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Wednesday 31 July 2013

You'll Had Had Your T



One of my best Internet discoveries has been Tim Crane A.K.A T Bird with his band the Breaks
Based in Austin they produce a big band sound which I would describe as a more Bluesy Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - high praise indeed
Other than that I don't really know much more about them other than they are well worth checking out.
From the list of albums on their web site they seem to be pretty prolific
This track is taken from the 2008 album Learn About It

T Bird & the Breaks - Blackberry Brandy

Tuesday 30 July 2013

Bloodshot Tuesday 3


This week's featured artists hail from Kansas City , Missouri and play  wonderful drink soaked and misery tinged honky tonk country music.
One reviewer accurately describes them as being in the beers and tears vein of classic country.
They are the aptly named Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys and this song is from their 2002 album Your Favorite Fool (BS094)

Rex is known to his mom and pop as Scott and the Misery Boys are J.B. Morris, Solomon Hofer, Blackjack Snow (superb name!)and T.C. Dobbs (not Tyrone from Coronation Street, I suspect)
The album is produced by Pate Anderson of Dwight Yoakam fame
A band that does what it says on the tin

Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys - You've Got Some Cheating To Do

Monday 29 July 2013

Saints Preserve Us


I've driven through Saint Etienne the French city between Lyon and Toulouse.
From memory it was quite industrial and not particularly picturesque. Indeed it is the home of the French bicycle making industry.
The local football team AS Saint-Etienne graced Glasgow's Hampden Park in the European Cup Final in 1976 losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich
The Croyden band of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs also go by the same moniker (a more sexy and sophisticated name than Croydon - I'm sure you'll agree) and produce some not unpleasant indie/dance tunes which have a nice summer feel to them
Too Yong to Die -Singles 1990-1995 purchased Saturday - Chest, Heart and Stroke

Saint Etienne - Only love Can Break Your Heart

Saint Etienne - You're In a Bad Way

Sunday 28 July 2013

Pat and Lolly


Pat and Lolly Vegas were the mainstays of the Native American/Mexican American rock group Redbone who had hits with Come and Get Your love and The Witch Queen of New Orleans.
More importantly, however, they were the backing band for Jim Ford on Harlan County -see yesterday's post.

The sleevenotes for Harlan County have a picture of the cover of Pat and Lolly Vegas at the Haunted House (above) from 1966 and and on the strength of this , not surprisingly , it was high up on my wish list for many years.
Thanks to the power of the Internet I eventually obtained a copy on CD and frankly it was a wee bit of a disappointment.
It is a mixture of bog standard covers of songs such as In The Midnight Hour, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and a few of their own compositions a couple of which feature here.
Still it's got a fantastic cover!

Pat and Lolly Vegas - Keep Me Up Tight

Pat and Lolly Vegas - Any Old Time

Saturday 27 July 2013

Harlan County


Jim Ford's song Harlan County shot to relative prominence when championed by Andy Kershaw and even appearing on Kershaw's compilation album "Great Moments in Vinyl History"
An interesting and strange character is our Mr Ford
He was kicking around in the 60's and 70's writing and performing country, pop and R&B.
His only album Harlan County was published in 1969 re-released by Demon in 1997
When Nick Lowe was in Brinsley Schwarz in the early 70's they were roped in to back Ford on a proposed follow up to Harlan County
"We spent 3 days trying to play with Jim " says Lowe "but frankly we weren't good enough"
He wrote a couple of songs for Bobby Womack including Happy Hippie
Mr Ford had a penchant for narcotic substances as the second song pretty much alludes to and was found dead in his trailer home by the Mendocino County Sheriff's department on November 18th 2007
If you do not already own Harlan County you should rectify that at the earliest opportunity.


