THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (4)

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The 2015 Indietracks compilation contains 49 songs, with, as far as I can tell, seven of the acts having previously featured on TVV in one form or another – The Catenary Wires, Cinerama, Darling Buds, Euros Childs, Laetitia Sadier, Pete Astor, and The Wave Pictures

I’m going to offer up two tracks today, on the basis that the first of them is a cover version:-

mp3: Cristina Quesada – Just Like Honey

From all music:-

Hailing from Madrid but well-versed in a number of different languages, soft-spoken indie pop singer Cristina Quesada harks back to the gentle world of vintage Europop.

Taking up the guitar at age 13, she learned to play her favorite songs, working in theatre troupes and eventually joining the cast of a children’s television program in the Canary Islands. A couple of years later, she discovered the ukulele, which became her primary instrument and led to the recording of her first 7″ single for Spanish indie pop label Elefant Records in 2013. Working with a number of collaborators in and out of the Elefant stable, Quesada began recording her debut LP in 2014. A mix of originals and unusual covers sung in Spanish, English, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and even Japanese, You Are the One was released in early 2015.

mp3: Rodney Cromwell – Barry Was An Arms Dealer

Adapted from an official website:-

From Catford in South London, Rodney Cromwell is the solo electronic project of Adam Cresswell, founding member of indie-folktronica act Saloon and one half of acclaimed electronic two-piece Arthur & Martha.

His 2015 debut album ‘Age of Anxiety’ combined danceable rhythms with melodic bass lines, the chimes of toy instruments, and the bleeps and whistles of retro synths. It explored themes such as paranoia, despair, love, loss and depression while retaining an upbeat pop sensibility, and was featured by among others NME, Electronic Sound, Huffington Post, Louder Than War, BBC 6 Music and RNE3 in Spain for whom he recorded a live session. A follow-up EP ‘Rodney’s English Disco’ was released in 2018 that took his analogue synth sound in an often bleaker new direction.

See…..Indietracks wasn’t just twee-pop and guitars.

JC

Manhattan Love Suicides

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (3)

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The 2014 Indietracks compilation contains 56 songs, with, as far as I can tell, nine of the acts having previously featured on TVV – Allo Darlin’, The Flatmates, Hidden Camera, Just Joans, Lonely Tourist, Popguns, Spook School, TeenCanteen, and Withered Hand.

There’s been quite a few decent acts to originate or emerge out of Leeds over the years. Here’s one you night not have heard of

mp3: The Manhattan Loves Suicides – (Never Stop) Hating You

From a combination of wiki and all music:-

The Manhattan Love Suicides was a UK-based rock band from Leeds, originally active between 2006 and 2009, and then again between 2013 and 2016.

With a sound directly inspired by the likes of the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Shop Assistants, and the Primitives, a black-and-blonde fashion sense, and a knack for buzzy three-minute guitar pop tunes, they were an unapologetic throwback to the sound of the British indie scene from 20 years before their time. They even took their name from a 1985 short film by Richard Kern, the “transgressive” New York filmmaker.

Their eponymous debut album was released in 2006 in the UK as vinyl-only (although it was made available in the US in CD format through the Magic Marker record label) and a 27-track compilation, entitled Burnt Out Landscapes, followed two years later. The band reformed in 2013 with “(Never Stop) Hating You” and released a new album, More Heat! More Panic! in March 2015.

Again, this is the only song of theirs I have on the hard drive, and I’d be interested if anyone out there has any more and would consider a guest posting of some sorts, as they tick a lot of the boxes on TVV.

JC

When Nalda Became Punk

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (2)

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The 2013 Indietracks compilation contains 47 songs, with, as far as I can tell, only four of the acts having previously featured on TVV – bis, Lovely Eggs, The Wake, and The Wave Pictures.

Loads to select from, so hopefully this meets with approval.

mp3: When Nalda Became Punk – Summer, You and Me

From all music:-

Spanish indie pop group When Nalda Became Punk began in 2006 as a solo project for vocalist/guitarist Elena Sestelo.

Pairing classic C86-inspired indie pop songwriting with fuzzy guitars, synths, and drum machines, she released a demo titled “Tiny Noises Make Tiny Music” under the name Nalda before taking a break from recording until 2010. At that time, she recorded another demo (“Time to Meet Your Family”) and expanded to the full name before adding guitarist Roberto Cibeira to the lineup.

The duo recorded a single for Pebble Records (“When Nalda Became Punk”/”D.I.Y.”) in 2011 before gearing up for live shows and working on their debut album A Farewell to Youth.

Recorded with fellow countrymen Eva Guilala and Ivan Juniper, it was released in early 2013 by Shelflife Records. The band added keyboardist Antonio Llarena to the line-up and proceeded to play shows, including the 2013 Indietracks Festival.

After a respite from recording, the trio returned in 2014 with a single for Elefant, the four-song Indiepop or Whatever! After adding another member, bassist Bruno Murmura, the band recorded the Those Words Broke Our Hearts EP, which Elefant shared with the world in early 2017.

Again, this is the only song of theirs I have on the hard drive, and the above description of C86 with fuzzy guitars is bang-on.

JC

Go Sailor

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (1)

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So….for the next couple of weeks, you will either love or loath this blog as I’m locking down into a pattern. Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays will see the continuation of the various series that have been long-running, while Tuesdays to Fridays will feature music from compilation albums that were issued on an annual basis from 2012 to 2019 to commemorate the staging of the Indietracks festival.

