Pete Shelley

THIS WAS BOLD AND BRAVE

I’ve mentioned the past couple of Sundays how Paul Haig’s solo output would go to catch a few folk out, thanks to the music being far removed from the sounds associated with his former band, Josef K.

In a similar vein, the former frontman of Buzzcocks stunned many, fans and critics alike, when he released his debut solo single in September 1981:-

mp3 : Pete Shelley – Homosapien

I’m certain that I would have first heard this played at a night in the Strathclyde University Student Union on the basis that it had been banned by the BBC. I do recall, vaguely it has to be admitted, one of the weekly music papers having a real go at the record and its singer, accusing him of betraying his punk roots by sliding over onto the dance floor and jumping on the bandwagon of what the writer thought would be a short-lived craze for electronic music. Long live rock’n’roll and all that….

Did I take an instant liking to the track? Truth be told, not really as I wanted Pete Shelley to somehow create MkII of his former band. But, as I grew increasingly familiar with the song, I came to the realisation that it was an absolute belter of a new-era dance track, with as catchy a hook via the synths as had been managed previously with the guitars. Indeed, it is a close cousin to the new pop-savvy sounds that were being released by The Human League, which is no coincidence when you consider that Martin Rushent was could be found in the producer’s chair in both instances.

Few people knew that Pete Shelley was in fact revisiting his first love, having dabbled unsuccessfully in electronic music before meeting Howard Devoto at college and forming one of the most important punk/new wave bands to emerge out of the UK. It was something he had kept quiet about all the time his band becoming a success; in much the same way, he’d previously stayed schtum about his bisexuality, but the release of Homosapien, with its far from subtle references (e.g. ‘Homo Superior, in my interior’) provided him with a perfect opportunity to be open about things.

It was a far less tolerant world back then, and there was a sense of a substantial number of fans moving towards disowning Pete Shelley. The excuse given was the shift in music, but there were other unsaid things at play…..

The debut album, also entitled Homospaien, was largely panned on its release, but it is one which has been somewhat reevaluated over time with many now acknowledging that, while not perhaps as instantly accessible as those of the big-hitting and chart-friendly acts such as Depeche Mode, Heaven 17, OMD and Ultravox, it certainly was a decent stab at things.

Here’s the b-side to the original release of the debut single….again it’s a bit different from the Buzzcocks without being aimed squarely at the disco floor:-

mp3 : Pete Shelley – Keats’ Song

JC

Paul Haig

THE SINGULAR ADVENTURES OF PAUL HAIG (Part 2)

The proper debut single was released in May 1982. Paul Haig, as mentioned last week, had signed to Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule, but his debut 45 appeared on Operation Twilight in his homeland, a label which was in fact the UK side of his Belgian operations but with some input and support from Rough Trade.

mp3 : Paul Haig – Running Away

A fairly honest update of the original written and recorded back in 1970 with synths replacing the original horns.

mp3 : Sly & The Family Stone – Runnin’ Away

Truth be told, it did feel a little bit underwhelming at the time with very few Josef K fans able to believe their ears. It’s one which has grown on me somewhat, but it does still seem a bit rudimental, almost as if Paul was himself very unsure what his next steps should be.

The b-side is quite different, and isn’t a million miles away from the sound of pre-hit Human League. Again, it took a bit of getting used to, but once it was accepted the angular guitars were now a thing of the past and the electronica had to be embraced fully, this became an early favourite of the solo era.

mp3 : Paul Haig – Time

Both tracks today have been ripped from 7″ vinyl and as a consequence are a touch lo-fi.

JC

His Latest Flame

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #133 : HIS LATEST FLAME

Named after an Elvis Presley song, and formed in the mid 80s in Glasgow, His Latest Flame were thought by many as the nearest Scotland ever got to producing an all-girl pop band akin to The Bangles, albeit many of their songs had a political kick to them. The early singles were on Go! Discs but the latter material, including their only LP, was issued via London Records.

The initial band members were Jacqueline Bradley (drums), Irene Brown (guitars), Laura Mazzolini (bass), Moira Rankin (vocals) and Tricia Reid (guitar and vocals) who all played on this rather fine but very 80s sounding debut single.

mp3 : His Latest Flame – Somebody’s Gonna Get Hurt

Tricia Reid was by far and away the principal songwriter in the band. There would be a handful of 45s and one LP, In The Neighbourhood, before they called it a day in 1990.

JC

Land of Sex and Glory

LAND OF SEX AND GLORY

Aye…..I’ve gone for a post title that might pick up casual passers-by not neccesarily trawling for music.  It’s actually a guest posting from my very dear friend Walter, over in Germany, whose A Few Good Times In My Life is an excellent read.

Hi Jim,

I embrace your offer for a guest contribution on your site in thanks. There are plenty of bands gone by that are worth to remember. As you know I feature a lot of new stuff on my own site but from times to times I grab out a record that is covered with dust and I put it on the turntable with you. Most of the times I feature the band or the singer on the blog. My first thought was to feature The Flys in a guest comment and remembered that I did this almost one year ago.

So I had to decide for another band and found Land Of Sex And Glory. It was a short living band and as far as I know released only a 12-inch mini album back in 1986 called Showdown.

I was searching the internet for more informations but you can find a lot of informations about a Munich based band that is now active with the same name but has nothing to do with the band I am writing about. Also the band’s personal is vanished and can’t be found. So what is their legacy to music? For me one of the best German bands from the mid 80’s playing a stripped down new wave sound with stoic bass lines and a guitar that gets fuzzy at the end of the song. I liked to play this song often when I was DJ-ing in my very younger days. Hope you like it also a little bit.

mp3 : Land of Sex and Glory – Drowning

WALTER

JC adds…..

Walter is right in that there isn’t much info out there.  I went onto Discogs and learned that in 1984 Land of Sex and Glory released a nine-track self-titled cassette which may have been instrumental in them being picked up by Big Store Records, a Geman independent label for whom, in 1986, there was the six-track mini-album mentioned by Walter.  There was also a sole single – (I Always Wanted To Be) Andy Warhol’s Moviestar which was backed with a cover of Ruby Tuesday, which was put out by Big Store in 1988.

Looking at the artwork available on the Discogs site, I’ve been able to work out the band consisted of Martin Popolek (guitar, backing vocals), Berthold Pesch (drums, percussion and vocals) and George Infame (bass and vocals).  The six songs on the mini-album are credited to the band.  The later single was written by George Infame who also designed its sleeve, the reverse of which gave a contact address and telephone number in Munich for Berthold.

 

Bill Callahan

INSPIRED BY YESTERDAY’S ICA

As I said when I included the original in my stab at a Leonard Cohen ICA just last December:-

Marianne Ihlen was the inspiration for so many of Cohen’s writings, songs and poems alike. They had met in early 1960, when they were both in their mid-20s, on the Greek island of Hydra. They would end up living together for the best part of that decade in Montreal, NYC and Greece. So Long Marianne, like many songs composed by others over the years, deals with a break-up. It is hugely autobiographical and its release in 1967 was a very early indication that Leonard Cohen was a different sort of songwriter and that indeed he was, at heart, a poet.

This doesn’t mope over the ending of a relationship, but instead looks back joyfully over an extended period in which two perfectly matched and compatible people had enjoyed life to the full, the ending caused by Cohen feeling he could not be content in a monogamous relationship. “You left when I told you I was curious / I never told you I was brave”. And not once did he blame her for what she did.

PS : In 2016, Cohen learned that Marianne was dying from leukaemia. He also knew, at this time, that his cancer was likely to result in his death. He was able to compose a final letter which was read to her, by a friend, as she lay on her death-bed.

