Johnny Male

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #364: JOHNNY MALE

A guest posting by Leon MacDuff

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A contribution: a Johnny Male (who he?) ICA

This ICA started with an idle thought: why were Republica so naff? I mean, if there is such a thing as a guilty pleasure then “Ready To Go” is it. But that band should have been so much better. Regardless of the material, Saffron is a great frontwoman. And behind her, they had Tim Dorney out of the ace Flowered Up! And Johnny Male out of – wait, who’s Johnny Male? Yeah… this is going to need some explaining…

I was first aware of Johnny Male from the single which starts this compilation. First aware of him specifically, that is. I already knew of his previous band, but it would be ages before I made the connection. Sensation were floppy-haired indie-dance scenesters, while I only knew Soul Family Sensation for their not-sung-by-Johnny late-night Brit soul near-classic I Don’t Even Know If I Should Call You Baby. And I only had that on a compilation, and never noticed the giveaway that both songs bore the credit Batson/Male. It wasn’t until about a decade later, by which time I was equipped with the interwebs, that I dug out that single I liked for a month back in the 90s, and wondered whether the group responsible did anything else. And that’s when I learned of the connection between Sensation and Soul Family Sensation. And Republica. And some other bands I’d never heard of. And, at a slight remove, Saint Etienne. And Doves. I’ll explain those later.

While Republica were the most commercially successful of Male’s various projects, for me his best work has been in collaboration with Guy Batson and/or Pete Smith, which means the real core bands are Soul Family Sensation, Sensation and Cheapglue. For this ICA I’ve also included a track from Johnny’s first band Metro-Trinity, and a couple of songs written for other artists.

Now, I’ve got to make one thing clear, because the way I’m talking him up, you might think I regard Johnny Male as some kind of overlooked genius. Well, no disrespect to the fella, but no. What I do regard him as, is somebody who’s improved my life in a teeny tiny way by making a few records which I don’t exactly consider lost classics but which I do sorta quite like – but who nobody’s really heard of, even the squillion or so people who bought “Ready To Go”. So why not give him a turn in the spotlight? This could be the most low-key Imaginary Compilation Album ever, but on the other hand he may in fact be the perfect subject for this series because after all, nobody’s going to do a Johnny Male compilation for real, are they? I mean… I’d buy it, probably, but there’s no way they’re going to recoup their money on that.

Side One

1. Beautiful Morning by Sensation (Burger Habit, 1993)

Sensation was officially a duo of Male and his songwriting partner Guy Batson, though future Doves dude Jez Williams, then plying his trade in Sub Sub, was a strictly unofficial third member, playing guitar throughout their debut album.

I’m not sure whether Burger Habit is meant to be a concept album as such, but the predominance of songs about teenage life (Male was on the cusp of 30, but seemingly still getting his adolescent issues out in song), and a weirdly conversational lyrical style, make it… unusual. It’s the quirkiness of his lyric-writing that really piqued my interest. Sometimes the lyrics rhyme, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they stick to a regular meter, sometimes not. We don’t follow no stinkin’ rules here! Another thing Male often does is throw in details that make it sound as though he’s relating a story to somebody he knows, like the offhand mention of “trying to write my book” in this song, as if he’s talking to someone he’s discussed this with before, and doesn’t need to explain it any further. He does this sort of thing all the way through Burger Habit, so even if the music sometimes veers toward generic indie-dance, there’s always a slight oddness to the lyrics.

2. Home by Sarah Cracknell (Lipslide, 1997)

Much like Jez Williams, Sarah Cracknell is one of those people whose path doesn’t quite run alongside Male’s, but whose wibbly-wobbly route nevertheless crosses his quite often. There’s even one moment when all three paths intersect: weirdly, it’s on a single by Mexico 70, a band none of them were actually members of. Anyway, following a successful co-write with Cracknell on Saint Etienne’s Hug My Soul, the Sensation boys went on to supply several songs for her solo album Lipslide, and I think this is quite a good one. That’s all.

3. Sheffield Song by Soul Family Sensation (New Wave, 1991)

Wangst. Though I’m fairly sure it’s deliberate.

Though it rarely gets the attention afforded to the simultaneous Madchester and rave scenes, the early 90s were also something of a boom time for the slower-tempoed, more jazz/soul-inflected variety of British dance music, and Soul Family Sensation were among the groups looking to catch that wave. They got quite a bit of attention for their debut single I Don’t Even Know If I Should Call You Baby but there were disappointingly few takers for the subsequent album New Wave. It’s no Blue Lines, but it’s not bad if you can forgive some cheap synths.

Jhelisa Anderson was SFS’s usual singer (and she’ll turn up later in the ICA) but Male took the occasional lead vocal. This particular song prefigures the style of Burger Habit to the extent that it was subsequently recycled – in the same version, just with “Soul Family” dropped from the name – as the B side for Beautiful Morning.

4. Greatest In The World by Cheapglue (Sexyhorses, 2002)

Following Burger Habit, Sensation reconvened to tape a second album, but couldn’t find anybody willing to release it, so the project rather ground to a halt. But as we know, Male landed on his feet: Tim Dorney, who’d done some production work for Soul Family Sensation, invited him to play guitar with his new group Republica, and while nobody really cared who the blokes standing behind Saffron were, it would become the band that brought Male his biggest commercial success. Which I am going to completely skip over in favour of an album nobody bought, by a band nobody’s heard of.

Although that missing Sensation album, Yesterday Things Got Worse, did eventually turn up, it was a bit of a disappointment. Much better, and a more fitting sequel to Burger Habit, was Sexyhorses, the first and only album by Cheapglue. The core members were Male and ex-Denim member (and sometime Sensation backing vocalist) Pete Smith, but a whole bunch of Male’s multi-instrumentalist pals also took part, including Batson, Dorney, former Yachts and The Christians tunesmith Henry Priestman, and Richard “Duce” Van Spall (with whom Male briefly played in Jesus Jones-style dance group Airstream) on drums. And to add to the “old friends together” vibe, Cracknell popped in for a duet, too. Which isn’t this.

There’s nothing startlingly original about Greatest In The World, which a few years earlier would have been a natural inclusion on a Shine compilation, rubbing shoulders with Dodgy and The Supernaturals. But it’s a fun time for four minutes.

5. Slip Away by Metro-Trinity (Die Young EP, 1987)

Where it all started for Johnny. And for Jez Williams, which may explain the ludicrous prices this EP now commands (though you can get Burger Habit, which he’s also all over, for a quid or two). They were joined by Tim Whiteley (bass) and Colin Rocks (drums, though he doesn’t have a lot to do on this one). I believe Jez’s brother and fellow Doves member Andy was also in the group for a while before they split up (he’d hardly be in it afterwards, would he?), but he isn’t present here. Typical decent late-80s indie guitar fare, with Male’s conversational lyrical style already in effect.

Side Two

1. Luv’d Up by Crush (Crush, 1996)

Here’s a real off-the-beaten-track choice. Crush were a duo comprising former Byker Grove actors Donna Air and Jayni Hoy, and developed from the short-lived spin-off band Byker Grooove (because why settle for just two “o”s?). Their album is straightforward manufactured pop but far better than it has any right to be, thanks to the calibre of those doing the manufacturing.

Saint Etienne producer Ian Catt was involved with the original one-off Byker Grooove single, so I would guess it was via his contact book that Sarah Cracknell and Johnny Male got involved. Cracknell provided three songs as part of three different writing teams – the best of which, the Henry Priestman co-write Penthouse Girl, Basement Boy, would be remade for Lipslide. Male provided most of the rest, writing alongside Pete Smith and Danny De Matos. Jellyhead seems to be the song people remember (it was actually a minor hit in the States, too) but Luv’d Up is the highlight, a joyful Motown-hinting number providing the missing link between Kenickie and S Club 7. Because that’s what you’re here for, right?

2. Tell Your Parents I Hate Their Guts by Sensation (Burger Habit, 1993)

More conversational teen-angst from Burger Habit.

3. High On The Grass (demo) by Sensation (recorded c.1992, released as a bonus track on Yesterday Things Got Worse, 2000)

And more of the same, though less angsty. This song is a good example of the weirdness of Burger Habit (a more polished version appears on the album). Male seems to be telling us stories from his life, but actually he does no more than hint at them, as if reminiscing with someone who was there and knows it all already. I mean, he’s not actually talking to us, his listeners, is he?

4. The Day You Went Away by Soul Family Sensation (New Wave, 1991)

Penultimate track… so it’s token ballad time!

It’s been said that most songwriters, however successful they are, make the majority of their earnings from a single song. I think we can safely assume that in Male’s case that song is Ready To Go, but before that hit came along, this was probably the one keeping him and Batson above the poverty line, all thanks to Australian singer Wendy Matthews.

Although pretty much unknown anywhere else, Matthews’ 1992 cover seems to be considered something of a touchstone for early 90s Australian culture. It went to number 2 in the Australian charts and cleaned up in awards season, but personally I think Matthews just takes it far too seriously. Where Jhelisa Anderson emotes, Wendy Matthews over-emotes, and furthermore does it in that annoying way that’s calculated to sound subtle, but because it’s so obviously calculated, really isn’t subtle at all. So here’s Jhelisa Anderson, doing it properly. And remember I mentioned the cheap synths? Well, I rather like the weedy synth strings here, I think they stop the song from getting too overwrought. So, turned out nice.

5. From Anywhere by Cheapglue (Sexyhorses, 2002)

And after the ballad, the big fun closing number. And some nice touches in it, I particularly like the dub-style bassline.

Bonus 12″ mix EP (free with the first 10,000 copies!)