Jim Ford - Harlan County

Jim Ford - Dr Handy's Dandy Candy

Friday 26 July 2013

The Law of Diminishing Returns


Darlene Love born on 26th July 1938

Mick Jagger born on 26th July 1943

Roger Taylor from Queen born on 26th July 1949

Gerry Cherone from Boston, Terri Nunn from Berlin AND Charity Chic born on 26th July 1961

The Law of Diminishing Returns!

Thursday 25 July 2013

Lawyers, Guns and Money



The late, great Warren Zevon may well have been writing about the Vinyl Villian -Blogger take note

Zevon was a terrific songwriter with such songs as Werewolves of London , Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and of course the mighty Carmelita.
However, perhaps his most powerful piece of work was his album The Wind recorded shortly before his premature death at the age of 56
I defy anyone to listen to this and not get a lump in their throat from Knocking on Heaven's Door and in particular Keep Me in Your Heart.

What we need JC is Lawyers, Guns and Money!

Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Hang on in There

Sad and disappointing news that Blogger have pulled the Vinyl Villian resulting in many years work and a service to many musicians  and music fans being lost.
However you won't be surprised to note that JC is made of stern stuff and like a Weeble has immediately bounced back with The (new) Vinyl Villian
Spread the word
Also vent your spleen by adding to the comments on Drew's Blog

Johnny Bristol - Hang On In There Baby

Punk Lady


In a previous life media luvvie Lauren Laverne was the lead singer with Sunderland retro punk band Kenickie with a penchant for PVC.
The were named after one of the Pink Ladies from Grease
They were on the go from 1994 to 1998 releasing two album's At the Club in 1997 and Get In in 1998.
I saw them at King Tuts on Friday 29th May 1998 (£6 in advance) shortly before their demise.
This is their biggest hit peaking at 24 in the UK chart. I've had the single for ages but only acquired At the Club from a charity shop at the weekend.
The album is a bit shouty for me which I suspect is an age thing!
This song remains good though.
Laverne went on to TV and radio fame on BBC2's Culture Show, her own show on BBC6 Music and Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live as well as being one of the Glastonbury stalwards.

Kenickie - In Your Car

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Bloodshot Tuesday 2


This week's offering is from one of the earlier Bloodshot bands - Grievous Angels from their 1998 album Miles on the Rail (BS038)


I don't have a huge amount of info about them
They were from Tempe, Arizona and consisted of Earl C Whitehead, Daniel Henzerling, Jon Rauhouse (of whom more later), Mickey Ferrell and Jesus H Navarro.
Obviously they are named after the superb Gram Parsons album of the same name.
The track posted here is a Tom Waits cover - but don't let that put you of.
As the Bloodshot website notes they split up on 2000 due to overall lack of interest on the part of the music buying public. Yet Sting continues to make a living - there is no justice.
Indeed

Grievous Angels - Cold Cold Ground

Monday 22 July 2013

Open Wide



About a year or so ago I was chatting to my pal Magoo about music as we were substituting for Big Pete as the Ally Arms Quizmaster(s).
He told me that he was getting into mellower folk music (a sure sign of old age!) and one of the artists he mentioned was Kieran Docherty.
A few months latter I came across Expectations an album from his in a charity shop in St Andrews and texted Magoo for his views as to whether I should purchase it (I always like a second opinion when splashing out vast sums like a couple of quid!). He recommended that I buy it and I duly did and it's pretty good.
His only other album as far as I am aware is 2008's Hands Up If You've Had Enough.
He is also worth seeing live allegedly
From what Magoo said and from the limited info I can find out about him I think he may well be a dentist as well as a singer hence the post title.

Kieran Docherty - Pleasing You

Kieran Docherty - She's The River

Sunday 21 July 2013

Long Hot Summer

         
                                                       Rest and Be Thankful

Another glorious summer day - long may it continue.
Mrs CC and I had a rather pleasant road trip today through the West of Scotland.
We headed up Loch Lomond side, over the Rest and Be Thankful and stopped off at Cairndow on the shores of Loch Fyne for a well earned drink.
Thereafter we drove over to Tyndrum for a bite to eat.
Beautiful weather and absolutely stunning scenery.
The two songs posted featured in our roadtrip sountrack.
Both were issued in 1973 and therefore will have or probably will feature on the brilliant 40 Year Itch (formerly 1001 Songs) blog
Can't see too many people in 40 years time enjoying the bulk of the mainstream music being produced today .