“Well Marianne, it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. And you know that I’ve always loved you for your beauty and for your wisdom, but I don’t need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road.”

If that doesn’t bring moisture to your eyes, then there really is no hope for you.

And here’s one of my favourite cover versions of the song….

mp3 : Bill Callahan – So Long Marianne

JC

Smog

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #192 : SMOG

A GUEST POSTING by RICHARD

I don’t know why, there’s no reason for it and I can honestly offer no explanation … but for a few weeks every year, I’ll binge listen to Smog. And I mean really binge. A total, all-consuming obsession descends on me for 2 or 3 weeks (normally around February or March). In that time, I’ll fill my ears with Bill Callahan’s wry, dry, baritone and nothing else. There’s no other band or artist I do it with on such a regular basis and, as quickly as the urge comes over me, it passes. It’s happened for the past few years and no doubt it’ll happen again.

The reason I’m telling you this, is that I don’t want to fool anyone into thinking I picked Smog as the subject of my ICA because I’m some kind of obsessive super fan who listens to them constantly. I’m not. If you asked me to name my favourite bands off the top of my head, I very much doubt that Smog would spring immediately to mind. Yet when I stop and think about it, Smog is one of the most consistent acts in my record collection. One that I often overlook but consistently return to.

So if you’re looking to know every last detail about every single song that Bill Callahan has ever put out under that moniker, you’re looking in the wrong place. I’ve simply got enough Smog albums and enjoy them enough to be able to offer a fairly decent introduction to those who don’t.

Besides which, it just kind of seemed like an obvious choice. Without being an actual obvious choice. I could easily have gone with Radiohead or Nick Cave or The Smiths or Suede any other band that I would consider myself a big fan of. But I think most of those have either been done already or most people know enough about them, that an ICA seems a little pointless. Whereas Smog… well Smog don’t seem to get that much of a mention in many places.

As I suspect with most ICAs, picking the actual songs wasn’t as easy as I’d expected. Looking back at the final selection now, I could easily swap out a bunch of the songs and still be happy with it. That’s how good Smog are/is, so seriously, delve deeper if you like what you hear.

But before we get to the music, a little disclaimer…

I started my blog years ago. Back when I was a recently single twenty-something with plenty of spare time on my hands. I updated it regularly and really enjoyed writing about the thing I’d been obsessing over since I heard ‘This Charming Man’ blaring out of my brother’s university room when I went with my parents to collect him one wintery Friday. Then births, deaths and marriages happened (the only reasons to get dressed up, if you’ll allow me to misquote Aidan Moffat slightly) and writing about music just didn’t seem quite so important anymore.

So the dust settled on the blog. I tried occasionally to start it up again but the impetus and motivation wasn’t there. Nor was the time. Not in the way I felt would make it a worthy venture. I can’t tell you how I admire JC and many of you guys reading this now for how you’ve managed to continue where I couldn’t. The commitment it takes is admirable. The quality you maintain is truly impressive. But enough of the gushing… what I’m trying to say is that I haven’t really written about music in such a long time, that I’m not entirely sure I still can. There’s a good chance that this may just descend into a list of songs with little more comment than, ‘I like this because it sounds good’. So don’t go expecting too much in terms of insight or quality. Not from me anyway. The quality is all from Smog.

Oh and in case you don’t know… Smog was essentially a solo project of Bill Callahan. Sometimes with parenthesis, sometimes without. He released 13 albums under that name between 1990 and 2005 (of which I have 8) and since then he’s been releasing records under his real name. Given the deceptively simple, repetitive nature of his music and his deep voice and glib, morose half spoken, semi crooned delivery, it would be easy to label his sound as depressing. Dig deeper and there’s a great deal of complexity and sardonic humour in his writing. Indeed, his lyrics are a wonderful thing to lose yourself in. I hope you enjoy.

SIDE A

The Well (from A River Ain’t Too Much To Love)

The Well is track 3 on its parent album but I’ve always thought it could easily have been an album opener. Indeed, I went through a phase where I included it as the opening track on every mixtape (should that be mix-cd) I made. It’s a track that sets out Smog’s stall from the off. A simple repeated musical refrain that grows and builds and dips and builds again as the protagonist comes across a well deep in the woods. It’s a song that could easily be part of JC’s feature about songs that could be short stories. If you like this, chances are you’ll enjoy the 9 tracks that follow.

Truth Serum (from Supper)

Track 2 is another 7-minute song. And what a doozy it is. A duet of sorts that sounds so gentle and relaxed and unrushed and mesmerising and hazy as it reveals the answers to the big questions of life and love in the way that only drink and drugs usually do.

Dress Sexy At My Funeral (from Dongs Of Sevotion)

As far as songs about eulogies go, this is an oddly romantic one.

Bathysphere (from Wild Love)

For years I was more familiar with Cat Power’s cover than Smog’s original version and honestly it’s a tough call as to which I prefer. With its lo-fi drums and cheap sounding keyboard stabs, this version has a bit of an 80s feel to it as Bill shows how easily and cruelly dreams can be crushed.

I Break Horses (John Peel Session) (from Accumulation:None)

The original studio version of this track isn’t a patch on this version. That one is a mostly solo acoustic affair with Bill singing at a slightly higher register than normal. Compared to this version from a Peel session, it’s frankly a little underwhelming. This version is slower, longer, more morose and utterly, utterly compelling.

SIDE B

I Could Drive Forever (from Knock Knock)

This is the first Smog song I ever heard. It came on a free CD with Uncut magazine and sounded so other worldly compared to the sort of indie bands I was listening to at the time. A song about escaping that doesn’t sound like you’ll ever escape what you’re trying to escaping.

Blood Red Bird (from Red Apple Falls)

This is one of those songs where I couldn’t really tell you what it’s about or why I love it but it’s a fucking great song. While it doesn’t really go anywhere, it takes you all sorts of places.

Butterflies Drowned In Wine (from Supper)

A chugging insistent track with probably my favourite Smog title ever. It feels like a skewed version of a blues track that switches to a gentle country lilt before hitting you again with it’s chug-chug rhythm.

Permanent Smile (from Dongs Of Sevotion)

Is this a prayer? A cry of despair? A meditation on death? Probably all of the above and more. Musically it leans on a Spector-esque drum beat that’s been slowed to a funereal pace and sprinkled with a twinkly piano and jingly guitar.

I Feel Like The Mother Of The World (from A River Ain’t Too Much To Love)

An anti-war song that’s trying it’s hardest not to be an anti-war song. In today’s world, its message feels ever more prescient and necessary. ‘Just stop fighting’ indeed.

RICHARD

JC adds……Richard was one of the guys I turned to a great deal in the very early days of the original blog for help, advice and the occasional piece of support.  I’ve long been a fan of his writing and am genuinely thrilled that he’s made this superb contribution to the ICA series.  I’ve long wanted to feature Dress Sexy At My Funeral round these parts, so thanks amigo.

Go-Betweens

BONUS POST : RIGHT HERE (A FILM REVIEW)

I attempted to get an ambitious new series underway a few months back in that it was to involve a lengthy look back at the career of The Go-Betweens via separate chapters in Robert Forster’s excellent autobiography, Grant and I. The series stalled, not through any lack of enthusiasm on my part, but simply that I really couldn’t do the series justice as all too soon I had run out of superlatives for the contents of the book and the songs of the band.

I fully intend at some point in the future to have an extended look at the band, and indeed the solo careers of the two principal songwriters, most likely via a long-running Sunday series, although I’ve also been thinking that I might devote an entire month to the subject matter….

In the meantime, I wanted to reflect on Right Here, a documentary which premiered at the Sydney Film Festival as far back as June 2017 but which has, for various logistical and financial reasons, taken until now to get a cinema airing around these parts.