As the official website states:-

Indietracks was a celebration of independent, creative and DIY pop music that took place at the Midland Railway – Butterley in the Derbyshire countryside from 2007 to 2019. Each year, around 50 new and established artists performed across a range of stages at the festival. Visitors were free to enjoy steam train rides, railway attractions and museums, discos, art and craft workshops, great food and a selection of real ales.

In November 2021, the Indietracks organisers made an unexpected announcement:-

We’re very sad to say that we’re bringing the Indietracks festival to a close. We’ve had over a decade of wonderful memories, and so it’s heartbreaking to let you know that 2019’s festival was our final event. We realise that the festival was very special to many people, and this isn’t a decision that we’ve taken lightly. However, despite significant effort from all concerned, the event has sadly proved unsustainable, principally due to the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic.

My dear friend Aldo was a regular at the Festival, and I had promised him that once I stopped working, I’d make an effort to come along one year. Sadly, my retiral in March 2020 coincided with the first wave of COVID….you can join the dots.

Every year a download compilation album featuring bands playing at the festival was released with all proceeds going to the Midland Railway charity. I’ve downloaded each of the volumes from 2012-2019 via bandcamp, and the idea is now to share with one track per day from a singer or band yet to feature on TVV.

The 2012 compilation contains 52 songs, with, as far as I can tell, only nine of the acts having previously featured – 14 Iced Bears, Allo’ Darlin, Ballboy, Jasmine Minks, June Brides, Just Joans, Monochrome Set, The Smittens, and Spook School.

I’m opening up with something which, to my ears, sums up what I imagined much of Indietracks to be like:-

mp3: Go Sailor – Last Year

Wiki informs us that Go Sailor was a short-lived Berkeley based twee pop band. Its members included Rose Melberg of Tiger Trap and The Softies (guitar, vocals), Paul Curran of Crimpshrine (bass) and Amy Linton of Henry’s Dress (later of The Aislers Set) (drums). They recorded three 7″ singles and a full-length CD on Lookout! Records in 1996. The trio re-grouped in 2012 to play a handful of shows, including an appearance at Indietracks.

It’s the only song of theirs I have on the hard drive, and I reckon it’s rather splendid.

JC

Go-Betweens

THE MONDAY MORNING HI-QUALITY VINYL RIP : Part sixty: THE WRONG ROAD

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The Go-Betweens are best known for indie-pop with guitars, albeit the addition of Amanda Brown on violin to the group added a new dynamic to the songs on the fourth and fifth studio albums, Tallulah (1987) and 16 Lovers Lane (1988).

Today’s hi-quality vinyl rip comes from Liberty Belle and The Black Diamond Express, the third album which dates back to 1986. It’s a song written by the late Grant McLennan and is one in which strings, in the shape of a cello, two violins and a viola are very much to the fore, especially in the middle section instrumental break, leading to a five-minute masterpiece of chamber pop:-

mp3: The Go-Betweens – The Wrong Road

The first time I saw Butcher Boy play immediately put The Wrong Road into my head, thanks to the presence of a string section among the usual mix of guitars, bass, keyboards and drums – oh and the fact John Hunt on lead vocals had such a shy yet magnetic presence on stage that he reminded me of Grant. It’s little wonder I fell under his and his band’s spell.

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 50)

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It was a quiet twelve months for The Fall between the release of Night of The Humerons for Record Store Day 2012 and the next again time any new product was in the shops. Indeed, it was Record Store Day 2013 when 1,500 copies of a 7″ single found their way onto various shelves and racks.

mp3: The Fall – Sir William Wray
mp3: The Fall – Jetplane
mp3: The Fall – Hittite Man

The now well-established quintet of MES (vocals), Peter Greenway (guitar), David Spurr (bass), Keiron Melling (drums) and Eleni Poulou (keyboards) were the musicians on board, and again it was Cherry Red Records on which it was released. All three songs would be included on the album Re-Mit, which came out a couple of weeks after RSD 2013.

I hadn’t heard any of these prior to pullling this post together. I was surprised to discover that they are quite diverse, which is something to behold given that The Fall had now, at this point, been making music for 35 years, but I feel that Jetplane is the only one worth repeated listens.

Having said that, a different version of Hittite Man was put out on Facebook (!!) just after the album was released, and is an improvement on the original.

mp3: The Fall – Hittite Man (alternate version)

This line-up of The Fall, it has to be said, sound quite professional and polished in many places but, to my ears, without the spark of the classic line-ups who have featured in past postings. Indeed, as you can hear best on the alternative version of Hittite Man, they are almost a bog-standard rock band. Or am I being unfair??

This series is drawing to its natural conclusion, and I’ve already decided what’s going to take its place on Sundays going forward. I hope most of you will be happy…..

JC

Sons Of The Descent

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #310: SONS OF THE DESCENT

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I’ll simply pull the band bio from the bandcamp page:-

Sons of The Descent were formed by Edinburgh duo Hugh Duggie and Ian White, ex Factory Records and Mute artists, and between them they were in the Wendys, Foil, and Lowlife. Joined by Stephen ‘Bendy Toy’ Evans. It is all about the electronica, and the guitars, and the songs. All songs are written, performed, and produced by SOTD, for their own Brawsome Productions

They are a much under-appreciated trio, whose debut album was featured a couple of times on the blog back in 2017, especially via this guest posting by Jacques the Kipper.

