THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

SHOULD MARK E. SMITH HAVE GIVEN PAUL SIMON A CREDIT FOR THIS?

There may 50 ways to leave your lover, but there’s seemingly just 15 of them apply when it’s a bloke you’ve to walk out on:-

mp3 : The Fall – 15 Ways

An absolute belter of an indie-pop song from 1994 that really deserved a far higher chart placing than the lowly #65 it staggered to. It’s jaunty as fuck!!!

Mine’s a 10″ clear vinyl effort with two equally tremendous b-sides.

mp3 : The Fall – Hey! Student

mp3 : The Fall – The $500 Bottle Of Wine

Whoever says The Fall are one-dimensional and that MES is just a po-faced northern whinging bastard should listen to these and re-assess….(and yup, I’m looking at you ctel)

Enjoy

Radiohead, Simple Minds

I THINK ONE OF MY READERS MIGHT BE ONTO SOMETHING…

Last week this comment was left behind by Ian Balentine:-

“Theme For Great Cities was totally ripped off for the Radiohead song “Where I End And You Begin” from Hail To The Thief. Not saying that’s a bad song, I just wish they’d give SImple MInds a songwriting credit. Listen side by side and you’ll cringe.”

It’s been a long long while since I listened to Hail To The Thief in its entirety so I fished out the copy from the CD shelves. Lo and behold……

mp3 : Radiohead – Where I End And You Belong (The Sky Is Falling In)

mp3 : Simple Minds – Theme For Great Cities

I have to add that all these years later I heard lots of cracking things on Hail To The Thief that passed me on its release in 2003. It’s still a bit hit’nmiss in places but there’s a lot more to enjoy about it than I previously recalled. And its opening track is an absolute belter. Here it is with the other tracks that were on the two CD singles:-

mp3 : Radiohead – 2+2 =5

mp3 : Radiohead – Remyxomatosis (Christian Vogel RMX)

mp3 : Radiohead – There There (first demo)

mp3 : Radiohead – Skttrbrain (Four Tet remix)

mp3 : Radiohead – I Will (Los Angeles version)

Be warned…..there’s loads of electronic noodling on these mixes of tracks that all made the final cut of the LP. Havingsaid that, the 7 minute plus version of There There is fascinating just to compare it to the later version and mix that was released as a single.

Enjoy

Latimer, Low Pop Suicide

FROM THE SOUTH WEST CORRESPONDENT…WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX (6)

LOW POP SUICIDE – THE DEATH OF EXCELLENCE

Between 1993 and 1997 the newly formed record label World Domination put a number of decent records (easily the best of the bunch is Carolida by Latimer, try and track that down if you can), the label was formed by a man called Dave Allen. He once played bass in Gang of Four and after leaving them he set out on his own, and formed Low Pop Suicide, with a male called Rick Boston who sang and Jeff Ward who played drums. Unsurprisingly he signed Low Pop Suicide to his own label and put out a couple of records by them. He left the band before this album was made so essentially Low Pop Suicide became a vehicle for Rick Boston to express his teenage angst (aged in his mid to late twenties) and fears.

Sadly, they never set the world on fire. It’s a shame because The Death of Excellence is to be honest a really good record. This album was ignored both critically and commercially and I’d largely forgotten it existed – but after digging it out of the box this morning I have played it twice and will probably give a third spin later on. I wouldn’t say it’s a lost classic or anything but it sits on the right side of decent. They described it, at the time, as sounding like Nine Inch Nails if fronted by Eddie Vedder (stop, come back!) please don’t let put you off. If it was released today, I guess the closest comparison I can find in my own collection is perhaps, the Cold War Kids, or, The Hold Steady its not as poppy (or jolly) but its in that ilk. The guitars are what I would have described in 1995 as ‘spiky’. I think in a post Nirvana world and with Britpop hurdling over the horizon we just didn’t want more of the same.

mp3 : Low Pop Suicide – Suicide Eyes

I’m not sure if World Domination Records are still going, but Low Pop Suicide split in 1996 after the commercial failure of The Death of Excellence and (partly) because the drummer Jeff Ward committed suicide. Rick Boston is still in the music world he does a lot of work on soundtracks and I think he married one of The Geraldine Fibbers a few years back.