I went along to the Glasgow Film Theatre for the early evening showing just last Friday, accompanied by Rachel aka Mrs Villain. We unexpectedly bumped into our old friend Comrade Colin in the cinema café – I say unexpectedly but then again, the Comrade is as huge a fan of the band as myself and so it really shouldn’t have been a surprise that he was also going to be in the audience. The surprise though was that he had been to the earlier matinée showing just a couple of hours previously but was so taken by the work that he wanted to have a second and immediate viewing on the back of him posting these words on social media:-

“I’d seen this brilliant Go-Betweens documentary, ‘Right Here’ (Dir : Kriv Stenders), before, via a questionable WWW link, but I still wasn’t prepared for the emotional impact of watching this on the big screen, with a proper sound system. There were moments of pure joy, utter elation and dark humour, but also tears, sadness and anger, especially when hearing from Lindy and Amanda on life after ’16 Lovers Lane’. And, well, the ending that we all know is inevitable. Grant’s tragic death at the age of 48.

“The film is an incredible monument to a story, or rather, a set of competing narratives and ego performances, about yet another band would should have and could have. And they did, in a way, and against all the fucking odds. But they did this very much in their own way, to their own tune. That striped sunlight sound lives on but only in the records we have in our collections (“The Go-Betweens were…” run the final credits). Lindy’s still clearly mad about Robert, but also mad *with* Robert. Heartbreaking. Grant is missed by all, especially Amanda. And Robert too of course, his best friend, his muse.

“This is simply one of the best music documentaries I’ve ever seen about a band that are ingrained into my fabric and DNA. A band who had no hits. A story about a band in the middle. 10/10”

He’s quite right you know……

Relationships were essential to the band moving in the direction that it did between 1977 and 1989 and complicated, ever-shifting relationships at that. It’s testament to the skills of the director that he elicits really positive contributions from all past members, clearly proud of the contributions they made to that initial run of albums, while also enabling them to vent what, in many cases, appear to be pent-up anger and frustrations at how they were, to all intent and purposes, cast aside by Grant and Robert. The Comrade has already given his take on Lindy Morrison and Amanda Brown, but there’s also some very telling testimonies, particularly from ex-bass players Robert Vickers and John Willsteed and, on reflection afterwards, also from early drummer Tim Mustapha, who was cast aside in a way which really did give an early indication of what would remain an almost undetectable ruthlessness on the parts of the two main principals.

The documentary has benefited immensely from the 10 year gap between Grant’s death, by heart attack, and the filming getting underway. It’s a period in which Robert has been able to reflect fully on things, including him exorcising a number of demons through the writing of his book. I think it’s also enabled him to come to understand that, on occasions, some of both his and Grants’ behaviour and their attitudes towards their band colleagues were less than stellar and any offered excuses centring around the temperaments of creative geniuses don’t really wash. There’s certainly a sense of lingering regret in a number of his contributions, particularly towards the end of the film, very much in contrast with the first hour or so in which there is a real and deserved celebration of the band’s legacy, wonderful contributions from a diverse range of talking heads including musicians such as Mick Harvey, Lloyd Cole and David McClymont, friends and family such as Sally McLennan, Clinton Walker (a well-known and highly regarded cultural figure in Australia who almost steals the show) and Damian Nelson, and those involved with the band professionally such as Bob Johnson and Roger Grierson. Oh, and the archive footage of videos, TV appearances and still photographs is an absolute joy….as, of course is the music which is constantly in the background or the forefront of many scenes.

I’ll just echo the Comrade – Right Here is simply one of the best and most all-round satisfying music documentaries I’ve ever seen. Informative, engaging, entertaining (there were many moments which resulted in a smile or a laugh, often when Clinton Walker was offering his thoughts) and ultimately very moving with it abundantly clear that Grant is still missed each and every day. It also made me more determined than ever to get myself to Australia, ideally to catch Robert play a solo show in Brisbane.

mp3 : Go Betweens – Right Here

JC

Ponderosa Aces

HE’S A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY…..

A GUEST POSTING by JOHNNY BOTTOMS

Those of you who might be new(ish) to this little corner of the internet might like to have a read at this post from February 2017 and then this post from May 2017 to get the back story…..

Greetings, Jim.

A little while back you asked for an Aces update. So as not to bore you to tears I’ll try to sum up everything that’s happened since our fateful April 2017 meeting in Manchester, bullet-point style:

The England trip was truly amazing and we got a nice write up about it when we got home: https://www.ocweekly.com/whats-it-like-for-an-outlaw-country-band-touring-the-uk-8099980/

* We started recording an album in fall of 2017
* In October Hoss reluctantly left the band for family reasons
* Marty Beal, formerly of the Lisa Marr Experiment, agreed to join the band as lead guitarist
* The album was mixed and mastered earlier this year
* We planned to self-release the record and did all the photo shoots, cover art and graphics etc.
* To our surprise we were contacted by At The Helm Records, a UK label, who said they wanted to release it for us overseas
* At The Helm is the home of Ags Connelly, whom you may remember opened for us in England
* This pushed the release of the album to early 2019
* We are excited about the label’s interest because we are hoping they’ll bring us back for another tour
* The album will be titled No Particular Way
* The first single, ‘Come Around’, has just been released and is available on iTunes, CD Baby and similar digital sites!

So, at long last, new Ponderosa Aces music is available and a lot more is coming soon. ‘Come Around’ marks the first time I’ve been in the studio for 30 years.

Johnny Bottoms

JC adds….

Johnny also provided a copy of the new single and said that he didn’t mind if it was posted on the blog to download for a while, but that he really wanted to encourage folks to buy the single independently. As he points out, the band aren’t going to make any money from record sales but the big hope is that if enough people download it may convince the label to bring them back for another UK tour.

So….no link from me except to here and here where it can be downloaded.  I’ve done so already and it’s a mighty fine sounding tune.  Please find it in your hearts to spend 99p or 99 cents or whatever your currency is!

In the meantime here’s something with an apt title from the band’s back catalogue:-

mp3 : The Ponderosa Aces – Play The Game

JC

Fall

LET’S ALL MEET UP ON THE POST 2000

The original Vinyl Villain musical extravaganza was born on 30 September 2006 and in a little under seven years managed to feature somewhere in the region of 2,500 posts before it was cast out into t’internet wilderness by the evil people at blogger.com.

The (new) Vinyl Villain was born on the day the old blog died – 24 July 2013 and today marks it’s 2,000th posting.

A lot of those have come from the brains of many friends and guest writers, a situation which has given me great pleasure over the years. It’s the guest postings together with the contributions which come through the comments section that make me determined to keep things going, particularly on the increasing number of occasions when the inspiration seems to be a long way away or I’ve a general feeling of fatigue or fed-upness about it all.

Thank you so much friends, comrades, amigos and compadres.

I had a great chat with Drew a few weeks back….I’ve been so wrapped up in issues of my own that I’ve failed to keep up with the blogging activities of my friends over recent times and had totally missed that he had temporarily brought things to a halt over at his place, although it’s great to see he’s slowly getting back into the groove.  I’m not going to go into huge detail about what we talked about, suffice to say we both felt a lot better after a couple of hours. We also agreed a particular photo should be used to illustrate the 2,000th post on T(n)VV on the basis that it brought me to a stop when I saw it on the streets of Galway a few months ago….and also that he laughed when I showed him it as we jointly imagined the theatre show was really about Mark E Smith (RIP) going to Cape Town and trying to recruit local kids for his band now that he’d burned his bridges with every single indie musician in the UK.