Since then, there’s been a few digital releases, all of which can be tried and tested right here before you plunge in and spend some currency.

mp3: Sons of The Descent – Golden Misfits

One from the debut album, a record which draws upon many influences. JtK cited Stone Roses for this track in his review……

JC

A Certain Ratio

FAC 5 : ALL NIGHT PARTY by A CERTAIN RATIO

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The short series looking at the contents of the Use Hearing Protection box set. FAC5 proved to be the first ‘proper’ or traditional Factory 45 in that it had one track on the a-side and one track on the b-side, both by the same act:-

mp3: A Certain Ratio – All Night Party
mp3: A Certain Ratio – The Thin Boys

This one has featured previously on the blog as part of the debut singles series, and I’ll simply cut’n’paste from November 2018:-

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

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

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

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

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

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

The difference in this posting and that from November 2018 is that the mp3s come from the vinyl within the box set.

JC

Breeders

10″ OF (NOT GREEN) VINYL FROM 1994

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1993 was the year when The Breeders made a commercial breakthrough in the UK, thanks to the critically acclaimed album Last Splash going Top 5, with two of its tracks – Cannonball and Divine Hammer – being minor hits in the singles charts.

Nobody knew that it would take until 2002 for a follow-up album to be made available, with the band more or less becoming inactive for the most part after taking part in the two-month-long Lollapalooza Tour in 1994, where they shared the main stage with Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, L7, and Green Day.

It was while that tour was underway that their labels – 4AD in Europe and Elektra in the USA – quietly issued a four-track EP, with the 4AD release being on 10″ ~~green~~ standard black vinyl:-

mp3: The Breeders – Head To Toe
mp3: The Breeders – Shocker In Gloomtown
mp3: The Breeders – Freed Pig
mp3: The Breeders – Saints

I didn’t pick this up at the time, only finding it many years later in a second-hand shop. I was quite disappointed when I played it, thinking the lead track was a step-back from the polished efforts that I had enjoyed on Last Splash…it sort of sounds as if it’s a hurried, unfinished track that had been issued just to ensure there was product on sale as they made their way across the States.

Shocker In Gloomtown lasts less time than it takes to type this descriptive sentence – it’s a hard-rocking noisy cover of a song written and recorded by Guided By Voices.

Freed Pig is another cover – lending weight to my theory that the EP was a rushed release – this time of a Sebadoh number, but there is a bit of a tune there in comparison to the two previous tracks.

Rounding things off is an alternative version of Saints, one of the most popular and enduring songs from Last Splash. It’s okay, but not a patch on the original.

The EP barely cracked the Top 75 here in the UK and made no impact in the States.

JC

Lunchtime addendum

This was posted first thing as saying it was on green vinyl.

It isn’t….and thanks to the folk who came on this morning questioning things. I’ve just been into the big cupboard full of vinyl where the singles are stored to check.

Sorry for being an arse!

Various

THAT SUMMER FEELING

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Sorry if you’ve popped by thinking you’ll find Jonathan Richman hanging round the front porch……

mp3: Various – That Summer Feeling

Town Called Malice – The Jam
Graffiti – Maximo Park
So When You Gonna… – Dream Wife
The Overload – Yard Act
Senses Working Overtime – XTC
Pictures Of You – The Cure
Road Rage – Catatonia
Atomic – Blondie
I Love Myself and I Always Have – Robert Forster
Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair – Arctic Monkeys
Portions For Foxes – Rilo Kiley
Wrecking Bar (ra ra ra) – The Vaccines
With Handclaps – Y’all Is Fantasy Island
Slow Train To Dawn – The The
He’s Frank (Slight Return) – The Monochrome Set
Being In Love – Wet Leg
Bankrobber – The Clash

Five seconds beyond sixty minutes for the second successive month. Don’t be fooled by the title….it’s simply down to it being June’s offering.

JC

Cats On Fire

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #314: CATS ON FIRE

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I’m going to let someone else tell you why Cats on Fire were such a wonderful band. This appeared in the Guardian newspaper back on 4 May 2012, and was penned by Neil Kulkarni.

“A wet Wednesday night in London, and a handbag is repeatedly hitting us in the face. We don’t care, because we’re dancing – as is the handbagger – to the best pop music being made on the planet right now. The crew responsible for ramming out the steaming Bull and Gate is Finland’s fantastic Cats on Fire, fondly loved in Europe yet virtually unknown in the UK, where they have difficulty even getting their records released.

That’s odd, considering the three albums they’ve given us since 2007 do nothing less than reinject possibilities, politics, wit, erudition and joy into guitar pop. We’re not just here, nose-to-nipple, because we love Cats on Fire, or because they also happen to be the best-looking band on Earth. We’re here because 2007’s The Province Complains contained I Am the White Mantled King, one of the greatest songs of this millennium; because 2009’s Our Temperance Movement was the most pristinely perfect pop album seemingly no one but us ever heard; because this year’s All Blackshirts to Me is, impossibly, even better. Cats on Fire are sleeping on someone’s floor tonight. By rights, it should be the Queen’s; by rights, as everyone here knows, they should be stars.

“I don’t love music more than anything else,” admits the lead singer and songwriter Mattias Bjorkas, “which means I haven’t been blinded by the love of music. And I have certainly not been blinded by money. I was a very straight-edge, socialist youth – Cats on Fire has been my lesson in frustration and dealing with second-bests sometimes, but we try to always make the music move on and matter.“

The five-piece has come together in fits and starts from the small, isolated town of Vaasa, sharpening and solidifying their magic every step of the way. “No music industry tentacles were long enough to reach as far up north as we were in Vaasa,” Bkorkas says. “But trying to be loved was always my main preoccupation, whatever political or musical ideas I may have presented as the true spirit of Cats on Fire. I nurtured the idea of a small, provincial army that was musically righteous and ready to strike against the trendy, metropolitan hypocrisy.”