Thanks for reading, see you next week, hopefully with something a bit more jolly.

JC adds….

I can honestly say this is the first time that I’ve ever heard of Low Pop Suicide – given what subsequently happened to their drummer it’s an unfortunate name for the band. Given how wonderful SWC’s contributions have been (and having had a preview of next week’s post it’s another one a few of you will probably want to comment on…..), I have tracked down thge track he mentioned in his opening para (and it’s another first time appearance on TVV or T(n)VV:-

mp3 : Latimer – Carolida

Enjoy

Twilight Sad

SEE ME? SEE CULTURE??

I’m off tonight to what I think might turn out to be one of the great gigs of 2013. The banner above says it all.

Here’s a repeat post from September 2012:-

It’s now five and a bit years since The Twilight Sad they first came to wider attention thanks to the stunning early singles and debut LP. They’ve been consistently excellent ever since. To the best of my knowledge, the first two singles were only ever made available on 7″ vinyl, albeit CD promo copies are out there. It seems appropriate to share them with you straight from the vinyl:-

mp3 : The Twilight Sad – And She Would Darken The Memory
mp3 : The Twilight Sad – That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy (Decomposed by Ensemble)

mp3 : The Twilight Sad – That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy
mp3 : The Twilight Sad – Watching That Chair Painted Yellow

Warning for those of you who might not know these songs. There’s regular use of a swear word in That Summer…. one that some folk find offensive…the ‘c’ word. It’s a word that sounds especially brutal when delivered in a hard West of Scotland brogue.

I love both of these 45s. And if it hadn’t been for the fact I only picked them up some six months after release (being away in Canada for much of 2007) then one of them would certainly have made the 45 45s at 45 countdown the following year.

Enjoy.

Copy Haho, Danny Wilson, David Byrne, Deacon Blue, Delgados

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Parts 36-40)

Back on 8 October 2011, I started a series called ‘Saturday’s Scottish Single’. The aim was to feature one 45 or CD single by a Scottish singer or band with the proviso that the 45 or CD single was in the collection. I had got to Part 60-something and as far as Kid Canaveral when the rug was pulled out from under TVV.

I’ll catch up soon enough by featuring 5 or more at a time from the archives..

(36) Copy Haho – Bookshelf b/w Desert Belle : I Fly Spitfire Records 7″ (2006)

A four-piece outfit originally from the town of Stonehaven which is just a couple of train stops south of Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland. I saw Copy Haho as a support act at King Tut’s a few years ago and was impressed enough to buy a bit of vinyl on the night. Turns out it was their debut 7″ limited run of 500 which came out in 2006. Since then I’ve picked up a further two singles that were released in 2008 and 2009 but not their debut LP which was released in 2011

(37) Danny Wilson – The Second Summer Of Love b/w Growing Emotional b/w I’ll Be Waiting : Virgin 12″ single (1989)

THIS BREAK UP MUST HAVE BEEN A KILLER…

Early summer of 1986. There was a very unusual opening to an edition of Whistle Test. No presenter telling us what was coming up on the show. Just a quick blast of the theme tune and straight into what turned out to be a stunning performance by Elvis Costello & The Attractions of a song which contains what must be one of the most vicious and vindictive lyrics ever penned:-

He’s a fine figure of a man and handsome too
With his eyes upon the secret places he’d like to undo
Still he knows who knows who and where and how
And I hope you’re happy now

He’s got all the things you need and some that you will never
But you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever
Still he knows what you want and what you don’t allow
And I hope you’re happy now

I hope that you’re happy now like you’re supposed to be
And I know that this will hurt you more than it hurts me

He’s acting innocent and proud still you know what he’s after
Like a matador with his pork sword, while we all die of laughter
In his turquoise pajamas and motorcycle hat
I hope you’re happy now because you’ll soon put pay to that
I knew then what I know now I never loved you anyhow
And I hope you’re happy now

