THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

Lemonheads, Mega City Four, Simon & Garfunkel

BONUS POSTING : THE £20 CHALLENGE (Week Five)

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SWC writes…..

Badger was sort of right last week, I do have this habit of winding people up. Most of the stuff I say is completely true though. I am sucker for inane little facts, snippets of information and nuggets of knowledge that make your socks roll up and down your legs and shout ‘Golly’. So you can imagine how happy I was when I found out earlier today that the red waxy stuff that adorns Edam cheese was invented by the grandfather of Huey Lewis from Huey Lewis and the News fame. Almost as happens as I was when I found out that the Afrikaans word for an ‘elephants trunk’ is ‘slurp’ and that octopuses have beaks. That’s how happy.

I was less happy when I found out that Mrs Badger was to pick this week’s charity shop CD. This is not because she has bad taste in music, as shown by our own recent experiment with our wives iPods over at our own blog (both better and miles more eclectic than ours). Rather it is because she is bound to make it difficult for me. So it was with some fear when Mrs SWC and I turned up at Badger Towers last Sunday for lunch, the CD was going to be presented to me after the trifle (actually it was a very nice trifle). Also just to set the record straight, The Badgers and the SWCs often have lunch together, it’s a fairly regular thing, we don’t just get together to give each other CDs bought from various branches of Scope.

After the trifle, whilst the tea is being made and the dishwasher loaded by Badger – who is looking resplendent in his favourite frilly pinny – Mrs Badger pops a bag containing the CD on the sofa beside me and immediately starts talking to my wife and our daughter about things like ‘pretty dresses’. It is a very clever move. She told me earlier that Badger has no idea what it is, because he ‘was bound to tell me, after one or two glasses of wine’ (true he would).

I leave the CD where it is, my hand twitching slightly, the CD appears to be sinking into the sofa, seemingly burning a hole in the bag. I’m rubbish at poker. I grab the bag and peek inside.

It is ‘Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits’ it cost £2 from the Whipton branch of Scope in Exeter.

Now it is about now that I should confess a few things. Firstly, ‘The Graduate’ starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman is one of my favourite films, and its soundtrack is a musical masterpiece. It’s largely because Anne Bancroft looks wonderful in every scene in that film and that bit where Hoffman goes ‘Mrs Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?’ is one of cinemas finest minutes.

‘Sound of Silence’ is one of the finest records ever recorded and despite being nearly 50 years old it has aged excellently (and if you disagree then the door is over there). These two famous tracks come from the soundtrack and are also featured on the Greatest Hits CD.

mp3 : Simon & Garfunkel – Sound of Silence
mp3 : Simon & Garfunkel – Mrs Robinson

Let’s talk cover versions for a second if I may, I’ll come back to the confessions later

Now despite ‘Sound of Silence’ being nearly half a century old, it has rarely been covered but a few months back the unintentionally hilarious act Disturbed decided that the world needed a nu metal version of it. I haven’t got it but I played it on You Tube just a moment ago and a massive piece of sick arrived in the back of my mouth. It is as awful as it sounds.

‘Mrs Robinson’ has been covered as we know, by the Lemonheads, which isn’t bad to be honest.

mp3 : The Lemonheads – Mrs Robinson

Another track on the CD ‘Cecilia’ has been butchered by well-known arsehole and Chelsea Fan Suggs. He took an already awful song and made it fucking awful.

Here’s the original if you want it. It sucks massively though

mp3 : Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia

Second confession. I rarely buy Greatest Hits CDs largely because they often are just record companies flogging a long dead horse. There are four exceptions to this rule, Buffalo Tom’s ‘A Sides’ (which The Robster will agree with), Super Furry Animals ‘Songbook Vol. 1’ (which everyone should agree with). ’21 Singles’ by the Jesus and Mary Chain’ and ‘Straw Donkeys’ by Carter USM (ditto). Every other Greatest Hits compilation is a rip off. I may add ‘Melting Pot’ the Charlatans one to that good list in the near future.

Now despite only costing £2, this Greatest Hits CD is a rip off, it contains a number of live tracks that are ruined by polite applause included ‘Homeward Bound’ one of S&G’s better tracks. Seriously if you want to listen to Simon and Garfunkel go and buy the ‘Sounds of Silence’, ‘The Graduate’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ albums. All three are excellent; don’t waste your cash on one of the several million compilations.

mp3 : Simon & Garfunkel – Homeward Bound (with added clearly piped in ‘polite applause’)

Third Confession – Paul Simon, despite nowadays being a domestic violence sympathiser, was at the time – one natty mofo. On the cover of this CD he has a zapatista moustache (kind of) and a white beret. Only a real rock star could wear a white beret on an album cover. Would you see Thom Yorke or Morrissey or Kanye West wearing a white beret on an album sleeve – no you would not, because they are just shallow fawns toking on fashions crack pipe (possibly). Simon also appears to be holding a golden acorn which is probably symbolic of something.

Fourth Confession – The song ‘The Boxer’ is utterly wonderful. No, no, Stay with me. I listened to this CD in full on my way to work on Monday morning – I had an hour’s drive so bunged it on. Now maybe it was a combination of Devon’s rolling hills and the beautiful sunshine but the bit where the thunderclaps drums kick in just after the vocals go ‘Lie la lie’ for the first time sent shivers down my spine and despite it being an obvious Dylan rip off – it’s a beautiful thing.

mp3 : Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer

Bringing it back to facts and inane pieces of information. There is a bridge in Bickleigh, Devon which goes over the fast flowing River Exe that legend has it was the inspiration for S&G’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. They stayed in the nearby cottage and spied the fast flowing river and the rest is POP HISTORY. Another lesser known fact is that I once saw a yellow Mark II Ford Capri stuck in a tree near the same bridge. At least one fact in this paragraph is not actually true. All three in the opening one are.

mp3 : Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water

Here is the skinny

Bought from Scope, Whipton

you can google Scope to find out more about their ongoing brilliant work in providing disabled people with the same opportunities as the rest of us.

Price £2.

Money Left £11

Weeks Left 5

Oh, before I go and just because here is an ode to the lovely Anne.

mp3 : Mega City Four – Anne Bancroft

SWC

Cinerama

THE CINERAMA SINGLES (6)

The third of the singles to appear on Scopitones in 2000 came out in August. This one starts off sounding a little bit like a quieter number by TWP, and just as you perhaps are being lulled into a false sense that it really isn’t going to go anywhere or do anything, the accordion kicks in and it transforms itself from an ugly duckling of a tune to the most graceful swan:-

mp3 : Cinerama – Lollobrigida

How great must this have made Sally Murrell feel? She was David Gedge‘s long-term girlfriend and muse, and here he was presenting a song to her in which she is being compared favourably to a stunning looking Italian actress.

Again there were two new songs for the b-side:-

mp3 : Cinerama – See Thru
mp3 : Cinerama – Sly Curl

The former was probably the first of the signs that certain songs were just not really suited to the Cinerama set-up. It wouldn’t have been out of a place on a TWP record – the first two-thirds of it anyway – and just where you would expect some loud guitars, in come some synth strings. But not for long….that bottled-up guitar solo that hadn’t been played for about five years is committed to record.

The latter was another which caused much surprise as it featured a guest spoken contribution from the Irish comedian Sean Hughes, who was known to be a huge fan of all things Gedge and indeed indie. It’s a rather lovely number which again offers up a quality b-side.

Enjoy.

Prince

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #77 : PRINCE (live)

a guest contribution from Derek Howie

I enoyed reading Jacques the Kipper’s recent tribute on Prince. He was my second biggest hero in music after Bowie and, like Jacques, it actually hit me harder than Bowie. Bowie bowed out with the masterpiece that is Blackstar, and it just seemed like the perfect end to a legendary career. Prince however had still so much to give. He had brought out 4 albums in just over 18 months and there was talk of more to come.

As he predicted, I do disagree with Jacques in that there is a lot of great stuff in the Vault. Some has leaked out over the years and there is a lot of fantastic songs there. Hopefully more will be released in a proper manner in the future and we will have more to enjoy.

As my tribute to one of the greatest live artists ever, I thought an Imaginary Live Compilation Album of Prince would show off the wee man’s versatility and brilliance throughout his career. A lot of his music sounded even better live.

I saw Prince play at the Hydro a couple of years ago and I still get a buzz from thinking back at how good it was. Hopefully this will give a flavour of what his concerts were like and you may find some songs that you will enjoy even if you aren’t his biggest fan. Enjoy.

