XTC

THE XTC SINGLES (Part 12)

One that I had to go and pick up from Discogs. And it wasn’t that cheap once I added P&P.

Respectable Street was and remains one of my favourites songs on Black Sea. It’s the opening song on Side A and it sets the tone for what turned out to be, at that point in time, the most tuneful, accessible and witty album by XTC. I loved the old-fashioned, crackly way that the song opened before bursting into a superb riff and, unusually, straight into the chorus before the first of the verses having its sly dig at behaviour in suburbia. But it had no chance of being a single thanks to a few ‘naughty’ words like contraception, sex-position and abortion, not to mention a couple of product placements for Cosmopolitan magazine and Sony.

Turns out the clever folk at Virgin Records had anticipated this and so had asked Andy Partridge to re-write some of the lyrics and replace some of the possibly offending words that could lead the BBC to refuse to air the song. The move turned out to be a waste of time and money as the different version still didn’t get played and the single flopped completely on its release in March 1981.  I still reckon much of that was down to forgetting to replace the product placement stuff:-

mp3 : XTC – Respectable Street (single version)

It wasn’t a 45 I bought at the time as, being of age when such things mattered, I hated the idea of the censored lyric. Turns out that it wasn’t included on the Waxworks compilation which is why I had to send off for it. The b-sides weren’t includes on Beeswax, the companion album to the compilation and so I never heard either of these songs until 36 years after their release:-

mp3 : XTC – Strange Tales, Strange Tails
mp3 : XTC – Officer Blue

The fact that this was the fourth single released from Black Sea and it managed to yield two new songs as b-sides when a previous single had relied on a live track should set alarm bells ringing. This was reaching down into the bottom of the barrel and scraping away. The band have publicly stated that they are among the worst things they have ever put down on vinyl.

The former sounds half-finished from a lyrical point of view and the tune veers all over the place as if it’s a jam gotten out of control. The latter is actually not all that bad in the grand scheme of things, but I suppose when you’ve been spoiling fans with the quality of the songs on the two most recent albums it will feel as if you’re now offering something a bit second-rate.

JC

Dot Allison

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #76 : DOT ALLISON

Dot Allison first came to prominence as the vocalist with One Dove who enjoyed a fair degree of success in the early 90s with a sound that sought to provide a cross between club music and electronic pop. If I can be allowed to be lazy, think along the lines of a Scottish St Etienne.

The band broke-up in 1996 some up three years after the release of their only LP but it would take until 1999 before the singer’s solo career got underway with the LP Afterglow which yielded no fewer than six singles from ten tracks, none of which were commercial successes. This was one of the singles:-

mp3 : Dot Allison – Mo’Pop

She remained a very active musician throughout the first decade of the new century, working in diverse areas either as a solo artists or in partnership with others. Among her credits are vocal and writing contributions with Death In Vegas, Massive Attack, Pete Doherty, Bobby Gillespie and Hal David. Her last release would appear to have been the LP Room 7 1/2 back in 2009.

JC

Ian Dury & The Blockheads

DAS IST GUT! C’EST FANTASTIQUE!

Where would we be without wiki? I certainly would be struggling for enough info and material pertaining to whatever song or act plucked from random to be on these pages on whatever day.

It was only by consulting the on-line encyclopaedia that I learned the following:-

– Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick is the 90th best-selling UK single of all time (as at June 2013)

– The music was inspired by the distinctive piano part of Wake Up and Make Love To Me, an earlier Ian Dury & The Blockheads song

– Some of the lyrics were from as far back as 1974 but the majority were written in 1976, more than two years in advance of its recording and release

– There were 11 separate takes of the song recorded but the one eventually chosen was one of the earliest

– Producer Laurie Latham was never happy with the mix selected as, in his view, there was too much piano and vocals and not enough bass; he’s since said however, that such blemishes are probably what made the song so catchy and memorable

– The song was recorded as live with all the Blockheads placed in different positions across the studio

– Stiff Records announced that they would delete the song as soon as it hit 1,000,000 sales; it turned out that 979,000 copies of the 7” and 12” were sold in late 78/early 79 and the millionth copy wasn’t until many years later in the digital era

– It was initially kept off the #1 spot in the charts by YMCA

– The choice of b-side  – There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards – was deliberate so as to provide royalties to one of Ian Dury’s old writing partners in Kilburn and The High Roads

– The song was also recorded as a duet in 1994, with one half being a legend of German alternative music.

It is one of the most memorable, engaging, enduring and enjoyable singles of the era. One that appealed to music fans of all ages and with all tastes. And one of the few songs in which I don’t mind the sax solo.

mp3 : Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
mp3 : Ian Dury & The Blockheads – There Ain’t Have Been Some Clever Bastards
mp3 : Freaky Fukin Weirdoz & Nina Hagen – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

JC

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

HERE WAS ME THINKING ONLY CHART SONGS WERE ON TOP OF THE POPS

A few days back I was flicking through You Tube looking for a vintage Jonathan Richman clip from a Whistle Test appearance when I found this:-

TOTP 2 was a show that used to fill up time on the schedules of BBC2. It was basically clips of old Top of the Pops shows from the 70s and 80s with the occasional new song thrown in. The fact that they showed a clip of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers performing New England in April 1978 baffles me. The song never made the Top 75 and yet seems to have been recorded and aired. Unless of course the recording was made while the band happened to be in London and kept for use in case the song did become a hit. I was an avid viewer of the show in the 70s as it was just about the only music shown on TV in those days of just three channels and I don’t remember seeing the clip before finding it on t’internet. Does anyone recall differently?

Anyways, I love this particular song. There’s something utterly joyful about its sentiments and the tune matches it perfectly. I don’t own a copy of the single but both it and its b-side can be found on the Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers LP from 1977.

mp3 : Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – New England
mp3 : Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Here Come The Martian Martians

Great fun.

Oh and I did also find the clip I was hunting for. It was shown on Whistle Test at some point in the 80s and captures perfectly the sheer enthusiasm of Jonathan as a performer.

JC

Ponderosa Aces

DID THEY CUT THE MUSTARD IN 2017? #6 : THE PONDEROSA ACES

SUNDAY 23 APRIL : THE PONDEROSA ACES

GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER

I had mostly stayed off the drink at Butcher Boy and TeenCanteen as I had an early start the next morning, down to Manchester for the third and final gig of the action-packed weekend.

It was only the fact that Jonny the Friendly Lawyer, is bass player with The Ponderosa Aces (where he goes by the name of Jonny Bottoms) that made me decide to venture south on the National Express bus for the first time in at least 30 years (the trains were off as a result of engineering works and this was the easiest way to go).

To be perfectly honest, I went down regarding the gig as secondary for it was all about hooking up with JTFL. I’ve already mentioned in a previous post how much fun the hook up proved to me and how it was the prefect appetizer for the then upcoming Bloggers’ Weekend. I also did a short posting on Facebook in which I described the meeting as providing a really satisfying feeling thanks to Jonny being a highly talented and very funny man and also said The Ponderosa Aces were a mighty fine outlaw country music combo. This post is about the gig itself rather than anything else.

The venue was Gulliver’s a cracking old boozer on Oldham Street, nor far from Piccadilly and just a little bit further up the street beyond the legendary Dry Bar where a drug-addled Shaun Ryder once went amok with a pistol in a fit of rage with high-heid yins at Factory Records. I was in the company of a long-time friend Ian who lives in nearby Rochdale and who was putting me up overnight afterwards. The thing is, I’d never let onto Ian in all the 20+ years I’ve known him that I had a music blog until explaining why I was coming to watch a country band in a city more than 200 miles from home and having to take a day off work afterwards to fit it in. Jonny was quite bemused that I kept word of the blog so low-key…..

But I digress (again)!!

The venue at Gulliver’s is upstairs from the bar. It has a capacity of 150 inside a grand high-ceilinged room with a proper, raised stage that made for great sight lines and even better acoustics. There was an enthusiastic and highly knowledgable crowd inside which was no doubt a joy to the Ponderosa Aces given they are fairly well-known in their home state of California and are gaining a reputation slightly further field in Texas, but for the most they are an unknown quantity in the UK; after this particular tour I would suggest they won’t be a secret for much longer.

Fans had travelled from many parts of the north-west and further afield, including three people from Belfast with tonight’s gig being the closest to their home city, with everyone having a great time as the band proved to be a ridiculously talented four-piece (they are normally five-strong but the pedal steel player didn’t come on the UK tour).