It’s really only when you see them written down on the page that you get the full extent of the bitterness contained in the lyric. All spat out over an incredibly catchy, infectious and jolly tune:-

mp3 : Elvis Costello & The Attractions – I Hope You’re Happy Now

One of my favourite tracks from Blood & Chocolate which is is my favourite EC album. At the time with nine years of extensive chart hits behind him, it felt as if he’d been going forever and a day. 27 years on and he shows little sign of slowing down

There’s also a great solo, maybe even demo version of the song:-

mp3 : Elvis Costello – I Hope You’re Happy Now (acoustic)

This version was originally made available on the b-side of the 12″ of I Want You which is another song with an uncompromising and uncomfortable lyric but it has the tune to match:-

mp3 : Elvis Costello & The Attractions – I Want You

Enjoy? It doesn’t seem the appropriate word somehow….

Simple Minds

CONTINUING WITH THE ‘S’ THEME OF THE PAST FEW DAYS

They chose a career path of anthemic tunes that brought them fame and fortune across most of the planet but left quite a few folk who had loved the earlier material scratching their heads in disbelief.

Simple Minds made a lot of great music at the beginning of their career. If they had broken up before the chart hits then I’m sure they would be held in the very highest of regards and quoted by many of today’s young musicians as being a huge influence. They would be seen as part of the art-rock movement and not pioneers of arena cum stadium rock.

Listen without prejudice.

mp3 : Simple Minds – Premonition (John Peel Session)

mp3 : Simple Minds – Changeling

mp3 : Simple Minds – Theme For Great Cities

mp3 : Simple Minds – Sweat In Bullet

Theme For Great Cities comes highly recommended to all fans of Magazine and the keyboard skills of Dave Formula.

Enjoy.

Soft Cell

CAN YOU TAKE THE FULL 12 INCHES?

Soft Cell were a hugely underrated duo. They made some incredibly innovative bits of electronica music in the early 80s. They conquered the charts with catchy pop tunes and filled their LPs with edgier, grittier material that must have scared the weans.

I was always on the lookout for the 12″ versions of their hit singles as they often turned the track into masterpieces and rarely fell into the trap of simply padding the songs with a bit of electronic doodling. I’ve still got most of those 12 inchers sitting in the cupboard. Here’s some of the best:-

mp3 : Soft Cell – Say Hello Wave Goodbye

mp3 : Soft Cell – Bedsitter

mp3 : Soft Cell – Torch

And just in case there’s some of you out there who aren’t familiar with their unique 10-minute take on Hey Joe, Purple Haze and Voodoo Chile:-

mp3 : Soft Cell – Hendrix Melody

Bit more difficult to set fire to a synth mind you……

Enjoy

Strangelove

FROM THE SOUTH WEST CORRESPONDENT…WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX (5)

mp3 : Strangelove – Living with the Human Machines

Strangelove were one of those bands that should have but never did. Formed in 1991 they centred around singer Patrick Duff. They release three albums before splitting in 1998. This comes off their second album ‘Love and Other Demons’ and was the first single from it (and its not the best song off it – see Beautiful Alone for that – if that was released today Radio 1 would play it every twenty minutes). It peaked at Number 53. They were good mates with Radiohead and Richey Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers. That is kind of reflected in the sound, it’s a bit like Radiohead, a bit like Suede, a bit like Gene, a bit like this and a bit like that, a lot like The Smiths.

I have very fond memories of Strangelove and Patrick Duff in particular. When this record came out I interviewed them before a gig at the London Astoria where they were supporting the wonderful Whipping Boy (hope they are in this box!) and Patrick Duff spoke openly about his problem with amphetamines and a growing thirst for vodka. He needed half a bottle before going on stage just to calm his nerves, despite the blatant alcoholism he was articulate, intelligence, and very witty. He had a habit of falling asleep through interviews which I think didn’t help him that much (or maybe, probably, I was just a terrible interviewer). I think I wrote once that if it wasn’t for the alcoholism, then their first two albums would have been masterpieces, and I maintain that view today . The gig at the Astoria was packed for Strangelove and they were tremendous (not as good as Whipping Boy, but who was?). Patrick Duff released a solo record in 2005 and it’s worthy of a listen. I’m told he lives in Devon now on the wilds of Dartmoor, I’m kind of hoping I bump into him next time I’m in Chagford.