The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze

Little Feat - Dixie Chicken

Saturday 20 July 2013

Summerteeth



Lately on my trips to the library I have been reading the Harry Hole detective series by the Norwegian author Jo Nesbo.
His only book not to feature Harry Hole, the book Headhunters is also well worth a visit.
He is an interesting character Mr Nesbo - in addition to being a  multi-million selling author he is a former professional footballer with Molde and is the main vocalist and songwriter for Norwegian band Di Derre.
Given his interest in music references to bands often appear in his novels.
In his latest novel , Phantom, which I am currently reading there are references to the album Summerteeth by Wilco.
I was a big fan of Wilco's earlier stuff - AM,Being There, Summerteeth and the Mermaid Avenue Woody Guthrie albums with Billy Bragg.
I was a fan of Jeff Tweedy when he was in Uncle Tupelo the seminal Americana ban with Jay Ferrar who went on to form Son Volt.
However, Wilco and I gradually went our separate ways following Yankee Hotel Foxtrot when in the words of one critic they became "America's Radiohead"
Jeff Tweedy has gone on to produce Mavis Staples amongst others and his  studio in Chicago has been used by the likes of Gillian Welch (both of whom are on the long list to feature on CCM)
In keeping with the book, these tracks are taken from Summerteeth

Wilco - She's a Jar

Wilco - A Shot in the Arm

Wilco - Via Chicago

Friday 19 July 2013

Cliffhanger



This splendid weather we are currently having in the UK calls for a touch of reggae
It was a toss up between the great Jimmy Cliff  or Toots and the Maytals both of whom are still going strong.
Undoubtedly the biggest and most difficult decision I've had to make all day but after much soul searching I've opted for Jimmy safe in the knowledge that Toots will feature at a later date.
I think Jimmy is slightly more summery.
There is not much more to say about Jimmy that hasn't already been said save to note that he is not in fact a Rasta but rather has a "universal outlook on life" and does not align himself to any particular movement or religion.
A sound philosophy if you ask me.

Jimmy Cliff - Better Days are Coming

Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want

Thursday 18 July 2013

Build a Bridge


Round about 2005 I saw the Redwalls supporting someone at King Tuts, possibly the Raveonettes.
Whoever it was they pretty much blew the main act away and I wasted no time in acquiring their album De Nova.
The main men appear to have been the Baren Brothers - Justin and Logan.
I kept one eye on their career which started promisingly with them supporting Oasis (and again I suspect bettering them) but it seems to have petered out fairly quickly and the classic musical differences quickly appeared leading to the band splitting.
Apologies if a different name appears for this track on your system.
I've got a promo copy and it could be that the track list was subsequently changed
This is Build a Bridge as opposed to Thank You

The Redwalls - Build a Bridge

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Cranberry Juice


Dolores O'Riordan is perhaps the second most famous Irish short haired female singer whose name starts with an O  after Sinead O'Connor and  is probably slightly more well known than her namesake former Pogue and Mrs Costello Cait
All of which reminds me of the time many years ago when we were in Dublin for the football ( 15th October 1986 Landsdowne Road European Championship Qualifier Ireland 0 Scotland 0) when we jumped into a taxi and one of my pals said to the driver "I can't remember the name of the pub but it begins with an O" to which the driver replied "that narrows it down to half the fecking pubs in Dublin"!
I've had the single of Linger for many a year but only recently acquired the album Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can't we? a few months back from a charity shop

The Cranberries - Linger

The Cranberries - Pretty

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Bloodshot Tuesday


Welcome to my new  series Bloodshot Tuesday
For the foreseeable future I will bore you rigid every Tuesday wittering on about songs and artists from Chicago's Bloodshot Records - my favourite record label of all time and the home of insurgent country music since 1994.