We also agreed this should be the song for today:-

mp3 : The Fall – Lost In Music

Not sure if I’ll get to 3,000 posts….but rest assured I will be back tomorrow.

JC

Paul Haig

THE SINGULAR ADVENTURES OF PAUL HAIG (Part 1)

I’ve decided that Paul Haig should be the next subject for the Sunday singles series. I realise that many of you won’t be that bothered over the next few weeks and months given that he’s far from a household name and indeed could almost be the perfect definition of a cult artist; but I’m a huge fan and feel that his body of solo work, now stretching back the best part of 40 years in which he has continually tinkered and altered his sound, is very worthy of being put under the spotlight.

Paul first came to prominence as the lead vocalist of Josef K, one of the four bands to release material on Postcard Records. They split up in August 1981 and it is fair to say that, like many others, their legacy and impact was only fully realised many years after when the next generation of musicians began to name check them as key influences. His solo career began almost immediately,  but not in any straightforward fashion, signing to a Belgian-based label – Les Disques Du Crepuscule – while opting to also adopt the moniker Rhythm of Life Organisation (RoL) under which he intended to release experimental material, much of which would be far removed from the post-punk, angular guitar sounds associated with his former band.

Indeed, it was as RoL that the first solo 45 was issued, and not on the label to which he had signed.

mp3 : RoL – Soon

Ok….the pedants among you might argue this is NOT a Paul Haig solo record, given that the credits are:-

Stephen Harrison : voice, guitar & lyrics
Paul Haig : other instruments & voice

But it’s an important staging post for what would follow in the succeeding years which is why I’m using it to open the new series.

Soon was issued jointly via Rational Records and Rhythm of Life Records and given two catalogue numbers – RATE 6 and RHYTHM 1 (these things were really important to those of us smitten by how Factory Records were keeping stock of the things they were involved in). Rational was a short-lived label, owned and run by Allan Campbell, who had been the manager of Josef K and would remain a key player in the Edinburgh music scene for a long while to come.  The label would release eight pieces of plastic all told, including the follow-up by RoL, a double-sided single entitled Uncle Sam/Portrait of Heart, both written and performed by the late Sebastian Horsley with Paul’s role restricted to keyboards, bass and second guitar; as such I’m not intending to include it in the series.

Here’s yer b-side of Soon, and it isn’t a cover:-

mp3 : RoL – Summertime

Boths songs are a tad on the light side, very pop-orientated with a sound that wouldn’t have been out of place a short while later on Zoo Records, the label which would launch the careers of so many 80s musicians in Liverpool.

JC

Hipsway

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #132 : HIPSWAY

Hipsway were formed in Glasgow in 1984 featuring ex-Altered Images member Johnny McElhone on bass, Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Travers (drums). They were quickly signed up by Mercury Records and and after two flop singles, struck payola in March 1986 with this fabulous piece of pop, which reached #17 in the singles chart:-

mp3 : Hipsway – The Honeythief

They toured a great deal in 86/87, including as openers for Eurythmics and Simple Minds, and by the time it came to make a follow-up album, McElhone had quit, going on to form the multi-million selling Texas.  The remaining three members went into the studio and presented the label with an album called Scratch The Surface, but there were delays in getting into the shops and in the interim the band split for good.

Skinner and Jones continued to work together on other projects for a number of years before also going their separate ways, although they each remained active in the Scottish music scene.

The duo decided to get back together as Hipsway to play some gigs to mark the 30th Anniversary re-release of the self-titled debut album and were pleasantly surprised to sell out a number of shows at decent sized venues in Glasgow.  This led to them reforming on a more permanent basis, writing and recording new material, with the album Smoke and Mirrors due for imminent release before an extensive Scottish tour this coming December, including a gig at the Barrowlands.

JC

Carla J Easton

A CONTENDER FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Regular readers will know that I rarely give plugs to new records….it’s just not my kind of thing and it’s not really that kind of blog. Exceptions, however, are occasionally made when I come across an exceptional piece of music.

Such as today as I want to draw your attention to the immediate release of Impossible Stuff, the latest album by Scottish singer-songwriter Carla J Easton who first came to prominence as one-quarter of all-girl Glasgow band TeenCanteen. Adopting the name Ette, she recorded and released the album Homemade Lemonade a couple of years back; to say I kind of liked the record would be an understatement. I called it out as my favourite album of 2016, enjoying greatly ten memorably catchy tunes that brought to mind all sorts of all genres and influences, such as the girl-groups so beloved of Phil Ramone, along with Clare Grogan, Kate Bush, Kylie, 80s synth bands, bubblegum, rap and the occasional hint of folk-rock that so many bands from Scotland are proving so adept at.

Hard to believe, but I reckon Carla has now gone and topped the debut which she recorded in Montreal with the help of producer Howard Bilerman who, among others, has worked previously with Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen and, closer to home, British Sea Power. The results are quite spectacular and there has been a deserved buzz already with huge acclaim for the two singles which have preceded the album, firstly this in January 2018:-

And then her release for Record Store Day which sold out in a ridiculously short period of time, but thankfully has been included on the new album rather than being limited to those lucky enough to have snapped up the vinyl a few months back:-

mp3 : Carla J Easton – Wanting What I Can’t Have

Most recently, a fun video was made for another track on the album – Dreamers On The Run – in which Carla is imagined as representing Scotland in the Eurovision Song Contest…with a suitably drawl commentary provided by none other than Aidan Moffat:-

The album, out today, is on Olivegrove Records, one of the best small labels here in Scotland, under the direction of Lloyd Meredith, who has long been one of the unsung heroes of our local music industry in Scotland.

https://olivegrove.bandcamp.com/products

It would be great if you could use the above link to purchase the album, but at the same time I won’t object if you order it from your local, friendly independent record store!!

JC

Nits

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #191: NITS

A GUEST POSTING BY ALEX G

From We Will Have Salad blog

Here’s one for those who like their pop literate, quirky, sometimes a bit mysterious, with a gung-ho approach to genre. Sounds like a pretty easy sell round these parts, but for some reason Amsterdam art-rockers Nits have never quite broken into any of the major English-speaking markets. In theory, they should fit right in: they are typically compared to British acts, especially XTC and Elvis Costello, with whom they share a similar career trajectory of early new wave-ism swiftly diversifying into artier, genre-blind territory; they’ve always performed in English, and Henk Hofstede’s lyricism suggests there’s some truth in the old joke that the Dutch speak English better than the Brits do.

But you have to wonder whether CBS were really trying during the 20 years or so they had Nits on their books. The group’s UK discography is not extensive: one LP, three singles and a sampler CD for an album that never saw a full British release. That leaves a lot of imports and downloads to explore.

By the official count, Nits have 19 full-length albums to their name, but various mini-LPs, live albums and collaborations nudge the total closer to thirty. They’re not all consistently great; I think there’s an argument to be made that Nits belong in the “Had It, Lost It” series, though there’s still some good stuff on the later albums – just a lot of filler too. They also took a while to “get it” in the first place – their first few albums suffer from an excess of experiments that wind up being indulgent-weird rather than interesting-weird. If you want a recommendation, well… I could easily have filled one side of this ICA with songs from 1987’s “In The Dutch Mountains” and the other with songs from 1990’s “Giant Normal Dwarf”, both wonderful, imaginative and evocative albums I return to a lot. I managed to avoid that temptation, but for this imaginary compilation, I have stuck to songs from what would generally be considered Nits’ golden age, which co-incides with keyboard player Robert-Jan Stips’ original tenure with the group, 1983-96. (He returned in 2003 and is still with them today.) Other members have come and gone, but the recognised core trio comprises Stips, singer/guitarist Henk Hofstede, and drummer Rob Kloet.