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1. Forever In My Life

Forever In My Life is from Prince’s arguably best album Sign O’ The Times. This version is from one of Prince’s legendary aftershows where, after a full concert, he would go to a more intimate club and funk out for another few hours for the lucky few who were able to get in, playing a lot less commercial stuff, and basically playing for himself.

This is taken from an aftershow At Paard Von Troje, Den Haag, Holland on 18th August 1988 and gives a good idea of the type of music he played at these gigs.

2. Days of Wild

This is the only recoding in this compilation that is actually on an otherwise studio album.

In late 1996 it was announced that a new album would be available by phone pre-order. I phoned up and ordered it from the States, and then forgot about it. The triple album, Crystal Ball eventually turned up in early 1998, with a couple of bonus albums, the acoustic The Truth and Kamasutra by the NPG Orchestra. The 5 discs were in a clear spherical container with no track-listing or booklet. It’s an album that I struggled with at the time but I’ve gone back and revisited it and now it’s one of my favourite Prince albums.

Crystal Ball is actually a compilation of songs from the Vault, mainly from 85-86 and 93-96.

Days of Wild is a live track recorded on 9 December 1995 at Prince’s Paisley Park Studios, where he often played concerts. The unreleased studio version was originally planned to be included on The Gold Experience album but was dropped before its final release.

3. Something In The Water

Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) is from the 1983 album “1999”. This instrumental version is from a soundcheck before his concert in the Orange Bowl Miami on 7th April 1985.

The recording of the soundcheck came to light earlier this year and is well worth listening to of you can get a recording of it. Needless to say, the 12 songs that he played during the 71 minute soundcheck didn’t feature in the concert itself. Prince and the Revolution just went out and showed what an incredible band they were.

His casual soundcheck is far better than most others’ actual concerts.

4. Erotic City

Erotic City was the b-side of the single Let’s Go Crazy, the second single to be released from Purple Rain on 18th July 1984.

The extended version of the song was due for inclusion on The Hits/B Sides compilation album, but it was removed by Prince, probably due to its explicit lyrics, and the abridged version was included instead.

This live version was recorded on Prince’s 26th birthday on 7th June 1984 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, which was the first live appearance of the song.

5. Old Friends 4 Sale

The song is from the criminally under-appreciated “The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale” album in 1999. It’s Prince at his laid back best and gives an indication of some of his jazz influences. The album was delivered by Prince to Warner Bros three years earlier along with “Chaos and Disorder” but they held onto it. Prince didn’t promote or tour the album and talked about it being a contractual obligation but it does it a disservice.

The song itself was from 1985 but was in Prince’s legendary vault along with many, many other great pieces of music, and it’s hoped that these will now start to filter out.

This recording is from a 2012 “Welcome To Chicago” rehearsal.

6. Empty Room

A live version of Empty Room was on the 2004 live album C-Note album, although it was initially released as a members-only download from the NPG Music Club at the start of the previous year. C-Note is made up of 4 largely instrumental soundchecks and Empty Room.

This version was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on 18th July 2009.

The studio version of the song remains officially unreleased.

7. Joy In Repetition

This song was released on the 1990 album Graffiti Bridge and also included on the 2002 live album “One Nite Alone… The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over.”

This version was the opening song to a concert at Inglewood Forum, LA on 28th April 2011. It’s my favourite bootleg and, to me, it’s Prince at his very best, although apologies for the long intro if it’s not your thing.

Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001, which resulted in him stopping swearing or singing explicitly about sex in the way that he had during the 80’s and 90’s. It’s noticeable that Prince changes the lyrics of this song to acknowledge that when he changes the lyrics from “4 letter words are seldom heard with such dignity and bite” to “4 letter words will not be heard not upon this stage tonight”.

The lyrics also include the line “Live music from a band plays a song called “Soul Psychodelicide””, which was a 59 minute song played at a jam session on 22nd July 1986, five days after Joy In Repetition was originally tracked.

8. Purple Rain

I guess I couldn’t not include Purple Rain, although I originally hadn’t planned to. It’s never been one of my favourite songs but as some of my inclusions are a bit more obscure, I thought I’d include one for the populist vote! It’s the title track from Prince’s best known album from 1984.

This version was recorded during Prince’s 21 night residency at the O2 in London on 21st September 2007.

9. Whole Of The Moon

A cover of the Waterboys single. Prince performed this with his backing band at the time 3rd Eye Girl.

The Waterboys included Purple Rain on their “The Live Adventures of The Waterboys” album and I wonder if this is Prince returning the favour.

The track was recorded at Prince’s Paisley Park studios in Minneapolis on 2nd May last year at his “Dance Rally 4 Peace”, following on from Freddie Gray’s death in police custody in Baltimore a few weeks earlier. Prince also released a single called “Baltimore” which also called for peace following the incident.

10. Nothing Compares 2 U

This is recorded during his recent Piano and a Microphone tour in the Sydney State Theatre on 21st February.

The quality of the recording isn’t the best but I felt I had to include it to show what his last tour was about. All the reviews were excellent and it’s nice to think that he went out on a high. He is best known for his guitar playing but it shows his musicianship that he was able to go on tour with only a piano and no backing band.

He was originally meant to be starting this tour in Western Europe late last year and had booked a night in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, but, to my great disappointment, it was postponed an hour before the tickets were due to go on sale due in part to tickets appearing on tout websites, but it was cancelled shortly afterwards following the tragedy at the Bataclan. Our loss was Australia and NZ’s gain and he did go on tour there earlier this year.

The song itself is obviously synonymous with Sinead O’Connor from 1990 but Prince had originally written it for The Family’s 1985 album “The Family.” This album is typical of Prince’s many protégés’ albums where he writes most of the songs, plays most of the instruments but is largely uncredited.

Following on from O’Connor’s success with the song, Prince started playing it regularly and a live version appeared on the 2003 compilation “The Hits 1”

Again Prince’s studio version remains officially unreleased but there are bootleg copies of it.

Bonus track – Purple Rain (reprise)

The last song of Prince’s last concert from the Fox Theatre, Atlanta on 14th April 2016.

“Sometimes it snows in April

Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad

Sometimes I wish that life was never ending,

But all good things, they say, never last.”

RIP Prince.

Mekons

CULT CLASSICS : THE MEKONS – WHERE WERE YOU?

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Back in 2014, I had a short running series in which I invited readers to submit a few words on their personal cult classics – songs which were largely unknown for the most part but which really should have been massive hits.

The problem with having a hotmail address is that sometimes things go into my Junk folder and I don’t pick them up when I trawl through them. That’s what I think happened to Walter‘s submission for the series…but he was prompted to resend the e-mail after The Mekons recent appearance in the ICA series. Here’s what he had to say:-

Hi JC,

as announced this morning I give you my personal Cult Classic.

‘Where Were You’ by The Mekons was released in 1978 on FAST 7.

The Mekons earned a true fan-community over the years in many places in the world. But I won’t call this a mainstream success. Back in the late 1970s I got in touch with that so called punk rock genre and one of the first singles was this one by The Mekons.

It had everything I love on this kinda music. It was rough with good and simple chords, the voice of Jon Langford who
made me believe that every word he’s singing was true. And at least ‘Where Were You’ was one of the few songs that tells you a lot in less verses.

If this song should not fulfill your criteria, please let know me and I will contrive something else.

Best wishes for your new series!
Walter

Huge apologies my friend for letting you down all those years ago. Better late than never though….

mp3 : The Mekons – Where Were You?

Enjoy. And drop in at Walter’s place and say hi.

Randolph's Leap

NEW MUSIC REVIEW : COWARDLY DEEDS by RANDOLPH’S LEAP

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Maybe it is the onset of old age, but I’m struggling to remember a time like now for Scotland experiencing such a glut of talented musicians. Hardly a week seems to go by without someone or other putting out some sort of new material in the shape of singles, downloads or albums that deserve to find a place on the shelves of any serious collection (or at worst on the hard drive of your laptop if you’re digitally inclined).

I always thought the 80s would be the high point as evidenced by the number of features on this blog over time but the time has come to reassess things and accept that the past ten years or so has been better than ever. Just off the top of my head – Franz Ferdinand, Twilight Sad, Young Fathers, Sons & Daughters, Butcher Boy, Biffy Clyro, Django Django, Meursault, PAWS, The Unwinding Hours, Adam Stafford, Phantom Band, Frightened Rabbit, De Rosa, King Creosote, Admiral Fallow, RM Hubbert, Honeyblood, Miaoux Miaoux, Hector Berzerk, C Duncan, Kid Canaveral, Plastic Animals, Withered Hand, Zoey van Goey and Errors have all emerged and made some ridiculously good music (yes….. I know I’ve missed out obvious others…as I said it was off the top of my head in the time it took me to type it!!). And that’s without listing your Mogwais, Edwyns, Aidans, Malcolms, Roddys and Emmas who pre-date the 21st century but continue to make equally ridiculously good music decades on.