A

Saint Etienne: Hug My Soul (12″ mix) 6:20

Soul Family Sensation: I Don’t Even Know If I Should Call You Baby (Marshall Jefferson Dance mix) 5:50

B

Republica: Ready To Go (original mix) 5:01

Sensation: Beautiful Morning (BBG’s Big Breakfast mix) 7:41

Starting with three songs mentioned but not included on the main ICA. The Saint Etienne track is a straight extended mix. I could have picked any of the numerous remixes of the SFS track, but Marshall Jefferson’s rework beefs up the original agreeably while keeping it recognisably the same track. Johnny’s biggest hit Ready To Go appears in its original mix, released a few months before the more familiar version, and we finish with quite a radical remix of Beautiful Morning which drops the verses and brings Gloria Robakowski‘s counterpoint vocals up front. How are you feeling, it’s a brilliant morning…

Leon

Wedding Present

THE WEDDING PRESENT SINGLES (Part Thirty-One)

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The Wedding Present more than made up for having been quiet in the previous calendar year. The release of Mini in January was quickly followed by 11 dates in the UK and 14 shows across North America, before the further gigs at Sound City, Leeds and France which were mentioned in last week’s part of this series.

The summer months involved a combination of studio time and 18 appearances on stages on both sides of the Atlantic and on mainland Europe (often on festival bills), but the period from 2 October–21 December saw then play 52 gigs in the UK, USA, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany in support of the new album Saturnalia, released on Cooking Vinyl on 9 September.

The first taster of the album had come a few weeks earlier, with a new single, the first on which new guitarist Simon Cleave had played.

mp3: The Wedding Present – 2,3, Go (single edit)

Again, this is one I didn’t pick up on for a few years, initially via its inclusion on Saturnalia, although in later years I did pick up the 7″ version from which the above is taken (the single edit is almost two minutes shorter and loses the feedback and sonic disturbance on the album version).

It’s not a personal favourite, which I think is a view shared by most fans. It did sell enough copies to reach #67 in the UK charts, and given that Saturnalia would enter at #36 (which was 11 places higher than Watusi had achieved back in 1994), it can be argued that it did its job.

Here’s the b-side to the 7″:-

mp3: The Wedding Present – Up

A noisy effort that is in some ways reminiscent of the C87 era, and as such is a song I much prefer to the A-side. Worth noting that while the single was credited to all four current members of the band (Gedge/Lockey/Cleave/Smith), there’s a credit on Up for Darren Belk who had left the band a few months earlier. It would later transpire that a number of the songs that would appear on Saturnalia, as well as b-sides, had come from riffs originally worked up by Darren and indeed Paul Dorrington who had left the band as far back as early 1995, but credit (and royalties) were given.

The CD version of the single contained two additional tracks, acoustic versions of songs later included on Saturnalia, a 12-track album  primarily released via CD but also available across 2 x 10″ records

mp3: The Wedding Present – Real Thing (acoustic version)
mp3: The Wedding Present – Jet Girl (acoustic version)

There would be one further single lifted from the album…..but that’s a story for next week.

JC

The Affectionate Punch

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #401: THE AFFECTIONATE PUNCH

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The Affectionate Punch only began releasing music in 2018, so this inclusion in the series, like many others over the coming weeks and months, is down to the fact that I didn’t have anything back in 2015 when I was looking at the A’s on the hard drive.

Regular readers will be aware that I’ve written about The Affectionate Punch on a number of occasions.  But the first appearance on this little corner of t’internet was the result of a guest piece from strangeways back in June 2019.  Everything he said then remains valid almost five years later:-

“So DIY in spirit that their songs should be sold by B&Q, The Affectionate Punch have been releasing music online since November 2018.

This is a Glasgow-based ‘thing’ – yes, they’re a band, but no, they don’t tour – and probably they’re best described, really, as ‘a project’.

Each TAP song is led by speed and momentum, with almost every number taken from spontaneous idea to completed, listenable take, artwork (and, often, an accompanying video) in just a few hours. The rush is an essential ingredient, and a few songs have been abandoned midway when it’s clear they’d require lengthy noodling.

TAP explores a few styles of music, in general, you’d find them in the Indie aisle, probably between the Twee and Shoegaze sections. Led by just one person in one room, lurking close by, and keenly watched by the not-obvious-at-all store detective, would be a gang of contributors: Paul McKeever, a singer/songwriter from Larbet, Scotland, Marshmallow Fortresses, a musician from the San Francisco Bay Area, USA and, most regularly, Amanda Sanderson, a singer from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As a non-musician myself, it is astonishing to me that this is largely a one-man band. Did I say band? I meant project. A one-man project, albeit one that welcomes these contributions.

The songs? They’re created for fun above all, and are led by guitars, keyboards, loops and samples – not to mention the odd peppering of toy orchestra lurking low in the mix.

And, yes, Associates fans: the project is named after the band’s debut LP. An Associates sample was being used on a previous project and this inspired the entire TAP idea. I love it when pop does stuff like that.”

All 23 releases from TAP are available at this bandcamp page.    Almost all of them are free to download.   Most of the music is of an instrumental nature, but there are also a few to which vocals have been added, often from guests whom TAP has invited.  Some of the vocals are of a spoken nature……..

With almost 100 pieces of music on the hard drive, it was a tough choice today settling on just the one.  But I’ve selected an instrumental from the Words Fail Me EP, which was made available on 18 December 2021.   A few of TAP’s influences are very much to the fore.

mp3: The Affectionate Punch – Epicene

As my dear friend Dirk would say…..

Enjoy!

JC

Coach Party

WITH THANKS TO ROBSTER

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I’m not the greatest at paying attention to new music.   I don’t listen to enough radio, nor do I cast my eye over the blogs, websites or printed publications specialising in writing about new and exciting singers/bands.  Part of that is down to the retro nature of TVV which finds me spending far too long looking back over the ‘good old days’ and listening to the music from said periods of time.  Another part is down to thinking that, at the age of almost 61, the idea of me giving a thumbs-up to a new band would be like a kiss of death when they are trying so hard to appeal to their peers.

I do, however, pay some attention to recommendations that come from bloggers who I’ve followed for quite a long time, and whose tastes have proven themselves over the years to be fairly close to my own.

One such person is Robster, the brains and beauty behind the now occasional Is This The Life?, and who many of you will know best round these parts from his contributions to the R.E.M. singles series back in 2020/21.

Robster has always written up an excellent end of year review, and I make the habit of giving a listen to the names he champions.  I don’t always follow up on all the recommendations, but I certainly did with one band after he wrote about his favourite albums of 2023:-

Coach Party – ‘Killjoy’

Here’s a band who have been floating around for a few years, releasing a string of increasingly well-received EPs and gigging relentlessly. ‘Killjoy’ is a blast from start to finish, veering from Riot-grrl-infused punk (Parasite) and infectious punk-pop (What’s The Point In Life?) to pure melodic indie-pop a la Alvvays and the Primitives (July, Be That Girl). It hurtles through 10 songs in less than 28 minutes but never leaves me feeling short-changed. This is a band to keep your eyes on.

It was added late on to Santa’s list, which meant I got my hands on it come 25 December.  Robster is right – it is a blast from start to finish, and I particularly fell for the charms of one of the songs he highlighted

mp3: Coach Party – What’s The Point In Life?

I’ve since used Bandcamp to buy the previous EPs which means I’ve now got 27 songs on the hard drive, with more than enough quality on show to provide what would, even at this stage in their career, be an unputdownable ICA.

But instead, I’m going to clog your PCs/laptops/mobile devices with a bundle of videos Coach Party have made in support of their three EPs, debut album and some digital singles.  After which, I’ll provide a link to the bandcamp site and hope you’ll be motivated to spend some money.

Breakdown can be found on the Party Food EP, released in June 2020.

Everybody Hates Me can be found on the After Party EP, released in April 2021.

Weird Me Out can be found on the Nothing Is Real EP, released in April 2022.

Parasite, Micro Aggression and All I Wanna Do Is Hate are all on the debut album, Killjoy.

And, as mentioned, here’s a way to get to the bandcamp site. Click here.

JC

Loquillo Y Los Trogloditas

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #053

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#053: Loquillo Y Los Trogloditas – ‘El Ritmo Del Garaje’ (3 Cipreses Records ’83)

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Hello friends,

41 years ago, way before MTV was born, German television got privatized. Basically, this just meant you didn’t have only three boring stations to watch, you were able to watch a few boring stations more. Because, in a sense, it was all rubbish by and large – everyone tried to be really clever and innovative, obviously all of them got it ludicrously wrong. Just like today, nothing much has changed. But, for us teenage music nerds, there finally was some light at the end of the tunnel, albeit a very small light, to be frank: ‘Formel Eins’, a music show à la MTV, but with various presenters, which first started on the state-run television, but then quickly switched to one of the new independent stations, I forgot which one that was, doesn’t matter though.

I used to watch it religiously in its beginning, well, it was the only source I had for new music – plus they featured some ‘alternative stuff’ from time to time. This was before I discovered John Peel, it must be said, so I sat in front of the TV with my tape recorder and tried to record what I thought was worth keeping. Amongst those recordings I made, there was a tune which I instantly fell in love with: a very cool mixture of Rockabilly, New Wave and Postpunk, I would say. I am looking at the very same battered cassette whilst I am typing this, I must have heard it a squillion times since then, I reckon.

The problem was: I never caught the name of the group nor the name of the song, all I remembered was that they were Spanish, and the band name translated as something along the lines of ‘The Little Madman in The Cave’. Now, this was decades before the internet, so I grabbed the cassette from time to time and listened to the song, but what should I have done – there simply was no way to find in finding out what it is or whom it’s by. So, as years passed on, I forgot about its existence by and large.