They make songs you can’t shake and write lyrics that stop your day in its tracks, the sound exquisitely puckered throughout by Ville Hopponen‘s addictive licks, Iiris Viljanen‘s poptastic keyboards, and the band’s sheer stealth and grace. The last time you felt this way about indie-pop was Pulp. Yeah – that good. Judging by tonight’s rapturous reception, it’s only their own shyness that’s stopping Cats on Fire becoming major stars.

“In big cities,” Bjorkas says, “we observe all the other groups of four or five people with good haircuts, unable to shake the worst thought of all – that each of these 10,000 bands had an idea as valid as our own.”

They don’t. Not by a long chalk. All Blackshirts To Me is European album of the year. Avail yourselves immediately.”

Sadly, it would be the last album the band would release. Across the three LPs and various singles and EPs (many of which were collated on the compilation Dealing In Antiques, released in 2010), there are more than 50 songs from which to narrow things down to as perfect an ICA as I can deliver. It’s 12 songs long, on the grounds that it deserves to be.

Side A

1. Horoscope (track 1 on Our Temperance Movement, 2009)

2. My Friend In A Comfortable Chair (single, 2007 and track 8 on Dealing In Antiques, 2010)

3. The Smell Of An Artist (from Draw In The Reins EP, 2006 and track 14 on Dealing In Antiques)

4. Draw In The Reins (re-recorded version – track 11 on The Province Complains 2007)

5. 1914 and Beyond (track 7 on All Blackshirts To Me, 2012)

6. Tears In Your Cup (track 6 on Our Temperance Movement, 2009)

Side B

1. I Am The White-Mantled King (track 1 on The Province Complains, 2007)

2. My Sense Of Pride (track 2 on All Blackshirts To Me, 2012)

3. Letters From A Voyage To Sweden (track 3 on Our Temperance Movement, 2009)

4. Higher Grounds (track 3 on The Province Complains, 2007)

5. Our Old Centre Back (track 1 on All Blackshirts To Me, 2012)

6. The Borders Of This Land (track 8 on Our Temperance Movement, 2009)

JC

Cathal Coughlan

CATHAL COUGHLAN

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It’s actually quite an unbelievable coincidence that the above cover of the NME appeared exactly 30 years to the day when Cathal Coughlan‘s death was announced by his family. It’s also quite poignant that the photo has Cathal pictured alongside comedian Sean Hughes, another who died well before his time.

I can’t claim to be the fount of all knowledge in respect of the late musician. I have but a handful of releases in the collection, dating back to Microdisney singles in the mid 80s, having taken a bit of shine to the band after seeing a live appearance on Whistle Test on BBC TV. I only ever saw him live on one occasion, when Fatima Mansions played King Tut’s in Glasgow on a hot summer’s night in 1991. I’ve a copy of a single he co-recorded with Martin Stephenson in the early 90s – talking of which, I’ve some sort of vague recollection of him appearing on stage once with the Daintees, although that may very well just be wishful thinking on my part.

I know I should have paid more attention, especially when many folk wrote such incredibly positive reviews about Song of Co- Aklan, his sixth and what proved to be his final solo album, which came out just a couple of months ago. It honestly was on my list of things to pick up, but I was holding back as Rachel always asks for a few ideas for my upcoming birthday. When I do give it a listen, it will be with real sadness.

The tributes flowed freely last week when the news finally emerged that Cathal had passed on 18 May after a long illness. It was typical of the man that he chose to keep his poor health to himself, with not one feature on his new album indicating that it had been recorded under difficult circumstances and that it was certain to be his last piece of music. I was in Bristol for a few days last week and picked up the news via a social media posting from a friend, and found it hard to take in. I listened to Gideon Coe‘s show on BBC 6 Music that night, and he took the opportunity to read out various tweets and messages from fans, as well as air some songs recorded for BBC sessions over the decades.

My thanks to flimflamfan and chaval for taking time to share some thoughts about Cathal when they left comments on the Leonard Cohen/Ian McCulloch piece the other day – having no laptop with me, I was unable to do anything with the blog and was feeling awful at the thought of the death not being recognised in any shape or form.

As I said a few paras ago, I am no expert at all on Cathal Coughlan. But what I do know is that he was responsible for writing and singing on one of my favourite singles of all time. Here’s a recap of something I wrote back in February 2013:-

“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

The music Cathal Coughlan was involved in over the decades was rarely on the commercial side of listenable. It always seemed as if he didn’t care about being anything more than a cult figure, seeming to even go out of his way to sabotage things when Fatima Mansions opened up for U2 on various dates across Europe in 1992, none more so than in Milan where be baited the 12,500-strong crowd with a number of derogatory comments about the Pope. This was after he had pretended to stick a bottle of holy water, in the shape of the Virgin Mary, up his arse. It was his way of dealing with an audience that had been hostile to his band from the off, the type that wanted only to see U2 and nobody else.

By all accounts, this sort of behaviour was at odds with his real life persona, described by many as a gentleman.

I’ll finish with one of the singles I bought back in the day:-

mp3: Microdisney – Town To Town

In reaching #55 in 1987, this lovely piece of indie-pop was as close to having a hit as that band ever got.

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 49)

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I mentioned last week that I never bought anything The Fall issued while with Cherry Red Records as I’d lost my way with the band by this point in time. Drew over at Across The Kitchen Table remained a devotee, but all too often he would tell of going along to a gig and feeling let-down and/or short-changed.

I might have felt the same way if I was the type who made something out of Record Store Day as the next 45 to be released by MES & co was for that event in April 2012, with a limited run of 1,000 copies of a 7″ single with the title Night of the Humerons, but neither the a-side nor b-side featured a song of that name.

mp3: The Fall – Victrola Time

The a-side was seemingly developed from an instrumental track called Damflicters that had been worked up during sessions for the Ersatz G.B. album, released in November 2011. It might have been a limited edition 45, but it became widely available in May 2013 when it was included on the next studio album, Re-Mit.