I can’t claim to be an expert on country music. I don’t own much beyond Johnny Cash although growing up in Glasgow and being present at family gatherings has long exposed me to all sorts of renditions of songs recorded originally by Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard among others. Many of my own favourite indie-era stars have incorporated country styles into a number of their best known tunes while of course the likes of Elvis Costello has gone much further. So it wasn’t as if I was being exposed to something that was completely alien.

But nothing prepared me for just how great a band the Aces proved to be. Jonny has written on here before about how he was blown away by the welcome he got from singer Mike Maddux, guitarist Hoss Griggs, drummer Arthur Rodriguez and Steve Meitzer on pedal steel when he showed up firstly to audition and then to rehearse, but more so by the fact the guys were, in Jonny’s words, ‘monster musicians’.

Believe me, that doesn’t come close to doing them justice.

It was a fantastic set that chugged along at a fairly frantic pace for the most part. To these ears, it was if Prefab Sprout had turned up and decided to do an entire set around variations on their song Faron Young. I was especially blown away by Hoss’s perfectly effortless guitar playing which was such that Roddy Frame alongside him would have looked like a beginner…and I’m not exaggerating. I’ve long said that you can judge how well a set has gone down by the number of folk at the merchandise stall afterwards and it looked to me that most went home after picking up a copy of their most recent LP Honky Tonkin My Life Away that was released last year and/or a t-shirt.

It’s also worth mentioning that I was lucky enough to enjoy a pre-gig chat with the band and they’re up there with the likes of the two Davids (Kid Canaveral and The Wedding Present) as being the nicest musicians out there performing.

The band played a few new songs that they will be recording in due course for an LP either later this year or into next; these will be the first on which Jonny appears* as the previous LP had the now departed bass player in the studio with them. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy in due course. But for now, here again are two great songs from the current canon:-

mp3 : The Ponderosa Aces – Make Things Right
mp3 : The Ponderosa Aces – Judgement Day

The band have given an interview back in the States describing the entire tour with great and often funny insights into what went on.  Click here for a read and more images.  (It floored me somewhat as I was described in the article as a ‘Scottish music writer’.  That’s another life-long ambition realised!!!!)

*I should mention that this will not be the first time Jonny’s skills will have been captured on vinyl as I found out when we hooked up. But that’s a story, and a review, for another time.

JC

R.E.M.

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #125 : R.E.M. (2)

TAKE YOUR INSTINCTS BY THE REIN

I feel after 10 successive guest postings that I should have another go myself.  The last time I had such a quality run like this I took on the task of an ICA for R.E.M.  It’s history repeating….

There’s a lot of amazing stuff being posted out there in the little corner of the internet occupied by the those folk to whom you can easily visit by clicking links over on the right hand side of this place. Fans of R.E.M. should be particularly delighted with a new series launched a few weeks ago by The Robster over at Is This The Life?

“Over a period of several years I acquired all manner of rare and unreleased gems from market stalls, record shops, mail order, the fan club and, later on, the Internet trading community. I’m going to post all manner of things from my stash in the coming months for as long as you remain interested.”

There’s been four postings in the series thus far, all of which have been of the utmost quality. Some of the versions offered in the first few weeks indeed have been superior to those available via studio albums or previously available live/alternative versions.

As a way of saying thank you, I thought I’d have a stab at a second ICA for the band. The last time round was a posting that I took a great deal of time and care over, and it was only completed thanks to the imposition of a combination of rules including that I couldn’t include singles, I was restricted to one track from each album (or a b-side from one of its singles) and that all tracks had to feature the legendary Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe line-up.

To my immense relief and satisfaction, the ICA was very well received with suggestions that I have a go at Volume 2 and not to let the rules get in the way. It’s taken a while and I make no apologies for that as I’ve had to cut down what was a very extensive list down to just ten. It’s an ICA which I think contains a few surprise selections but the thinking all the way through wasn’t to just pick out ten great tunes for the sake of it but to forge something that would make for a second volume that worked across across both sides of the would-be vinyl without being predictable.

SIDE A

1. FINEST WORKSONG (from Document, 1987)

Tempting as it was to go for the Mutual Drum Horn mix for something a little bit less known, I couldn’t pull myself away from the original version that opened up the LP that introduced the band to a bigger audience than before. Oh and of course, it also provides the sub-title of this ICA.

This was a big and thumping introduction to a record that in sound and production was a fair way removed from what had come previously. It was almost as if, having quietly delivered, some would say murmured, a number of softly sung and beautiful sounding protest songs up until now, Stipe was determined to make sure that his voice was going to be heard this time round. And nobody should doubt that he was angry and wanted his fans to rally with him.

2. (DON’T GO BACK TO) ROCKVILLE (from Reckoning, 1984)

I wrote about this track at length in December 2014 and am happy to repeat what I said then.

A sad tale of long-distance love told over a quite exquisite tune that can’t quite make its mind up if it is indie, pop, honky-tonk or country.

Such is my belated love for this track that on the only occasion business has ever taken me to the Washington DC (it was back in 2002 and I was delighted to learn that the conference venue, which was where I was also staying for three nights, was the Watergate Hotel), I used a spare afternoon to hop on a commuter train out to Rockville, where I had a walk around for about an hour and took some photos.

There are days, and many of them at that, when I think that this is my all-time favourite R.E.M. song. I know that many folk out there feel exactly the same way.

3. MAN SIZED WREATH (from Accelerate, 2008)

There’s very few who will speak out in favour of Around The Sun, released in 2004 to the most unfavourable reviews and really poor sales. Even the band members were quick to dismiss it once the obligatory promotional efforts had been dispensed with and the fact it took the best part of four years for the next material to be released showed they were determined not to repeat the mistake of making a boring sounding record by a bored sounding band.

Supernatural Superserious was chosen as the comeback song, its online release in February 2008 pre-dating the new album, Accelerate, by around six weeks.  It was a bit of a worry as it sounded as if it had a riff based on Since You’ve Been Gone by Rainbow.  But over the ensuing period, as the band did some promo work, more of the album tracks got an airing.  My ears pricked up a bit when I heard Man Sized Wreath and while I’ll be the first to admit that in the overall canon it is a long way from the everlasting quality of the earlier material it was just a relief to hear the band sounding energised once again and for that alone I’m happy to include it within this volume and it fits in well with the overall feel and tenure of this ICA.

4. MUNICH (live) (from Radio 1 Live Lounge, 2008)

The promotional work for Accelerate saw the band members do a few things they hadn’t for a few years. On 26 March 2008 they went into the live lounge of BBC Radio 1 where they played a version of the first single from the new album (see Track 3 above), talked about their upcoming gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London and, in keeping with the tradition encouraged by the live lounge production team, played a stripped down cover version.

The song they chose was Munich, a single that had been released by indie-guitar band Editors back in 2005. Each of Stipe, Berry and Mills had declared themselves fans of the UK band who weren’t all that well-known outside of Europe having tried but failed to crack America. Whether it was a back-handed compliment to the fact that Editors had put a well-received cover of Orange Crush on an earlier b-side or the fact that the lyric of “People are fragile things, you should know by now. Be careful what you put them through” resonated so much with the band on the back of the criticism of Around The Sun only they themselves know. Think of it as the delightful little oddity that is necessary to help with sales of second volumes of compilations.

5. MAN ON THE MOON (from Automatic For The People, 1992)

One of the big sing-a-long hits really has to be included. I shied away last time round but refuse to do this time. It would be disingenuous of me to ignore just how massively popular the band became as the 90s dawned on us just because they are the songs that took them into arenas and stadiums, justifying the high-price contract offered by Warner Brothers. Let’s be honest and frank about it. If R.E.M. had remained something of a cult act throughout their career, then a song which celebrated the life and times of a recently deceased comedic actor who was the very definition of cult would be seen by many as the height of cleverness and indeed genius. Lyrically and musically, this is a great song that no amount of sing-a-long audience participation, or indeed guest vocal contribution from the bloke out of Coldplay*, could ever ruin.

(NB:  this was written long before KC’s ICA of last week; it’s just taken a long while to get round to posting it; honest!!)

SIDE B

1. ELECTROLITE (from New Adventures In Hi-Fi, 1996)

The closing song from the final album recorded by a four-piece R.E.M. has long been one of my favourites. It’s a song that seems to perfectly draw that particular era to a close but perhaps stripped of that context and its particular placing on that particular album runs the risk of not working within an ICA.

The band was, of course, no strangers to including piano-led ballads within their albums but what makes this a cut above the others is that a seemingly simple sounding tune conveys an epic and seemingly metaphorical lyric, one which says goodbye to both the 20th Century and their ailing drummer. Sublime and beautiful in equal measures.