Note from JC

I only have two Strangelove singles in my vinyl/CD collection but what I do have is Quality with a very large capital Q…

mp3 : Strangelove – Beautiful Alone

mp3 : Strangelove – Sway

The latter is extremely lovely. It also has a very fine cover on the b-side:-

mp3 : Strangelove – Moon River (live acoustic version)

Oh I forgot about this – a track from some compilation LP given away by a magazine back in 1994:-

mp3 : Strangelove – Time For The Rest Of Your Life

Essential listening if you’re a fan of Suede and Moz. As the SW Correspondent says, a band that should have but never did….

Enjoy.

Echo & The Bunnymen

LAY DOWN THY RAINCOAT AND GROOOOOOVE…

Back in the early 80s, I spent almost every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night within the student union at Strathclyde University, I wasn’t a fashionista – I probably had about ten different shirts to choose from (five of which were black) and maybe three pair of jeans (two of which were black). But no matter what clothes were nearest to my skin I never went anywhere without my fabulous olive-coloured raincoat that I’d persuaded my dad to give me….

The raincoat was in homage to Ian McCulloch who I thought was one of the coolest men on the planet. He, along with his bandmates, always seemed to be photographed wearing some sort of coat although thinking back that’s probably more to do with them insisting their photoshoots take place in the likes of Iceland.

Without fail the student union ‘disco’ would feature at least one Echo & The Bunnymen song during the course of the evening and without fail it was cue for me to get up on the dancefloor and do my thing. Sad poseur that I was, I inevitably tried to dance while wearing my raincoat. It might have been draped over a chair or wrapped under a nearby table, but the second a Bunnymen track began to blast out, I’d race to where the coat was and put it on. I now accept that I must had looked like a dickhead…..

Then in 1983 I saw the video to the new Bunnymen single, and wouldn’t you know it Mac was on the stage of the Albert Hall doing his thing – but without a coat. From that moment on, the raincoat never again was seen on the dancefloor….

All of this came back to me the other day when the single from 1983 came on via shuffle as I sat on a train heading to the football. I smiled at the memories. It was also a sharp reminder that it’s a belter of a track:-

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – Never Stop (Discotheque)

That’s the 12″ version which I bought on vinyl at the time and still have all these years later. The b-sides were a ifferent version of a track that had featured on the 1982 LP Porcupine as well as what I assume is an early demo-type version of what would later become a hit single:-

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – Heads Will Roll (Summer Version)

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – The Original Cutter

I’m very fond of Heads Will Roll, so I thought I’d also add the LP version to this posting.

mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – Heads Will Roll

Admit it. It does make you want to dance.

Enjoy.

Butcher Boy, Captain America, Champion Doug Veitch, Cinematics, Clare Grogan, Clean George IV, Close Lobsters, Cocteau Twins

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Parts 28-35)

I’ll catch up soon enough by featuring 5 or more at a time from the archives..

(28) Butcher Boy – Imperial b/w Juicy Fruit : Damaged Goods 7″ (2011)

One of my all time favourite bands. That I was able to promote one of their gigs in Glasgow in 2011 will always be a memory to treasure.

This is the thing they’ve ever made available on vinyl. Still not prepared to make Juicy Fruit available on the blog as the 500 copies of the single have never sold out….

(29) Captain America – Flame On b/w Buttermilk b/w Indian Summer : Paperhouse Records CD (1992)

Between calling themselves Captain America and ripping off the logo from a chain store, it can’t come as too much of a surprise that all sorts of injunctions soon forced changes and led to this 1992 single being deleted very very quickly. Captain America arose from the ashes of The Vaselines and sound a bit like the way Teenage Fanclub sounded in 1992. The name was soon changed to Eugenuis which was the nickname some had given to frontman Eugene Kelly

(30) Champion Doug Veitch – Margarita b/w Margarita (Mix Mescales) b/w One Black Night (remix) : Conga Records 12″ single (1986)

Read more about Champion Doug Veitch here

(31) Cinematics – Be In The World (demo) : Promo one-sided 7″ bought at a gig when band supported Editors : (2005)

AN INDIE BAND FROM SCOTLAND IT TOOK ME NEARLY 25 YEARS TO CATCH ONTO

The front and back of the three-track 7″ debut single for Sarah Records by The Orchids. Worth well over £100 if you’ve still got a half-decent copy. Released in January 1988 and has the catalogue number of SARAH 2.