It’s electronica Fall, and MES doesn’t start singing until about 70 seconds in….and it, to be frank, is awful. Here’s your lyrics in full:-

Science hasn’t recorded it yet…
And I don’t want bennies….jellies….

I said MDMA years!
You can’t feel, you can’t feel Victrola
Victrola teller, Victrola teller
From ’28 from ’16,
Victrola,
DMA years,
Stop!
J-j-just stop
J-just can’t
Just can’t
Post meth and DMA years
The pre non-MDM and net years
The post meth MDMA years
The pre-non-MDM and meth years
The post meth and also DMA years
The MDMA years
The pre-black eyes and tears of today years
The post-meth MDMA years
MDMA years…
Can’t feel I could cry
Joy
The pre-black eyes and tears of today years

The b-side was a live version of a track from Erstatz G.B.:-

mp3: The Fall – Taking Off (live)

At least it’s marginally better than the a-side.

JC

Sons & Daughters

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #309: SONS AND DAUGHTERS

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Sons and Daughters were mentioned less than two weeks ago, with a look at Dance Me In, a quite superb single released in June 2005.

The band was also the subject of ICA #199 back in November 2018, and I’m returning to something written as part of that post as it nails a particular song:-

mp3: Sons and Daughters – Medicine

The opening track on the band’s first full album, The Repulsion Box (2005), is what can only be described as a hoedown stomp on speed and which sets the tone for much of what was to follow on the rest of the record. Oh, and it features the best use of a mandolin on any piece of music since….well, the track Fight which can be found on debut mini-album Love The Cup (2003).

JC

Big Country

IT REALLY WAS A CRACKING DEBUT SINGLE (65)

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I was lucky enough to see Big Country a few times before and as they were making the breakthrough into chart and mainstream success. I was delighted for Stuart Adamson, in that he proved he could make it in the pop/rock world without relying on Richard Jobson, the effervescent and show-stealing frontman of The Skids.

Harvest Home was chosen by Mercury Records as the debut single. It felt like a strange one as so many other songs, as played live, seemed more suited in terms of hooks, choruses and anthemic nature. But then again, the sound attached to Harvest Home, akin to bagpipes being played on an electric guitar, had a sort of novelty factor which made for talking points in the music papers.

I still think Harvest Home is one of the weaker songs on the debut album, albeit it’s been a long time since I listened to it from start to finish.

I did buy the 12″ on its release,

mp3: Big Country – Harvest Home

What it didn’t do was make it into many people’s homes, with it failing to make any inroads in the charts on its release in September 1982. But any fears that the execs had got it wrong by taking a punt on Big Country were soon allayed as three of the next four singles, released between February 1983 and January 1984, went Top 10, while debut album The Crossing went Top 3, and spent well over a year in the Top 75.

I still reckon Harvest Home is one of the weaker tracks on the debut album. Here’s the two b-sides, neither of which made it on to the album:-

mp3: Big Country – Balcony
mp3: Big Country – Flag of Nations (Swimming)

I haven’t heard in these in decades until pulling this post together. I’m struck by the fact that both of them wouldn’t have been all that out of place in the later albums by The Skids, albeit Balcony has more of the guitar-sound associated with Big Country – I also, on hearing it again, recall it being played at many of the early gigs; Flag of Nations (Swimming) on the other hand has that keyboard-led sound Bill Nelson helped bring to The Skids on Days in Europa. If you’d played me the track, which is an instrumental, I’d never in maybe a hundred guesses have come up with the correct name of the band making the music.

File the b-side under unique, (for Big Country).

JC

PS : I was away for a few days at the beginning of the week, and apologies for whatever it was that went wrong with the file for ‘Freakscene’. It should be ok to listen to now.

Also, not having the laptop with me meant that I couldn’t do anything to add to the pre-readied posts from Monday – Thursday, which meant last night was the first I personally could mention the sad and what feels like sudden passing of Cathal Coughlan, the news of which left me stunned and shocked.

My thanks to those of you who added tributes via the comments section the other day. I intend to do my best to say a few more words, via a post, in due course.

Sweet

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #313: THE SWEET

A GUEST POSTING by MIDDLE-AGED MAN

Photo-of-SWEET-006

In the early 1970’s I was nine/ten years old and ‘too young’ to have my own radio and so was basically reliant upon one source for music – the glorious wonder that was Top of the Pops, it is almost impossible to believe today that if you wanted to listen and see ‘pop music’ this was really the only option.

And for once my timing was perfect as it was the glam rock era. I am a believer in the James Bond theory, in the same way that the best James Bond is the first one you see at the pictures, the first type of music you experienced on Top of the Pops remains with you forever. And at that young age I was reading comics/magazines such as Shoot and Cor!!, so had no idea of which bands were writing their own songs, were ‘acceptable’ my only judgement was based upon the song and appearance on Top of the Pops.

The standout band for me was The Sweet, they looked great, especially Brian Connolly in his silver jumpsuit and blond hair, and the songs were instant, by the time the second chorus arrived I was already singing along never having heard the song before.

Glam rock was really about the singles and that’s why this ICA is made entirely of singles all bar one released in a 4-year period between 1971 and 1975 and incredibly half of them never appeared on an album at the time of release and only appeared on later compilation albums.