Then, I think four, five years ago – not quite sure, but definitely before google could identify songs being played in the background, I remembered it again. I tried to understand bits and pieces of the lyrics and entered them into google search, with or without what I thought would be the correct translation of the band name. The thing is, my Spanish is good enough to order a beer or two, but that’s about it. So this went hopelessly wrong. I remember harassing Mabel, a godlike Spanish waitress I knew, with my problem – but she told me to fuck off with this nonsense could not help me either, alas.

Years later, I managed to find a very cool Spanish blog which had a comprehensive list of Spanish underground music from the late 70’s and early 80’s, with literally hundreds of listings. I checked every band which got a mention there on youtube and elsewhere, well, at least if this was possible. And then, finally (!), after all these decades, I felt like Howard Carter must have felt in 1922 when discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun, because I was able to solve the great mystery:

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mp3:  Loquillo Y Los Trogloditas – El Ritmo Del Garaje

Turned out Loquillo became a well-known and super-successful character in Spain, as well as a solo artist and a writer as with the various combinations of musicians he performed with, first Los Intocables and later Los Trogloditas.

And even though this post might have bored you to death, it should have taught you two things. A: never give up, you will succeed eventually. B: pay good attention in school, because if I had done so, I would have known that a troglodyte is “a human cave dweller, from the Greek trogle ‘hole, mouse-hole’ and dyein ‘go in, dive in”. Of course, you knew that all along, didn’t you?

One thing is for sure: had I known this, my life would have been easier for some 40 years, bloody hell! But, and I am not putting a positive spin on my own stupidity here, believe me: this song is so majestic, it was worth every year of searching for it!

I only hope you see this likewise….

Enjoy,

Dirk

Josh Rouse

THE CD SINGLE LUCKY DIP (5): Josh Rouse – Winter In The Hamptons

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Here’s one I think was only released as a single on CD

mp3: Josh Rouse – Winter In The Hamptons

I certainly can’t find any vinyl version listed on Discogs.  It dates from February 2005 and was the advance single from Josh Rouse‘s fifth studio album, Nashville, which itself looks as if it was only initially given a CD release, with a very limited vinyl edition finally coming out as a re-release in 2013.  I’m guessing that the mid-00s would be a time when vinyl was thought of as a dead format, which is probably why, when I started looking around again in 2007 after acquiring my first turntable that would enable mp3 conversions, I was able to pick up quite a few bargains.  It’s certainly not that way now.

Winter In The Hamptons is the only single from Josh Rouse to ‘crack’ the UK charts.  It did so for one week, entering at #100 on 19 February 2005.  The parent album was in the shops seven days later. It likewise had a one-week stay, albeit it came in at #66.

A little disappointingly, for a CD single, there was just one other song on offer:-

mp3: Josh Rouse – Under Cold Blue Stars (live in Nashville)

I appreciate his music is not the stuff which lends itself to the remix treatment, and it must have been the case that all the new material had been kept for the new album.  Under Cold Blue Stars dates from 2002, and this version was lifted from The Smooth Sounds of Josh Rouse a previously released live DVD.

JC

Monkees

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #363: THE MONKEES

A Guest Posting by Chat GPT

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JC writes………………………………

I was, I have to admit, a bit surprised at some of the reactions to the Chat GPT ICA on The Wannadies.    I won’t address all the points raised, but here’s a couple of thoughts.

I’m not a fan of AI-generated articles, and the comment describing them as ‘inane’ is on the mark.  I only used the method for The Wannadies as I had found it an impossible task to write up my own without taking up a stupid amount of time. I would have loved it if, instead of me turning to AI for The Wannadies, someone else had pulled something together, as there is absolutely no question it would have made for a much better read.

I have always welcomed guest contributions to the blog and I always will…..I see this little corner of t’internet as a community asset, one in which anyone who wants to offer up their thoughts or ideas will always find a place to air them.  Indeed, I firmly believe that it’s the diversity and quality of the guest postings which make TVV so enjoyable….it also helps me out as it’s getting to the stage where it is increasingly difficult after all these years to come up with daily postings which are relevant and of interest.

And with an apology to those who hate AI articles, I’m giving notice that it will be used on two more occasions for ICAs, starting today.  These aren’t for the same reasons as with The Wannadies, as will be explained in each of the intros.  Where was I?…………

……….just the  other week, I picked up a second-hand copy of The Monkees EP, a March 1980 release on 7″ vinyl that got to #33 in the UK charts.  It got me thinking that I should turn my hand to an ICA, but given that my knowledge of the band is really restricted to what I can recall from watching the two TV series from the 60s that were always on constant repeat on the BBC when I was a kid, I decided to play the Chat GPT game.

“Write an article about the ten best songs by The Monkees in the style of an imaginary compilation album from The (new) Vinyl Villain blog”

You ready for what follows?

———-

The Monkees: 10 Timeless Tracks from the Fab Four of the ’60s

Welcome back to The (new) Vinyl Villain, where we delve into the groovy sounds of yesteryear with a modern twist. Today, we’re taking a trip down memory lane with one of the most iconic bands of the 1960s – The Monkees. Formed in 1965, this quartet quickly captured the hearts of millions with their catchy tunes, infectious energy, and undeniable charm. Join us as we showcase the best of The Monkees with our handpicked selection of their top ten tracks.

“Daydream Believer”

A timeless classic that still resonates with listeners today, “Daydream Believer” is a feel-good anthem that captures the essence of youthful optimism. With its upbeat melody and irresistible chorus, this song remains a standout in The Monkees’ discography.

“I’m a Believer”

If there’s one song that encapsulates The Monkees’ signature sound, it’s “I’m a Believer.” With its unforgettable riff and jubilant vocals, this track became an instant hit upon its release and remains a staple of pop music playlists worldwide.

“Last Train to Clarksville”

Bursting with energy and urgency, “Last Train to Clarksville” is a fast-paced romp that perfectly captures the spirit of the swinging ’60s. From its driving rhythm to its catchy hook, this song is a testament to The Monkees’ knack for crafting infectious pop gems.

“Pleasant Valley Sunday”

A satirical take on suburban life, “Pleasant Valley Sunday” is a witty and playful offering from The Monkees. With its clever lyrics and catchy melody, this song offers a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the pitfalls of conformity and consumerism.

“Steppin’ Stone”

With its raw energy and rebellious attitude, “Steppin’ Stone” showcases a grittier side of The Monkees. Featuring fiery guitar riffs and defiant vocals, this track packs a punch and remains a favorite among fans of garage rock.

“Valleri”

Infectiously catchy and irresistibly upbeat, “Valleri” is a pop gem that showcases The Monkees’ knack for crafting memorable hooks. From its infectious chorus to its sunny disposition, this song is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

“A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You”

A bittersweet ballad tinged with longing and regret, “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” is a standout track in The Monkees’ catalog. With its heartfelt lyrics and soulful vocals, this song strikes a chord with listeners on both an emotional and musical level.

“Words”

Hauntingly beautiful and deeply introspective, “Words” is a departure from The Monkees’ typical fare, showcasing a more mature and contemplative side of the band. With its lush orchestration and poignant lyrics, this track stands out as a highlight of their discography.

“Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)”

Atmospheric and psychedelic, “Porpoise Song” is a mesmerizing journey through the kaleidoscopic soundscape of the late ’60s. Serving as the theme song for The Monkees’ surreal film “Head,” this track is a testament to their adventurous spirit and willingness to push musical boundaries.

“Randy Scouse Git”

With its infectious rhythm and playful lyrics, “Randy Scouse Git” is a rollicking romp that showcases The Monkees’ irreverent sense of humor. Originally titled “Alternate Title” in the UK, this song is a testament to the band’s ability to infuse their music with wit and charm.

There you have it – a handpicked selection of The Monkees’ top ten tracks, guaranteed to transport you back to the heyday of ’60s pop. From infectious hits to introspective ballads, The Monkees’ music continues to captivate audiences old and new, proving that their legacy remains as enduring as ever. So sit back, relax, and let the groovy sounds of The Monkees take you on a journey through time and space.

———–

JC adds…..

As with The Wannadies ICA from last week, it’s a long way removed from my own writing style.  But in terms of an actual ICA, I think it is fair to say the ten songs picked out make for a decent enough listen.  Worth also mentioning that all four tracks which make up the 1980 EP referred to at the start of all this have made the GPT’s cut for the ICA.

As I said, there is one more AI effort to come. But rest assured, I won’t repeat the experiment again!!!!

JC via Artificial Intelligence

Baby Ford, Stereolab, Various

1992 – TWO ALBUMS THAT SAVED MY RECORD COLLECTION

A guest posting by Fraser Pettigrew

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By the beginning of the 1990s I had all but lost touch with contemporary rock and pop. As the bold experiments of the early 1980s faded into history to be replaced by pop-pastiche glazed with varying degrees of post-modern irony, my interest levels faded too. Several of my former favourites were still making music, but the likes of New Order, the Banshees and Cabaret Voltaire failed to hold my attention as their focus changed, and others like Paul Weller’s Style Council and A Certain Ratio simply vanished from view.

The late 1980s had ushered in acid house and techno, the baggy-Madchester scene and shoegaze, but none of these new styles captured my imagination. Most of the house and techno that reached my ears was the lowest common denominator stuff in the charts, the Madchester shufflebeat sounded like retro late-60s revivalism to me, and if shoegaze ever crossed my path I must have mistaken it for some radio static rather than music.

I barely listened to John Peel any more as the BBC perpetually shifted and reduced his schedules, and I had long ago given up on reading the NME for fear of disappearing up the same smug, self-congratulatory arsehole. My sources of information were therefore much reduced and as my judgements above clearly indicate, I wasn’t really looking too hard for vital signs at the same time as pronouncing the patient deceased.