First to feature is Kelly Hogan, the Voice, who has previously featured on CCM here
Not only did she record a couple of albums for Bloodshot, she also worked for a number of years as their publicist.
This is a cover of a Magnetic Fields  song from 2000's Kelly Hogan & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts - Beneath the Country Underdog (BS 062) album.
Like Freedy Johnston this  has appeared on just about every compilation I have made over the years.

Top drawer

Kelly Hogan - Papa Was a Rodeo

Monday 15 July 2013

African Football Theme Night



The Kaiser Chiefs hail from Leeds but took their name from the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs the first club of ex Leeds United legend Lucas Radebe.
This is one of the many hits from their 2005 album Employment available in most good charity shops.
It is also a favourite of football fans when seeing a slightly portly player or opposing fan leading to the chant " I predict a diet!"
More importantly for the purposes of this post it serves as the preamble for the main event - a trip slightly further north up the continent to Zimbabwe and  a truly magnificent 13 minute epic from the Real Sounds of Africa.
Sticking to the football theme, I have a vivid memory of listening to this in the Tuscan hills whilst in Italy for the 1990 World Cup driving through the village we were staying in and further up the mountain so that we could listen to it in its entirity.
Still stunning after all these years

Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict a Riot

Real Sounds of Africa - Dynamos vs Tornados

Sunday 14 July 2013

Freedy



This pleasant weather has made my mind turn to Freedy Johnston's 1992 album Can You Fly  which I consider to have a summer feel to it
He's recorded a few albums since but this is the one I keep returning to- indeed he sold some of his family farmland to finance it's recording
First up is possibly the only song ever recorded about a Mortician's Daughter.
The second post is the last song on the album We Will Shine which featured on just about every compilation tape I compiled in the late 90s/early 00's

Get your red dress on , we'll go out tonight ..........
Top stuff -they very nearly named a chocolate bar after him!



Saturday 13 July 2013

Sinner's Prayer



Whilst browsing through my Americana compilation section the other day I stumbled across Sinner's Prayer - A collection of past and present classic sounds from Rounder Records
Founded in 1970 they claim to be America's premier independent record label.
They have certainly been at the forefront of American "roots" music over the years with probably only Hightone running them close.
This compilation gives a good idea of their range of genres including Americana, soul, blues, bluegrass , Cajun and folk
Given my past history you won't be entirely surprised to note that the two songs featured here are from Americana and Soul artists although anything on the Rounder label is well worth checking out.

The Steeldrivers - If It Hadn't Been For Love

Irma Thomas - Another Man Gone Wrong

Friday 12 July 2013

Cohn Man



Marc Cohn is famous for one song - Walking in Memphis - from his eponymous 1991 debut album.
It was a minor hit at the time but later became huge when it was subsequently murdered by Cher.
Indeed the picture above shows Mr Cohn's reaction when he first heard her version.
I got the album in a huge barn of a charity shop/second hand emporium in Castle Douglas.
It is pretty bland and I've also included the only other single from the album by way of proof.
He seems to have produced a number of other albums over the years but they don't appear to have troubled the charts.
I suppose he can live out a comfortable life on the royalties of that song
A slightly out of the ordinary fact from my extensive research (ie Wikipedia) he was shot in the head during an attempted car jack in 2005 with the bullet striking him on the temple but not penetrating the skull

Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis

Marc Cohn - Silver Thunderbird

Thursday 11 July 2013

The Resurrection

He's back! - with thanks to Big Graeme, Technical Guru.
Apparently I had a corrupt profile a diagnosis that I suspect some of you good people will concur with

Anyway back to the music
To celebrate I am going to subject you to some Scottish female punk rock!