The Sweet formed in 1968 with members having all been in previous groups and it was only in 1971 that they had their first hit having teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and record producer Phil Wainman. At first they only recorded the vocals on the ‘a’ side of their singles, before moving on to play and sing on the songs. I have only included songs that they play and sing on, simply because I believe they are better.

Side 1

1. Blockbuster (Chart position no. 1)

At first I was going to sequence the songs in date order, but changed my mind as in keeping with the glam rock era the first track on side 1 should always be the biggest hit and this surprisingly is their only number 1 and probably their best by a short head. It is also well known as having the same riff as Jean Genie by David Bowie, both released in the same month, Jan 1973 on the same label.

2. Wig-Wam Bam ( Chart position no. 4)

The first single to feature the playing of the band and a noticeable step-up with much harder playing, especially Andy Scott’s guitar. It also featured Steve Priest’s ‘camp’ vocal line which became a trademark element.

3. Alexander Graham Bell (Chart position no. 33)

Incredibly, this only reached number 33 in the UK chart and is the lowest placing of any of the songs on this ICA. Has a stomping beat which is quite ‘Sladeish’ but the Connolly’s vocal ensure that is the only similarity.

4. Hell Raiser (Chart position no. 2)

The follow-up single to Blockbuster and is obviously from the same band but without Blockbuster’s distinctive riff.

5. The Six Teens ( Chart position no. 9)

To close side 1 a slightly slower more downbeat track, with more time changes and variation in the instrumentation but is still very much Glam Rock.

Side 2

1. Teenage Rampage ( Chart position no.2)

Opens with the crowd chanting ‘We want Sweet’ suggesting we were listening to a live recording, It made being a teenager seem exciting from my pre-teen perspective although for the band who were all older it may have seemed a little uncomfortable.

2. Ballroom Blitz (Chart position no. 2)

After Blockbuster probably their best known single, opens with a band roll call/ name check before exploding into life. The Sweet didn’t go for low key starts/intros, it was straight into the song.

3. Fox On the Run (Chart position no. 2)

The first single to be written by the band and it proved to be a successful as their previous Chinn/Chapman singles reaching number 2 in the charts.

4. Love is Like Oxygen ( Chart position no. 9)

The last of their singles to make the charts in 1978, by this stage my tastes had moved on to ‘new wave’, but listening to it now it still packs a punch although in a slightly ‘Queenish’ way.

5. Action (Chart position no. 15)

Another self written song, that reflects their move away from Glam to Rock but as the lyrics say ‘Everyone needs a main attraction’ and for a crucial 2-year period The Sweet were mine.

I hope you enjoy this a much as I have putting it together, I can feel a Chinn/Chapman ICA coming next.

MIDDLE-AGED MAN

Ian McCulloch, Leonard Cohen

ORIGINAL v COVER : SUZANNE

I’ve twice used this feature when I’m struggling for something meaningful to say or don’t have much spare time on my hands, but the last occasion was twelve months ago. I’m clearly a total windbag with far too much to say for myself.

From wiki:-

“Suzanne” is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s. First published as a poem in 1966, it was recorded as a song by Judy Collins in the same year, and Cohen performed it as his debut single, from his 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen.

It was inspired by Cohen’s platonic relationship with dancer Suzanne Verdal. Its lyrics describe the rituals that they enjoyed when they met: Suzanne would invite Cohen to visit her apartment by the harbour in Montreal, where she would serve him Constant Comment tea, and they would walk around Old Montreal past the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, where sailors were blessed before heading out to sea.

Verdal was interviewed by CBC News’s The National in 2006 about the song. Verdal says that she and Cohen never had a sexual relationship, contrary to what some interpretations of the song suggest. Cohen stated in a 1994 BBC interview that he only imagined having sex with her, as there was neither the opportunity nor inclination to actually go through with it. She says she has met Cohen twice since the song’s initial popularity: once after a concert Cohen performed in the 1970s and once in passing in the 1990s when she danced for him, but Cohen did not speak to her (and possibly did not recognise her).

mp3: Leonard Cohen – Suzanne

Ian McCulloch is one of many who have covered this song over the years. In 2002, he offered this up in a feature in a UK newspaper:-

For me, the perfect song is ‘Suzanne’, by Leonard Cohen. The perfect lyric with the perfect melody. I can’t see a fault in it. The first time I heard it, I thought, ‘Whoaa.’ I was about 14 or 15 and I’d seen the Bird on a Wire documentary about him at the pictures. He was so cool and it was my kind of music and I went straight out to get his albums. Then I went back to my mum’s house and waited for it to get dark before I played them. That song is just so instant. It goes through my soul; it’s like that bit in Poltergeist when the mother’s coming down the stairs and she feels this rush of this kid’s spirit going through her. It’s great when a song just comes at you like that.

mp3: Ian McCulloch – Suzanne

This was recorded for a CD given away with the November 2008 edition of Mojo, a monthly music magazine. I think it’s quite sublime and, thanks to Mac being a superior singer, it gets my vote as being the better of the two.

This verdict can, should you choose, be overturned on appeal via the comments section……

JC

Dinosaur Jr.

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #312: DINOSAUR JR.

A GUEST POSTING by SWC

dinosaurjr_article

Sorry to start with a blatant plug, but over on my blog ‘No Badger Required’ the other day I told a story about how a couple of years ago I was walking home from a party when a badger (not that one, no) jumped out of a hedge and scared the life out of me. I was minding my own business admittedly I was pissed, but I was doing nothing wrong at the time.

Anyway, it jumped out, bloody fangs and teeth bared, growled at me and the tore off up the road, before leaping into the hedge on the other side of the road about fifty metres away. I stood there screaming like a toddler who had just dropped their ice cream. I’m pretty sure that when I eventually got my shit together and wandered past the bit of the hedge where it ran through, I could hear a little badger laugh (kind of like the noise Mutley, Dick Dastardly’s dog makes) from behind the hedge.