Being lazy, let me just lift from wiki:-

The Orchids are a Scottish band that achieved success with Sarah Records. Formed near Glasgow in 1986, the Orchids released a series of underground singles on the influential Sarah Records . The group’s line-up comprised James Hackett (vocals), John Scally (guitar), Chris Quinn (drums), Matthew Drummond (guitar) and James Moody (bass). Their producer, Ian Carmichael, often played keyboards on their records. The group split up in 1995, playing their final gig at the Sarah Records farewell party.

The Orchids were musically one of the most interesting Sarah bands and certainly developed far more on that label than any band except, perhaps, The Field Mice. Starting with a fairly conventional melancholy guitar pop sound on Lyceum and contemporaneous singles, they moved on to become more keyboard and sample/effects-based for their second and third albums, Unholy Soul and Striving For the Lazy Perfection, developing a more electronic sound, possibly as a result of their producer, Ian Carmichael, who was a member of dance band One Dove.

Their entire back catalogue was re-released on CD on LTM in 2005. The band had already reformed in 2004 with new bassist Ronnie Borland, and released their fourth album Good to Be a Stranger in February 2007. The album was issued on Madrid based label Siesta, with the band playing live gigs for the first time in twelve years. In 2010 the group released a fifth album, The Lost Star through Pebble Records, mixed by a returning Ian Carmichael.

A few friends over the years had mentioned The Orchids to me, but having completely missed out on them in their day, and not willing to pay the really silly money that come with any material released on Sarah Records, I never chased things up. A while back tough I stumbled across a posting about them elsewhere and that’s when I found out about the re-releases on LTM so I promptly sent off for all three of the LPs.

The great thing is that they also include the very hard to find 45s that weren’t ever made available on the original LPs meaning I’ve had almost 60 songs to learn and love. Not surprisingly I suppose, I’m finding myself much more attracted to the earlier material – the stuff described as having a fairly conventional melancholy guitar pop sound, and have certainly fallen for the charms of SARAH2:-

mp3 : The Orchids – I’ve Got A Habit

mp3 : The Orchids – Give Me Some Peppermint Freedom

mp3 : The Orchids – Apologies

Great mention of Irn Bru in the lyric of the lead track…….

All of this leads me to announce that as of tomorrow, the Saturday Scottish single returns, with more re-posts from the old blog until I catch up with things again later this year

Enjoy

Tindersticks

I’M GETTING SO FORGETFUL IN MY OLD AGE

Can’t believe that I didn’t include this in the list of songs about wanking the other day:-

I’m crawling, I don’t know where to or from
The center of things from where everything stems, is not where I belong
I have the city sickness growing inside me
So this is where I ran for freedom where I may not be free

I have these hands beating with love for you
You’re not here to touch
Sent you away, what else can I do
When I need something that much?

I’m hurting, babe, in the city there’s no place for love
It’s just used to make people feel better, it’s not like us
I got this sickness as I got off the train
Now it chafes away at my heart, until nothing remains

I have these hands beating with love for you
And you’re not here to touch
Sent you away, what else can I do
When I need something that much? That much

I’m okay afterwards, afterwards lasts for minutes only
I’m okay during, you kind of fill up my mind
It’s just that, before may last forever
It’s just that, before may just fuck my mind

I have these hands beating with love for you
And you’re not here to touch
Sent you away, what else can I do
When I need something that much? That much

From 1993, one of my favourite ever songs by one of my favourite ever bands:-

mp3 : Tindersticks – City Sickness

I have to admit however that the band’s best days are behind them. Between 1993 and 2003 Tindersticks released some astonishing bits of music via LPs, singles and soundtracks. As a live act they were a truly special spectacle, especially when they were accompanied by an orchestra.