This week, I find myself wishing to sing the praises – again – of Randolph’s Leap who are about to release sophomore album Cowardly Deeds on Olive Grove Records.

The band have been part of the music scene around these parts for about six years now making what has accurately been described as joyous brass-tinged, folk-pop centred around the not inconsiderable talents of singer-songwriter Adam Ross. There had been a number of low-key, lo-fi and largely home-made cassette and CD released in the initial years and it wasn’t until 2014 that the debut LP, Clumsy Knot, was made available bringing together all eight members on all sorts of instruments. The album became an instant favourite at Villain Towers with a number of big-sounding and upbeat songs where keyboards, violin, trumpet and trombone combined in a way that invoked memories of Dexy’s at the height of their powers laced with lyrics that were akin to the gentle humour and playfulness of Neil Hannon. Alongside these were some lovely folk-like ballads laced with wry amusingly bitter one-liners that brought to mind the genius of early Martin Stephenson.

And like any other band worthy of attention, Randolph’s Leap were somehow even more enjoyable in the live setting than on record.

My great fear however, was that the band would suffer from second album syndrome with Cowardly Deeds failing to scale the same heights. And if truth be told, when I got my advance copy a few months back courtesy of Lloyd Meredith (band manager, proprietor of Olive Grove Records and one of the nicest and most genuine fellas in the local music industry), my first couple of listens seemed to confirm those fears. The mistake I was making however, was that I was listening out for a re-hash of the debut as that was what I was probably secretly and deep-down hoping for.

It is a record which is less diverse than the debut but that is more than compensated for by the fact it is a very polished and accomplished piece of work jammed with tunes that would and will sound marvelous when broadcast by radio stations. The sort of songs – fast and slow alike – that if you hear the first thing in the morning stick around in your brain all day long, with the chorus just demanding to be sung or whistled. You want proof? Well, here’s the tracks that have been made widely available via videos:-

Cowardly Deeds is a spring/summer sort of album. One for light mornings and later evenings when the sun seems to take forever to go down. It’s a record which cements Randolph’s Leap as being worthy of adding to that list at the top of this posting. And somewhere quite near the top if I was to rank them.

Keep an eye out for the band hopefully heading your way (in the UK at least) over the coming months. Whether in their full 8-piece ensemble or just Adam on stage with his acoustic guitar, you are guaranteed a great night out.

Here’s some older material to give you a flavour:-

mp3 : Randolph’s Leap – Deep Blue Sea (from The Curse of The Haunted Headphones home recordings, 2012)
mp3 : Randolph’s Leap – Rough (from As Fast As A Man, home recordings, 2012)
mp3 : Randolph’s Leap – Counting Sheep (from Introducing, self-released compilation 2012)
mp3 : Randolph’s Leap – Indie King (from the Real Anymore mini-album, 2013)
mp3 : Randolph’s Leap – Hermit (from Clumsy Knot CD, 2014)

Click here for the album which is officially released on Friday 20 May. (and with a bit of luck I’ll be at the launch at this gig in Glasgow)

Cheers.

Clash

THE CLASH ON SUNDAYS (19)

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Disc 19 is This Is England. The last in the series and a bit of an anti-climax. Sorry. But I can’t re-write history.

Topper Headon had been fired post the recording of Combat Rock and then Mick Jones was sensationally kicked out of his band (and not for the first time in his life) in 1983. What’s also mostly forgotten is that Terry Chimes, brought in for Topper to tour Combat Rock, had also left under a cloud some eight months before Mick got the boot.

This isn’t the place to go over the rights and wrongs of all the turmoil, and besides, depending on whose versions you most believe you’ll come to a different conclusion on who was most to blame.

This Is England was written in late 1983 but wouldn’t be released for the best part of two years. It’s a state-of-the nation diatribe with the lyric detailing much of what was wrong with the country under a right-wing government although many of the topics, such as inner-city violence, urban alienation, life on council estates, high unemployment and racism weren’t new to The Clash.

The critics savaged the songs and subsequent album Cut The Crap. To them, and indeed to many, you had no right to call it a release by The Clash with just Joe and Paul on board, backed by some rock musicians and aided by a drum machine. Despite this, it did make #24 in the UK charts which wasn’t all that shabby a performance – indeed it is a higher position than was ever managed by Rock The Casbah.…..

It was originally released only in the UK on 7″ and 12″ vinyl and in years to come was initially disowned by all concerned not appearing on any compilation LPs., not showing up again until 2003 and then again being included as the 19th and final reproduced 45 in the The Singles box set which has provided the foundations for this series.

7″ release:-

mp3 : The Clash – This Is England
mp3 : The Clash – Do It Now

12″ bonus track:-

mp3 : The Clash – Sex Mad Roar

THIS IS ENGLAND : Released 30 September 1985 : #24 in the UK singles chart

When I arrived back in this country Friday, June 29th 2006, having been away for several years, all I saw were St George crosses displayed everywhere.

After the awful England game on the 30th and ever since, these white and red displays look like yesterday’s tired fashion and are now a figure of fun; likewise the silly songs that were offered to go with the stupid team.

‘This Is England’ reflects this immense national fuck-up.

Bernard Rhodes, former manager of The Clash

And that, dear readers, brings this particular Sunday series to an end. Huge thanks for all the comments that have been left behind over the past four and a bit months, and in particular to echorich and JTFL for their wonderfully unique and indeed first-hand account of life in the USA with The Clash.

As hinted at a few weeks ago, the Sunday slot will now be taken up with a look back at the 45s and EPs of Belle and Sebastian.

Cheers.

Massive Attack, Tracey Thorn

A LAZY STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE : 45 45s AT 45 (12)

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON THURSDAY 8 MAY 2008

Another entry where few words are really needed.

I’ve loads of Tracey Thorn records, dating back to her time with The Marine Girls, as a solo artist and of course with Everything But The Girl.

But she has never sounded better than on this:-

mp3 : Massive Attack – Protection (LP version)

No point in me repeating what I’ve said previously about dance acts/dance music and how I’m not well-enough qualified to comment with much conviction.

But somehow I’ve never really regarded Massive Attack as a dance-band – particularly when thinking about their best singles. If the one song per artist rule in this chart didn’t exist, then Teardrop would be in here. Both songs are equally gorgeous, haunting, unique and unforgettable. But in my mind, Tracey shades it over Elizabeth Fraser.

Why?

I think its because Protection is one of the best lyrics ever recorded by a female artist – its full of conviction, passion, love and strength without ever falling into the trap of being soppy or maudlin.

There was also a brilliant and imaginative video made for Protection.

Incidentally, strictly rockers would have had no idea that this was due up next in this rundown; it is one of life’s great coincidences that it follows on so soon after his ICA double-header.

They Might Be Giants

BONUS POSTING : THE £20 CHALLENGE (Week Four)

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Tim Badger writes…..

Readers of our blog ‘When You Can’t Remember Anything’ will know that SWC and I have spent a week in Newbury for work purposes. We were called their late on Saturday night and told to drive there for a 10am briefing on the Sunday Morning. It has been a fairly hectic week, with things not really calming down until Thursday. On the Thursday SWC nipped out to buy this week CD from a charity shop, he played it safe choosing an Oxfam store about ten minutes’ walk from where we are working this week.

I’m going to drop the CD surprise early this week, as it becomes relevant to the story below. The CD he chose was ‘Flood’ by They Might Be Giants. It cost £2.50 (SWC blames South East/London Bastard Inflation for ignoring the £2 rule – but we are actually in credit still so I ignore it). Meaning we know have £13.00 in the kitty – its an envelope we haven’t stuffed the money inside a cat or anything.

They Might Be Giants are band I have heard of but never really been into. Weirdly in one of those strange events, SWC and I both saw They Might Be Giants in concert at the same time back in 1994 – at the Reading Festival I was waiting for Echobelly to come on I think – he was probably down the front. I can probably name two of their songs and perhaps hum one or two more.