Introducing the Hedrons - Soup, Gill, Rosie and Tippi and two of their three singles from their only album 2006's One More Won't Kill Us on Measured Records
First up is the fabulous Be My Friend followed by Heatseeker
I've a promotional copy of the CD which is hopefully wort a few quid not that I would sell it - that would be illegal.
I believe that Tippi the singer when on to have a solo career of sorts

The Hedrons - Be My Friend

The Hedrons - Heatseeker

Hope you enjoy these tracks - some of you are probably wishing I was still off air!

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Severe Technical Malfunction




I am having fairly major technical problems
I have lost Internet explorer, all my music downloads and indeed all other documents.
Can't get into i-tunes or rip any CDs -so I am pretty much gubbed
Have also lost my @ function (having to cut and paste it!)

Looks like something pretty nasty has got into my system
Suspect I may be off air for a wee while until such times as I  (hopefully) get this resolved

Happy days

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Rebel Yell



Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel are best known for the 1975 number 1 single Make Me Smile (Come up and See Me) as opposed to Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile) as most people think it was called.
Anyway I'm not going to post that as everyone knows it but will go for two of their lesser but still very good hits.
Steve Harley went on to have a fairly unspectacular solo career and presented the Sounds of the 70's on Radio 2
He was also supposed to play the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera but was pipped at the post by Michael Crawford - oh the ignominy of it!
I've  got the double live LP Face to Face from 1977 which I got in a record library sale for 50p
It is perhaps no coincidence that 1977 was the start of  the punk era.

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Judy Teen

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Mr Soft

Monday 8 July 2013

New Mexican Monday



Don't panic - this is a single post as opposed to a series!
The only song I have about New Mexico, to my knowledge, is from Dean Owens on his 2001 record The Droma Tapes which I won a signed copy of in a Radio Scotland competition.

Prior to going solo Deano was the lead singer of the Felsons  an Edinburgh band who had a 1996 album One Step Ahead of the Posse, a 1997 mini-album Lasso the Moon and a 1999 album Glad
I saw them live on numerous occasions often as a support act at King Tuts.
Like Whiteout how they never made the break is a mystery to me.
The same applies to Dean's solo career,
The Droma Tapes recorded in a cottage on Loch Droma in the Scottish Highlands was his debut solo album followed by  by My Town, Whisky Hearts, Cash Back -Songs I learnt from Johnny and New York Hummingbird.
Some splendid Scottish Americana if that makes sense.
If you haven't heard or seen him it is well worth making the effort.
A top bloke.
Altogether now  - Deano!


PS -New Mexican weather in Glasgow today! Scorchio


Dean Owens - New Mexico

Sunday 7 July 2013

A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados


For some strange reason this Jim White song has been floating about my head for the last few days.
Coming from the West of Scotland the nearest I've ever got to a tornado is watching The Wizard of Oz!
I believe that there are adrenalin junkies out there who consider chasing tornadoes a sport

They obviously can be pretty serious beasts as the recent incident in Oklahoma shows and the DBTs point out.
Two alternative spelling of the plural here -my spell checker appears to prefer the one with an e

Jim White -A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados

Drive-By Truckers - Tornadoes

Friday 5 July 2013

Soul of America



A few weeks ago on their regular Friday night music slot BBC4 showed the excellent documentary Soul of America charting the life story of Charles Bradley and the launch of his first album on Daptone "No Time for Dreaming" in 2011.
It is a heartening story of someone escaping from abject poverty getting into music as a James Brown impersonator called Black Velvet and  then recording an album on Daptone to international acclaim.
Inspired by this programme I immediately set about acquiring his recently released album "Victim of Love" and it is an absolute cracker.
You are only getting the title track as a taster because after listening to this I know you WILL rush out and purchase your own copy and also its predecessor helping to ensure that Charles  continues to enjoy the twilight career he so richly deserves.