Instead, I had turned my ears in a more folksy and world music direction. My record collection swelled with the addition of albums by Hungarian troupe Musikas, the Hannibal label Balkana compilation, and Serbo-Croat music by Vujicsics. I went to the Junction in Cambridge to see Cajun legends D.L. Menard and Eddie LeJeune, and the unforgettable Ivo Papasov and his Bulgarian Wedding Band. Legendary, unforgettable and sometimes pronounceable.

mp3: Ivo Papasov and His Bulgarian Wedding Band – Mamo Marie Mamo

Fun as this was for a while, I knew there was something missing, but I just didn’t know where to look. I dabbled in grunge but most of it felt too close to metal for my liking. A few friends introduced me to a couple of acts that held promise of life after death of the new wave. The New Fast Automatic Daffodils briefly built a bridge between Madchester and a paisley-free universe, despite their terminally stupid name. Fatima Mansions came to town and ripped Cambridge a new one in a most satisfactory fashion, adding Viva Dead Ponies, plus mini-albums Against Nature and Bertie’s Brochures to my record shelves.

mp3: New Fast Automatic Daffodils – Big
mp3: Fatima Mansions – Mr. Baby

It was in 1992 that I chanced upon a couple of recommendations that really restored my faith that there was contemporary music out there worth listening to and set me on paths of discovery that required greatly increased record storage by the time the decade was out. The first came from a review in The Guardian that opened with a line something like “the list of Great British Techno Albums is a short one.” I wanted to find some great techno. I knew there had to be some that fulfilled the promise of Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk, DAF and early New Order, I Feel Love, Number One in Heaven, Everything’s Gone Green, Der Mussolini… Everyone said these were the ancestors of techno, where were the descendants?

The album was BFORD9 by Baby Ford. I’d never heard of Peter ‘Baby’ Ford even though this was his third LP. I swiftly located it in Cambridge’s Parrot Records. It looked lovely, the whole sleeve depicted a thick, formless impasto of shiny black acrylic paint, with the title and credits in big, bold modern type. I got it home and slapped it on my turntable.

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Oh Christ. I’ve made a terrible mistake, I thought. Luckily there was no one else in the house as my stereo cranked out the first two tracks of nosebleeding hardcore ravey-davey gash. No wonder everyone’s on drugs when they listen to this shite… Track three however shifted into a quite different register, thank god. Move-On had a more laid-back soul groove with a sweet rising chord progression. The rest of this might be listenable after all.

mp3: Baby Ford – Move- On

And so it proved, in spades. Even though the album demonstrates the common house/techno trait of offering multiple versions of the same tracks on the same disc, the variations are sufficiently diverse and craftily arranged to make it feel more like a suite than a remix compilation. To be fair, most of it is hardly what you’d call techno at all. The more hardcore tracks are an immeasurable improvement on the two openers (one of them a remix of aforesaid gash), but the downbeat, loungey instrumental ‘20 Park Drive’ sounds like one of Isaac Hayes’s extended grooves. The glorious ‘Sashay Round the Fuzzbox’ is a techno-funk classic that would make you believe Booker T and the MGs had been reincarnated and a few eckies slipped into their bourbon.

mp3: Baby Ford – 20 Park Drive
mp3: Baby Ford – Sashay Around The Fuzzbox

Sadly, BFORD9 did not prove to be a springboard for further Baby Ford releases, which have been sporadic ever since. Nevertheless, this slice of (mostly) genius gave me the confidence to embrace other dance music artists in the coming years, albeit the more mainstream ones, but without BFORD9 I probably wouldn’t have gone looking for the likes of Orbital, Fluke, Underworld, Future Sound of London, Leftfield, The Shamen and Finitribe. Thankfully I did.

The second album that turned things around for me in 1992 was found through Q magazine. First The Guardian, now Q, ageing young rebel or what? I’d started dipping into Q in a conscious search for some direction and had already bought a couple of things on the strength of their album reviews, but neither Rev by Ultra Vivid Scene, nor the debut CD by a short-lived band called Miss World really set my heather on fire.

Then I read a review of an LP called Peng! by a band called Stereolab. Sounded interesting, so I dug it out on my next visit to Parrot Records.

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Eye-boggling orange on yellow sleeve design. Ouch. Just possible to read lyric excerpts hinting at radical politics and philosophy. So far so good… Onto the deck, and …play. Ohhhhh yesssssss. From the first drone of dreamy fuzz guitar and keyboard overlaid with an alluring female French pop vocal I was a fan. Tracks, with arresting titles like ‘Orgiastic’, ‘Perversion’ and ‘You Little Shits’, alternated between mellow, downbeat numbers and faster guitar-heavy, squealing organ thrashes that immediately evoked the Velvet Underground of 1969: Live, the frantic pickup-scrubbing versions of ‘What Goes On’ and ‘Rock and Roll’.

mp3: Stereolab – Orgiastic
mp3: Stereolab – Perversion
mp3: Stereolab – You Little Shits

The Velvet Underground was the reference point in the Q review that piqued my interest and it’s interesting that neither Q nor my own first impressions called to mind the krautrock influences of Neu! and Faust that came to define Stereolab later. No one mentions the Velvets when talking about Stereolab now, but the force was strong on Peng! It might be argued that the retro vibes I derided in the Madchester sound and the droning fuzz of shoegaze were both prominent here so what the fuck was my problem? I would argue back that, apart from my earlier judgement being defective, those elements are absorbed and remoulded and not slavishly imitated. Stereolab reminded you of something, but they didn’t exactly sound like anyone else. Like all the best bands, I would say that Stereolab tip their hat to their influences but don’t play dress-up all the way down to their pointy shoes.

Thankfully I caught Stereolab right at the beginning and was able to follow them faithfully through the rest of the 1990s, and their devotion to vinyl further cemented them in my affection. And while they are notable for not being part of any ‘scene’ or sub-genre or media-concocted movement, the successful fact of having matched up my interpretation of a magazine review with something I really liked opened a door for me to trust my intuition and take a punt on what else was going on around me.

They don’t fall into the same category-of-one as Stereolab, but acts like Suede, PJ Harvey, Seefeel, Spiritualized, Boo Radleys and bands of the later 90s flushed out by the ‘Britpop’ scene such as Mansun, Super Furry Animals and The Bluetones might have passed me by if Peng! hadn’t woken me up.

For me, BFORD9 and Peng! were a kind of ‘sliding doors’ moment. What might have been? Might I have continued ploughing the folky furrow, finding myself years thence, at another identical Christy Moore performance? I’ve seen him twice, which was at least once too many. Or yet another Fairport Convention reunion? No, I’ve been stuck in a park at the Cambridge Folk Festival with no way of escaping them once, and if that had been my fate I’m sure I would have come to my senses and rushed out to purge myself in the entire back-catalogue of Atari Teenage Riot. I have The Guardian and Q magazine and Stereolab and Baby Ford to thank for making such a drastic remedy unnecessary. And you know, to remind you what Louis Armstrong said, it’s all folk, cause horses don’t sing.

Fraser

Wedding Present

THE WEDDING PRESENT SINGLES (Part Thirty)

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As mentioned last week, 1995 had closed with a Peel Session, during which four new songs were played.  It didn’t take all that long for the studio versions of the new songs to be available, thanks to the release of Mini, on Cooking Vinyl Records, on 22 January 1996.

The thing is, back in 1996, Mini was regarded as a mini-LP (so to speak), released on 10″ vinyl and CD.  In terms of the UK charts, it was listed in the album rundown, for one week only, at #92.   But it’s a release which appears on the official website as an EP, and as such I’m including it in this series.

All six songs have lyrics that are, for the most part, car-themed.  Not only that, but every single copy of the EP, whether on the limited edition pressing of 2000 on vinyl or the more widely available CD, came with a promotional card which offered the opportunity to win an actual Mini.  It wasn’t a brand-new car, but one that had been built in 1968 and had quite a few miles on the clock.  The draw for the car took place in Leeds on 12 April, some three months after the release of the EP….and I’ll get back to that after offering up the songs:-

mp3: The Wedding Present – Drive
mp3: The Wedding Present – Love Machine
mp3: The Wedding Present – Go, Man, Go
mp3: The Wedding Present – Mercury
mp3: The Wedding Present – Convertible
mp3: The Wedding Present – Sports Car (mini)

Here’s the thing.

This is the period in time when I body swerved The Wedding Present.  I hadn’t been enamoured by Sucker and I thought the idea of flogging off a Mini to purchasers of the new EP was a sign of desperation.  As such, I avoided buying this, and indeed the next few releases that came out on Cooking Vinyl, only discovering them a few years later.  Turns out that I missed out on something of a lost classic, as there’s a great deal to enjoy on Mini, with the six tunes seeming to cover just about every aspect of the music the band had been making since first bursting into view. 

The six songs are credited to David Gedge/Darren Belk/Simon Smith, all of whom played on the release while along with new bass player, Jayne Lockey, who also added some backing vocals.   It wasn’t the final time Darren Belk would be credited on a TWP release, but it proved to be the last recordings, as he left prior to the band going into the studio in the summer to start work on what their next singles and what would become their fifth studio album.

The actual Mini?   As mentioned above, the draw took place on Friday 12 April, which was the final night of a five-evenings festival held under the BBC Radio 1 Sound City banner.   Each night had seen various bands take to the stage of either the Town and Country Club or Leeds Metropolitan University, and The Wedding Present headlined the latter on that final night.  Various Radio 1 DJs had been the compères at all the gigs, as well as broadcasting their own regular radio shows from the BBC studio in Leeds.  John Peel was joined by David Gedge after the live gig, and he was asked to make the prize draw:-

mp3: David Gedge/John Peel – Mini Prize Draw (Sound City 1996)

David Gedge, a short time after returning from the gigs in France, drove the car to the home of the winner and handed over the keys.

JC

Admiral Fallow

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #400: ADMIRAL FALLOW

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Entry #400 in this series is one of those resulting from an oversight on my part back in 2015.