2. WALK UNAFRAID (live) (originally from Up, 1998)

Up was always going to be a difficult album to come to terms with, being the first without Bill Berry. There were many, particularly among the critics, who thought that the band should have called it a day when one of the original members was forced to quit because of concerns around his health. It was a million miles away from the very early R.E.M. and a million miles away in the other direction from the platinum-era R.E.M.

And yet, it’s an album that in many places contains some of their most compelling material from any part of their career, particularly the clearly autobiographical Walk Unafraid in which Stipe acknowledges and indeed celebrates his transformation from timid frontman to articulate spokesman for the disaffected and deeply concerned. I wasn’t convinced by the song as it appeared on the new album – the tune didn’t quite somehow back up the message – but the spunkier and more defiant version I first saw and heard in Manchester in 1999 on the promotional tour for the album, and which was replicated in the live CD/DVD from gigs in Dublin in 2005, is more like it.

3. GARDENING AT NIGHT (from Chronic Town EP, 1982)

It’s now 35 years since this particular song was first heard by the general public, thanks to its inclusion on the Chronic Town EP. Rumoured to be the first original song they were ever truly happy with, it’s clearly one that is of huge significance to the band as evidenced by:-

– the original version has been added to with three other takes of the song, all from the early days, being included on various compilation albums that have been released over the years
– it was performed during the band’s induction into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 2007
– there have been five live versions made available through official releases
– the song title also inspired the name of the band’s publishing company, Night Garden Music

I do fully accept that the production makes this song very much of its time, but it does more than hold its own with so many other of the classic releases from that classic jingly-jangly pop era and it still fills the floor at indie gatherings for folk of all ages.

4. SO. CENTRAL RAIN (from Reckoning, 1984)

“Go build yourself another dream, this choice isn’t mine
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry”

Gut-wrenchingly beautiful. At a time when Morrissey’s songs of a love gone wrong were taking much of the UK by storm, here was an example of the genre from the other side of the pond that was equally brilliant.

5. KING OF BIRDS (from Document, 1984)

I don’t know why, but I have more problems selecting the final track on my ICAs than any other. It’s that need to identify and choose the killer song that would make the listener want to go to their turntable to flip the vinyl back to Side A for a further listen while recognising that most studio albums don’t finish with a track that was selected as a single. The secret of any success in closing out an ICA is to use something of a hidden gem. I think I’ve succeeded here……………………..

Once again, I’ve left off so many that I really wanted to include. I reckon I could churn out at least three more volumes and still not be close to completing the task of offering up essential R.E.M songs but given how hard it was to nail down Vols 1 and 2 then I’m going to draw a line.**

But please, feel free to offer up your own version if you’re so inclined.

JC

*why I’m not fond of Man On The Moon played live – here’s the version with Chris Martin as recorded live in London in 2004 at a benefit gig for the OXFAM charity

**I reserve the right, in the very fullness of time, to compile Vol 3 solely on the tracks being offered up by The Robster.

TeenCanteen

BONUS POST : DID THEY CUT THE MUSTARD IN 2017? #5 : TEENCANTEEN

SATURDAY 22 APRIL – TEENCANTEEN

NICE & SLEAZY’S, GLASGOW

There wasn’t much time to waste following the conclusion of the Butcher Boy gig. After saying thanks to the band members, and taking my leave of Stuart Murdoch (yup, the very one!!) who had been seated next to me throughout, it was a two mile train trip into the city centre and then a haul up the hill to Nice n Sleazy’s to see if I could blag my way into the TeenCanteen gig that was also a special part of RSD 2017.

I never leave things to the last-minute but in this instance there were some plans that may or may not have seen a crowd of us going along to Sleazy’s or maybe to other events in the city that evening and nothing could be determined or finally decided till late on.  In the end, circumstances dictated not everyone could be part of an extended stay and by the time arrangements could be firmed up I was annoyed to find that there weren’t any tickets left for the show featuring Glasgow’s most dynamic all-girl pop band.

Luckily for me, there was a single return on the door and I was able to get myself inside where I would be in the company of Aldo and Jondo, both who had been seated on the other side of me at the BB gig, along with Gary who is a mate of Aldo’s and has long been a champion of the band along with many other emerging talents within the wider Glasgow scene.

TeenCanteen have always been a joy to watch and listen to but there was something a bit special about this performance which elevated it higher than any others I’ve been lucky enough to witness previously. Maybe it’s down to the fact they have been together now for an extended period and that they have been receiving near unanimous critical acclaim with each release. It could also of course be linked to the fact that Carla Easton has also been lauded for her work with Ette whose album, Homemade Lemonade, was my favourite release of 2016. Her stage presence, manner and confidence is way beyond what it was from shows of a couple of years back, but the very same can also be said of her sidekicks Sita Pieracinni, Chloe Philip and Debbie Smith. The new songs from the Sirens EP which was being officially launched at the gig proved to be majestic while the older material packed a punch that I thought had occasionally been lacking in previous outings.

A previous review of the band saw them described as part wall-of-sound and part-Postcard records. Whoever it was coined the description has nailed it. Great vocals above great booming pop tunes but with the odd touch of fragility and cuteness that made early Orange Juice such fun to listen to. Oh and there’s a fair bit of Clare Grogan in there too…. Entry to the show also came with a copy of the new EP on 10″ transparent blue and red vinyl with white splashes and it’s a piece of vinyl treasured every bit as much as many of my other bits of plastic from waaaaay back.

The show was a huge success, leading to demands from an appreciative and adoring audience for an encore, something which clearly thrilled the band; it’s been years since I’ve seen a group come back on with such wide grins and expressions of delight.

mp3 : TeenCanteen – What You Gonna Do About Me?

TeenCanteen deserve to be massive pop stars, appearing on network TV shows the length and breadth of Europe and further afield. But as we all know, genuine talent rarely gets what it deserves. Next month sees the band play a huge show, opening for The Divine Comedy at the 2,500-capacity Kelvingrove Bandstand here in Glasgow. Neil Hannon and his mates will need to be on their finest form to stay in front of the support act…but for those of you who have tickets, you’re in for a real treat the entire night.

JC

Shit Robot

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #124 : SHIT ROBOT

A GUEST POSTING FROM SWC

Yup, Shit Robot. Bands with silly sweary names annoy me a bit. This is because by and large they turn out to be really good and their names stop them from being on the radio or the telly or even properly advertising. I mean Fucked Up, Fuck Buttons and Buggery Wotsits are three of my all time favourite bands. The last one being the name of a band I formed with my brother and Nick from down the road when we were aged 14 and 15. Ash we were not, but we did a mean cover of ‘I Should Be So Lucky’.

I digress. Shit Robot are amazing and if it wasn’t for their completely unnecessary name they probably would have been all over your radios and that over the last five years or so. They are signed to DFA Records, for those in the dark, DFA Records is the part-time of job of the LCD Soundsystem boys and they house a load of bands who make records that would not sound out-of-place on an LCD Soundsystem album – deep dancey anthems, full of bleeps, aahs, tweaks and breaks so big that you need a stretcher to get them off your stereo. Everything on DFA records is brilliant. Take my word for it.

So some history – Shit Robot is the brainchild of an Irish chap called Marcus and whilst DJing in New York, as you do, he befriended James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem and DFA records and the rest is history. They have released three albums of electronica that switches from progressive house to techno via big beat and breakbeats. Last year they released’ What Follows’ which for me was the sleeper album of the year – it gets better and better with each play. If you like Hot Chip, The Juan Maclean, Soulwax and Carcass then you will probably love them (well maybe not the last one – although first album ‘From the Cradle to the Rave’ does hint at a ‘Cradle of Filth’ angle to their music. It hints at it but doesn’t actually do it). Just on a tangent I watched a film the other starring the lead singer from Cradle of Filth, Dani Filth – it was called Cradle of Fear and it is 117 minutes of my life that I am never ever getting back. Up there with Joe vs Volcano as the Worst Film Ever Made. I digress again.

Here’s the music.

Side One

Do It (Right) – taken from ‘We Got Love’ (2014)

‘We Got Love’ is the second album from Shit Robot and ‘Do It (Right)’ is a throwback to the early house scene of the 80s. It features the words ‘Jack Your Body’ and then has this deep vibrating beat running through it. It is impeccably done and makes you feel that you are there in Chicago drinking Mojitos with Fast Eddie.

Wir Warten – taken from ‘What Follows’ (2016)

The reason why the third album is so good is that it marks a bit of an evolvement from the last two – this is progressive house with a meaty old beat behind which kind of sounds like a bloke banging a massive gong in the background. It also features a bunch of oddball vocals from a chap call New Jackson who I should have probably heard of but haven’t.