That section of road has since that moment been called Badger Corner. It has become a random music focal point – for instance – the Sunday Shuffle element on my blog (sorry, last time, promise) is often selected by me posting whichever song was playing when I reached Badger Corner.

This morning I went for a run and decided that whichever band were playing when I ran past Badger Corner, I would write an Imaginary Compilation Album on them. For a while it looked like that would be on rapper Anderson Paak, because his cover version of Coldplay’s ‘XY’ was playing as I approached Badger Corner and I was sort of cursing my luck – although by the way that version of ‘XY’ is so much better than the original and your day will better for checking it out.

But at the exact point that I reached the gap in the hedge where gangs of menacing badgers lie in wait to mug passing idiots, we were nine seconds into ‘Repulsion’ by ‘godfathers of grunge’ Dinosaur Jr. So folks, that was a long-drawn introduction to this, an Imaginary Compilation Album on Dinosaur Jr.

Side One

The Wagon (1991 from ‘Greenmind’)

Unlike me, long-drawn-out intros are not something that J Mascis is that into. Many of Dinosaur Jr’s songs have vocals that kick in within seconds of the music, or in the case of ‘The Wagon’ straight away. ‘The Wagon’ positively fizzes with energy and it is in my opinion, the band’s finest hour, if only for that amazing solo that J Mascis throws in about halfway through.

Freakscene (1988, from ‘Bug’)

Dinosaur Jr never quite got as big as some of the bands that were part of the same scene as them, but their influence is far-reaching. Take ‘Freakscene’, easily the band’s most popular, and most talked about song, and the song that more indie club nights were named after in the 90s than any other. Of all the alternative rock songs about alienation, self-esteem and generally moodiness that came out thirty odd years ago, this is probably the greatest of them all.

Recognition (2012, from ‘I Bet on Sky’)

‘I Bet On Sky’ is the band’s tenth studio album, and it’s also one of their finest. J Mascis’ voice is much calmer, less ragged, less like he is lying in a ditch whilst singing. The songs here are more relaxed, and I would imagine that is something to do with Lou Barlow’s influence. ‘Recognition’ is the better of two Barlow songs on the album, it is more jaunty, a little more rocky than the other one (which is called ‘Rude’ and sounds like it should be on a Sebadoh album)

Repulsion (1985, from ‘Dinosaur)

Of course, when they started out, Dinosaur Jr, were called simply Dinosaur. Then they got sued by an American prog rock supergroup featuring members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, and they added a cheeky ‘Jr’ to their name. The band’s early work was a lot heavier and has a more hardcore punk feel to it. Saying that ‘Repulsion’ sounds a lot like ‘Harvest Moon’ era Neil Young if you ask me.

Just Like Heaven (1989 from ‘You’re Living All Over Me’)

‘Just Like Heaven’ the original version by Fat Bob and his Band, was the first song I danced to as a married man. It was a lovely moment. In contrast, ‘Just Like Heaven’ the Dinosaur Jr version was the first song I ever stage dived too. It wasn’t a lovely moment. I got kneed in the balls on the way down.

I happen to think that this is one of the greatest cover versions of all time. Definitely in the Top Five. Just behind Anderson Paak’s version of ‘XY’.

Side Two

Start Choppin’ (1993, From ‘Where You Been?’)

In 1993, the UK was at peak grunge, Nirvana were the biggest band on the planet and because of that all sorts of American bands were in the UK and having relative success with their brand of heavy pop rock. The release of Dinosaur Jrs fifth album ‘Where You Been?’ was preceded by the bands biggest Uk Hit, ‘Start Choppin’. It was as close to a pop record as you were ever going to get from the band, but it was pop enough to appeal to the kids, and it barged its way into the UK Top 20.

Thumb (1991, from ‘Greenmind’)

When Lou Barlow left the band after the release of their second album, J Mascis went to the studio and sulked for a while. He recorded 7 tracks, all of which appeared on ‘Greenmind’. There were apparently three tracks that he couldn’t get the drumming sound right on, they were ‘The Wagon’, ‘Water’ and the tremendous ‘Thumb’. So he phoned Murph, who sorted it, and between them made the best three tracks on the entire album.

Crumble (2007, From ‘Beyond’)

Lou Barlow eventually rejoined the band in 2005, and in 2007 they released ‘Beyond’ and it harked back to the sound that they almost perfected in ‘Bug’. All those years of conflict and weary old arguments seemed to be pushed aside, and the results were amazing. ‘Crumble’ is probably the pick of the bunch in my opinion.

Quicksand (1991, B Side to ‘The Wagon’)

The final track on the 12” version of ‘The Wagon’ is ‘Quicksand’ a cover of Bowie’s classic. However, Instead of singing “I ain’t got the power anymore” J Mascis sings, “We ain’t got the wagon anymore”. Apparently, on the way to the studio to record the song, J Mascis crashed his station wagon (which was apparently the actual ‘Wagon’) and changed the words.

Keep the Glove (1988, B Side to ‘Freakscene’)

We’ll end with one of the band’s more upbeat tracks, if only for what it influenced later. ‘Keep the Glove’ sounds a lot like the sound that Teenage Fanclub, The Boo Radleys and a host of other UK bands started to make about 18 months later.

Thanks for reading

SWC

Associates

THE MONDAY MORNING HI-QUALITY VINYL RIP : Part Fifty-nine: BOYS KEEP SWINGING

The confession continues.