It was always intended to alphabetically pick my way through the hard drive, stopping as I went along anytime I reached any Scottish singer or band, and then choose one of their songs for inclusion in the series….albeit in many instances, the hard drive might have just the one song.   #3 on 14 March 2015 was Adam Stafford.  #4 on 21 March 2015 was Adventures In Stereo.

Admiral Fallow should have been #4 as back then I had a couple of tunes that had been downloaded from elsewhere.  Sorry!!

From all music:-

“Emerging from the thriving nu-folk scene of the late noughties, Admiral Fallow are a fiercely proud Scottish five-piece influenced by the likes of Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, and Rufus Wainwright.

Lead singer Louis Abbott, clarinetist Kevin Brolly, flutist Sarah Hayes, double bassist Joseph Rattray, and drummer Philip Hague formed the band, originally named Brother Louis Collective, while studying in Glasgow in 2007. Championed by Fyfe Dangerfield from the outset, they were invited to open for the Guillemots‘ Scottish tour soon after, before signing to indie label Lo-Five Records. After headlining the Sunday night T-Break stage at 2009’s T in the Park and supporting the Futureheads, Paolo Nutini, and King Creosote, they released their debut single, “These Barren Years,” and followed it up a year later with parent album Boots Met My Face, which was produced by former Delgados drummer Paul Savage.

The band signed with Nettwerk for its sophomore release, 2012’s indie folk Tree Bursts in Snow, named to evoke imagery of a weapon exploding near a snow-covered tree, inspired by the broader topic of loss through violence. Making a conscious effort to change things up for their third LP, they avoided acoustic guitars and devised songs primarily through keyboards, as well as writing as a band instead of building off of Abbott’s compositions. Admiral Fallow also arranged their own songs for a collaboration with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2013, which influenced more elaborate arrangements on the album. Remaining the same on the resulting Tiny Rewards were thoughtful lyrics, melodic muscle, and a sincerity conveyed by Abbott’s vocal performances. Written at a series of band retreats at a studio outside of Fort William, Scotland, and recorded in the summer of 2014, it was co-produced by Admiral Fallow and Cameron Blackwood, mixed by Savage, and released in 2015.”

Since the all music bio was published,  the band has recorded and released a fourth album, The Idea of You, which came out on Chemikal Underground in 2021.  Here’s what their new record label had to say about things:-

“Written and mostly recorded in 2019, The Idea Of You is a captivating collection of songs – generously melodic, confidently executed and festooned with intricacies. In true Admiral Fallow fashion, these tales of friendship and carefree adventure take the road less travelled, rarely finding their terminus where it might be most expected.

Warmth, empathy and contentment course through the nine songs, a response to its makers having navigated personal and professional challenges to emerge with their identity – both as a group and as individuals – intact. The Idea Of You traverses Philly soul, sophisticated pop and guitar-driven rock, delivering humbly anthemic choruses by the barrowload”

I suppose the good thing about missing them out back in 2015 means I can go to the most recent album for a tune:-

mp3: Admiral Fallow – Dragonfly

The band have a real following in their home city, capable of selling out decent-sized venues whenever they perform.  They are providing support to The Waterboys this coming June at a gig being played in a park on the south side of the city, not all that far from Villain Towers.

JC

Magazine

THE 7″ LUCKY DIP (13) : Magazine – Sweetheart Contract

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Magazine released nine singles between 1978 and 1981.   Only two of them cracked the Top 75. The first was the debut Shot By Both Sides which made its way up to #41.  The only other success story came via the eighth single, which reached #54 in July 1980.

mp3: Magazine – Sweetheart Contract

It was a bit of a strange one.   Two previous singles from The Correct Use of Soap had gone nowhere.  A later non-album single also flopped.  And yet, this one, released a few months after the album had enjoyed its brief four-week stay in the charts, made a small splash.

I’m thinking it probably had a lot to do with the fact that initial copies came with an additional, free 7″ as a double pack, offering up three live tracks that had been recorded in May 1980 at the Russell Club in Manchester.

mp3: Magazine – Feed The Enemy (live)
mp3: Magazine – Twenty Years Ago (live)
mp3: Magazine – Shot By Both Sides (live)

The most interesting one is the very different version of Feed The Enemy.

The original, as found on the album Secondhand Daylight, is a slow-paced affair, extending out to almost six minutes in length, in which Howard Devoto  seems to carefully and cautiously select his words over a tune packed with anxiety and menace.   The live version comes in at just under four minutes and is a raucous new-wave take on things played at 100mph, driven along in particular by Barry Adamson‘s frantic bass and John McGeogh‘s angular guitar work.  Over time, I’ve come to enjoy it, but I was shocked and to some extent horrified the first time I played it, given it was such a departure from the version I knew so well.

The singular 7″ of Sweetheart Contact came with this version of Feed The Enemy as the b-side.  You had to pick up the double-pack for the other two tracks.

JC

Loft

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #052

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#052: The Loft – ‘Up The Hill and Down the Slope’ (Creation Records ’85)

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Hello friends,

the thing is, you know, when English is not your first language, you’re always more than happy when you get hold of a lyric sheet for a song you admire. These days of course, with this new modern internet thingy, it’s easy most of the times – although there are a few songs here and there which are so obscure that no lyrics can be found on the net whatsoever …. something which drives me nuts, because I always thought that the lyrics are as important as the music.

The Stranglers, for example, had a merchandise stall in Surrey you could write to in the early 80’s. I forgot how it worked exactly, I mean, I must have paid them somehow: probably with an international money order or whatever these things were called back then? Those complicated manoeuvres are hard to believe these days – where you just click paypal and two new bathtubs are at your doorstep the very next morning. But I digress – again. I was so happy when I finally held some badges and the lyric sheets for ‘Rattus Norvegicus’ and ‘No More Heroes’ in my hands – it was a revelation, believe me, to finally being able to understand what exactly they were singing. Okay, The Stranglers might not be the best example, because most of their lyrics are questionable at the best of times, but hey, I was young and did not know better!

The Stranglers’ lyrics were a revelation for me as a teen, yes, but when finally getting hold of the ones for ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and the first Clash album, I felt like Saul on the road to Damascus, folks! I don’t know whether I am able to make this understandable to native speakers like you, because, naturally, problems like this will not be common with you …. unless perhaps if you’re into French chansons and your French is as bad as mine.

Anyway. There is a point to all of this and here it comes: when I was reading David Cavanagh’s book about Creation Records (which, especially for its price, is a bit boring perhaps altogether, I must say), I constantly had a feeling in the back of my head that something in its title sounded vaguely familiar, but, you know, I was never able to precisely tell what it was that it reminded me of. The penny didn’t drop until I reached page 170 of the book (“The Creation Records Story – My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize”, to give you its full title), because there parts of the lyrics for today’s record were printed:

„Oh, my magpie eyes are hungry for the prize
Give me the money and I’ll shoot it right between the eyes
My greedy eyes, my beady eyes – they swivel and they stare
Thinking of the bright things; I might just get them there
Please …. don’t say no

Once around the fair – just so I know
Year in, year out gypsy lorries go from town to town
Ghost trains down country lanes, great big wheels by farmers’ fields
Hollow sounds travel round and round, money cackles in the lucky town
Over the hill and down the slope
To the rattle of sound I go in hope

Oh, my magpie eyes are hungry for the prize
Give me the gun and I’ll shoot it right between the eyes – I’m taking aim
Stalls with prizes that once meant luxury
Tempting but not knowing how old they now seem
And those sad, tearful journeymen running on their dreams
Showing off in the rain in last year’s jeans“

Now, two things happened then. First, I looked up what ‘magpie’ means (I think in this context Astor didn’t mean the bird, but rather a scrounger), second I thought to myself: “boy, this is such a brilliant record – why the heck is it missing in your singles box?!” …. and ordered it straightaway (well, the Optic Nerve re-release I ordered, not the original 7”, but no matter), no international money order whatsoever involved, for my and your listening pleasure:

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mp3:  The Loft – Up The Hill and Down The Slope

What a great band they were, The Loft! So were The Weather Prophets, in fact. I found Peter Astor’s solo output a bit … let’s say – difficult. But that’s just me, probably …

Take good care,

Dirk

Wannadies

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #362: THE WANNADIES

A Guest Posting by Chat GPT

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JC writes………………………………

Another ICA inspired by SWC’s recent series on the Best ‘W’.

I’ve tried, on at least four and possibly five occasions, to come up with an ICA for The Wannadies, only to give up as all the pieces failed to fit.  There’s loads of tracks I want to lift from their two best-selling albums, Be A Girl (1994) and Bagsy Me (1997), but I’m also very fond of 2002’s Before and After.   Having said that, there are also decent tunes on Yeah (1999), while any ICA worth its salt would also have to consider the pre-fame (in the UK) material as well as the blistering b-sides they issued, many of them highly impressive cover versions.  I just couldn’t ever narrow it down to 10 songs without torturing myself.

And so…..I’ve decided to adopt the David Glickmann method.  You may recall that back in February 2023, he did the first ever Chat GPT ICA, applying it to The Joy Formidable.  I began by mimicking the question he posed.

“Write an article about the ten best songs by The Wannadies in the style of an imaginary compilation album from The (new) Vinyl Villain blog”

I wasn’t sure what to expect…..but here’s the reply, word for word.

The Wannadies: 10 Essential Tracks – A Vinyl Villain Compilation

Welcome, music aficionados, to another exclusive compilation album from The Vinyl Villain blog. Today, we delve into the vibrant and infectious world of The Wannadies, a Swedish band whose melodic prowess and energetic sound have left an indelible mark on the alternative rock scene. From their early days to their chart-topping hits, this compilation celebrates the best of The Wannadies’ discography, showcasing ten essential tracks that define their unique musical identity.