There is obviously ‘Birdhouse in Your Soul’ but then again I think everyone probably could name that one.

mp3 : They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in your Soul

Birdhouse in Your Soul is the story of a nighlight that is in the shape of a blue canary and is a wonderful song – telling the story of the nightlight and painting a picture of the room its in – talking about its ancestor the lighthouse. Its brilliantly surreal.

SWC gives me the CD after a night out in Newbury with some of our hosts for the week. – a decent Italian meal followed by several beers in a Wetherspoons pub. Football is the main topic of conversation. I keep quiet that I am a Spurs fan, fearing the derision and laughter at Leicester’s recent success.

SWC is in top form though, telling anyone who will listen that he is a Stranraer fan and regularly travels there from Devon to watch ‘The Blue Brazil’ (he is aware that this actually what they call Cowdenbeath but I don’t think he cares). That’s the thing with SWC sometimes I can’t tell if he is winding people up or being serious. Its 449 miles from his house to Stranraer’s ground – yet people are convinced he makes a 1000 mile round trip there every two weeks

The following morning we are going home and SWC asks to put the new CD on – as he wants to listen to it. He then tells me this: –

“This album was once featured in a Steven Spielburg cartoon series. It features Plucky Duck and Hampton Pig playing along in a music video style cartoon to songs off the album. Plucky and Hampton were the offspring of Daffy and Porky if remember the series correctly, I think the songs chosen were…..”

mp3 : They Might Be Giants – Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

and

mp3 : They Might Be Giants – Particle Man

“The second one was about wrestling I think”

I immediately laugh and think he is winding me up and say that its ok, we not in the pub anymore. ‘True Story’ he says. I laugh again. Last night he told me that ciabatta was only invented in 1976. He said this whilst the waiters brought us some ciabattas in the Italian restaurant we were sat at. I think people believed him until he added the ‘In a back room of a dentists just outside Croydon’ bit. Then he laughed. I remind him of this and tell him to stop winding me up. A small argument ensues and for the first time in ages SWC looks generally cross with me.

We listen to the album and I agree with him that it is very good. His mood lightens.

I get home and dump my bags in the lounge and start to sort out my washing, Mrs Badger wanders into the room and see the CD. “Where did you get that?” she say holding it and adding “I used to love this album…”.

I tell her the story of the CD and she says three things: –

“Can I buy SWC the next CD?” – definitely is my answer (he doesn’t know that bit yet).

“I got into They Might Be Giants through Jason, my gay ex boyfriend – they were the first band I ever saw live – well – the second if you count the support band (yes you do, so the first band my wife saw live was indie no hopers Family Gotown, ha ha ha ha ha – sorry where was I). It was at a theatre in London and we went with a chap called Nick, who turned out to be a massive racist and actually stood for election for the BNP. The idiot.”

mp3 : They Might Be Giants – Your Racist Friend

“I once saw an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures which featured two tracks from this album recreated as cartoons, one was about wrestling. It was brilliant.”

“What?” I say – meaning the bit about the cartoons, I had been listening. “You mean it was true – SWC told me that in the car and I thought he was winding me up. Then again he also told me that ciabatta was invented in Croydon in 1976, so you can’t blame me.”

“Its definitely true” she says and after a few clicks on here computer I can actually watch the cartoon, its brilliantly mental, totally bonkers. Sorry SWC.

“Oh” she says and you better read this “Ciabatta is Italian bread invented in 1976 by a baker from Verona in response to the sudden popularity of French baguettes…” ah crap.

The Skinny

Bought – Oxfam Newbury

Price £2.50

Left £13.00

The wife is off on Saturday to buy SWC the next CD. I can barely wait.

mp3 : They Might Be Giants – Lucky Ball and Chain

Tim

JC adds……….Apologies for the lateness of this popular feature. It arrived very late on Thursday night and by the time I picked it up, the Kirsty MacColl post was already up.

Oh and I have this album on vinyl. Always meant to rip the tracks and feature it but never got round to it. Cheers Tim.

Kirsty MacColl

THE BOY DONE GOOD…THE GIRL DONE BETTER

There’s a couple of reasons why I still adore this single more than 30 years after it was released (I know, I was staggered and left speechless by that fact too!!), For one, crashing into the Top 10 took Kirsty McColl away from ever having the stigma of ‘one-hit wonder’ given her lack of chart success since the 1981 success of There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis. Secondly, it helped raise the profile of Billy Bragg and showed the world there was an awful lot more to his song-writing talents than rabble-rousing anthems for left-wingers.

I remember paying a few shillings extra to buy the 12″ version of this single at the time – a move I have never regretted. Yes, the song is more than double the length of the version played on the radio, but there’s not a single second wasted on what is a superb production by Kirsty’s then husband, Steve Lillywhite uber-producer of the 80s who was rich and famous from his collaborations with U2.

And the b-sides, both penned by Kirsty, aren’t bad efforts either:-

mp3 : Kirsty MacColl – A New England (12″ version)
mp3 : Kirsty MacColl – Patrick
mp3 : Kirsty MacColl – I’m Going Out With An Eighty Year Old Millionaire

Enjoy

Massive Attack

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #76 : MASSIVE ATTACK

a guest posting from strictly rockers

Girl

You’re A Boy… And I’m A Girl’:

A Massive Attack Imaginary Compilation Album In Two Parts

Part Two: ‘… And I’m A Girl’

01) Safe From Harm w/ Shara Nelson (From Blue Lines, 1991)

Spine-tingling. With opening atmospherics reminiscent of The Special’s ‘Ghost Town’, that bassline from Billy Cobham’s ‘Stratus’ and stunning vocal from Shara, this track fuels Richard King’s journey through Bristol in his excellent ‘Original Rockers’ book. ‘I was lookin’ back to see if you were looking’ back at me to see me looking’ back at you’

02) Paradise Circus w/ Hope Sandoval (From Heligoland, 2010)

A majestic vocal from the Mazzy Star vocalist. Once again, neither party met each other until after the recording. It features a drum sample from Nina Simone’s ‘See Line Woman’ and was used as the theme to BBC1’s ‘Luther’. Also available in excellent Gui Boratto and super-extended Burial mixes.

03) Three w/ Nicolette (From Protection, 1994)

Great vocals from the singer described as ‘Billie Holiday on acid’. Almost tempted to include Mad Professor’s bubbling’ ‘Trinity Dub’ version.

04) Better Things w/ Tracey Thorn (From Protection, 1994)

In my mind, far superior to ‘Protection’. ‘You say the magic’s gone. Well i’m not a magician. You say the spark’s gone. Well get an electrician’ Just genius!

05) Group Four w/ Elizabeth Fraser (From Mezzanine, 1998)

Equal to, if not better than ‘Teardrop’ from Massive Attack’s most successful album. Often stretched out live as a storming set-closer.

06) Babel w/ Martina Topley-Bird (From Heligoland, 2010)

A ‘teenage love song’ from Tricky’s Mercury Prize nominated Maxinquaye muse.

07) What Yr Soul Sings w/ Sinead O’Connor (From 100th Window, 2003)

Soaring. Heavenly. One of three Sinead tracks on 100th Window. I could have picked any of ’em.

08) Endtrack (Dissolved Girl) w/ Sara Jay (Download, 1997)

Featuring a previously unknown singer from Sheffield who toured with MA. This is an early demo version of ‘Dissolved Girl’ as heard as part of ‘The Jackal’ soundtrack. Later re-recorded as part of Mezzanine.

09) Aftersun w/ Dot Allison (Download, 2005)

Former One Dove singer and MA live vocalist on this powerful song tucked away as the credits roll on ‘Danny The Dog’. Shamefully omitted from the soundtrack album and only available as digital release from dotallison.com.

10) Unfinished Sympathy w/ Shara Nelson (Single, 1991)

Just magnificent. Officially voted the 63rd greatest song of all time in NME poll! The second appearance of Shara Nelson in this compilation with that sweeping orchestration arranged by Will Malone and recorded at Abbey Road. Mrs Rockers says, that if forced, she would pick this as ‘our tune’. Sweet eh? (We’ll just gloss over the atrocious Tina Turner cover from 1996)

(Big Name Bonus) I Want You w/ Madonna (From Something To Remember, 1995)

Huge-sounding production as Madonna & Massive Attack take on the mighty Marvin. Vocals recorded in New York with 3D before returning to Bristol. She was so impressed with the results that it became the lead single from her ‘Something To Remember’ album. Rumour has it that the backing tracks were originally intended for Chaka Khan.

