

mp3: The Vultures – Good Thing

It dates from 1988. It’s less than two minutes long and is absolutely bursting with energy. It wouldn’t have sounded too out of place a few years later when the Riot Grrrl ‘movement’ became a thing….but as can be seen from the bio above, everyone had moved on.

Oh, and I was so taken by again hearing the track when preparing this posting that I’ve gone and ordered a second-hand copy of the EP via Discogs. I’ll share them with you sometime in the next few days.

JC

Bloc Party

IT REALLY WAS A CRACKING DEBUT SINGLE (74)

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I think I should issue the reminder that the heading of this series doesn’t mean that the singer or band in question never released anything as brilliant or memorable as the debut 45.

Bloc Party.

As I wrote last time around when they featured on the blog, (November 2021), it took quite a while after forming in 1999 before there was any sort of recognition.

Come 2004, there was something of a surprising but welcome resurgence in the popularity of angular post-punk music here in the UK, and before too long, a number of groups whose influences had to include Television, Wire and Gang of Four were being played on mainstream radio. It did prove to be short-lived, but it was fun while it lasted.

It was Trash Aesthetics, a newly formed London-based independent label, which took a chance on Bloc Party. The first 7″ single on the label, in February 2004 was this:-

mp3: Bloc Party – She’s Hearing Voices

It’s a hypnotic and pounding tune that might have got some young folk off their chairs and onto the floors of the alternative discos, but it really is something of a disturbing number, with a lyric inspired by a friend of singer/lyricist Kele Okereke who had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. It certainly wasn’t anything as radio friendly as later singles such as Helicopter, Two More Years or Banquet, all of which went Top 20.

Here’s the two tracks that featured on the b-side:-

mp3 : Bloc Party – The Marshals Are Dead
mp3 : Bloc Party – The Answer

The former has a vocal delivery and occasionally lo-fi production that does make me think that The Fall were more of an influence on Bloc Party than has perhaps ever been admitted to, while the latter is a full-on 100mph assault on the senses that makes me think it was often deployed as the closing song during many of the early shows.

I don’t have a copy of said single, but I did pick them up a while afterwards when they were included on the later Bloc Party EP, which was released on CD by Wichita Records.

JC

Cocteau Twins

THE 7″ LUCKY DIP (2)

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The eagle-eyed among you might have spotted today’s offering is #2 in this occasional series, and is coming a few days after #3 was published. More evidence that I’m getting increasingly sloppy with this blog. Apologies……

Aikea-Guinea was released on 7″ and 12″ vinyl in March 1985. I would have thought most fans would have bought the 12″ version, given it was seen by the band and the record company as an EP release and the larger piece of plastic was the only way to get all four tracks.

mp3: Cocteau Twins – Aikea-Guinea

If Discogs is correct, in terms of anyone who was an obsessive completist, the 7″ also required to be purchased.

“The version of “Kookaburra” is unique to this 7″ release as it starts with a drumstick count down of 4 beats prior to the start of the song.”

mp3: Cocteau Twins – Kookaburra (7″ version)

Not having a copy of the 12″ version, I can’t verify if this is true or not!!

On the band’s official website, you can find that Liz Fraser has explained, “Aikea-Guinea just means flat shells that have been bleached and smoothed out by the sea and the sand.”

Maybe that’s the case, but as ever, the actual lyric isn’t really what is important; it’s all to do with the way the words are sung as Liz hits some ridiculous notes, and in an order that seems humanly impossible.

JC

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #026

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#026– Elvis Costello & The Attractions – ‚Oliver’s Army’ (Radar Records ’79)

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Hello friends,

yes, yes: “he’s heading for the safe side with the bloody hit single, the old coward”, you’re all thinking now. Ah, you couldn’t be more wrong!!

The thing is, you see, ‘Oliver’s Army’ is more than a new wave song with a glossy and radio-friendly arrangement, fuelled by a cheered up Elvis – at least he’s not as dour as he usually is – plus the inclusion of a piano part shamelessly stolen from ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’. I mean, even if there was nothing more to it, I would still love the tune …. sometimes a song is just a song, and sometimes a song is just a good song.

But here we also have the lyrics, and ‘Oliver’s Army’ only works perfectly well when you listen closely to the lyrics. Or, in other words, it only makes full sense in its musical/lyrical combination. And that’s where today’s history lesson begins:

The title is a reference to Oliver Cromwell, leader of the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War against the Royalist army of Charles 1. He established what was called the New Model Army (no, not the band, kids), which basically was the first professional, properly trained and drilled fighting force England had.

Now, Elvis took this historical fact and transferred it to various places in the world, where, back in 1978, when the song was written, things weren’t looking all too bright. Especially Belfast. So all in all the song is a general anti-military statement, but I suppose Elvis’ main target was to point out that back then the unemployed British youth’s only real option was to join the army.

Still, Elvis later said “I don’t think the song’s success was because of the lyrics. I always liked the idea of a bright pop tune that you could be singing along to for ages before you realize what it is you’re actually singing. Of course, the downside of that is some people only hear the tune and never listen to the words. After a while, I got frustrated at that”.

The tune fell foul of cancel culture in the 2020’s because of its use of the n-word. It came under fire despite its anti-racist and anti-war theme. In the song, ‘n—-r’ is a derogatory term used by British privates for Irish Catholics. Elvis stated: “that’s what my grandfather was called in the British army – it’s historically a fact – but people hear that word and go off like a bell and accuse me of something I didn’t intend.”

Perhaps Janet Maslin of Rolling Stone summarized the song’s multiple dimensions in the best possible way when she wrote, “you can hear it one way, or the other way, or both. Elvis Costello doesn’t seem to give a damn what you do, and that’s no small part of his charm”.

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mp3: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Oliver’s Army

Enjoy,

Dirk

Various

EIGHTH MONTH WONDER

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No backstory for the August mixtape (or whatever you want to call this occasional series). As my dear friend Dirk would say….ENJOY!!!

mp3: Various – Eighth Month Wonder

Propaganda – Dr. Mabuse
Magazine – Rhythm Of Cruelty
The Auteurs – How Could I Be Wrong
The Clash – Hateful
The Pretenders – Kid
Editors – Munich
The Cure – In Between Days (extended version)
New Order – Blue Monday
The Cardigans – My Favourite Game
The Lilac Time – The Girl Who Waves At Trains
A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It?
Black Grape – In The Name Of The Father
Cocteau Twins – Pitch The Baby
Modern English – I Melt With You
Pet Shop Boys – I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing (7″ version)