Side one

The Panorama Man (In The Dutch Mountains, 1987)

I imagined this song as being about a travelling showman, sometime around the 1900s, with a projector and a collection of film reels. Which is just the sort of thing The Nits (as they were at the time) would write a song about… but they didn’t.

As it turns out, it’s actually about a man delivering a magazine called Panorama to the young Henk Hofstede’s house. If I’d realised that the first two lines refer to postwar comic strips, I’d have worked that out sooner. Oh well, it’s all good.

The fact that this song – and the whole album it comes from – is a live-in-the-studio recording, taped directly to two-track without edits or overdubs, is simultaneously impressive and strangely irrelevant. The quartet responsible (Hofstede, Kloet, Stips and bassist Joke Geraets) represents arguably the greatest of Nits’ many line-ups, and they were such a skilled live band that they could do this sort of thing on demand, yet never sound over-drilled.

There From Here (Giant Normal Dwarf, 1990)

Simply a beautiful song about waking up from a nice dream. This song never makes the cut for their compilations, so in a small way I get to redress the balance by including it here!

Bike In Head (Henk, 1986)

It stands to reason that a bunch of Amsterdamers would come up with one of the greatest songs ever written about cycling. Mark Ronson can keep his “I’m gonna ride my bike until I get home”; I’ll take the cinematic magnificence of “On a shadow lane between big trees / Bike chain spins and frame freezes”. To head off potential mondegreens, that line in the middle eight is a reference to the Amsterdam zoo, ARTIS – not “I just bought an elephant today”, which I’ve seen some people quote it as. It’s not quite that surreal.

In The Dutch Mountains (In The Dutch Mountains, 1987)

This is probably (The) Nits’ best known song, and in its simultaneous mocking and celebration of Dutch stereotypes it essentially does for the Netherlands what Men At Work‘s “Down Under” did for Australia. It was one of the three singles that got a UK release (the others were the new wave blast of “Tutti Ragazzi” in 1979 and the dramatic “Nescio” in 1983) but as you will have guessed, it did nothing here. It did do reasonably good business across the continent, though (it reached number 3 in Austria) and has a tendency to turn up on European “hits of the 80s” compilations.

Sleep (What Happens To Your Eyes) (Henk, 1986)

“Henk” reminds me a lot of OMD‘s “Crush” from the previous year. Two underrated synth-based albums which followed up enjoyable but one-note predecessors (“Adieu Sweet Bahnhof” and “Junk Culture” respectively) with slightly bonkers collections mixing up lots of different styles, often within the same song. For example, this: it builds up mysteriously with synth bloops and then turns into… Schubert’s “Erlkönig”. Alright then! What I’d really like is a 12″ extended version of this that carries on building for a few more minutes, but sadly this is all there is.

Side two

A Touch Of Henry Moore (Omsk, 1983)

Not many bands showcase percussion to the extent that Nits do. That’s mainly because other bands have drummers; Nits have Rob Kloet, who is basically the Evelyn Glennie of art-rock. And speaking of art and rock, on this track Kloet and Stips (the latter making his debut as a full member, though he’d already been the unofficial “fifth Nit” for a few years) bring on a mixture of live and sampled percussion to evoke the sounds of stone sculpture, not as a novelty, but as a suitable sound-world in which to pay sincere tribute to somebody whose work they admire.

This is the oldest item on the ICA, and the only one for which co-founding guitarist Michiel Peters was still in the line-up, though I’m not sure he’s actually on the track. There’s a chiming riff in there which could be a guitar, or guitar doubled with something else, but I think it’s just keyboards.

By the way, it occurs to me that although Nits have a reputation for travelling a lot and writing about the places they visit, this ICA is very much based in the Netherlands. Even this tribute to a British artist is inspired by pieces in the grounds of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Giant Normal Dwarf (Giant Normal Dwarf, 1990)

I think of this sweet and witty song as being in the same ballpark as The Magnetic Fields‘ “Book Of Love”, and I fear that someday it’s going to suffer the same fate of being picked up and covered by a succession of awfully serious people who crush the humour out of it.

Cars & Cars (Ting, 1992)

“Cars & Cars” is the only Nits song I have ever heard in any context where it wasn’t me who chose to put it on, that context being the quintessential interesting-if-there’s-nothing-else-on documentary series “Coast”. About halfway through the very first episode from 2005, there’s an aerial shot following a train along the coast (natch) somewhere in the south-east of England, and the accompanying music is the orchestral version of “Cars & Cars” from Nits’ 1992 collaboration with the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, “Hjuvi”. A particularly surprisingly choice given that Nits have quite a few songs referring to trains, including one actually called “The Train”. I recall Cars & Cars popping up again a few epsiodes later, backing a piece about a lighthouse in… Gwynedd, I think(?). And then never again. Anyway, this isn’t the orchestral arrangement, just the basic trio version.

Typist Of Candy (version) (Quest, 1995 – recorded 1986)

No idea what this one’s about… if it’s actually about anything at all! This version is a lot busier and (synth-)brassier than the album version on “Henk”, and eventually came out on “Quest”, the bonus CD of B-sides and demos issued with early copies of their first proper “best of” collection, “Nest”.

Dapper Street (live) (Urk, 1989)

While Nits are frequently compared to XTC, one obvious difference is that Nits tour. A lot. And they don’t just play the songs as they appear on the records, but surprise their audience with new arrangements – sometimes to accommodate the skills and preferences of whoever’s in the line-up at the time, but often just because they can.

The well-regarded live album “Urk” features the “In The Dutch Mountains” line-up and in the absence of a Greatest Hits album at that time, its 29 tracks provided a more-than-decent overview of the group’s work up to that point. This particular song originally appeared on the 1983 mini-album “Kilo” but I prefer this version, shorn of its more harshly synthetic elements. Apparently, “Dapper Straat” by JC Bloem is one of the most loved poems in the Dutch language, and this English adaptation is not a direct translation, but an attempt to capture the sense and mood of the original. I can’t speak for the poem, but the song is lovely.

ALEX G

Belated update from JC : Anyone who, understandably, would like to obtain much superior quality downloads of the songs featured in this ICA should go here, where Alex G has made a zip file available.

Marc Almond, Momus, Scott Walker

CUTE….IN A STUPID ASS WAY

La Chanson de Jacky is one of Jacques Brel’s best known compositions, certainly here in the UK, thanks to the fact it has twice been taken into the singles charts in 1967 and 1991, both as cover versions:-

mp3 : Scott Walker – Jackie
mp3 : Marc Almond – Jacky

Both versions are an absolute hoot, both have much to offer in terms of enjoyment and style and both are well worth a few minutes of your time for a listen. If pushed, I’d say I preferred Marc Almond’s version for the bravado shown by him and the production/arrangement/mixing cohorts of Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley and Youth in throwing absolutely everything at it to turn it into a genuine camp classic which has stood the test of time.

Having said that, it is worth noting how Scott Walker’s version, which of course I’m way too young to recall, was banned by the BBC because of words like ‘queers’, ‘virgins’ and ‘opium’, and yet such was his popularity at the time that it sold enough copies to reach #22 despite next to no airplay.

A wee snippet of trivia for you.