BONUS………………………Boys vs Girls EP

Massive Attack Remixes, Remixed & Covered

1) Protection (Eno Mix) Massive Attack (Single, 1994)

I couldn’t NOT include this, the song that gives this ICA it’s title. Mr Ambient does what he does best and stretches this atmospheric beauty to over 9 minutes.

2) Teardrop (Mad Professor Mazaruni Dub) Massive Attack (Single, 1998)

The Prof’s laid back dub somehow makes the vocal even more powerful by reducing it to its most basic elements.

3) Musst Musst (Massive Attack Duck Pond Dub) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Single, 1990)

As featured on Daddy G’s excellent DJ Kicks mix. He called it ‘the most enjoyable remix we’ve ever done.’

4) Manchild (Massive Attack Remix) Neneh Cherry (Remix 12″, 1989)

Stripped-down, minimal mix of the single co-written by 3D. ‘Remix… Massive Attack’

5) Live With Me Twilight Singers (From A Stitch In Time EP, 2006)

Greg Dulli & Mark Lanegan take the original to a much darker place.

6) Unfinished Sympathy Maxene Cyrin (From Modern Rhapsodies, 2005)

Simple, effective & delicate. Reduces the original to a bare minimum. Just beautiful.

JC adds……

I’ll sign off with the TVV word of the week.

Wow.

Massive Attack

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #75 : MASSIVE ATTACK

A guest posting from strictly rockers

Boy

Can I just start by saying how grateful I am to JC for letting me impose once again on his amazing blog. Having now done a handful of these ICAs, I have renewed admiration for him as he continually produces quality content daily, without fail. It’s hard enough getting the material together for one every few months, let alone every day! So, please raise a mug of whatever in gratitude to JC. I only hope this bulky what has been split into a two-parter lives up to T(n)VV’s high standard.

Massive Attack were formed from the ashes of The Wild Bunch sound system, a loose collective name-checked by Neneh Cherry on ‘Buffalo Stance’ (‘Looking good, hanging with the Wild Bunch. Looking good in a Buffalo Stance’). They recorded a couple of 12″s, including one that contained a cover of Bacharach & David‘s ‘The Look Of Love’ sung by a young singer called Shara Nelson (introduced to them by On-U Sound’s Adrian Sherwood). They split in the late eighties forming Soul II Soul in London and Massive Attack in Bristol.

With money, encouragement and studio space donated by Neneh Cherry and husband Cameron McVey (Booga Bear) work began on what would become ‘Blue Lines’ using singers from the Wild Bunch days (Tony Bryan, Shara Nelson & Tricky) and veteran reggae legend, Horace Andy. The original trio of 3D, Daddy G & Mushroom dispersed leaving only 3D trading as Massive Attack with a floating collective during the ‘100th Window’ sessions although Daddy G has since returned to both touring and studio work.

Their successful collaborative blueprint has been adopted by groups such as UNKLE & Gorillaz, both of which have strong links back to Massive Attack. 3D providing the artwork for the seminal Mo’Wax ‘Headz’ compilation (1994) and vocals on UNKLE’s ‘War Stories‘. Damon Albarn sings in character as 2D (an obvious nod to his friend) and has appeared on both ‘100th Window’ & ‘Heligoland‘.

Growing up in Bristol in the 1980s, I revelled in the city’s rich musical heritage and soaked up the reggae, soul, hip-hop and new wave played during my lunchtime browsing sessions in Revolver Records (incidentally, the workplace of one Grantley Marshall AKA Daddy G).

Mark Stewart, The Pop Group & Pigbag, The Blue Aeroplanes & Maximum Joy, The Brilliant Corners & The Flatmates, Talisman, Restriction & Black Roots. To my young, music-hungry ears, it was just great music. No genres, no labels. It could be a ‘Bristol thing’ but there seems to me to be a similar open-house music policy in Massive Attack.

As 3D has said: ‘We all grew up listening to punk & funk and those attitudes sort of snuck into our music. That sort of brought people from different circles together…’ Through them I have discovered, and come to appreciate many artists that I wouldn’t normally have encountered. Billy Cobham, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, William DeVaughan, Wally Badarou, Isaac Hayes, the list goes on.

Another key ingredient in the success of Massive Attack is their inspired use of vocalists, be it relatively unknowns (Tricky, Shara, Nicolette) or established voices benefiting from being moved from their usual musical world (Tracey Thorn, Elizabeth Fraser, Horace Andy, Terry Callier).

This ICA is all about those collaborators, the individuals that enrich the Massive Attack melting pot. Please enjoy responsibly.

‘You’re A Boy… And I’m A Girl’:

A Massive Attack Imaginary Compilation Album In Two Parts

Part One: ‘You’re A Boy…’

01) Any Love w/ Carlton (Single, 1988)

Massive Attack’s debut as a production trio in 1988. A cover of the Chaka Khan song with falsetto-voiced singer-songwriter Carlton McCarthy, co-produced by Bristol legends Smith & Mighty. Pointlessly re-recorded for the Massive Attack EP (1991) with vocals by Tony Bryan.

02) Be Thankful for What You’ve Got w/ Tony Bryan (From Blue Lines, 1991)

Speaking of whom… this brilliant cover of the classic William DeVaughan track from Blue Lines was also available in pitched-up ‘funky’ form for the US market.

03) Karmacoma w/ Tricky (Portishead Experience) (Single, 1995)

A mighty ‘Bristol scene’ supergroup with Massive, Tricky & Portishead (+ a large dose of Serge Gainsbourg). Just excellent. So good, in fact, that Tricky recycled the lyrics for his own ‘Overcome’

04) I Against I w/ Mos Def (Single, 2002)

MA’s music has always had a widescreen feel, so it seemed natural to move into film soundtracks. This slamming collaboration was a free download from massiveattack.com and featured in ‘Blade 2’.

05) Calling Mumia w/ Snoop Dogg (Download, 2007)

Officially credited to 100 Suns (3D with producer Neil Davidge) this was featured in the film ‘In Prison My Whole Life’ (which also features Mos Def) and, like ‘I Against I’, was composed with no direct contact between the two parties.

06) Man Next Door w/ Horace Andy (Single, 1999)

Brooding cover of the John Holt classic by the legend that is Horace Andy. Great samples of both The Cure’s ’10:15 Saturday Night’ & Led Zep’s ‘When The Levee Breaks’. Famously used at the 2000 Tory party conference heralding the entrance of William Hague. What were they thinking?

07) Saturday Come Slow w/ Damon Albarn (From Heligoland, 2009)

From the collaborator-rich ‘Heligoland’. A beautiful, pastoral slice of electronic folk about the ‘limestone caves of the south-west land’. Featuring Adrian Utley of Portishead on guitar. Ironically, the accompanying video explores the use of music as torture.

08) Live With Me w/ Terry Callier (Single, 2006)

Initially planned for inclusion on a soundtrack project that never materialised. A haunting love song with vocals from the late, great soul singer Terry Callier. Recalling the early MA sound, according to 3D: ‘It shuts those up who believe we can’t replicate our first album.’

09) Dead Editors w/ Roots Manuva (From Ritual Spirit EP, 2016)

Featuring a sample of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’, Roots Manuva fits perfectly into the Massive Attack universe. The EP also sees the return of Tricky on a Massive Attack record for the first time in 22 years (How old does that make you feel?).

10) Five Man Army w/ Willie Wee, 3D, Tricky, Daddy G & Horace Andy (From Blue Lines, 1991)

Starting with a sample from ‘I’m Glad You’re Mine’ by Al Green, this recalls their early sound-system days, with former Wild Bunch members freestyling over the Dillinger/Trinity classic ‘Five Man Dub’. Horace Andy fades out the jam by singing the titles of his hits… ‘Cuss Cuss’, ‘Money Money’ & ‘Skylarking’.

(Big-Name Bonus) Nature Boy w/ Bowie (From Moulin Rouge OST, 2001)

‘One more tune…’ Keen to have both Massive Attack and Bowie connected with his film, Baz Luhrmann made this collaboration possible although the two parties never actually met. The vocals were recorded in New York and sent to Bristol with all correspondence by email. Bowie was apparently ‘totally pleased’ with the results.

JC adds……

the mp3s can be listened to by clicking on the song titles above. Come back tomorrow for Part 2.

Kate Bush

WOW (the natural follow-on to yesterday’s post)

Kate-Bush-Wow-42617

Is there any bloke out there, born in the first half of the early 60s, who didn’t fall in love or lust immediately with Kate Bush?