I Found Love – Taken from ‘From the Cradle to the Rave (2010)

One of the few tracks to actually feature vocals from Marcus himself, this is taken from the debut album. For some unknown reason he decides to sing this one with a deep Texan accent mixed with some heavy effects. It kind of works. What does work is the quirky keyboards which turn this into a glittering slice of synth pop.

Losing My Patience – Taken from ‘From the Cradle to the Rave (2010)

This features Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip and it’s wonderful. If you didn’t know better you could say that this was a Hot Chip song, it has the melancholy lyrics, the synths, and the usual funky vein running through it alongside Taylor’s trademark falsetto.

Take Em Up – Taken from ‘From the Cradle To The Rave’ (2010)

Finishing the first side is another track from the first album, this is perhaps the bands most well-known song. It features Nancy Whang on vocals. For those still in the dark as to who she is, she the keyboardist and backing vocalist in LCD Soundsystem and therefore someone you should love and cherish. This is basically what all electro pop should sound like it also features the word ‘Slowdive’ and not enough songs do that. Wonderful.

Side Two

OB -8 – Single (2016)

Taking its name from an iconic analogue synthesizer from the early 80s (that era again), this is a pretty fine single that preceded the latest album. At a first listen you might argue that there is nothing much happening. But listen to it again, there is birdsong, there is a woman sighing, running water, it has a hypnotic pull. Handclaps dissolve into a fizzy little blast of dubby magic. It is as mesmerizing as house music gets.

Is There No End? – Taken from ‘What Follows’ (2016)

This a five-minute trip into techno and acid house. There is a spoken word vocal about a man’s journey to a club and then his getting kicked out as the party reaches its peak. It’s kind of like ‘Blinded by the Lights’ by The Streets in its narrative (but totally different in delivery and music) as we follow a drugged clubber trying his best to follow the music as everything kicks in.

Space Race – B Side to ‘Teenage Bass’ (2014)

This is a sharp and crispy little number, full of punchy dance beats and as the name suggests there is something a little sci-fi about it. There are a load of glossy synths bouncing about all over the place here. It I think is supposed to sound like a futuristic soundtrack to an nineties space film, but the kind of film with a soundtrack that is a million miles better than the actual film. I mean how many soundtracks make you want to dance until the sun comes up?

Lose Control – Taken from ‘What Follows’ (2016)

This was the lead single from ‘What Follows’ and is another Nancy Whang moment of brilliance. It is also another example of where Shit Robot’s obsession with late 80s and early 90s rave culture shines through. Whang vocals here are markedly different from ‘Take Em Up’ – here she is an ice maiden, all sultry and direct.

I Got A Feeling – Taken from ‘From the Cradle to the Rave’ (2010)

Another slow building housey techno number that at around ninety seconds sees a mumbly little piano come in and then it all goes a bit LCD Soundsystem with the introduction of a cow bell and some echo-y synths and then it kind of relaxes a bit and around four minutes in the singing starts. The bass gets upped and the words bounce around off each other. Its euphoric and if you close your eyes you can even see yourself floating away to it at 3am surrounded by sweaty strangers. The perfect ending to this ICA.

SWC

Butcher Boy

BONUS POST : DID THEY CUT THE MUSTARD IN 2017? #4 : BUTCHER BOY

The past few weeks have been a bit frantic and the blog has largely been running on empty, relying on pre-written posts that I’ve pulled out of a file that is kept specially for such purposes.  There were gigs which took place a few weeks ago still not reviewed and with your agreement, I’d like to roll up all of them over the coming three days with lunchtime bonus postings.

SATURDAY 22 APRIL : BUTCHER BOY

GOVANHILL BATHS, GLASGOW

It’s been over four years since Butcher Boy last played before a live audience.  This gig, arranged as part of Record Store Day, was to support the release of a new limited edition of 500 3-track EP on 7″ vinyl on Damaged Goods Records.  I had been involved in trying to find a venue that was best suited to the band, preferably one that would bring out the best of their unique, gentle and often fragile chamber-pop sound, but efforts across ten locations in Glasgow came to nothing due to unavailability and in the end it was their guitarist Basil who used contacts to have this highly unusual location pressed into use.

Govanhill Baths was a victorian-era swimming pool closed by the council, amidst much animosity, in 2001.  A community-led campaign has seen the building handed over to a community trust which is trying to raise the tens of millions to bring it back into full use again.  In the meantime, the space is utilised in a number of different ways, including the occasional artistic performance.

The band, literally, played in the deep end of the drained pool and the 120-strong audience sat looking down from rows of seats in the shallow end.  It was quite a surreal setting, especially as the targets for the archery classes which would follow the band’s performance (it was a show timed for 6pm-7pm) were in situ.

What followed will, like every Butcher Boy performance, stay long in the memory.  The line-up was slightly different from before with Anna Miles on flute and backing vocals joining the regulars of Maya Burman-Roy (cello), Alison Eales (keyboards and accordion), Fraser Ford (guitar and keyboards), John Blain Hunt (vocals, acoustic guitar), Findlay MacKinnon (drums), Basil Pieroni (lead guitar and mandolin), Cat Robertson (violin) and Robert Spark (bass and occasional percussion)

The 14-strong setist was superb, drawing from some of the earliest EPs , all three of the studio albums while there were debuts for all the songs released on RSD 2017. My fears of the building not being ideal for sound weren’t realised initially with opening instrumental Every Other Saturday being gorgeously note perfect. However, it soon became clear that the high ceilings and echoey nature of a former swimming pool weren’t conducive to getting the best out of the vocals which often got lost behind the lush orchestration and arrangements. I was lucky in knowing all the songs and being able to follow the lyrics but it must have been tough on those who were seeing the band for the first time. It was a real shame as the contributions from Anna, whose work in the past has also added so much to the studio sound of Adam Stafford, were particularly striking and took the band to a different level again.

Everyone played their part in making for a hugely enjoyable hour on an early Saturday evening, but a special mention to Findlay on drums for staying so magnificently on top of things when the nature of the building was such that it wouldn’t have taken much for him to drown out the subtle sounds of his band mates.

The gig was a resounding success in that all the copies of the single available on the night were sold, although small numbers may still be available on-line or from stores that participated in RSD 2017. The audience capacity for the gig was reached and all profits went to the Baths Trust to support current and future activities.

Very few members of Butcher Boy are full-time musicians and getting them together for live shows is a tricky task, especially with Findlay living in the West Midlands south of the border. It remains to be seen whether more shows will emerge later this year but I’ve no doubt that everyone treated to the Govanhill show wouldn’t hesitate in getting along next time round, no doubt joined by those fans who couldn’t get tickets or who were otherwise engaged on what was a busy weekend, musically in Glasgow.

Set list:

mp3 : Butcher Boy – November 1947 Storm Warning In Effect

Good luck tracking down a copy.

Velvet Underground

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #123 : THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

A GUEST POSTING FROM DREW (ACROSS THE KITCHEN TABLE)

“Modern music begins with the Velvets, and the implications and influence of what they did seem to go on forever” – Lester Bangs

My love of the Velvet Underground stems back to 1985 when I sought them out after the comparisons made with my then favourite new band The Jesus and Mary Chain in all the articles that I devoured regarding the misfits from EK. Up until I heard Upside Down I was a rather confused hippy/punk who also had a thing for the girl groups of the 1960s which I kept to myself, the pelters for wearing a Italian Army Field Jacket with the Steppenwolf wolf’s head painted on the back of it, Ozzy Osborne fringes sewn on the sleeves and Crass & Clash badges on the breast pockets and shod in moccasins was enough ammunition for the “cool crowd” without also divulging a love for Be My Baby.

Anyway it all changed late 1984 early 1985 with the Reid Brothers; I was intrigued by the Velvet Underground. I had of course heard Walk on the Wild Side and Transformer but not The Velvet Underground and Nico or to my knowledge anything else by the band. I eventually sourced a copy of the first album from a pal, Gregor’s older brother who was friends with a guy who was friends with a Soup Dragon and a sometime member of the BMX Bandits and who would give me my first taste of garage/psych in the form of a C90 a little later.