The b-side of Scott’s single was one of his own – the writing credit is given to Scott Engel which was the name he was born with – and is a wonderfully OTT effort complete with the singer bringing in the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra to give him the sound he was looking for:-

mp3 : Scott Walker – The Plague

What many perhaps hadn’t noticed when Marc took Jacky to #17 is that five years earlier he had included this on his covers EP, A Woman’s Story:-

mp3 : Marc Almond – The Plague

Oh and I also discovered while doing my research that Jacques Brel had also, in 1986, been given the cover treatment by the eccentric and occasionally brilliant Nick Currie, who records as Momus, and in doing so offered his own twisted and very personal and incredibly clever take on things :-

mp3 : Momus – Nicky

Cute…..in a stupid ass way

JC

Dead Hope

IT’S ALWAYS THE GOOD GUYS WHO GO EARLY

It was around three years ago that Basil Pieroni of Butcher Boy handed me a demo of some tracks that had been recorded by Dead Hope, a three-piece band based in Glasgow. He was doing so on the basis that he thought I’d really like the tracks but also as a favour to his lifelong mate, Keith Martin, who was the drummer with this new band.

The demos were really good and it was really pleasing to be able to pick up a copy of their debut album, Songs From The Second Floor, released in September 2017 which offered ten tracks over 34 minutes of music that, while never groundbreaking was the sort which has never ever really gone out of fashion. It’s a blend of new wave and hard rock with the occasional hint of a catchy pop riff…the sort of stuff that seems to be the accompanying music to action shots in countless film and television programmes. I previously tried to sum it up by describing the songs as being in debt to Black Flag but in the way that the sound was later refined for radio consumption by such as Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr.

Live, the band proved to be truly dynamic, but that was hardly a surprise given that Keith, and his band mates Scott McCluskey (vocals/guitar) and Andy Crone (bass), had all been around the local scene for a while and weren’t a group of image-conscious youngsters worrying about looking cool. Their songs were played occasionally on BBC Radio 6, but the fact that the debut album was self-funded and self-released and, for the most part, only available via a bandcamp site prevented them being better known outside of this city and its immediate environs where every gig was a sell-out in front of really appreciative audiences.

Sadly, Keith Martin passed away a couple of days ago after a long and very brave fight against cancer, a fight that was kept quiet to most. It has been a real blow to his many friends.

I only knew Keith through others and wasn’t in his company all that often, but on those few occasions it was immediately clear to see why he was so highly thought of.  Many of those who grew up with him In Ayrshire or have gotten close to him in more recent years have taken to social media to reflect both on how influential he was and to offer their own personal memories and thoughts on a man who was highly intelligent, well-read and the most terrific of conversationalists. One of his oldest and closest friends has summed Keith up best:-

“Fiercely intelligent, tough, tender, hilarious, sometimes scary, socialist, loyal, a guy who would always stand up for what he believed in. He was all of those things but most of all he was a good pal…I’ll miss him and that wee glint of mischief in his eye.’

There’s a lot of sadness around just now, understandably so.  Mine stems partly from the fact that he’s been taken away just as his band was really gaining a head of steam, with genuine talk of one prominent indie label expressing interest in re-releasing Songs From The Second Floor and most likely providing the platform they really deserved. Keith Martin would have provided loads of great copy if he had been able to spend time in the limelight; as it is, only those fortunate enough to have been close to him during his cruelly cut-short life will have been able to fully appreciate just how poorer the world is today for his passing.

mp3 : Dead Hope – Pigs
mp3 : Dead Hope – Truth Be Told
mp3 : Dead Hope – Swordz

JC

A Certain Ratio

IT REALLY WAS A CRACKING DEBUT SINGLE (23)

The debut single from A Certain Ratio sounds unlike anything else they would ever release during their recording career for the simple reason that it doesn’t feature Donald Johnson on percussion or drums. Indeed, this September 1979 release is one which will be of huge appeal to the raincoat-wearing brigade, particularly those whose tastes encompassed Joy Division or Bauhaus, featuring that brooding guitar sound which producer Martin Hannett was beginning to refine in his work with the former and a vocal that was goth-lite.

mp3 : A Certain Ratio – All Night Party

Echorich, very bravely, had this open up his ACR ICA back in February 2017 and I don’t think there’s any way of topping (pun intended) his description of it:-

“All Night Party has a soulless urgency that just builds and builds until it stops. It is certainly night music, but the only party it would soundtrack would likely occur in a mausoleum.”

FAC5 confounded the critics, albeit Jon Savage in a review in Melody Maker said the band displayed ‘rudimentary skills with more panache and imagination than most since the Sex Pistols’

Here’s yer equally downbeat, brooding, industrial and funkless b-side:-

mp3 : A Certain Ratio – The Thin Boys

Neither track was helped much by the cheap pressing afforded to the recording but such has become the modern-day demand for vinyl of this vintage that you can expect to pay £50 for a copy of a 7″ single that’s in decent nick as only 5,000 were pressed….there’a a lot of Factory obsessives out there you know.

The addition of the new drummer and percussionist, allied to the other members own tastes, took them down a road in which funk, dub and disco played their parts in making them quite unlike any other on the Manchester label. It’s hard to imagine they would have lasted that long if they hadn’t shifted direction, but there’s just something I find alluring and very appealing about the debut.

JC

Lloyd Cole

LLOYD COLE THE SOLO YEARS : 2011 ONWARDS

This is the final part of what I hope has been an enjoyable series for everyone these past few Sundays…going by the comments left behind it certainly seems to have filled a few gaps in some knowledge bases.

Much of what I’ve written up has been informed by Lloyd’s own wonderfully maintained website – http://www.lloydcole.com

It seems fitting to bring the story up to date with a heavy reliance on the timeline from the website:-

2011

Most of the year is taken up with touring the album Broken Record.

In 2002 legendary Austrian composer and krautrock pioneer Hans Joachim Roedelius heard LC’s Plastic Wood and liked it enough to make is own, unsolicited re-mix. Nine years later they finally come up with a plan for a record together – they will exchange ‘unfinished’ tracks, for the other to complete. LC holes up in his attic with his brand new modular synthesizer.

2012

By the end of January LC has finished his work on the Roedelius tracks and has sent his files to Austria. By the end of the year an album is complete.

LC tours with eldest son Will, as an acoustic duo. Later, LC and Will enter the studio to document the arrangements from the shows. The result – Lloyd & Will Cole Acoustic Sessions 2012 , a second white label CD.

Late September LC is back to the attic with notes and ideas for new songs. Fans and Tapete have again funded a new album. A start date in LA with old cohorts Fred Maher and Matthew Sweet is set. LC decides to make no demos, but hopes to have all songs completed before the LA sessions, and then to work ‘Blonde on Blonde’ style with Maher and Sweet. 2 months of solid writing yields an album’s worth of songs. Recording goes to schedule and overdubs begin in Massachusetts in December. Musicians include Will Cole, Mark Schwaber, Matt Cullen, Blair Cowan, Joan (as Policewoman) Wasser and Dave Derby.

2013

Selected Studies Vol. 1, the album from the collaboration with Hans Joachim Roedelius is released in February to great acclaim with Rolling Stone magazine declaring:-

“All instrumental, dreamier than one might expect from Cole and bouncier than one might expect from Roedelius, this is a worthy, surprisingly melodic set likely to surprise fans from both camps. Recommended.”

Work on the more standard album continues and in June 2013, is released with the title Standards is released in June. Everyone – fans and critics alike seem to love it.

2014

Lloyd Cole and the Leopards (made up of some of the very best stalwarts of the Scottihs music scene) perform four UK shows in LC’s first full electric band shows since the early 2000’s with The Negatives.  I caught one of these in Glasgow and it was an astoundingly good show, despite being played open-air in a torrential downpour!

The solo tour resumes and continues all year. In October 2014,  Standards is released in North America by Omnivore Recordings garnering a second wave of acclaim.

2015

April  – Universal/Spectrum release Don’t Look Back, a 20 track compilation of LC’s time at what was then Polygram.

June  – Universal release Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Collected Recordings 1983-1989, a six disc box set.