In 1978, her single Wuthering Heights, topped the singles charts for four weeks. This meant Kate became the first woman to reach #1 with a self-written song. What made the feat truly astonishing was that it was her debut, and she was just 19 years of age.

This was a singer who was quite unlike any other in the late 70s. Very few women were involved in punk or new wave, although that was to change quite quickly. If you heard a woman singing on the radio, is was usually on a disco track or some sort of sugary ballad. OK , I’m generalising as there were also some reggae-style singles that had female vocals, but like punk/new wave, these were few and far between.

Kate Bush had a vocal style all of her own – and it was one that divided the nation. I loved the fact that you couldn’t always make out the lyrics unless you really listened closely (or bought the albums in which case you got a lyric sheet). I loved how the records sounded – it was, thinking back, the first time that I appreciated how records had to be produced and arranged rather than just someone shouting into a microphone while strumming a guitar.

And most of all, for these things were important to a hormonally-charged teenager, I loved the way she looked. But I’m not that shallow folks…..if the music had been awful, I wouldnt have given her any attention. Honest.

Its hard to imagine nowadays when so many artists seems to take ages from one album to the next, but Kate Bush released two LPs in 1978. The Kick Inside was her debut, and it hit the shops in February. By late-October, Lionheart had been issued. This was all down to the fact that her label, EMI Records, knowing that Kate had already written over 50 songs that were in demo form, put pressure on her to quickly follow up the initial success.

The first single from the LP also came out in 1978, but Hammer Horror was a flop, failing to reach the Top 40. In a rare show of sense, EMI waited a few months and allowed Kate herself to have a big say in what would be the follow-up, and in March 1979, this began to be heard regularly on daytime radio:-

mp3 : Kate Bush – Wow

It was quite a daring single for its time. In an era when ‘pain in the ass’ was a lyric that wasn’t allowed on radio, Kate got away with ‘he’s too busy hitting the vaseline’ as part of a song that was sympathetic to homosexual actors unable to get the lead roles as they weren’t macho enough. There wasn’t much made of the subject matter at the time, but I’m guessing that if a 21st century female singer-songwriters was to do something similar, you can bet that one of her myriad of publicists would have the fact running in every tabloid in the land in the hope of creating a hype….

Here’s yer b-side too:-

mp3 : Kate Bush – Fullhouse

Enjoy.

Lemonheads

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

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Many of you will know that my football team is Raith Rovers. We’re not the most fashionable or successful of clubs and indeed since 1988 when I first started going along (as a result of my best mate playing the first of what would be more than 300 games in nine years) the Rovers have spent only three seasons in the top flight of Scottish football. There’s also been cup wins in that period while the 95/96 season unbelievably saw us qualify for European football where, after beating teams from the Faroe Islands and Iceland, we came against the might of Bayern Munich and lost 4-1 over the two legs…but with the memory of talking a 1-0 lead into half time at the game over in the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Bayern, incidentally, went on to win the UEFA Cup that season with Rovers being the team that got the best aggregate score in any round.

But as any true football or indeed sports fan knows, winning isn’t the be all and end all. It’s about going along, enjoying a good day out with mates and cheering your team on through thick and thin, and hopefully seeing your team play well and giving you a sense of satisfaction and pleasure. There’s been loads of such times watching the Rovers all these years but as you can imagine there’s also been some really lousy, frustrating and boring days out too.

The season ended just 48 hours ago. The team lost a play-off match in their efforts to get back to the top league for the first time since 1997. I wasn’t at the game as I had a long-standing commitment to look after some friends from Ireland who were visiting Glasgow for the very first time – friends who have over the years done so much for me and my family in the wake of my brother’s death some six years ago. Some things are more important than football (but not many!!)

The fact we were in the play-offs was a huge surprise. In a ten-team league, we had probably the 8th biggest budget and so were expected to be fighting things at the bottom. Over 36 games, we put together a more than decent record which saw us rack up 18 wins and 8 draws and finish miles ahead of the teams in 5th place and below. The significance of that achievement was that it clinched a play-off place and a chance, over up to six games, to go up. As I said, that dream is over but what it did do was give all of us a chance to dream. It also provided some amazing memories that will last forever (especially as they can be relived nowadays on YouTube etc).

All this was done by a team that was largely put together over the course of a season by a manager/coach who only joined us this time last year. Ray McKinnon has done a great job and it’s no surprise that other clubs would be interested in having him at their helm. It just so happens that the club he grew up supporting, Dundee United, have had a miserable season having been relegated and their chairman sees Ray as the answer to their problems.

The news today is that Raith Rovers, despite wanting to keep our manager who is under contract, have agreed to given Ray permission to speak to Dundee United and indeed have already agreed a suitable compensation package. It’s only a matter of time before the Rovers are back looking for a new manager…..

It’s a sad feeling but one which one day, given the over-achievement of the past season, was likely to happen at some point or another. All of which gives me the opportunity to post up a wonderful pop song which, after all, is the supposed point of this blog:-

mp3 : The Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray

Good luck in the new job gaffer. No doubt you’ll get a decent reception when you bring your team to Stark’s Park for two league games next season.

Cinerama

THE CINERAMA SINGLES (5)

wow

The next single, released in June 2000, was the subject of a previous post on this blog some two years ago. It’s cut’n’paste time, with no apologies!!

Between 1998 and 2004, David Gedge took a break from The Wedding Present and instead released music under the name of Cinerama.

In essence, it was a duo of the great man (on his releases he was known by his full name of David Lewis Gedge) and his then-girlfriend Sally Murrell, augmented by guest musicians. The initial songs were a long way removed from the guitar-driven indie-pop of TWP, and instead were often heavy on strings, keyboards and lush instrumentation. Lyrically however, they didn’t stray too far away from the subject matters that Gedge is such a master of – the joys of love, lust and romance, the misery of infidelities and heartbreak and the utter pleasure of revenge. Oh and there was also the occasional belter of a cover version.

Their fourth official single is an absolute masterpiece.

As you’ll hear, it is one of the songs about infidelity. What I love about this lyric is how the protagonist spends the first two and half minutes detailing all the nagging doubts about cheating on his girlfriend, even as he climbs the stairs to a bedroom. And then…….

…….he utters “But don’t close the door because I’m still not sure.”, after which there is a gap as he makes his mind up. A gap that is about two seconds in length…………….just long enough to let the listener know he’s feeling guilty but just short enough to let the listener know that lust has again triumphed over love.

Song writing of the raw and brutal variety.

mp3 : Cinerama – Wow

The CD single was released back in 2000, and thanks to the production involving Steve Albini, it’s not a million miles removed from the brilliance of Seamonsters, the classic 1991 LP by TWP. I reckon its one of the best songs David Gedge has ever penned. And the b-sides are rather good as well:-

mp3 : Cinerama – 10 Denier
mp3 : Cinerama – Gigolo

Later on, there was also a near seven-minutes-long extended version of the single made available on the LP Disco Volante on which the five-piece band were backed with additional musicians on flute, cello, violin, trumpet, french horn and accordion.

mp3 : Cinerama – Wow (extended version)

Magnifique.

Clash

THE CLASH ON SUNDAYS (18)

Disc 18 is Straight To Hell/Should I Stay Or Should I Go.

Released just three months after Rock The Casbah, a lot had changed for The Clash in the summer of 1982, not least the fact that they had ‘cracked’ America. Combat Rock was proving to be an enduring album, going on to spend almost six months successively in the UK charts which was well beyond the time expected of any album by the band. They were now determined to get their music across to as wide an audience as possible, hence the decision to accept the task of opening for The Who at a series of outdoor stadium gigs in October 1982, although it is worth recalling that the band continued to headline at much smaller venues in the States at the same time.

The days of standing up to record company wishes to milk albums dry were also over as seen by the fact that the release of a double A single meant that exactly one-third of Combat Rock had been put out on the 45rpm format. But in saying this, there’s no argument that it is one of the band’s finest 45s.

My own preference is for Straight To Hell. As I wrote when I included it in the ICA this time last year, my view is that it an extraordinary piece of music. The very idea that one of the world’s foremost punk bands would, within just five years of their explosive and noisy debut, end up recording and releasing a song that leaned heavily on a bossa nova drumbeat devised by Topper Headon and a haunting violin sound would have been laughable.

It has a stunning and thought-provoking lyric delivered by a resigned-sounding Joe Strummer who seems devastated by the fact that musicians cannot make the world’s problems disappear.