“You and Me Song”

A timeless anthem of love and devotion, “You and Me Song” is perhaps The Wannadies’ most iconic track. With its catchy hooks and heartfelt lyrics, this song has become a staple at weddings, parties, and romantic moments around the world.

“Hit”

Bursting with infectious energy and irresistible melodies, “Hit” is a standout track from The Wannadies’ debut album. Its buoyant rhythms and memorable chorus make it a must-listen for any fan of feel-good indie rock.

“Someone Somewhere”

Dreamy and ethereal, “Someone Somewhere” showcases The Wannadies’ ability to craft lush, atmospheric soundscapes. With its shimmering guitars and haunting vocals, this track transports listeners to another world entirely.

“Might Be Stars”

A driving bassline and propulsive rhythm set the stage for “Might Be Stars,” a dynamic and exhilarating track that perfectly encapsulates The Wannadies’ signature sound. Its infectious energy is impossible to resist.

“How Does It Feel?”

Brooding and introspective, “How Does It Feel?” sees The Wannadies exploring darker territory with haunting melodies and evocative lyrics. It’s a poignant reminder of the band’s versatility and depth.

“Shorty”

Quirky and irreverent, “Shorty” is a playful romp through The Wannadies’ musical universe. Its off-kilter charm and catchy hooks make it a standout track that never fails to bring a smile to listeners’ faces.

“You & Me Song (Svenska)”

A Swedish-language version of their classic hit, “You & Me Song (Svenska)” offers a fresh take on the beloved original. Sung with passion and sincerity, this rendition highlights the universality of The Wannadies’ music.

“Disko”

Funky and danceable, “Disko” is a high-energy track that begs to be played at full volume. Its infectious groove and infectious chorus make it a standout moment in The Wannadies’ discography.

“Big Fan”

Anthemic and uplifting, “Big Fan” is a celebration of music, fandom, and the power of rock ‘n’ roll. With its soaring melodies and infectious enthusiasm, this track is sure to resonate with listeners of all ages.

“Yeah”

Closing out our compilation is “Yeah,” a feel-good anthem that leaves listeners wanting more. Its catchy hooks and infectious energy make it the perfect ending to a truly unforgettable musical journey.

So there you have it, folks – ten essential tracks from The Wannadies that showcase the depth, diversity, and sheer brilliance of this iconic band. Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering their music for the first time, this compilation is guaranteed to leave you craving more from The Wannadies. So grab your headphones, drop the needle, and immerse yourself in the infectious world of The Wannadies – you won’t be disappointed.

——-

JC adds…..

It’s, not unexpectedly, singles-heavy, but all-in-all, it’s more than decent.  I’m not convinced, however, that Chat GT has provided the blog something fully reflective of the style of most ICAs, whether they’re my work or a wonderful contribution from a guest.

In terms of where the songs have been picked from – the older material doesn’t feature at all, with the earliest being three singles lifted from 1994’s Be A Girl, and likewise with Bagsy Me (1996). Two songs from Yeah (1999) make the cut, with just the one from the final studio album, Before and After (2002).

Here’s the thing.  I’ve 83 songs on the hard drive.  Not one of them is the Swedish version of You and Me Song, so I’ve had to replace it with one of my own choice.  And I’ve gone for one from Before and After.  I hope you enjoy it, and I’ve tried to replicate the GPT style in describing it.

“Singalong Son”

A tune with which the band slow things down to great effect.  “Singalong Son” is a reflective pop song, ruminating that the best friends in life are those who always want to put a smile on your face. (‘Son is a common ending to the majority of surnames in Sweden).

I’ve a couple of other bands I’m going to give the GPT treatment to….one on the basis that while I know a fair bit about them, I don’t have a huge amount of tunes to select from on the hard drive, while the other is a band where I have plenty of tunes, but nothing like the full back catalogue, and Chat GPT might offer up some tunes I don’t know.

Watch this space!!

JC via Artificial Intelligence

Sprints

SOME LIFE-AFFIRMING EXPERIENCES (5)

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I do promise that I won’t be writing about every live gig I get along to in 2024, but those which turn out to be exceptional in some way or another will lead to me wittering away aimlessly on this little corner of t’internet.

It was last October when Dublin-based Sprints released details of the UK tour in support of debut album Letter To Self.  I was too slow off the mark to pick up a ticket for the Glasgow show, scheduled for King Tut’s, which left me a bit deflated.  Within a few days of the announcement, it was clear that the entire tour, taking in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Brighton, Bristol, Nottingham and Leeds had sold out in its entirety, a full six months ahead of the dates and well in advance of the January 2024 release of the album.  I was convinced the band and promoters would look to upscale in terms of all the venues.

It didn’t happen…and I really shouldn’t have been surprised given that Sprints are one of those bands who are very principled about all things in life to the extent that they gave up some high-profile slots at the annual SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas ‘In solidarity with the Palestinian people and as a stand against US Army and Defence contractors involvement in this year’s festival’.  King Tut’s it was, and a big sigh of regret from your humble scribe.

A few hours before the doors open at 7.30pm, I get a text from my mate and regular sidekick, Aldo.  He tells me that a friend of his, Leona, (whom I’ve met a few times at gigs and other events across Glasgow) is now unable to get to King Tut’s.  She had offered the ticket to Aldo, but he very kindly, and with the agreement of Leona, passed the offer to me.   My plans to stay in and watch the Yankees v Blue Jays baseball were thrown right out of the window.

I didn’t get along in time to catch the support act, the wonderfully named Venus Grrrls, which was the only disappointment of the night.  By the time I got into the venue, it was already rammed.  The capacity at King Tut’s is just 300, but it really felt as if there were a few more in there – possibly the result of a sizable guest list.  To be clear, it wasn’t dangerously packed or over-crowded, but space was very much at a premium.  The sole joy of being on my own was that I was able to worm my way into the heart of the crowd, not too far from the front and in the middle (not quite as close as the above photo might indicate as the zoom lens was in use!)

On a night of a number of surprises, it turned out that the audience had a very diverse range of ages – I had it in my head that I’d be the only old bugger to turn up, and I’d be surrounded by loads of young folk quite rightly latching on to one of the most exciting new punk-pop bands of the era.

There was a real sense of anticipation and excitement in King Tut’s as the clock ticked round to 9pm, the scheduled time of Sprints taking to the stage.  The house lights went down….and the next surprise of the evening came as Murder on The Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis Bextor blared out from the speakers.  The younger folk in the audience were quickly dancing and singing along, many of them at the top of their voices!

Overture over, and the foursome of Karla Chubb (vocals and guitar), Sam McCann (bass and vocals), Colm O’Reilly (guitar), and Jack Callan (drums) took to the stage to deliver what turned out to be a non-stop blistering 15-song set, consisting of everything on the album and four songs lifted from their earlier Modern Job EP.

mp3: Sprints- I’m In A Band (from Modern Job)
mp3: Sprints – Literary Mind (from Letter To Self)

It is a bit confounding, as I creep closer to the age of 61, to find myself falling hard for bands whose members could pass for my grandkids and really wanting to get myself along to their gigs.  Not that I could manage along night after night, given how I ended up staggering out of King Tut’s hot, sweaty and quite tired. Oh, and I was in possession of two t-shirts, courtesy of the merch stall – yup, it was such a great night that TWO (count ’em) band t-shirts came back with me to Villain Towers….and that was the third surprise of the night…..a band with so many young followers offering up t-shirts for those of us who need to reach for the larger sizes (still haven’t forgiven Working Men’s Club for looking after only their skinny fans!)

Sprints have been touring extensively in recent months across Europe and the USA, and their hard work meant they were spectacularly tight and professional, particularly for an act that is still relatively in its infancy.  They are attracting all sorts of deserved praise for their music and their live shows, and as well as being added to some of the upcoming outdoor summer festivals, they will be opening for IDLES when they play in Cardiff and Halifax in July and for Pixies at shows in Belfast and Dublin in August, all of which will inevitably increase their fanbase and make tickets for future headlining shows just as difficult to obtain, no matter the size of venue.  (they announced mid-set that a return to Glasgow is scheduled for November at The Garage, whose capacity of 700 will not be near enough to satisfy demand).

So….in summary, Sprints at King Tut’s on Sunday 7 April 2024 was very much a life-affirming experience.  A huge thanks to Aldo for being such a wonderful friend in getting the ticket to me, and of course to Leona who, sadly, just couldn’t make it the other night. I hope she’s there when they play The Garage…..the drinks that night will very much be on me.

JC

Damned, M, Members, Police, Sex Pistols, Sparks, Undertones, X-Ray Spex

SHAKEDOWN, 1979 (April)

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I trust that the first three months of this series has helped to convince any of you who happened to be non-believers that 1979 was very much the greatest year for hit singles in the UK.  So, what did April shower upon us??

While I wasn’t overly keen on the Sex Pistols singles on which Sid Vicious took on the duty of lead vocals, (which is why Something Else was left out previously and C’Mon Everybody will not appear in future), the cash-in this month did hold some appeal.

mp3: Sex Pistols – Silly Thing

Virgin Records really didn’t care too much about facts when it came to Sex Pistols.   The info attached to the 45 states that it’s from the album The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, when in fact it’s a totally different version.  The album track has Paul Cook on lead vocals and had been recorded in mid-1978.  The single version has Steve Jones on lead vocals, and had been recorded in March 1979, with Bill Price on production duties.

It entered the charts in the first week of April 1979 at #24, and in due course climbed up to #6 as part of what proved to be an eight-week stay in the Top 75.

mp3: The Members – Offshore Banking Business

The wonderful follow-up to Sound of The Suburbs was a reggae-tinged attack on white-collar crime.  Sadly, things have only got worse with the passing of time.