September  – LC makes his debut as a live electronic performer with two Berlin shows, the first with Hans Joachim Roedelius at a festival celebrating of his 80th birthday. The second was an intimate solo show at Basic Electricity. To coincide with these shows Bureau B released LC’s third full length electronic album – 1D.

These were the last pieces of music to be officially released, but Lloyd has been incredibly busy touring the past three years.  Indeed, in 2016, such was the media focus on his early recordings as a result of the acclaim heaped on the boxset that he decided to  devote the entire year to performances featuring material only from 1983 – 1996. Some shows were solo, others featured The Leopards, and more often that not, his son Will joined him on stage. The show at the Kelvingrove Bandstand in August 2016, with the Leopards and Will all on stage with him, was as fine a show as I’ve ever seen in all the years I’ve been watching him.

2017 and 2018, as one glance at http://www.lloydcole.com/live/ will testify, has been just as frantic and the acclaim all over the world just as high.

I’ve a nice wee postscript of my own to add.

I only ever got myself a download copy of the 11-track Standards – partly as I was wary following my disappointment with Broken Record but also as I was going through a short phase, thanks to constraints on space, of cutting back on vinyl and CDs.  (I’ve since simply taken up more floorspace, much to the chagrin of Mrs Villain). It’s an album that I do love and listen to a fair bit…..there’s just so many moments which feel like a throwback to all parts of his career from the Commotions days to the early solo years to the later stuff when it was just him and his guitars and the voice…..so you can imagine my delight when my trip to Toronto just a few weeks back yielded a second-hand vinyl copy of said album, in mint condition at a very reasonable price.

And given that the LP landed in my hands so unexpectedly while this series was being published, it really did have a sense of karma about it.

mp3 : Lloyd Cole – Period Piece
mp3 : Lloyd Cole – No Truck

Now……does anybody want to have a go at the solo ICA that I’ve found impossible to nail down????

JC

High Fidelity

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #131 : THE HIGH FIDELITY

Not technically a Scottish act, but given they were fronted by Sean Dickson, the ex-frontman of Bellshill band The Soup Dragons, it seems churlish not to offer up the one, and in my view rather superb, single I have of theirs, from 1999:-

mp3 : The High Fidelity – 2Up/2Down

Wiki advises:-

Sean Dickson started the group when High Times magazine asked him to record a track for a cannabis-themed covers compilation album, Hempilation: Freedom Is NORML. Their debut album, Demonstration (2000), was recorded largely in Dickson’s bedroom, with Adrian Barry (bass), Paul Dallaway (guitar) and Ross McFarlane (drums). The album was later augmented with a number of orchestral arrangements recorded in India.

Musically, the record comprised experimental dance-pop songs, and was described by The Guardian as “an expertly composed pastiche of psychedelic pop”. Their single “Luv Dup” reached #70 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1998.The band recorded a number of sessions for John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 show, introducing the use of the omnichord, a vintage synthesiser, with which they performed a number of songs including a version of “Silent Night”. Peel shared the band’s enthusiasm for the instrument, and when they gave him an omnichord as a 60th birthday present it led to Peel co-writing and performing on one of the tracks on the band’s second album, 2001’s The Omnichord Album. He co-wrote the track ‘Pig might fly’ about his wife.

I just had to track that down for you……

mp3 : The High Fidelity – Pig might fly

Oh my……another one that was ripped off later on and turned into a hit…..

mp3 : Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood

JC

Ash

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #190 : ASH

A GUEST POSTING by ADY HODGES

HUGE APOLOGY FROM JC :

ADY SENT THIS TO ME AS LONG AGO AS JUNE 2018….THE E-MAIL STUPIDLY PUT ITSELF INTO THE WRONG FOLDER AND SO DIDN’T REACH ME UNTIL THE OTHER DAY WHEN ADY WAS PROMPTED BY MY OWN POST ON GOLDFINGER…..

I am a long time reader of this blog, but a very rare commenter, however, I have been loving the ICA series and have been keen to do one. I debated a few different bands and maybe I might do some of the others later, but this is the one I kept coming back to.

Here we are then, an ICA from Northern Ireland’s finest, Ash. This is a band I have seen live many times and the only band I have seen at all the major venues in Portsmouth where I live (the Wedgewood Rooms, the Pyramids, the Guildhall & Victorious Festival on the seafront) – the Pyramids show on the Free All Angels tour is up there in my top 5 all-time gigs. This a very “hit-heavy” ICA covering most of their career, though nothing from the most recent album, Kablammo!, which is good, but in my opinion is missing a killer tune. I think this ICA is a good introduction to the band and hopefully there are one or two gems here that people haven’t heard before.

Side 1

Jack Names The Planets (from Trailer)

Their first single and the first indication of their lyrical obsession with using space/sci-fi terms. A great blast of melodic energy, that disguises some bittersweet lyrics. If you’re wondering about the spoken section at the beginning of the song, this is the explanation from Wikipedia;

“two Dutchmen, Oscar “Wilde” Vermeer and Patrick “The Brewer” Schrama (who met Tim Wheeler during a holiday in France), suggest that the song should have been called “Jack Names The Planet Nieuw-Vennep”, given that, in their opinion, “Nieuw-Vennep” is a good name for a planet. Nieuw-Vennep is a town of thirty thousand inhabitants in the west of Holland, midway between The Hague and Amsterdam”.

Girl From Mars (from 1977)

The first Ash song most people (including me) were aware of. Their first top 20 hit and their first Top Of The Pops appearance. An acapella opening leads into a smart pop-punk song with a cool guitar solo, ideal for radio during the Britpop years. The lyrics of this song, as well as having more sci-fi references, also features another regular Ash lyrical concern, summer.

A Life Less Ordinary (single)

Charlotte Hatherley joined the band as a second guitarist in 1997, expanding their sound as a result. This is the first release to feature her, a standalone single from the soundtrack to the Ewan McGregor/Cameron Diaz film of the same name, which you’ve probably never heard of. I can remember renting the video from Blockbuster (that’s such a 90s sentence!) because of the Ash connection and also because I rate Ewan McGregor as an actor, I wouldn’t bother seeking it out if I were you, as it’s not a good film. The song by contrast is great, driven by nagging, choppy guitar and a dreamy chorus.

True Love 1980 (from A-Z Volume 1)

In 2007 Ash announced that they would no longer be releasing albums, just singles, as they believed the advent of the download had changed the emphasis to single tracks over albums. This eventually became a series of 26 singles (the A-Z series) released every fortnight for a year, later gathered over 2 compilation albums. This was the first single released this way (although there was a free download song issued prior to it that was not officially part of the series, confused?). It is a wistful love song, underpinned by a retro synthesizer backing, that sounds like an old video game soundtrack, stereotypical Ash and perfect for the 80s themed lyrics.

Won’t Be Saved (from Meltdown)

Ash managed the tricky feat of appealing to both Indie kids & the Kerrang! crowd and there are definite metal influences to some of their work. This is probably best illustrated on the Meltdown album, although ironically not on this track, the penultimate song on the album, which is a more straightforward pop song. The track starts with a simple but melodic guitar intro leading into a charming song of unrequited love with a typical Ash singalong chorus.

Side 2

Walking Barefoot (from Free All Angels)

I always associate the Free All Angels album with summer and I think it is mostly to do with this song, which is a perfect summer anthem. This song, “Burn Baby Burn” and “Shining Light” provide one of the greatest album openings ever in my opinion, the three songs work so well together and I couldn’t break them up, so they start side 2 of my ICA.