Radio stations and the general public however, preferred the charms of Should I Stay Or Should I Go. It has a great riff, a sing-a-long and infectiously catchy chorus and the most ridiculously yet charming backing vocals in some strange version of Spanish. What’s not to like???

It famously became a huge hit all over again some nine years later after it was used in an advert to promote Levi Jeans. It went to #1 in the UK as well as Top 5 in just about every singles chart in Europe.

mp3 : The Clash – Straight To Hell (edited version)
mp3 : The Clash – Should I Stay Or Should I Go

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO : Released 17 September 1982 : #17 in the UK singles chart; #1 on its re-release in 1991

My favourite Clash song is ‘Train In Vain’. My favourite of their singles is in that vein – ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’. I thought I’d heard it somewhere before (I’m not trying to be ironic). I had to buy all my Clash records until ‘Combat Rock’ which was produced by longtime Who producer Glyn Johns. I got a free one of those . It makes me feel like I’m 34 again and Spring is in the cocaine.

We had a junior manager called Chris Chappel who was a huge Clash fan. I invited them onto the US tour after Chris convinced our senior manager they would be good. By the end of the tour, they had broken the USA. We were playing huge stadiums on that tour and they really handled the shows well, and convinced the crowd they were real.

I adore The Clash, as I adored the Sex Pistols. Different, incompatible, not really comparable, they both felt to me like bands who (like The Jam a little later) had travelled a route laid by The Who more than any other band. The New York Dolls and the Ramones influenced British punk rock, of course, but it was our simultaneous exaltation of rock, and indifference to it, that both bands emulated, though they each had different reasons for using that particularly tortured formula. So, I have a personal pride in The Clash as I do in the Sex Pistols and The Jam.

I feel bad that I have outlived Joe Strummer, but delighted that Topper is alive, against the odds: he is an absolute sweetheart. I really admire Mick Jones and Paul Simonon too, for remaining true to their individual artistic theses. These guys made a troubled and druggy period of my life in the late 1970s and early 1980s so much happier. The Who just played at the Brighton Centre and all I could think of while we played was that I had once played with The Clash on the same stage in 1981.

Pete Townsend, The Who

Go-Betweens

A LAZY STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE : 45 45s AT 45 (13)

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2008

(8 years ago to the day!!)

On many an occasion in this rundown, I’ve mentioned that I had major problems narrowing down which particular song should be chosen for a band. I reckon the biggest dilemma came with The Go-Betweens. How can I possibly ignore the merits of the genius, majesty and sheer beauty of Cattle and Cane – the track that is probably their best-known and best-loved song? Not to mention the gorgeous vocal delivery of the much-missed Grant McLennan.

The answer is that the follow-up single just means an awful lot more to me.

It was at the age of 20 that I finally moved out from underneath my parents’ protection and branched out to a place of my own. It was a student residency flat on campus in Glasgow City Centre. It was a two-bedroom job, complete with kitchen, toilet and shower. I had the single room, while my two flatmates shared a larger space. The rent for each of us was £510 – for a full year including the summer months.

I had a reasonable record collection, but one of my other flatmates had a collection that I reckon was probably only second to that of John Peel (for instance, he had every single that had come out on Postcard Records). It was a time when my musical tastes broadened more than ever before, thanks to hearing some old stuff for the first time, but also on account of new and emerging bands throughout the early and mid 80s. This was where I first learned about, among others, The Go-Betweens.

The location of the flat was incredible, a mere stone’s throw from the student union where we seemed to spend most of our free time. We’d spend hours every weekend getting ready to go out, taking turns to play some of our favourite songs, often dissecting the lyrics and melodies in a way that seemed very important and meaningful.

Every Friday and Saturday, the set-lists for going out would change, but there was one single from October 1983 that always seemed to get played – as indeed was the b-side:-

mp3 : The Go-Betweens – Man O’ Sand To Girl O’ Sea
mp3 : The Go-Betweens – This Girl, Black Girl

Robert Forster’s manic delivery of the line ‘I feel so sure about our love I’ve wrote a song about us breaking up’ is one of the finest moments in pop history. As is the chorus that isn’t a chorus – ‘I want you baaaaaack.’ And don’t get me started in the great backing vocals.

There’s also a little footnote to this particular single that also helped it clinch selection ahead of Cattle and Cane.

This was another 7” which was ‘lost’ in Edinburgh all those years ago, although I did still have copies of the songs on a double compilation LP called 1978-1990. However, by the early part of this century, it was all CDs or digital and I just couldn’t get my hands on a copy of the b-side.

But….there came a day when, after much humming and hawing, I plucked up the courage to ask a bloke called Colin who at the time had a great blog called Let’s Kiss And Make Up that had previously featured The Go-Betweens if he could post an mp3 of This Girl, Black Girl. He willingly obliged.

Colin also later replied to other e-mails from me in which I asked for advice in setting up my own blog – and without fail he was always courteous, charming, witty and hugely supportive, especially in the very early days when I was unsure of what I was doing and terrified that I was out of my depth, making a fool of myself and wasting my time.

So if there’s a song from this rundown that I’d like to dedicate to anyone, then its this particular track.

Thanks comrade. I’m proud to call you a mate. Real proud.

PS

How uncanny is it that, having more than six months ago set out to look back at this old series that the entry for The Go-Betweens would happen to fall just one day after the 10th anniversary of the sad and untimely passing of Grant McLennan……

New Order

BONUS POST : THE DAY I KNEW I’D NEVER BE A COMPLETIST

New Order had released a belter of a debut single in Ceremony. The follow-up hit the shops in September 1981:-

mp3 : New Order – Procession

It was quite similar to a number of the tracks on the debut LP Movement and it wasn’t a huge shift away from the Joy Division sound albeit it did highlight that with Bernard Sumner was a completely different sort of vocalist from Ian Curtis.

I bought the only copy of this single that my local record shop had and it came in a cardboard sleeve with a strange green design which I thought alluded to the title of the b-side. I soon discovered that it had been released in nine different coloured sleeves and while I wanted to own every single one of them, there was no way an 18-year-old student, who that month had just started university, was going to waste valuable vodka money on something as unworthy as a 7″ bit of plastic.

The b-side was a precursor to what New Order would become within a few months – a band of their own right delivering electronic dance-music.

mp3 : New Order – Everything’s Gone Green

This is ripped right from vinyl folks and is a bit shorter than the versions generally available on compilation LPs, so please forgive the fact that there’s also a wee skip and a jump about 3mins in…..

Oh and here’s the other eight sleeves in miniature:-

Catatonia

THE £20 CHALLENGE (Week Three)

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So after the Jimmy Nail incident – Badger has tried to get revenge on me. He hasn’t sent me song lyrics or anything like that but he did send me a picture of the shop that he purchased this week CD from. It is the Brainwave Charity Shop in Ashburton.

Ashburton for those of you who do not know is commonly known by Devonians as ‘Ashbucket’ largely because its sort of right, but also because the place is run down and a bit sad. It sits on the edge of Dartmoor and recently it has had a bit of face lift, artists are turning up in the town claiming inspiration from the wild and rugged beauty of Dartmoor. In reality, housing and rent is dirt cheap in Ashburton. There is one charity shop in the town.

A few months back I popped in that shop – I was working in the town and the shop is next to a decent sandwich shop – so whilst they made my Rocket, Applewood and marmalade chutney on rye bread – I browsed. It had nine CDs in it and box full of freebies from the Daily Mail. Of the nine on sale three of them were by Robbie Williams, two were by Gabrielle and the rest were of a similar vein. On a more positive note it did have a copy of ‘Porridge – The Scripts’ for £3. Which I bought, just so I could practice my Fulton Mackay impression.

So when the photo came through I wasn’t exactly hopeful. I sent a text back saying “I hope you’ve bought me ‘Rise’ by one eyed soul diva Gabrielle?”. His response – “Naturally, why does she wear an eye patch, does she genuinely have one eye and if so how did she lose it?”

(Apologies to anyone out there who doesn’t know who Gabrielle is)

(JC adds……links have been provided to Gabs here and to Fulton Mackay here. I was astonished to realise that he’s been dead for almost 30 years…it doesn’t seem that long)

What followed was roughly twenty texts offering reasons as to why she only had one eye. Now before I relay some of these texts – I should state, she has two eyes, one suffers from the fairly common disorder called ptosis (or lazy eyelid). I think she has reverted to wearing sunglasses now instead of looking like the world’s least convincing pirate. We mean no offence to any ptosis sufferers.