I’ve bought something else from RSD 2022, only this time I had to send off to a participating store in Chelmsford, Essex to get it.

There was no way any of the Scottish stores would still have had a copy of Covers by Associates within about thirty minutes of the doors opening. I actually didn’t fancy my chances of finding one on-line at an affordable price, fully believing they would all be in the hands of those whose only thought was to flip them via Discogs or Ebay.

There are five songs on Covers, so it’s basically a 12″ single, albeit played at 33 and a third RPM. The tracks are Love Hangover, Gloomy Sunday, Boys Keep Swinging, Eloise, and Kites. I’ve the first two already on vinyl, and indeed it could be argued (rightly) that Kites is by 39 Lyon Street and not Associates. But still, the opportunity to finally have a vinyl copy of the debut single was too good to pass on:-

mp3: Associates – Boys Keep Swinging

You can expect to in the region of £400 for a copy of the original 7″ single, released on Double Hip Records back in 1979. I don’t think the 12″ RDS release will reach even 10% of that figure in the years ahead. But an accumulation of value was not what at the front of my brain when I hit the on-line purchase button.

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 48)

We’ve reached 2011.

The Fall seem to have a very settled line-up, with MES being alongside Peter Greenway (guitars), David Spurr (bass), Kieron Melling (drums) and Eleni Poulou (keyboards). Having taken leve of Domino, the band ink a new deal with Cherry Red Records, a London-based independent label dating back to 1978, which, in addition to releasing new music by a wide range of acts which can often best be described as maverick/left-of-centre, (Luke Haines has been part of the label for a long while), has become a specialist for all sorts of re-releases, particularly CD box sets containing previously unreleased or hard-to-find material. It was actually something of a misnomer that The Fall hadn’t previously been part of the roster, and it proved to be a happy and fruitful partnership, with the label being responsible for all the band’s releases between 2011 and 2017.

First up was this single, on 7 November 2011:-

mp3: The Fall – Laptog Dog
mp3: The Fall – Cosmos 7
mp3: The Fall – Monocard (Lunatic Mix)

It was something of a low-key release, limited in numbers, and therefore something of a rarity on the second-hand market. The label was much more interested in the release, just seven days later, of the album Ersatz GB, a ten-track LP which came out on vinyl and CD. It was the band’s 28th studio album but, and this probably won’t come as a surprise, was the first ever time three successive studio albums had been recorded with the same-line up. As I say, no surprise, but at the same time quite an astounding fact.

The album reached the lower end of the UK charts which was deemed a satisfactory outcome by all concerned, given it was released to what can best be described as mixed reviews, while a number of the live shows to support the impending release of the album were dogged by MES sloping off-stage mid-set; leaving Eleni to take the vocals. Here’s one fan’s take on things on what proved to be something of a notorious gig in Edinburgh on 3 November:-

Who would be Mark E. Smith’s wife? Last night Fall fans were treated to simultaneously one of the worst and best gigs of the year, as the majority of the proceedings were left to Mrs. E Smith to fill in the gaps after Mark exited the stage.

Things started promisingly: the band in great form and the new songs (we heard perhaps two of them) sounding excellent. Then Smith disappeared off stage (nothing unusual about that); spookily however, his voice remained. Was he perhaps paving the way for his own demise, when the band will have to tour to backing tapes of his lyrics? Soon the voice disappeared too, leaving us to endure the longest ever version of ‘I’ve Been Duped’, sung without apparent irony by Mrs. Smith.

As far as a group of people in their 40s and 50s could be said to be restless, there was a certain fractious mood abroad in the crowd: a few squidgy plastic pint glasses were thrown towards the stage (emptied of the £4 contents); Mrs. Smith ill-advisedly greeted this with outstretched arms in a ‘come-ahead’ gesture. She explained before walking off that “Mark has terrible voondz (wounds) on iz feet and haz to walk up five flights ov stairs to get to zee stage” when this with greeted some derision from certain elements in the crowd, she replied “What? Are you a doctor?” before leaving to boos. Suddenly we were reminded just how young Mrs. Smith really is: her possibly misguided loyalty deserves the highest praise.

To their credit the band took to the stage again to launch into an instrumental ‘Reformation’; Mrs. Smith was about to offer the mic to the crowd when suddenly, a fellow wearing a combat jacket, silk scarf and a handlebar moustache, leapt to the stage; at first it seemed to be all part of a huge practical joke, as the uninvited lead singer with admirable chutzpah, extemporized lyrics about going to see The Fall and Mark not being there. This was brought to a premature end as he was approached by a large shaven headed bouncer. Before we could chorus “he’s behind you” our unknown Bob Calvert impersonator was led away, looking crestfallen. On the back of the bouncer’s neon-yellow t-shirt was the ominous message: ‘Stage Security, here to assist you’. More boos followed, but immediately gave way to cheers as none other than Mark E. Smith was led on stage supported on either side like King Lear by two stage hands. He sang the rest of ‘Reformation’ (sort of) before delivering a superb version of ‘Mr. Pharmacist’, complete with keyboard solo. Then it was all over.

Did I ask for a refund on my ticket? Did I throw a pint glass? No. My only thought was ‘I hope his feet get better.’ Misguided loyalty is clearly infectious.

It’s really no wonder that by now I had given up on things….I never did buy anything that came out on Cherry Red, and digging out the tunes for today’s posting will be the first time I’ve heard them. They’re not the worst – the single is a sort of plodding, middling thing but very clearly the sound of The Fall, while the b-sides offer a mix of fat electronica rockabilly (yes, really!!) and an eight-minute Krautrock effort, if that happens to be your thing.