Charles Bradley - Victim of Love

Thursday 4 July 2013

The Million Dollar Missing Link



Three of the artists who were part of the Million Dollar Quartet recording session at Sun Record Studios in Memphis on December 4th 1956 have previously featured on CCM
First up was Johnny Cash here  followed by Carl Perkins here and finally Jerry Lee Lewis here

The missing link and the boy on piano is a certain Elvis Aaron Presley.
My extensive research tells me  that he went on to have a moderately successful career and that he was partial to the occasional cheeseburger

Elvis Presley - Blue Moon of Kentucky

The Million Dollar Quartet - Just a Little Talk with Jesus

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Definitely Not Paisley Buddies


Tales from my trip to Dunoon - part 2 - the railway journey.
On the way down the ticket collector told us that someone had been held up at knifepoint on the previous train going up from Gourock to Glasgow -at 11am!
On the way back our train stopped for a while at Port Glasgow because someone had thrown something at it smashing a window.
That's Inverclyde for you!
The main town in Inverclyde is Greenock and it is the Renfrewshire rival of Paisley - particularly in football matches between Morton and St Mirren.
So much so that when Morton come to Paisley the tannoy announcer has been known to play Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves!
To my knowledge I've only got music by one band from Greenock - Whiteout and jolly good they were too.
Here is Starr Club the 1994 single on Silvertone and the fabulous Jackie's Racing from the 1995 album Bite It.
They sound not too dissimilar to Teenage Fanclub and it remains a mystery to me how some bands make it and some don't
I suppose that is one of the thing's that makes music so interesting.
So let's hear it for Andrew Caldwell, Paul Carroll, Eric Lindsay and Stuart Smith
Jingly jangly pop music!

Whiteout -Starr Club

Whiteout -Jackie's Racing

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Doon the Watter to Dunoon


We went "doon the watter" to Dunoon on Saturday -but it was shut!
Dunoon sits on the Cowal Peninsula but can be accessed by ferry from Gourock
Up to the 60's it was a popular seaside destination for Glasgow holiday makers
Then the Americans based their Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Holy Loch from the 60's to the early 90s.
It is now a desperate place and holds the dubious honour with Campbeltown of being named the most vulnerable rural places in Scotland.
As you would expect plenty of Charity shops but no decent CDs
However I did pick up Forever Mod for 3 quid in Morrisons - 48 tracks of Ska, Soul, Blues and Jazz
Sod all to do with Mods as far as I can see but some excellent stuff from the likes of the recently departed Bobby "Blue" Bland, Arthur Alexander,Dion, little Eva, Etta James etc
Put me in mind of Mark Lamaar's Shake, Rattle and Roll
This song features - I had never heard the original and thought it was a Neil Young song.
Has to be said Neil and Crazy Horse give it a wee bit more welly than Don & Dewey

Don & Dewey - Farmer John

Neil Young & Crazy House - Farmer John

Monday 1 July 2013

Mexican Monday 12


Y ahora, el final está cerca y entonces enfrento el telón final

 as both Frank Sinatra and Sid Vicious sang although thankfully not together.

Here is  the final installment of Mexican Monday - a song suggested by George which started off the series (he's to blame!) It may well be an anti-climax to many!


Confession time - I purchased a CD with this on for 99p with the sole intention of featuring this track in this series.
I haven't played the CD in it's entirety and I suspect I never will.

It's been fun over the last 12 weeks  (and thanks for the nice comments) and for those who like lists (and who doesn't?) here are the artists who have featured:

MM1 -Wall of Voodoo
MM2 - Texas Tornados
MM3 - Mike Heron
MM4 - Del Castillo
MM5 - Cake
MM6 - Chieftains
MM7 - Alejandro Escovedo
MM8 - Tish Hinajosa
MM9 - Calexico
MM10 -Patricia Vonne /Alejandro Escovedo
MM11 -Flaco Jiminez
MM12 - Roger Whittaker

Plus an honorary mention for Jim Reeves whose Mexican Joe was featured prior to this series.

Time to think of another series .....


Roger Whittaker - Mexican Whistler