The Banana album was a revelation. I could not believe that this album was from the same period as Forever Changes, Are You Experienced and other records the hippy types had introduced me to. The edginess of Waiting For My Man to the nearly toothache sweetness of Sunday Morning to the strange cold out of tune vocals of Nico on All Tomorrow’s Parties (“like an IBM computer with a German accent” is how Andy Warhol described it), which I realised I knew from Japan’s cover, instantly won me over. I loved everything about this band; they were cool and sounded so different from anything else. I searched for a copy of the vinyl but none of the shops I frequented stocked it. A few months later it would come into my possession along with the follow up, White Light White Heat when a friend came back from his annual trip to Florida with both and after playing once decided he didn’t like them and swapped them with me for what I have no recollection of but at that point I would have most probably given him anything apart from my Clash, SLF or Motorhead albums none of which would have interested him anyway.

From that moment on I collected as much Velvet Underground as I could. By the end of 1985 I had all 4 studio albums. The following year I added Live 1969 and VU and then Another View and after that Live at Max’s Kansas City and I have been adding bootlegs, Anniversary reissues and a singles box set, so now there isn’t much left that I still want. The original singles would be nice but out of reach price wise.

Compiling this ICA has been a near impossible task. There may only have been four original albums but nearly ever track could be included in a Best Of along with about half of the two post split studio outtakes that were found languishing in the vaults before their release in the mid 80s. Or I could have just have had the 36 mins 54 second version of Sister Ray from the Complete Matrix Tapes cd box set. I was surprised when I came up with the final ten that there are only three songs from the first two albums, the ones that when I was younger I considered to be the real Velvet Underground albums. Also there is nothing from what for me is the best overall album, The Velvet Underground which is very strange, however when I realised this and looked to see what I would take out for What Goes On, Pale Blue Eyes or I’m Set Free I just couldn’t drop any of them. I know that once this is posted I will look at it and realise I have made a huge mistake but right now, at this very moment these are my favourite Velvet Underground tracks.

Side One

1. Run Run Run taken from The Velvet Underground & Nico

When I first heard this I was first gripped by the train like beat and then the shriek of feedback but not like the controlled feedback I was used to from listening to Hendrix, this was more like a mistake that was just left in. Similarly the guitar solos if that’s what they are, are about as rudimentary as they could be but no less effective than the more virtuoso solos by other guitarists at the time.

2. I’m Waiting For The Man taken from The Velvet Underground & Nico

Two in a row from the debut album, I know but this really did need to follow Run Run Run. Again it’s the throbbing beat that pulled me in, then those laid back vocal about going to score gear. I’m pretty sure that this song if heard more widely would have caused a stir at the time with its overt drug procuring lyrics.

3. Sweet Jane taken from Loaded

This was a difficult choice as most of the time I listen to the live versions I have of this, all from prior to the release of the fourth album when the song was still a work in progress and doesn’t have that little intro, is a bit more laid back with different verses. One of the Velvet’s best known songs due to the cover versions by the likes of Cowboy Junkies, Reed himself, Mott The Hoople and my favourite the live version by Lone Justice captured on the BBC Live In Concert cd.

4. Foggy Notion taken from VU

This is one of two of my favourite Velvet’s tracks which were never released when the band were going. It was recorded during the sessions for the “lost” 4th MGM/Verve album on 6th May 1969. The band were purged from the MGM roster by the new management at the label who wanted to offload the non profit making bands, of which the Velvets must have been near if not top of the pile. The tapes of these sessions were found when clearing out the vaults in 1984, mixed and released as VU the following year to huge critical acclaim and lot’s of “what if’s”, could these sessions have produced the album that finally break the band into the mainstream? As the songs from these sessions are the most accessible tunes that they did, certainly up until this point, as evidenced by Foggy Notion, what a groove!

5. Lisa Says (Live) taken from The Complete Matrix Tapes.

One of the great things about Lou Reed’s songs is that a lot of them mention people by name; Lisa, Stephanie, Candy and loads of others, some members of Warhol’s Factory which makes the lyrics feel more real, to me anyway. The studio version of this song is also included on the VU album. This take comes from the Matrix Tapes and is double the length. I first heard this on the Live 1969 album, an inferior quality recording of the Matrix tapes songs and Lisa Says is most probably my favourite Velvets song.

Side Two

1. The Booker T taken from Peel Slowly and See.

Technically this isn’t a song but a jam that the band used to play in 1967 and was never recorded in the studio sadly, so we only have this one 7/10 quality wise version that was bootlegged and then officially released on the comprehensive 5cd career round up in 1995, Peel Slowly and See. Now you are probably thinking that I am being wilfully obscure and wanky including this but I do love this tune. I can listen to it on repeat over and over. I found out that it was released on a bootleg 7” which of course I had to hunt down and was more than a little disappointed when I eventually got a copy to find that it wasn’t this at all but the instrumental part to The Gift from White Light White Heat which this jam evolved into. Don’t get me wrong it’s good just not this good.

2. I Can’t Stand It taken from VU

Another tune from the unreleased sessions for the “lost album”. This is another track that sounds effortlessly cool, that nagging riff, pounding drums and Reed’s drawl. Just about perfect.

3. Rock n Roll taken from Loaded

Rock n Roll recounts the story of Jenny whose life was saved by Rock & Roll. I read in notes to Peel Slowly and See that the song was about Reed himself, who wasn’t interested in anything until he heard rock and roll. “If I hadn’t heard rock and roll on the radio, I would have had no idea there was life on this planet” It comes from the band’s final album, Loaded recorded for Atlantic. The band were on the point of implosion at this point but could still produce an LP “loaded” with hits or so Reed thought and it is definitely the most commercial of their releases.

4. White Light /White Heat taken from White Light/White Heat

My only pick from the band’s second album and final one with John Cale. This is probably the other song that those unfamiliar with the band will know due to Bowie covering it. The song describes how it feels to mainline methamphetimine. The bass solo at the end is Cale’s attempt to convey the throbbing ear-ringing that occurs when on the drug. Not something I have ever been interested in finding out if I’m honest. There is a 100 mile an hour nine and a half minute version of this on the Matrix Tapes which is pretty damned amazing.

5. I Found A Reason taken from Loaded

We finish off with the quite beautiful I Found A Reason where Reed goes back to his song writing roots with a lovely doo-wop melody. I have always wished that Aretha Franklin or Ruby Andrews had covered this song as I think that a strong female soul voice could really do the song justice.

I know that loads of you will disagree with some if not most of my choices probably the omission of Heroin and Pale Blue Eyes to mention just two. And of course the elephant in the room is the missing Sister Ray which I would have had to sacrifice three or four songs to include. So as a bonus here is the version from White Light/White Heat which is one of the shorter versions of the song I have. (JC adds….it’s still 17 and a half minutes long!!)

mp3 : The Velvet Underground – Sister Ray

As I mentioned before if you haven’t heard it before you should seek out the 37 minute version from the Complete Matrix Tapes, it is epic in all respects. In fact just purchase the Matrix Tapes box-set, it’s worth every penny to hear the Velvet Underground when they were at their absolute peak as a live entity and in better quality than any other concert recording of the band.

DREW

XTC

THE XTC SINGLES (Part 11)

The third single to be lifted from Black Sea turned out to be the one that, at this point in time, provided XTC with their biggest hit:-

mp3 : XTC – Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)

Released in January 1981, this Andy Partridge number spent a total of nine weeks in the chart, getting to #16 in mid-February.  It was some thirty seconds shorteer than the album version.  It was just reward for both the band and songwriter after so many great efforts hadn’t captured the imagination of a wider audience. The initial copies of the single came with a comic book illustrating the lyrics:-

Nice bit of marketing given of course that Sgt. Rock is a comic book character dating back to the late 1950s.

Worth mentioning too that of all the XTC songs he’s written over the years, this is the one that makes Andy Partridge squirm:-

“This song embarrasses the shit out of me. Of all the tunes that I’ve written, that made it to tape, this makes me cringe the worse. It’s not the music, that’s solid enough. All the instruments in the track mesh nicely enough, but the lyrical sentiment, oh dear. It was supposed to be ironic, you know, nerdy comic fan imagines two-dimensional hero can help him with his unsuccessful chat up technique. It did not work. It just came out limply crap. Virgin insisted it be included in this set, otherwise I’d gladly erase it from our history. We all make mistakes.”

No new songs were available on the b-side but there was a tremendous cut lifted from a live concert at the London Lyceum on 12 October 1980 featuring two of the tracks from Black Sea running together:-

mp3 : XTC – Living Through Another Cuba/Generals and Majors (live)

Listening to that live track only heightens the loss from the understandable decision of the band to withdraw from playing live from early 1982 onwards with Andy Partridge suffering from crippling stage fright.  And by crippling, I mean it literally.