Anyway, we have updated Gabrielle’s Wikipedia page with the following helpful information (none of which are true)

Gabrielle lost her eye in the 1987 World Jousting Championships which were held in Hackney, London. She recovered to finish third in the Junior Competition just beating TVs Timmy Mallett to the Bronze medal.

In 1985 whilst aged 15, Gabrielle was hit in the eye by one of Jazzy B’s from Soul II Souls dreadlocks, causing irreparable damage. This sadly meant she was unable to become the professional Speedway Rider that she had spoken of since an early age. Damn you Jazzy B.

In 1992 whilst in the small Kent town of Tenterden, Gabrielle was visiting the Steam Railway when a small child threw an orange Smartie at her with such force that it lodged in her eye. Despite numerous operations, the Smartie is still there forcing Gabrielle to give up her career as an optician because no one wants an optician who stinks of Orange Smarties.

In 1991 Gabrielle got ripped to the tits on Green Mad Dog 20/20 and sold her right eye to a boggle eyed scientist for £3.50, which she spent on a litre bottle of Blue Mad Dog 20/20.

As a child, Gabrielle was a keen actress and was one of the first people to endorse ‘Method Acting’ – something she soon would regret when she was cast as King Harold in the St Bastards School 1978 production of ‘The Battle of Hastings”.

Erm….I should probably stop there. Suffice to say we didn’t get much worked done that afternoon. And I promise from now on there will be no more stupid conversations about early 90s popstars from the UK – it’s just that you do find a lot of their stuff in charity shops and most of them are ridiculously easy to take the piss out of.

It wasn’t Gabrielle of course it wasn’t. It was a copy of Catatonia’s debut album ‘Way Beyond Blue’ a record I had long since forgotten about.

In November 1997, at the London Astoria, whilst I was still a journalist, Mrs SWC and I got royally pissed with two of Catatonia (not Cerys Matthews) – I was supposed be interviewing them before they went on stage, but they found support band The Warm Jets rider and we decided to drink it. ‘Way Beyond Blue’ isn’t the most well-known Catatonia album (their breakout ‘International Velvet’ takes that honour), but it is my favourite.

It shows a band that are on the verge of greatness, but a band who are were prepared to take risks – take ‘Bleed’ – the chorus of that goes “Do you believe this bullshit?”. They would have got away with that post ‘Road Rage’.

mp3 : Catatonia – Bleed

Tracks like ‘You’ve Got A Lot To Answer For’ and ‘Sweet Catatonia’ showed the potential on offer. These tracks are as catchy as anything they released later that catapulted them to superstardom. But for me the best track by far is ‘For Tinkerbell’ – and make that best track Catatonia ever recorded – which starts as a twee little affair and then Cerys bursts into life and turns into a demented pixie.

mp3 : Catatonia – You’ve Got A Lot To Answer For
mp3 : Catatonia – Sweet Catatonia
mp3 : Catatonia – For Tinkerbell
mp3 : Catatonia – Lost Cat

So here is the Skinny

Bought For £2 – From Brainwave Charity Shop, Ashburton
Money Left £15.50
Here is some more information on Brainwave should you be interested – a great great charity as it happens.

S-WC

Cinerama

THE CINERAMA SINGLES (4)

The solution to the problems with record labels? Set up your own…….

And thus Scopitone Records was established in 2000 for the specific purpose of releasing records by Cinerama (actually, it was initially all CD based releases as that was the way the music industry had gone at the turn of the century).

First up was TONECD 001, released in February 2000:-

mp3 : Cinerama – Manhattan

Another epic and rich ballad from the prespective of a man caught between two loves. It was backed by two other songs:-

mp3 : Cinerama – London
mp3 : Cinerama – Film

His old band had of course been famed for tackling cover versions in ways that the songs sounded nothing like the original. And in 99% of the cases, he and TWP had pulled it off in style. Here’s the proof that he hadn’t lost that particular skill. London, for those of you who don’t know, is a fantastic take on a Smiths b-side. It is slowed down to a crawling pace where the original had been among the most frantic and energetic tunes that Johnny Marr had penned.

Film is another quality b-side in keeping with what we had been provided in the earlier singles on Cooking Vinyl.

Having said that, I prefer the version that had been recorded the previous year for a Peel Session:-

mp3 : Cinerama – Film (Peel Session)

Enjoy.

Captain Beefheart

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #74 : CAPTAIN BEEFHEART

A guest posting from George Forsyth

Captain-beefheart

ANY song that begins with a gruff male voice saying “A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast ‘n’ bulbous, got me?” will really grab your attention. And it would be churlish in the extreme not include that song on this compilation.

It’s taken from Captain Beefheart’s best known album, and the first album of his I heard. Utter shit, unlistenable, load of bollocks. These are some phrases that might occur to you, and certainly occurred to me at the time, if it’s the first Beefheart album you listen to. That album is Troutmask Replica. A few years later I heard Clear Spot and The Spotlight Kid, and these are much more accessible, two very fine rock albums, some great blues songs, even soul tracks, and a great introduction to one aspect of Captain Beefheart’s music.

I would then recommend Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), and make sure you get the 1978 release. And then you’re hooked, and you’ll pick up the rest, some of which are a bit patchy, and one is, well, bland, and that’s not something usually associated with Beefheart’s music.

One other thing that holds a great appeal are the song titles, no-one I don’t think comes close to writing such brilliant titles.

Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish.
My Human Gets Me Blues.
She’s Too Much for My Mirror.
I Wanna Find a Woman That’ll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have to Go.
My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains.
When I See Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy.
Ice Cream For Crow.

By the way, none of them are included here.

So here’s ten tracks by Captain Beefheart, not representative of his output, just some tracks that I definitely like and that just possibly some of you might like. There’s blues, rock, pop, soul, jazz, prog, and weird. And not just all in one song, although one of them gets quite close.

1. Bat Chain Puller

Track 6 from Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller). If you don’t like this, stop here. Of course, that means your taste in music has gone badly, BADLY, awry, because this song is outstanding, a great vocal, a relentless, pumping, rhythm, some great musical flourishes and variations, but god-alone knows what the hell this song is about.

2. Blabber’n’smoke

From The Spotlight Kid.

3. Moonlight on Vermont

From Troutmask Replica.

4. Gimme Dat Harp Boy

From the 1968 album Strictly Personal. More blues with a Beefheart twist. As with quite a few of his records, there’s a tale of betrayal and dispute with this release, but it’s not as bad as some reviews have made out.

5. Woe is uh me bop

From Lick My Decals Off, Baby. I bought this in Swordfish Records, Birmingham, a shop owned by a Beefheart fanatic.

6. Plastic Factory

From the Safe as Milk album. More evidence that Beefheart was just a bluesman at heart? There used to be record shop in Birmingham called Plastic Factory; I’m certain this song is not about it.

7. Pachuco Cadaver

From Troutmask Replica.

8. Full Moon, Hot Sun

From Unconditionally Guaranteed. This was the album that Beefheart disowned, and that caused his band to walk out on him, because they felt it wasn’t challenging enough. Also they were, allegedly, getting paid in food stamps, which probably didn’t help. But it’s not a bad record, it’s straightforward(ish) pop/rock/blues

9. Making Love to A Vampire With a Monkey on my Knee

From Doc At The Radar Station. Come on, how could I not include a song with that title!

10. Circumstances

From Clear Spot. Another towering vocal, and a great blues track

In the last place I taught at, I must have wittered on about Beefheart to one class quite a bit, without ever playing them a tune (something I stopped doing many years ago, and didn’t start again until my last year in the job, and it was usually Welsh prog band Gong, or King Crimson).

Anyway, one young man had a word with me at the end of what was probably a thoroughly exciting calculus lesson, and said he’d bought a Beefheart album, and that him and his dad had played it in the car. “Not Troutmask Replica, not Troutmask Replica, not Troutmask Replica” I was thinking.

“Which one, Sam?” I asked, hoping for Clear Spot or The Spotlight Kid. You, dear reader, already know the answer. A lovely young man, he did not swear or use any even mildly risqué words when describing what him and his dad thought of it.

A final word about Troutmask Replica. To listen, sit yourself down in your music room, shut the door, and play in its entirety. It’s an arresting listen. I did so in preparation for this ICA and on several occasions I had to put down my Rebus book and just listen.

I then put on Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), turned up the volume more, by which point the doorbell in the room started flashing. (The music room is in the converted attic, and to save my partner walking up the two flights of stairs we bought one of those remote/wireless bells).

“A cup of tea” I thought.

No, just a polite reminder that it was “a bit loud, George”.