Shining Light (from Free All Angels)

It’s difficult to say much new about this song. It is their biggest selling single and probably their most recognisable song and one I have grown to love more as the years have gone by. A wonderful melody, with lyrics full of religious imagery, not surprising really, as Tim Wheeler grew up in Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s, when the church really dominated society there. Fun fact, this song won an Ivor Novello songwriting award.

Burn Baby Burn (from Free All Angels)

For a time Ash were my favourite band and I played Free All Angels to death and this song in particular, which was my all time favourite song for a time. This is an almost perfect indie single, guaranteed to fill the floor at indie club nights. I love the way the song announces itself with those chiming guitars.

Goldfinger (from 1977)

As I mentioned above, this is a very hit-heavy ICA, but I make no apologies for that, as I’ve always thought Ash were a quintessential singles band. This is their first top 10 hit and their highest ever charting single. What I like about this track is the way each verse starts with a slow stuttering build and the way for such a melancholy song it swings.

Twilight Of The Innocents (from Twilight Of The Innocents)

The closing title track from their fifth album (and at one point their last album). Charlotte Hatherley had left at this point and they were back to a three piece, not that you notice on a track like this, which has some wonderful instrumentation. This is a great closing track, particularly the way it builds into an epic, driven by some powerful drumming, a really effective string arrangement and Tim singing “I’m still breathing, My heart’s still beating” before fading out to just keyboards, all of which makes it a perfect end to this ICA.

Bonus Single

Does Your Mother Know (from Evening Session Priority Tunes Compilation)

Except it’s not quite the end. Ash do a great cover version, often showing some unexpected influences, so I’ve celebrated that by adding a bonus single of cover versions. The A side is this Abba cover taken from a 1995 Steve Lamacq/Jo Whilley Evening Session and included on the 1996 Evening Session compilation album. It’s a very punky take, which I think suits the song well.

Coming Around Again (from A-Z Volume 1)

Another surprising cover, this time a 1986 Carly Simon track, which they turn into a stereotypical Ash ballad, building to a climax where they throw the kitchen sink at it in terms of arrangement, an approach that ends up working despite itself.

I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at an ICA.

ADY

Blur

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #189 : BLUR

A GUEST POSTING by TEDLOAF

HUGE APOLOGY FROM JC :

TEDLOAF SENT THIS TO ME AS LONG AGO AS APRIL 2018….I STUPIDLY PUT IT INTO THE WRONG FOLDER AND FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT UNTIL THE OTHER DAY…..

I love Blur. They’re in my DNA.

A band that big that have been well documented, where do you start with an ICA?

Chronological?

”I Know” was the first Blur song I heard and I thought it was a double A side with “Sing“ but it doesn’t cut the mustard for this. It was the only song of the following 10 that I dropped. The others were my first choices with no straying so I’ve gone for spontaneity over doubt and procrastination.

Enjoy the music.

Side 1

1. Crazy Beat

Graham Coxon, what a guitar player eh? The way that he takes Damon’s rudimentary chord choices and scruffs them up into something much more aggressive, atonal, angular, abrasive, in order to give the songs some much needed “a.alt” to Damon’s “p.pop”. Whether it’s a Fender Tele deluxe or Les Paul, a Headrush or ProRAT, Coxon plugs in and fuzzes up. It was Coxon that derailed the Britpop train to funsville in favour of alt-City USA! USA! USA!

Norman Cook added some spacious lives and Graham wasn’t around much, if at all, for Think Tank.

2. Young & Lovely

In 1993 erstwhile disc jockey Goldie was about to take charge of the country, elected to high office by a burgeoning jungalist massive hell bent on bringing down the old guard of Robbie Vincent, Django Reinhart and Virginia Bottomley (especially.) Over in the world of Indie Rock the retro sound of Fred Perrys and fake Harringtons were shuffling in the shadows as Modern Life Is Rubbish spewed forth some singles that were really quite good. Some of the B-sides may even have had “la la laaas” in them which made for a very pleasant sing-song whilst in the pub. Blur got bumped up festival bills above Back To The Planet. Mods were invented. Again.

3. No Distance Left To Run

I can remember Damon on the South Bank Show traveling on a train with commuters from Essex, lambasting the way that their lives had turned out whilst wearing a pair of Elvis sunglasses and I thought, why can’t people stop interviewing pop stars? Just let them use the format of a song to complain about how their love lives have gone down the pan and the connection is made.

4. Sweet Song

Sweets are sweet and this is the second best sweet song ever. Except with better lyrics. I was on the other side of the world in transit in Singapore when I first heard this and it made me all wobbly. I wanted to go home and be with someone.

5. Yuko & Hiro

“Ken Livingstone is a folk hero” said Kevin Roland when his Dexys were still Midnight Runners and he was reminiscing part 1. Unfortunately, folk hero status from Kev only lasts for as long a bun in the window of the Little Nibble. Yuko & Hiro takes the well drawn out characters created by Damon such as Colin Zeal, Tracey Jacks, Phil Daniels (but definitely not Ernold Same) and develops new well drawn, tired out characters set on a global stage, portraying a dystopian future where people are called Yuko & Hiro living in a world where they work all the time and never see each other. Are they happy? Is anyone really happy? Maybe they asked Ken for his opinion and thought it best not to sing about that.

Side 2

6. Star Shaped

Returning to Blur’s sophomore slump that should have been produced by Dave Moulding of XTC and not Stephen Morrissey, a little known fact was the level to which the boys would highlight environmental issues through their music and words. At the time I would quite regularly throw my imitation Brutus Trim-fits into the wash after just one wear and several cups of sugary tea. Star Shaped taught us, wash with new soap, behind the collar and it helps your mum by having to do less washing which also reduces the amount of harmful detergents released into the water table. Thanks lads! We met them when Graham was in his Colin from Meantime phase, got given enamel train badges and sang all the way home. Halcyon, la. La. La.

7. Thought I Was A Spaceman

After having my hopes of becoming the world’s youngest Ronald Koeman impersonator dashed by a lack of jowls I decided to try my hand at traps round Flash’s house. The lessons went well until I ran out of cash and Flash ran out of patience. I stepped outside and smelt the cliché of change blowing down my street and with it an old gang had decided to get back together again. Even more amazing was that they’d let Graham mix & produce a new album. Amazing. Imagine all the angular, angrier, abrasiver, guitaryer noise he would heap on Damon’s love songs about people living lives that were incomplete but they weren’t going to complain about it because they were stoic, middle class commuters on the 5.15 to Greece. Or something.

Magic Whip is great. I’ve got kids now. They love Blur and me & my daughter play drums along to Thought I Was A Spaceman.

8. Strange News from Another Star

Having never been sued by David Bowie, Blur realised that their self-titled fifth album, also called Blur, gave them the solid gold opportunity to cover unchartered artistic nautical miles for lawyers when someone spotted the similarity between MOR & Boys Keep Swinging by David Bowie (nee Jones). Clearly the legal eagles couldn’t be bothered to listen the rest of the album. Pillocks.

9. Trimm Trabb

I always wanted a pair of Adidas Munchen that my Casual school mates wore in ’84. I was a second and a half time Mod at the time so wasn’t allowed proper running shoes which made my illicit desire all the more frustrating. The Munchen had a low drop at the ankle making it at the same time sexy as fuck and shit for 5 a side. I don’t remember Trimm Trabb first time round but judging by the song, they could really lull you into a false sense of security and then kick your head in.

10. Under The Westway

If London is a lady then The Westway is a road on the western side of the city that is called the A40 merging into the M40. I have no first-hand experience of being under the A40 but I’m guessing it’s melancholic and could probably prop up the end of a Blur album with a never-ending chord borrowed from some Liverpudlian chancers.

Bonus Song – Girls & Boys : Terry Edwards & The Scapegoats

TED