Offshore Banking Business was, in comparison to ‘Suburbs’, a minor hit, only reaching #31, and it would prove to be the last time that The Members troubled the chart compilers.

mp3: M- Pop Muzik

Some folk will argue that this was a novelty number and a bit of an annoyance.   I’ll accept that it did become over-exposed somewhat back in the day and became a bit of an irritant, but the passage of time has more than convinced me that it’s a bona-fide pop classic.

M was the recording name taken by Robin Scott, a man with a fascinating backstory in that he’d been in and around the creative industries for much of the 70s as a singer, recording artist and record producer, as well as being a friend of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. He also worked with the then emerging film director Julian Temple.

Pop Muzik came into the charts at #53, and would go on to spend 14 weeks in the Top 75, peaking at #2.  It was also a huge hit in many other countries, and probably sold enough copies that ensured its composer would never again have to have any financial concerns, and enabled him to indulge in various creative projects over the next forty-plus years.

mp3: Sparks – The Number One Song In Heaven

I’ve previously written at length about this song, back in December 2016. I summed it up by saying that it was where prog met glam met disco met film soundtrack on one piece of 7″ black vinyl. I also declared it as the celestial song which cleared the decks for the likes of Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, Human League and Heaven 17 (as well as many other inferior versions of electro-pop) to come along in the 80s and make a fortune.  The one difference from 2016 and now is that I have since picked up a second-hand copy of the 45, having been without one for more than 30 years.  This one entered the charts at #60 on 21 April 1979.  It peaked at #14 in June 1979 while spending a total of 12 weeks in the Top 75.

mp3: X-Ray Spex – Highly Inflammable

Highly Inflammable was the first new song from X-Ray Spex since the release of the debut album Germ Free Adolescents at the end of the previous year.  It turned out to be their last piece of music for almost 16 years, as the group came to an end when lead singer Poly Styrene announced her departure shortly afterwards.  They would reform for live shows in 1991 and a second and final album would appear in 1995.  Highly Inflammable was their fourth chart 45, but where each of The Day The World Turned Dayglo, Identity and Germ Free Adolescents had all hit at least the Top 30, the final single stalled at #45.

mp3: The Police – Roxanne

Yup, it’s now 45 years since Sting & co. first tasted fame.    If they had had their way, it would have been a full year earlier, as Roxanne was initially released in April 1978 to great indifference.  But America went nuts for the song in early 79 and this led to A&M Records giving it a re-release over here.  The rest, as you might say, is history.

Roxanne came into the charts at #42 on 22 April.   It hung around for 9 weeks and peaked at #12.  I bought the re-released version of the single and that same time, having convinced my parents that going to new wave/post-punk gigs at the Glasgow Apollo wasn’t as dangerous as some tabloid papers would have you believe, I bought a ticket for my first ever live show.

The Police.  Thursday 31 May 1979.  There were two support acts.  Bobby Henry, followed by The Cramps.   I haven’t kept count, but I reckon I’ve been to over 1,000 gigs all-told now.  I still very much remember the first time.

mp3: The Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy

Get Over You had been a flop, so there was quite a lot riding on the next single from Derry’s finest.  Thankfully, the radio stations and record-buying public really took to Jimmy Jimmy over the spring and summer of 79.  It came in at #57, spent 10 weeks in the chart, and peaked at #16.    For all that it’s such an upbeat and anthemic number, it really is a very sad lyric.  One of the band’s finest three minutes, if you don’t mind me saying.

mp3: David Bowie – Boys Keep Swinging

I wasn’t quite at the stage where I was acquainting myself with David Bowie albums.  For now, I was more than happy to make do with the singles.   I had liked most of what I heard on daytime radio, but had never actually bought anything of his until Boys Keep Swinging.  It’s one of those that I can’t quite really put my finger on exactly why this really appealed to the then 15-year-old me, but there’s no denying that seeing it performed on the Kenny Everett TV show proved to be what would now be described as a water-cooler moment, albeit in may case it was in a school playground the next day when a fair bit of homophobic language was involved.  Little did we know the official video would create even more of a buzz.

Boys Keep Swinging came in at #31 on 29 April.  It climbed all the way to #7, and in doing so, gave Bowie his first Top 10 hit since Sound and Vision some two years previously.

mp3: The Damned – Love Song

Another of the new entries on 29 April.  This was the sixth single by The Damned, but proved to be the first time they hit the charts, and is all the evidence you need that the post-punk/new wave sounds had really become part of the mainstream.  It came in at #44, and before too long it had cracked the Top 20.

As I said earlier, and the whole point of this series, 1979 was a great year for singles (albeit the really big sellers were dreadful).

JC

Wedding Present

THE WEDDING PRESENT SINGLES (Part Twenty-Nine)

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Last week, I mentioned that the relative failure of Watusi, along with the re-recorded version of It’s A Gas, meant that the Island Records era was really over before it had begun.

In some ways, it was a strange situation as 1994 had been the year the band’s records had sold so poorly, and yet they were very prominent on the bill of the Reading Festival, albeit not playing the biggest of the stages:-

Reading-1994

1995 proved to be a transitional year.  Live shows, to begin with, were few and far between.  An 8-date tour of France in March before 4 shows in the UK (Leicester, Huddersfield, St Helens and York) in mid-June.  There were then 5 festival appearances in July.  The strange thing for fans was that these shows saw The Wedding Present perform as a three-piece band, as guitarist Paul Dorrington had quit at the start of the year.

A ‘proper’ tour was scheduled for November/December – 15 dates in England plus one in Newport, Wales – prior to which Jayne Lockley became the first woman to join the band. Jayne played bass, which meant Darren Belk switched to guitar. 

The tour coincided with the release of the first new 45 of the year.  It turned out to be a self-released single, only available in the UK at the shows during the November tour or by mail order, although two small record labels – Merge and Siesta – took on the task of giving it a physical release in America and Spain respectively.

mp3: The Wedding Present – Sucker

Not being available in any shops, it was never going to chart, thus bringing to an end the run of 20 successive 45s that had gone at least Top 75.  

Sucker isn’t the most memorable of singles, and at just over 100 seconds in length, there isn’t all that much to it.  For all that it was only available at the live shows or by mail order, it’s not all that difficult to find on the second-hand market at a relatively low cost, which I think gives a fair indication of what most fans think of it. 

The b-side was a cover:-

mp3: The Wedding Present – Waiting On The Guns

The original dates from 1994, and was written and recorded by Butterglory, a little-known indie band from Kansas, who were also on Merge Records.  It’s a bit more substantial than Sucker, and while it does have a certain charm in places, it isn’t the most memorable or unusual of covers.

I think it’s fair to say that The Wedding Present were in danger of becoming a bit of an irrelevance in terms of the big picture….much of the band’s core fanbase had moved on, albeit there was still much love on offer from John Peel for whom they recorded an eleventh session in December 1995, offering a tantalising glimpse of new material scheduled for release on a new label in the new year. Worth mentioning that December 1995 was when John Peel was the subject of the long-running TV show This Is Your life, and David Gedge was one of the surprise guests invited to come on and say a few words.

JC

Ace City Racers

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #399 : ACE CITY RACERS

Ace

Ace City Racers came onto my radar in 2021, thanks to the release of the album Citalodisco on Last Night From Glasgow.

They describe themselves as a post-punk, new wave, art pop band from Glasgow, which certainly ticks many of my boxes.

The group cut their first record in 2012.  It came about after James Barker (guitars) and Mark Daniels (bass) had seen their previous electro-pop outfit disband back in 2009.  Deciding to now go down a guitar pop/rock road, they sent a demo to uber-producer Stephen Street who invited them into his London studio where the track Waiting was recorded and later released.  This was all before they had played any live gigs.

Although Street was keen to work further with the band, they retreated a bit and indeed it took until 2017 before they released they self-released their debut album, Take It, It’s Yours by which time Andrew Campbell was on drums.

Looking back at some of the things written about the debut, I’m a bit annoyed at myself for missing out, but it is impossible to keep up with everything that’s going on, even in my home city. It might have been different if I’d caught them live.

The 2021 album has some fine moments on it.  One of our locally based websites and magazines said of Citalodisco:-

…..elements of no wave, art-rock and post-disco can be found all over Citalodisco. Ace City Racers at times bringing to mind the likes of Devo, A Certain Ratio, 80s New Yorkers’ ESG and Liquid Liquid, and, from a bit closer to home, Franz Ferdinand.  Across its ten tracks, it rarely lets up and is awash with pleasing electronics, an abundance of disco drums, cowbells aplenty, and has us pining for an indie disco.

I wasn’t quite so much in awe of the album, but there was more to enjoy about than simply endure.  This one was a highlight:-

mp3: Ace City Racers – Gideon Takes The Train

I really must stick this, or perhaps one of the other tracks, on one of the monthly compilation efforts.

JC

Paris Angels

THE 12″ LUCKY DIP (6) : Paris Angels – All On You

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Last time out in this series, I brought you a single that I bought from the merch stall at a gig in Manchester.  This time around, it’s a 12″ single that is associated fully with that wonderful city.  Wiki actually tells the tale in a good way.

Paris Angels were an English seven-piece band whose music fused indie guitars with electronic dance music. They were regulars of the Boardwalk and Haçienda clubs in Manchester, and as such were heavily influenced by acid house and the nascent Madchester scene of the late 1980s.

Their initial recording contract was with locally-based Sheer Joy Records.  An early single, All On You (Perfume)  was really well received and sold enough copies to get itself into the lower end of the charts at #91 in July 1990.    In due course, they were signed by Virgin Records and a different version of the song, this time called Perfume (All On You), was issued as a single, and thanks to the might and oomph of the bigger record label’s promo folk, this one reached #55 in July 1991 despite being, certainly to my ears, a lesser version.