It all began when he had a mental breakdown on stage in Paris in March 1982.  It has been said that this was the result of him suddenly, and without warning, being separated from his ever-present Valium tablets. He had first been prescribed the drug as a teenager but had never been taken off it. His wife, increasingly concerned about the dependency with the band reaching new heights of popularity, threw his tablets away — without seeking medical advice — just before the Paris concert. Partridge particularly needed Valium to cope with what he saw as the grinding monotony of concert touring which he hated but took part in for the good of the band.

A few weeks later,  XTC were scheduled to play at a sold-out show in Los Angeles but the audience was told that the show would not take place due to the illness of one of the band members.  It was revealed some time later that Partridge’s ongoing stage fright was manifesting itself as leg paralysis.  In the end, the rest of the American tour was cancelled as were all scheduled future dates in the UK and Europe.  However, nothing could be done to resolve the problem and so XTC became exclusively a studio band other than occasional live-to-air performances from radio stations, and a handful of TV appearances.

JC

Dogs Die In Hot Cars

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #75 : DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS

From wiki:-

Dogs Die in Hot Cars is a Scottish band from St. Andrews consisting of Craig Macintosh (vocals, guitar), Gary Smith (vocals, guitar) Ruth Quigley (vocals, keyboards, French horn), Lee Worrall (bass and glockenspiel) and Laurence Davey (drums and percussion).

Macintosh, Smith, Worrall and Davey all met at Madras College and began playing together in 1993 at the age of 14. After having performed under various names they settled on “Dogs Die In Hot Cars” in 1997. In 1999 they moved to Glasgow where they met Ruth Quigley to complete the line up. The band listed their influences among others as Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beatles and Talking Heads.

Later that year the band signed a one off single deal with EMI subsidiary label, Radiate Records. The single included the songs “I Love You ‘Cause I Have To”, “Celebrity Sanctum” and “Somewhat Off The Way”. In autumn 2003, the band signed to V2 Records and Chrysalis Publishing.

In July 2004 they released their debut album Please Describe Yourself which included the tracks “I Love You ‘Cause I Have To”, “Godhopping” and “Lounger”. “Godhopping” peaked at #24 on the UK Singles Chart and remains the band’s biggest hit. “I Love You ‘Cause I Have To” peaked at #32 on the UK Singles Chart.

In 2006, following the departure of Gary Smith, the band entered the studio to record their second album but this was abandoned. In 2008 they released 17 demos that they’d written for the second album, for people to remix and rewrite how they liked, with the intention being that of the best mixes for each song, they would compile a final record and share any potential royalties from it 50-50 with those who contributed. Nothing however, emerged from the idea.

Here’s one of their two chart hits:-

mp3 : Dogs Die In Hot Cars – I Love You ‘Cause I Have To

JC

Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy

WHERE SOUND BITE POLITICS ARE SERVED TO THE FASTFOOD CULTURE

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy weren’t around with us for all that long, nor did they make all that much in the way of music. A group that aimed to fuse the rap of Public Enemy and the beat poetry of Gil Scott-Heron was an exciting concept to consider and indeed for a while it really did seem they were going to be the ones who really took rap to a wider audience, thanks in part to the fact that they were happy enough to go on the road and play support to the likes of U2, Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine among others.

They emerged out of San Francisco, coming to the fore at a time when America was pursuing an increasingly right-wing agenda that was creating and alienating a far larger underclass whose responses were threatening to get increasingly violent. Indeed the greatest awareness of the band coincided with the period just after the extensive rioting in Los Angeles with their debut (and only) LP Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury being released that same year of 1992. It was an album that addressed many social issues, including racism, homophobia, sexism and urban poverty. It also, rather timely, included a blistering cover version of California Über Alles, the Dead Kennedys song which many media commentators had referred to in their analysis of what had caused things to go so badly wrong in LA and the wider state.

The band was really two individuals, Michael Franti (vocals, production, misc. instruments) and Rono Tse (drums, percussion, programming), assisted on stage and in the studio by a range of talents. But Franti was on whom most attention was focussed. For one, he was a striking looking individual, standing at six-foot six inches. His life story was genuinely fascinating. He was incredibly intelligent, articulate and frank in his opinions, all of which made him a great interviewee no matter the media. His anger was a quiet, simmering and seemingly non-threatening type – where others rapped hard about injustices shouting and demanding action, Michael Franti preferred to ensure his  words could be heard, understood and, above all, to be thought about by those doing the listening.

The DHOH album is an extraordinary piece of work made possible by a wide number of contributory elements including sampling and scratching amidst playing that incorporated jazz, soul, AOR rock and pop. Franti made great use of his rich baritone singing voice but sometimes his words were softly spoken in a resigned sort of way, with more than a hint of cynicism in the tone of delivery.

Their best and most enduring song was released as a single and deployed as the opening track. It’s an unparalleled attack on mass-media brainwashing, written and delivered in a pre-internet age, but whose message still resonates 25 years on. Possibly more so in an era of so-called fake news and alternative facts:-

mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Television, the Drug of the Nation

The heading for today’s posting is taken from a line in that song.

But as I mentioned earlier, there were all sorts of social issues addressed within the album whose release was timely as it came at a time when many music journalists and media commentators were questioning whether rap should be taken seriously when so many of its exponents were proud of their homophobic and/or misogynist lyrics and whose view of all issues, literally, came down to black and white. Franti, while not ignoring race issues, was much more focussed on class divisions across American society, and again this seemed new and fresh in rap music, albeit he was merely the latest a what was already a long line of highly aware political protest singers.

mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Satanic Reverses
mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Language of Violence
mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Music and Politics
mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – California Über Alles

The album is more essential than disposable and one that I feel every music fan should have either a copy of or access to. The duo, realising that they would probably never be able to top the debut, went their separate ways in 1994, with Franti forming Spearhead with whom he still records and performs to this day. Rono Tse, judging by a lack of product on Discogs post-DHOH, appears to have drifted quickly out of the music industry.

JC

La's

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED

It is nowadays regarded as an indie-pop classic but hands up if you knew that it was the third time of asking before it become more than a cult hit……

November 1988 was the first attempt. Having considered it had been lost in the tradiotionally crazy way of record sales in the run up to any Xmas period, Go-Discs tried again in January 1989.

Then the track was given the remix treatment by star-producer Steve Lillywhite and in October 1990 this version was the one that propelled The La’s to a #13 hit:-

mp3 : The La’s – There She Goes
mp3 : The La’s – Freedom Song

Even after all these years, it still has the ability to sound fresh and fantastic.

JC

Fine Young Cannibals

REALLY FLOGGING A DEAD HORSE

Don’t worry…..I’m not trying to squeeze in another posting about the bloggers weekend or Coldplay. The image above does give the game away somewhat….

I’m not sure what the world record is for most singles lifted from an LP, but in terms of % then the 7 out of 10 associated with The Raw and The Cooked, the 1989 sophomore album from Fine Young Cannibals must be up there.

Of the seven singles, four went Top 20 and only one of them failed to chart – possibly because the record buying public really had no excuse to shell out any further. The album itself was one of the best-selling of the era – it has been certified triple platinum in the UK and double platinum in the USA – and is estimated to have sold more than three million copies worldwide.

Unusually for such a popular and huge-selling record, it has quite a bit going for it, successfully bringing together a number of genres such as pop, rock, soul and funk to good effect, albeit it also has a rather dreadful cover of a hit single by Buzzcocks.

It was actually quite surprising to see Ever Fallen In Love? on the album as the FYC version was already more than two years old having been recorded for the film Something Wild (directed by Jonathan Demme) and had been released as a single in its own right in early 1987. Indeed, film buffs might have thought that there was very little new about The Raw and The Cooked as three more of its songs had featured in the 1987 movie Tin Men (directed by Barry Levinson) in which the band appeared and performed within a film that was set in 1963…..

But I digress.

As with all hit albums, it was preceded by a strong single, one that dominated the airwaves in early 1989:-

mp3 : Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy

This unusual but fine sounding single was released in the first week of January and spent almost three months in the charts, peaking at #5, setting the tone for what would be a triumphant year for the band. Just as it dropped out of the Top 75, the folk at London Records released this in April:-

mp3 : Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing

This had been one of the songs featured in Tin Men and so it is deliberately retro sounding. It is toe-tappingly and hand-clappingly catchy but in a way that avoids becoming annoying. It spent more than two months in the charts, peaking at #7. The label then waited until August to issue the next single:-

mp3 : Fine Young Cannibals – Don’t Look Back

Unlike the previous two singles, this one has dated pretty badly. It’s a run-of-the-mill and indistinct effort that doesn’t have all that much going for it. The record buying public obviously agreed as they didn’t part with their cash in the same way – it spent just four weeks in the charts and peaked at #34.