There was a five-year hiatus until 2008 but what has been released since then is a shadow of the past triumphs. The departure of half of the band to has left a huge vacuum that hasn’t been filled. It’s still lovely to listen to Stuart Staples extraordinary vocal delivery but the music has been too much of a letdown.

City Sickness is a great single. It also has a wonderful sleeve (front and back) as pictured above, Here’s the other tracks that came with it:-

mp3 : Tindersticks – Untitled

mp3 : Tindersticks – The Bullring

Enjoy

Fatima Mansions

BLOWS ME AWAY EVERY SINGLE TIME

Someone on Discogs described this 1990 single as having the voice of an avenging angel having a bad day and guitar chords like a firing squad.

I wish I could sum up songs as brilliantly as that.

The only reason this never made my 45 45s at 45 countdown all those years ago is that I missed out on it when it was originally released. My first exposure came via an end of the year round-up on some late evening show on Radio 1. I bought the CD single the next time I was in a shop and paid almost £5 for the privilege.

Since rekindling my love for vinyl I’ve got my grubby hands on bits of plastic both here and over in Canada. This is a record that should be in every music fan’s collection:-

mp3 : Fatima Mansions – Blues For Ceausescu

That’s the version on the 7″ double A side Kitchenware Records single…..it’s lyrical genius with Cathal Coughlan reflecting on how a popular uprising in Romania brought down a dictator yet closer to home in the UK and Ireland nothing changes……..

Flip over to the other song on this double A side effort and you’re in for a laugh:-

mp3 : Fatima Mansions – 13th Century Boy

It is scarily reminiscent of the chart-topping sounds of Stock, Aitken and Waterman until the last 30 seconds or so when it goes weirdly out of tune. I only wish that somehow Radio 1 had picked up on this as a potential chart-fodder, played it to death on daytime shows and propelled it into the higher echelons of the chart. Imagine the shock of all the kiddies and their mums and dads as they flipped over to hear what other poptastic stuff this new band were capable of and Ceausescu came blaring out of the speakers.

Here’s the even more bizarre offering that was on the 12″ single:-

mp3 : Fatima Mansions – On Suicide Bridge

In 2008 while browsing around a record store in Toronto, I came across a 12″ bit of vinyl on Radioactive Records that included this remix of the single, which isn’t all that great but one for the completists:- :-

mp3 : Fatima Mansions – Blues For Ceaucescu (Only Solution Mix)

Meanwhile, here’s an ever darker and rockier version recorded as a Peel Session – with amended lyrics (including no direct mention of the assassination of Lord Mountbatten at the request of the BBC):-

mp3 : Fatima Mansions – Blues For Ceaucescu (Peel Session)

Immense.

Beautiful South, Billy Bragg, Nubiles, Squeeze, Vapors

FROM THE SOUTH WEST CORRESPONDENT….WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX (4)

mp3 : The Nubiles : Tatjiana (all over me)

The Nubiles for those of you who have never heard of them or, like me, forgot they ever existed, were formed in 1993 in Oxford, when Tara Milton, former bass player with Five Thirty (nope, me neither) joined forces with some other faces from Oxford bands. Their sound can best be described as indie with a slightly punk edge, in that their songs sneer a little bit. Their website stated that they displayed the kind of primal energy not seen since The Who. To be honest, that’s pushing it a bit. These Animal Men, perhaps, but certainly not The Who.

They split, (combusted if I remember rightly) in 1998 after releasing, one relatively well received album Mindblender on which this song features. Tatjiana is their best song by a country mile (that country being, the size of Brazil). They reformed briefly in 2007, but quickly realised that they all hated each other still and that the tunes sounded even less like The Who than they did in 1995. They are apparently on ‘a hiatus’ at the minute. Oxford is slowly weeping into its Pringle sweaters I would imagine.