It was Jacques the Kipper who brought the song to my attention, courtesy of him including it on a homemade compilation cassette back in the day.  More than a decade later, I picked up a copy of the Sheer Joy release for £1 in a second-hand shop.

mp3: Paris Angels – All On You (Perfume)
mp3: Paris Angels – Muffin 2
mp3: Paris Angels – Perfume (version)

Muffin 2 sounds exactly as I’ve always imagined the early nights at the Hacienda to sound like in the era when nobody went along but those who did, would be able to thoroughly enjoy music that you’d not normally hear in clubs.

Perfume (version) has an early New Order feel to it, certainly via the guitars, although I would have imagined Hooky would have demanded much more bass in the mix.

All in all, an absolute belter of a 12″.

JC

PS :

A reminder that I’m currently running a competition to win a copy of Chorus of Doubt, the new album from Broken Chanter – the official release date is today.

I stupidly had a rogue space in the email address for entries, so my apologies if anyone  got a strange bounce back.  SORRY!!!!!!!!!

So….I’ll try again.

Q: ‘On which well-known Scottish record label has Chorus of Doubt been released?’

(hint, if needed, – it’s a label closely associated with the album’s producer, Paul Savage)

All entries should be sent to thevinylvillain@hotmail.co.uk

Please also include your full name and address so that I can work out postage costs should you be lucky. (Once again, I promise that all the emails will be deleted afterwards so that I don’t keep any of your personal info).

The closing date is Saturday 13 April. Good luck etc.

Cocteau Twins

THE CD SINGLE LUCKY DIP (4) : Cocteau Twins – Bluebeard

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I wouldn’t have been buying vinyl in 1994.  I was doing well to keep hold of what I already had, as space was at a premium in the small flat I was living in at the time.  It was strictly CDs, for albums and singles alike.

Which is why I wouldn’t have been on the look-out for either of the limited edition 7″ and 12″ releases of Bluebeard, the second single to be lifted from Four-Calendar Café, the seventh studio album by Cocteau Twins.

mp3: Cocteau Twins – Bluebeard

I already had bought the album on its release in October 1993, and wasn’t sure at all about shelling out four months later for the single, despite the fact that it had a couple of otherwise unreleased tracks.  The doubts, however, were put to one side when I spotted that  it also contained an acoustic version of the single, one which I was very keen to hear.

mp3: Cocteau Twins – Three Swept
mp3: Cocteau Twins – Ice-Pulse
mp3: Cocteau Twins – Bluebeard (acoustic version)

Both the unreleased tracks are enjoyable enough without being the sort of thing that really makes you sit up and pay more attention.  And if I’m being honest, I was expecting a bit more from the acoustic take on Bluebeard – it just meanders a bit too much for my liking.

Enough fans were enticed by the release to buy enough copies to have it enter the charts at #33 on 26 February 1994.

JC

Dennis Bovell

BONUS POST : AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #361: DENNIS BOVELL

A Guest Posting by Khayem

DENNIS

Dennis Bovell ICA: Respond To The Cause

This ICA has been a long time – too long – in the making. JC mentioned in a post or a comment – possibly here or on my own blog – that he didn’t have much reggae or dub in his collection, so I thought that would be a good theme for an ICA. The problem is, I think this was at least a year ago, if not longer, so the chances are that things have changed dramatically since then! (JC adds……not really!)

No matter, the subject of my ICA is one of the greatest and original producers of any genre. Not constrained by reggae or dub, he was one of the originators of Lovers Rock and also found a spiritual connection with punk, post-punk and, continuing into the 21st century, a host of post-modern artists. He’s also a mean bass player and handy when stepping up to main vocal duties. I present to you the legend that is Dennis Bovell MBE.

His production and performance CV reads more like a Who’s Who of music legends: Linton Kwesi Johnson, The Slits, Orange Juice and Edwyn Collins solo, Janet Kay, Benjamin Zephaniah, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Dubblestandart, Jah Wobble, Jarvis Cocker and The Pop Group. Amazulu, Bananarama, Thompson Twins and even Jack Johnson have all benefitted from a dub rinse over the decades.

And that’s not even touching on his own music, which started with Matumbi and The 4th Street Orchestra, and have included legendary releases as Black Beard, Dennis Curtis, Dennis Matumbi and of course Dennis Bovell. There are hundreds and hundreds of songs out there, many now available on his own site at Bandcamp as Dennis discovers more gems in the vault and records updated versions of old songs or something completely new.

Dennis Bovell is an unstoppable force of positive energy, and his impact on music changed my life before I even knew he was doing it. This ICA can only hope to hint at the magic and encourage you to go out there and discover more.

In time-honoured tradition, I’ve split the album into a vocal and a dub side, the first showcasing Dennis’ own music, the second shining a light on some of his revelatory reworks of some well-known songs and/or artist. I’ve cheekily slipped in a sixth track on side 1, but both sides come in at just under 21 minutes so I hope JC will let this one pass! (JC adds……of course!  There’s no hard and fast rule for ICAs)

Without further preamble, here’s your track-by-track guide

SIDE ONE

1) (I Can’t Get Enough Of That) Reggae Stuff by Matumbi (single, 1973)

Where it all started, really. Dennis moved from Barbados to London at an early age and co-founded 7-piece reggae band Matumbi in 1971. This was their debut single and, if it sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a cover of ‘Funky Stuff’ by Kool & The Gang. A great version and an obvious opener for this ICA though I’ll admit that I also had one eye on the inevitable ICA World Cup and the hope that Dennis & Co. get beyond the first round!

2) Fall Babylon (Version) by Dennis Bovell & Roots United ft. Skarra Mucci (single, 2020)

This single came out at the tail end of 2020, an apposite release following (what would turn out to be the first) lockdown and a coming together of generations. Jamaica’s Skarra Mucci guests on this alternative version, and there was a shining bright video to boot (check it out on YT).

3) Blood A Go Run by Dennis Matumbi (single, 1977)

Three singles were released between 1977 and 1978 under the nom de plume, Dennis Matumbi. I first heard Blood A Go Run on the 2003 compilation Decibel: More Cuts And Dubs 1976-1983, one of many, many DB collections, all highly recommended.

4) Empire Road by Matumbi (single, 1978)

This was the theme tune to the BBC TV series of the same name, which starred Norman Beaton. Empire Road also featured on the 1978 compilation Don’t Walk, Boogie, included in my parent’s modest record collection. Both the TV show and the song made a big impression on me and – unknown to me at the time – was my introduction to the genius of Dennis Bovell.

5) Afreecan by Dennis Bovell ft. I-Roy (‘Mek It Run’ album, 2012)

Had it not been for Dennis having neck surgery and strict medical orders to stop playing the bass until fully recovered, Mek It Run might never have seen the light of day, or at least so soon. Deciding to return to unfinished work during the enforced rest, Dennis discovered a stack of boxes in a lock-up, full of master tapes from the 1970s and 1980s. Utilising an I-Roy vocal from 1983, Afreecan is a retro future classic.

6) Bah Be Lon by Dennis Bovell (‘Brain Damage’ album, 1981)

After two dub albums as Black Beard, Brain Damage was the first released under his own name. An ambitious 16-track double album that takes reggae into the 1980s and pointed at a different direction from the more sanitised, pedestrian music that would popularise the genre for a new generation in that decade. The year before, Bovell also scored the film Babylon, which was based in part on his lived experience. Bah Be Lon doesn’t feature in the film as far as I can remember, but it narrates a similar sorry tale of racism and wrongful imprisonment.

SIDE TWO

7) Dub I Just A Man (Version of ‘Am I Just A Man’) by Steve Mason (‘Boys Outside/Ghosts Outside’ album, 2011)

I’ve been a fan of Steve Mason since I first heard The Beta Band and I’ve enjoyed his further excursions as King Biscuit Time, Black Affair and as a solo artist. Boys Outside as of itself is a brilliant album but it was a stroke of genius to bring in Dennis Bovell to create a dub companion. I could have picked any track, to be honest, it’s that good.

8) Funny Dub (Version of ‘It Noh Funny’) by Linton Kwesi Johnson (‘Sonny’s Lettah!’ single, 1979)

Dennis Bovell has worked extensively with Linton Kwesi Johnson throughout his career, not least 1980’s seminal LKJ In Dub. Rather than choose from there or it’s two follow ups, I’ve gone for an earlier dub of a song from LKJ’s debut Forces Of Victory, which appeared as a B-side on his second single. Much as I love LKJ reciting his words, Bovell’s dub creates a poetry all of it’s own.

9) Earthdub (Version of ‘Earthbeat’) by The Slits (single, 1981)

Dennis produced The Slits’ 1979 debut Cut and half of the 1981 follow up The Return Of The Giant Slits, not including the opening song Earthbeat. However, on the 12” single the song segues perfectly into a DB dub that bends the shape to near-snapping point, to memorable effect.

10) The Smoke (Dennis Bovell Rmx) by The Smile (single, 2022)

Dennis Bovell continues to be an in-demand producer and remixer, recent years seeing him rework JARV IS…, A Mountain Of One, Animal Collective and The Smile, Thom Yorke’s latest outfit and nothing like Radiohead, honest. On the strength of this, one can only hope that they ‘Do A Mason’ and ask DB to dub up their entire catalogue.

11) Radio Africa (Dub-Mix) by Latin Quarter (single, 1984)

I bought this on 12” vinyl back in the day, but only relatively recently discovered that there had also been a limited edition UK 12” with a couple of DB dub mixes on it. This is perhaps one of Dennis’ most straightforward dubs, but even as it strips away vocals and instrumentation, it puts so much more back, in terms of depth and space. A classic to close, and a selection I hope will have you looking out for more.

Khayem