In most instances, a poorly selling single would lead a label to decide to call it quits on that particular album and to look to persuade the singer or band that it was time to get some fresh songs out there. However, the big problem was that FYC were not the slightest bit interested in doing anything new. Lead singer Roland Gift was determined to pursue an acting career and was certainly not the slightest bit inclined to rush back to the studio – it was also the case that the band weren’t tied to any rigorous and demanding contract and so could take things at their own pace.

The pre-Xmas boost for 1989 came via a fifth single in November, one that highlighted in particular the soulful nature of the lead singer:-

mp3 : Fine Young Cannibals – I’m Not The Man I Used To Be

This spent ten weeks in the chart, peaking at #20 in mid-December.

All told, it meant that FYC had seen singles occupy a slot in the Top 75 in 33 of the weeks during 1989. The parent album, having entered  at #1 in the first week of its release in mid-February remained in the chart throughout the rest of the year, and indeed was still as high as #18 at the end of December 1989.  Sales wise, it was only out-performed by the toe-curlingly awful giants of the pop world like Phil Collins, Jason Donovan, Gloria Estefan and Simply Red.

The album would stay in the charts for a further five months – boosted by it winning Best Album at the Brit Awards in February 1990 (at which FYC were also named as Best UK band) – and only dropping out at the end of May 1990 by which time two further singles – I’m Not Satisfied and It’s OK – had been released with the former reaching #46 but the latter being a complete flop.

FYC never made another album after The Raw and The Cooked, although in 1996 they got together one last time to record two new songs to include on a 14-track ‘best of’ effort which, despite including no less than six tracks from the Raw and The Cooked, still went Top 10 and sold more than 300,000 copies in the UK alone.  On that basis, it is somewhat baffling that they never wanted to take advantage of their continuing popularity and make more records.

JC

Uncategorized

THE FIRST BIG BLOGGERS WEEKEND (CONTINUED)

It all starts a bit unusual on the Saturday with myself, Walter, Dirk, Brian, Adam and Drew walking through the town in the direction of Mono. We get there are but it’s not yet open so we wait outside watching the Germans enjoying yet another smoke. CC’s cheery face appears unexpectedly as the doors open and in we go desperate for teas and coffees to take the edge off things. It’s Hangover City.

We gather collectively round a table but not for long as Brian makes a bee-line to flick through the vinyl in a scene that was so reminiscent of High Fidelity. Except there were no cute singer-songwriters and the shop staff were wonderfully helpful, friendly and far from judgemental. The piss taking continued as the caffeine kicked-in with things going up a notch as another pop star wandered in and said hello. Brian’s face when he spotted Stephen Pastel will live long in the memory.

T-shirts, books and vinyl were handed over to the visitors as gifts and thank yous where they were crammed into bags alongside the essential purchases by all and sundry. Back into drinking mode except for Drew who only wanted Irn Bru and Brian who just wanted a bed to lie down in and dream.

Tales of Drew’s scooter days out were told in which Buckfast and Chinese punks featured heavily while Adam talked of weekenders in Blackpool where the entire luggage consisted of a toothbrush and two E’s. Brian continued to pine for a bed in which to lie down and dream.

We then split into two with the tricycle boy leading some out to his native Airdrie for the football and others went out looking for a beer garden with decent scenery and better lager than Tennent’s. A good time was had by all although my own state of mind was partly ruined by the Hibbees.

We all hooked up again in the evening at the Bon Accord where Aldo was waiting and strangeways would come along later. After 24 hours, Drew’s accent was now beginning to be partly understood and so everyone laughed as he told of Brian’s confusion on how to eat a mince pie while watching the game. Dirk mused on why the women in the beer garden had all looked like models and Walter wondered whether he had taken the wrong decision earlier. Brian still just wanted a bed in which to lie down and dream.

We went next to The Griffin where Stiff, Tank and William were waiting as yet more drink was taken and more pish was spoken. Morrissey, Mark E Smith and Phil Ramone were still getting slated. Brian saw some Irn Bru behind the counter and declared it the drink of the devil. The joys of drinking far too much after an 18 hour plane journey and no sleep had clearly turned him insane.

It was soon time for CC to take his leave at which point Brian also decided to realise his day-long ambition of a bed in which to lie down and dream. The rest of us went to Sleazy’s where we found a booth in which we could just sit and take everything in. The lights, the sounds, the décor and the beautiful young people out for the long haul. Same story as Friday – lots of hugging, lots of dancing of sorts etc. etc.

After a while Drew had to head back home and so began the first of the big sad cheerios. More drinking, more dancing of sorts and then outside together to head our separate ways. The Germans though had other ideas and after a quick smoke went back in for a final hurrah while the rest of us sought out taxis and the likes.

On Sunday I went in to make sure everyone still left in town could get to the airport on time which just left the bold Brian who was now fully recovered and refreshed after his much needed bed to lie down in and dream. There’s stories to be told from the rest of the day but they’re more suited to a Coldplay song than one by the Strap.

We met up for the weekend, it lasted for ever; got high with our friends; it was officially summer.

77,000 steps in four days said the app on the phone.  I got myself some sleep eventually on Sunday night after seeing the Blue Jays sneak an unexpected win. It was the perfect end to a perfect gathering. Meeting up soon with Aldo to recall the memories and smile about it all. Drink could well be involved.

mp3 : Arab Strap – The First Big Peel Thing (Peel Session, 25 March 1997)

JC

Uncategorized

THE FIRST BIG BLOGGERS WEEKEND

WITH APOLOGIES TO AIDAN MOFFAT AND MALCOLM MIDDLETON

So that was the first big bloggers weekend of the summer.

Starts Thursday as usual with Brian and Walter jetting in from the ‘Dam although Seattle and Frankfurt had been the departure points. I try to do my sound bloke routine by going in with them in the taxi and then spending the afternoon and evening being a genial host. I’m glad I bothered. We did lunch in the Griffin, some culture, some drinking and a hurl on the Glasgow subway. Ended up in the Pot Still chatting to Canucks, death metal bikers from Stockholm and posh folk from the RSNO. Before long it was Friday….

From Rhine Town to  Rain Town, Dirk flew in to be met by CC  and soon we all hooked up to head out west via The Variety and The Arlington where we were joined by Comrade Colin. I was wearing my Ponderosa Aces t-shirt so in some ways Jonny the Friendly Lawyer was also part of the entourage. The sun was blazing down and so we set sail for the Kelvin and outdoor drinking at Inn Deep amongst the students, hipsters and trendies. Why is it these places only serve the worst vodkas? There was no problem getting in but there were no seats available so we stood on the walkway leaning on the fence watching people come and go. This turned out to be sound as we soon spotted Ken from The Bluebells who was kind enough to pose for a photo with Brian before he flogged us CDs of this new band he’s working with called Pronto Mama.

Before long it was off to the Hug and Pint where Drew came in and immediately confused the German boys with his Lanarkshire guttural although they knew right away he was very sound and very funny. Or maybe they were just being polite. The next wee surprise was David from Kid Canaveral dropping by as he was playing there that night as the support act and he too posed for a photo with Brian as well as giving him some lovely vinyl. There was a long haul back into town to Sleazy’s where Aldo had hotfooted it straight from work. By now the lack of food was taking its toll so some crisps were bought and shared although the drink still flowed very freely.

A few changes of clothing ensued with Dirk now resplendent in yet another magnificent Clash t-shirt sourced in Japan worn underneath the coolest of leather jackets. Joey Ramone eat your heart out. We sat down in Tut’s, drinking ourselves even sillier and stuffing our faces with burgers and pizzas. All except Colin who of course had to be all bourgeoisie and have the beetroot falafel….mmmmmm dead tasty. Adam got in just after 8 and so the gathering was finally complete. Beers, wines, vodkas and peach schnapps were ordered and consumed but we decided to bail out before the 350 teenagers upstairs watching Seafret came back to cram us out.

CC went home but the rest of us hit the State Bar where Dirk’s jacket drew admiring glances from the ladies and in one case a sneaky caress. By this time there was some amount of pish being talked but it only added to the fun. We decided Moz and Mark E Smith were bigger tossers than Phil Ramone but it was a close run thing. At midnight it was time to go home.

But unknown to the rest of us, four of the gang went back to Sleazy’s where I’m not sure what happened as I wasn’t there and the others can’t remember. Before long it was Saturday…………

mp3 : Arab Strap – The First Big Weekend

(More to come later today)

JC

Coldplay

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #122 : COLDPLAY

A GUEST POSTING FROM KC

JC writes…..