Now Tatjiana is a great two and a half minutes-ish of music, listen to it, you will hum for the rest of the day I guarantee it. It’s a sneering ode to the five knuckle shuffle (sorry). It contains the immortal lyric,“Just a Dream and a Tissue and you are all over me”. I mean what’s not to love about that.

BUT (it is a big one) the problem is, that as everyone knows, the only timeless song about er, bashing the bishop, is Orgasm Addict by Buzzcocks (come on name another one – JC – here’s another series for you – “songs about wanking” and no I Touch Myself by The Divinyls doesn’t count). In this case, The Nubiles are trying really hard to be The Buzzcocks, and if they tried that instead of the nonsense about The Who people might have got it a bit better.

Note From JC

Two songs from the New Wave era immediately sprung to mind:-

mp3 : The Vapors – Turning Japanese

mp3 : Squeeze – Touching Me, Touching You

Then there’s a song from 1990:-

mp3 : The Beautiful South – Tonight I Fancy Myself

Billy Bragg has also referenced the act:-

mp3 : Billy Bragg – St Swithin’s Day

I’m sure there’s a few others out there….I once heard it argued that Pump It Up by Elvis Costello & The Attractions was about wanking but I’m not convinced.

All yours dear readers…..

New Order

IN BETWEEN DAYS (Part 2)

Interesting debate last week when I suggested that In Between Days was not only the finest moment of The Cure but also the best New Order song that New Order never wrote and recorded,

I hung my hat on it being the Lowlife era….others have thought it was more Power, Corruption & Lies. Thinking more about it, it’s probably a mix of the two as the tremendous opening tracks of both LPs illustrate:-

mp3 : New Order – Age Of Consent

mp3 : New Order – Love Vigilantes

And when featuring those two songs on the blog, I really can’t let the occasion pass without listening to their other great LP opener of that era:-

mp3 : New Order – Dreams Never End

It really doesn’t seem like 32 years ago. It too sounds a big influence on In Between Days

Enjoy

Uncategorized

APOLOGIES FOR THE EARLIER FUCK-UPS….

Sorry folks.

The posting on Fatima Mansions was in draft form and shouldn’t have been published

The links to to the Abbey Road EP were mistakenly left off.

Blame tiredness. Oh all right then, blame carelessness….that’s really what it was.

Hope I didn’t ruin anyone’s day.

Spiritualized

ABBEY ROAD EP

Christmas 1997.

Santa, via Jacques the Kipper, brings me a copy of Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, the hugely acclaimed LP released a few months earlier by Spiritualized.

Sadly, it’s an LP I can’t quite take to albeit there were a couple of songs I thought were more than half-decent….but despite maybe a dozen or so efforts, I still didn’t get what all the fuss was about.

Fast forward fifteen or so years. Decide to give it another go. This time I do get it. I can’t put my finger on other than acknolwedging that, even as I hit my 40s, my musical horizons continued to expand. Let’s just say, it was like discovering a lost masterpiece in the attic.

It’s an LP in which just about every musical instrument and every musical genre seems to have been thrown into the mix. Much of the material is about a painful and messy end to a relationship, with the basis being the real-life events that surrounded the band’s frontman Jason Pierce and the band’ keyboard player Kate Radley.

My favourite song on the album is Broken Heart which must be one of the the most gut-wrenching, emotionally-draining but defying songs ever written and recorded. The fact the person who the song was written about contributes so much to its haunting sound just seems incredible.

I hadn’t realised until very recently that this was one of two songs later re-recorded and put out as EP in August 1998. I was delighted therefore to come across a second-hand copy of the 12″ of Abbey Road EP and rushed home to play this version of Broken Heart.

And to my astonishment and delight I discovered that it’s even better than the LP version with the addition of what sounds like a full-blown orchestra and gospel choir to the mix.

mp3 : Spiritualized – Broken Heart (Abbey Road Mix)

The leads track on the EP was this:-

mp3 : Spiritualized – Come Together (Abbey Road Mix)

One of the most accessible tracks on the album but it couldn’t get any airplay thanks to the regular use of the word fuck/fucked/fucker. It therefore made sense to all and sundry to have a fresh stab at it, but the use of mess/messed to replace the swear words, to my ears, diminish it somewhat.