I’m thinking that I’m going to wake up feeling a bit lost as all my blogging comrades head home after what I am sure will have proven to be a momentous and unforgettable weekend. I will, hopefully, find the time soon to put up a posting or two with my thoughts and memories but for now want to start the week off with what I think is one of the best-written posts to grace these pages.

It’s a TVV debut for KC who some of you will know as the wonderful new talent to be ‘discovered’ by SWC and Tim over at WYCRA. KC has chosen to dive in at the deepest of ends today without the aid of any safety devices…

An Imaginary Compilation – Coldplay

by KC from When You Can’t Remember Anything

“So how do these Imaginary Compilation Albums work then”?

I am sitting in the kitchen at work talking to SWC and Badger as we wait for the kettle to boil.

“Do you have to wait to be invited to do one or can you just jump in and do it”?

Slowly Badger explains it to me. I learn that you can write one about any band you like, any one at all is fair game.

“I mean some idiot even wrote one about Kanye West last year”, SWC chips in as his teabags leave a trail from cup to bin.

“That was you wasn’t it?” I ask him. He nods sheepishly.

“Are you thinking of writing one then?” he asks me before telling Badger about one that he had started last week at midnight when trying to sleep on the sofa whilst his wife was poorly.

It’s my turn to nod. “I’m going to write one on Coldplay…” there is a little choking noise. It’s Badger and he appears to have a small amount of brown crumbs around his mouth. I think he has just half swallowed and half choked on a Bourborn Cream.

SWC looks at me and is shaking his head, “they will never forgive you” he says. I look at him with confusion. He sighs…“One of the unwritten rules of music blogging; Thou must not write anything nice about Coldplay, Keane, The 1975 or Mumford and Sons and never ever admit to liking them even if you do”.

Well I do like Coldplay, and I like Chris Martin, I think he is a nice guy who is doing what he loves. He has an air about of him of a man who cannot believe his luck. He’s a geeky bloke from Devon who made a few records and then married a Hollywood actress. Last year at the Radio 1 Big Day Out, Chris Martin had 50,000 people eating out of his hands, people of all ages, all sexes, all races, religions and sexuality, and yet from what I can see even the mere suggestion of liking him or his music on various blogs is enough to get sneers of derision. Well to be honest you lot need to get over yourselves.

You know what I have a theory, and I’m telling this to Badger and SWC in the kitchen unaware that four other people are now listening to me. I think secretly most of you out there own something by Coldplay, and I think you play it more regularly than you will ever admit to it (aha, a nod from Badger).

It is far too easy to diss Coldplay, mostly this is just to pass them off as shit, most people who do this have heard two, possibly three songs by them. Well fine that’s your view, but let me tell you this. Chris Martin is more relevant than that chap from The Wedding Present ever has been or ever will be. He writes better lyrics than Morrissey and is a far nicer person. Every album Coldplay have made is better than anything that LCD Soundsystem have ever recorded (and when I say this it’s SWC’s turn to choke, genuinely choke).

Chris Martin has more charisma and stage presence than nearly every other front man or woman that I can think of. Face it indie boy, he is better than you at everything and secretly you know that and that is why you hate him. If you ask me it comes down to a question of what you want from your rockstars.

So I’m tweaking the nose of convention and I’m ripping up the rulebook. Because guys, here comes my ICA on Coldplay and I’m basing it on their first three albums, all of which are great records.

Side One

Trouble – Taken from ‘Parachutes’

This is probably one of those songs that annoys you all. Yet this is a song of gorgeous regret, an apology to someone somewhere – the lyrics show this “I never meant to do you harm”. It’s a powerful song because it is so simple and so easy for everyone to understand and get, and that’s why it is so popular.

Talk – Taken from ‘X&Y’

According to SWC this is the only Coldplay song worth listening to and that is only because it samples something by someone called Kraftwerk. It’s a different kind of Coldplay song entirely, much heavier than their usual standards but still really good.

Til Kingdom Come – Taken from ‘X&Y’

My Dad loves Johnny Cash and this song was written for him (Johnny Cash not my dad) by Coldplay and he never got to record it. I imagine that Cash would have recorded it different but this is a lovely little acoustic track and one that I really like. I especially like the way you get this at the end of the album perfectly contradicting the big sounds of the earlier parts of the album.

In My Place – Taken from ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’

This is a grower I think, at first people were unsure of it, they were unsure of Coldplay’s progression as a band. But then after a few listens you realise that it is a fantastic pop single. For me it justifies my claim that they have more presence that most of the bands around today.

Low – Taken from ‘X&Y’

I’ll end side one with perhaps the most frantic song that they have ever recorded. I really like the guitars on this but I’m not going to try to describe how they sound. They sound awesome and that should be enough.

Side Two

Don’t Panic – Taken from ‘Parachutes’

I saw Coldplay live a few years back and when they played this the crowd went absolutely bananas for it. It is something of a fans favourite.

Warning Sign – Taken from ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’

Coldplay are a band that are very much in touch with their emotions which is probably why they get so much stick. Personally I think it works in their favour. The vocals on this are passionate and heartfelt and again it is so simple when Martin goes, “The truth is I miss you”. Lovely.

You’ve Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party – Beastie Boys Cover

This is recorded live somewhere the day after one of the Beastie Boys died. I wasn’t aware of the original song until I heard this. I think the sentiment and the poignancy of this are beautiful and again it is heartfelt and sincere.

Square One – Taken from ‘X&Y’

Another thing about Coldplay and Chris Martin in particular is they have a knack of writing lyrics that affect individual on a massive scale. Thousands have fallen for his songs about love, hope, loss etc and ‘Square one’ is the track that gives them more than all the others with its lyrics asking “Is the anywhere you want to go…?”

Politik – Taken from ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’

This song opens the second album ‘A Rush of Blood To the Head’ and it is quite an intense song and it happens to be my favourite Coldplay song should I actually need one. It is an exhilarating, driving blast and most bands out there would give anything to record a song anywhere near as good as this.

KC

Ruts, XTC

THE XTC SINGLES (Part 10)

Just as Towers of London was beginning to fall out of the charts a very peculiar decision was made regards the next single in November 1980.

A film called Times Square had just been released. It was not a critical or commercial success and you can read about it here. It’s not one I imagine many people can recall.

The film was accompanied by a 2xLP of 20 songs with what was mostly a mix of new wave and chart acts, mainly from the UK but also featuring NYC acts such as Talking Heads and The Ramones, and as part of the efforts to promote the movie and the soundtrack it was decided to issue a 7″ single. The tracks chosen were by XTC and The Ruts. The strange thing being that the XTC song was one that wasn’t available anywhere else while The Ruts effort had been a Top 10 hit only a year or so previously.

mp3 : XTC – Take This Town
mp3 : The Ruts – Babylon’s Burning

That it was released while the band were in the middle of their efforts to promote Black Sea seems baffling but then again it was a track that had been given to the film project some time previously and neither XTC nor Virgin Records were in charge of the timing of the release of Times Square.

The single was a flop. It’s not the band’s finest moment and was also out of step with much of the material on their new LP, albeit there was a hint of the ‘whistling’ that had helped make Generals and Majors such an enjoyable tune.

Worth saying that the song by The Ruts is still one of the best songs of the immediate post-punk era.

JC

Django Django

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #74 : DJANGO DJANGO

Another band I hesitated about before including them in the series.

David Maclean (drummer and producer), Vincent Neff (singer and guitarist), Jimmy Dixon (bassist) and Tommy Grace (synthesizer operator) met at Edinburgh College of Art but didn’t get round to forming Django Django until they were all in London. However, David and Tommy are Scottish; Vincent is from Northern Ireland while Jimmy is a native of Yorkshire. David has a family connection to music in that his brother John McLean was part of The Beta Band.

But any doubts I had about eligibility have been smoothed by the fact that both Django Django long-playing records released thus far have been eligible for consideration for the Scottish Album of the Year Award.

Theirs is an infectiously upbeat and joyous sort of electronica that will have you up on your feet and moving around a fair bit if played at a club. They’re also a decent enough live act, albeit like many others whose music comes via machines and gadgets it’s sometimes not the most visual of spectacles – at least it wasn’t on the couple of occasions I saw them promoting the debut LP in fairly small venues…it’s probably a different story nowadays.

That self-titled debut LP back in 2012 was a very confident and assured piece of work that yielded no less than six singles, none of which actually made the mainstream charts. But the critical acclaim was wide and it was a similar story with the 2015 follow-up Born Under Saturn.

mp3 : Django Django – Default

From the debut LP….it might be familiar to some of you as parts of it were used in various adverts

JC