The EP was completed by something which wouldn’t have been out of place as the credits roll on a movie where the very final scene has left the entire audience in a state of shock and tears:-

mp3 : Spiritualized – Broken Heart (instrumental)

The Abbey Road EP didn’t sell all that well, only reaching #39 in the singles chart. But then again, none of the singles from Ladies and Gentlemen…. went Top 20.

Enjoy

Cure

THE BEST NEW ORDER SONG THEY NEVER WROTE

R-384978-1271341071

it can’t be denied can it?

mp3 : The Cure – In Between Days

Quite possibly my favourite few minutes from The Cure. And yes, it is because it so reminds me of Lowlife era New Order. A #15 hit in the UK back in the summer of 1985. Still sounds gorgeous after all this time.

It’s one I’ve had on 12″ vinyl since its initial release. Here’s yer rather splendid b-sides :-

mp3 : The Cure – The Exploding Boy

mp3 : The Cure – A Few Hours After This

Three excellent tracks on one 12″ single. What more can you ask for?

Enjoy

Go-Betweens

A SPLENDID SAMPLER

One of my favourite LPs is 1978-1990, which consists of four sides of vinyl featuring 28 of the very best songs from The Go-Betweens.

What makes the double album that wee bit more special is that every song gets a little commentary from either Grant McLennan or Robert Forster which taken together provides a potted bio of the band. While going through the CDs the other day I stumbled upon this 4-track sampler issued by Beggars Banquet. Like the LP, the songs have notes attached.

I’m not sure if it was ever made available commercially…I picked mine up from a shop in Glasgow that was well-known for putting promotional material on general sale to try to make a little bit more cash. The sticker on the front reminds me I paid £2.49 which wasn’t bad at all. It’s listed for sale at £6.99 plus postage on Discogs just now.

Here’s the songs and what can be found in the sleeve notes:-

mp3 : The Go-Betweens – Cattle and Cane

Written in summer on a borrowed guitar in a Paddington bedroom, London. The other rooms were occupied by unconscious friends. The rhythm struck me as strange, the mood as beautiful and sad. The song came easily, was recorded quickly and still haunts me: GM
(Recorded in October 1982 in Eastbourne, England. Originally released as a Rough Trade single)

mp3 : The Go-Betweens – Bachelor Kisses

We came back from Christmas in New York having lost our record company somewhere along the way. I wrote this in immigration having been refused entry to the United Kingdom. The first person who heard the song was my sister. She said that Marianne Faithful should sing it : GM
(recorded in July 1984 in London. Originally released on the Sire album ‘Spring Hill Fair’

mp3 : The Go Betweens – Man O’Sand To Girl O’Sea

In rock’n’roll terms The Go-Betweens always take the checkered flag. This road running slice of beauty and mayhem – I can distinctly remember turning to the band and saying “let’s burn this land”. And by Jesus we did : RF
(recorded in August 1983 in Sussex, Originally released as a Rough Trade single)

mp3 : The Go-Betweens – Bye Bye Pride

Cairns is a lazy, small town full of boats and cane fields. It is also unbearably hot. An old army officer once said to me that the heat took away his pride. He then sucked loudly on the straw in his gin and headed out to the first hole. I was his caddy so I followed him : GM
(recorded in January 1987 in London. Originally released on the Beggars Banquet album Tallulah)

It’s hearing these songs again that remind me of the heights that this band were capable of reaching. The notes also show just how talented they were as wordsmiths, both in song and in prose. It is a mystery as to why they never crossed over to obtain the commercial success that they so deserved.

Cattle and Cane in particular is a very very special song. Nowadays, it makes me sad as it reminds me of Grant’s sudden and very unexpected death. But at the same time, it is a song I associate with some of my happiest days, weeks and months on Planet Earth when I fell properly in love for the first time.

Man O’ Sand….made my 45 45s at 45 list back in 2008 – as much for the cracking b-side that accompanied it as the single itself. Two songs that play a major part in my decision to start a blog all those years ago.

RIP Grant. Thank you and your comrades for such amazing and timeless tunes.