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Wednesday 31 August 2016

Love Must Be Tough


Back in  time again today to 2008 and we are off to Ireland to visit Eleanor McEvoy and partake of  her seventh studio album Love Must be Tough a mixture of covers and self penned selections.

Unlike most folk I didn't first discover her via Only A Woman's Heart. No, I first stumble across her when her quite tremendous cover of Mother's Little Helper popped up on a blog somewhere.
I've featured it before but it is so good that I am going to feature it again.
You are also getting the title track which she wrote with Johnny Rivers and her take on Butch Hancock's He Never Spoke Spanish to Me.
I love the way that her Irish accent occasionally makes an appearance


Eleanor McEvoy - Mother's Little Helper

Eleanor McEvoy - Love Must Be Tough

Eleanor McEvoy -He Never Spoke Spanish To Me

Tuesday 30 August 2016

Lydia The Tattooed Lady



More new music today - what the Dickens is going on at CCM!
Lydia Loveless has just released her 4th album Real on the mighty Bloodshot record label out of Chicago

I am providing a download of one of the tracks something I would not normally do for a just released record. However our friends at Noisetrade have made two songs from the album available together with three older tracks including the recently featured Steve Earle.
So from the new album here is Really Wanna See You Again together with Boy Crazy the title track from her 2013 EP.

Lydia Loveless - Really Wanna See You Again

Lydia Loveless Boy Crazy

And here are The Muppets



Monday 29 August 2016

Assossamagh





I rarely listen to the radio of an evening these days.
However last Monday I caught a snippet of Vic Galloway's Music Review on Radio Scotland
As part of the show he was reviewing three singles with Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai and a reviewer called Graeme Virtue
I missed the first two which were Wanted to Want it To by C Duncan and Conceptual Romance by Jenny Hval.
I did however catch the  third song which completely blew me away
How good is this?



Needless to say it was the pick of the bunch scoring 9/10 from all three of them.
The boy from Mogwai said he could sit and listen to this on a loop all day and he's not wrong there

By way of further research a search engine and a couple of clicks of the mouse tell me that Imarhan are a desert blues band from Southern Algeria who share a sound with Tinariwen - indeed their main man Sadam has a cousin in that band.
They have an album out on City Slang the picture above being the cover
Further exploration is clearly required

Sunday 28 August 2016

Some Sunday Funky Soul


Most of you will be familiar with  the song War ( the one where you shout - What is it Good For - Absolutely Nothing) either via the Edwin Starr original or the Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover.

It has featured before and if asked to come up with any other Edwin Starr songs I would have probably struggled until a charity shop acquisition of The Essential Collection.
I then realised that I was familiar with Contact but I couldn't have told you that Edwin had sung it.
A number of pleasant funky numbers on the Collection.

I was also unaware that latterly he was more famous in Britain than America and that he made his home here in Bramcote in Nottinghamshire where he died in 2003 aged 61.

Edwin Starr - Contact

Edwin Starr - Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On

Saturday 27 August 2016

Namechecked - Elton John



And now I'm reminded
By feelings so strong
Of Bernie Taupin's lyric
To Sir Elton's song
Can you say the hardest word

This series has become a but of a struggle a lot earlier than I thought it would partly because I have exhausted my initial list and also because there are well over a dozen songs which could have featured in this series but have already graced these pages.
Also I haven't had the time or the  inclination to sit down properly  and come up with some more thoughts.
So I am at a stage when I come across a namecheck  whilst listening to a song and I have a song by the artist it is going on.
S-O-R-R-Y is a song from The Proclaimers 2007 album Life With You which  I like to think is about Tony Blair
This wouldn't necessarily have been my first choice for an Elton John song but Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting and Benny and the Jets were not at my disposal

The Proclaimers - S-O-R-R-Y

Elton John -Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Friday 26 August 2016

Vintage Country Vinyl - Jackson Browne


The vintage vintage seam has pretty much been mined I'm afraid.
We are now into country rock territory albeit the The Pretender the fourth album by Jackson Browne is actually 40 years old this year
This album was never earmarked for this series primarily because I had totally forgotten that I had it.
It was not until it was plucked from the shelves last weekend as a random selection that it made the list.

Typical Laurel Canyon soft country rock which is alright in relatively small doses. I must admit that I prefer the follow up album Running on Empty probably because I have played it more often
Fellow Laurel Canyon luminaries Don Henley and John David Souther provide the harmonies on the first track  with David Crosby  and Graham Nash doing the honours on the latter

Jackson Browne - The Only Child

Jackson Browne - The Pretender

Thursday 25 August 2016

American Music Club


American Music Club were one of those bands often mention in dispatches in the places and pages where I dabbled.
So I thought I should make it my business to acquire some of their music to see what all the fuss was about.
1991's Everclear seemed to  be the place to start given that Rolling Stone named it as one of the top 5 albums of 1991 and named their notoriously stroppy singer Mark Eitzel as their songwriter of the year.

I was distinctly underwhelmed on the first listen and indeed on the admittedly pretty rare subsequent listens.
I have a Mark Eitzel solo album which falls into the same category.
There well be some of you out there who see things differently

American Music Club - Sick of Food

American Music Club - What The Pillar of Salt Said

Wednesday 24 August 2016

Babes Never Die


Honeyblood have a new album Babes Never Die due for release on 4th November on FatCat Records and on green vinyl to boot.
To whet your appetites here is the first single from the album entitled Ready For The Magic






Their first album featuring Cat Myres as opposed to Shona McVicar on drums backing up the great Stina Tweeddale.

An excuse, as if an excuse was needed, to feature one of the many fabulous songs from the previous album.

Honeyblood - Bud


Tuesday 23 August 2016

Stuck on Love


Back to the mellow stuff today with this week's slice of Americana courtesy of British Americana band The Arlenes consisting of husband and wife Big Steve and Stephanie Arlene
I have long been an admirer of the song Lonely Won't Leave me Alone which I first encountered on a Loose compilation.
I recently got round to picking up the 2002 album Stuck on Love from whence it came for literally a few pennies plus postage.
I was surprised that the majority of the lead vocals on the album are from Big Steve when Stephanie clearly has a far better voice.
And here's the proof

The Arlenes -Everybody's Mind Gets Broke Sometimes

The Arlenes - Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone

Monday 22 August 2016

The Rise and Fall of The Amazing Snakeheads


The Amazing Snakeheads were a Glasgow band who like many a good band shone briefly and brightly
I'll let The Skinny tell their tale so I don't have to.

They only released the one album 2014's Amphetamine Ballads on the Domino label and what a splendid racket it is.
Listening to the songs and the raw energy it is easy to understand why they imploded so quickly.
The bastard grandweans of Alex Harvey.
Music with attitude.

The Amazing Snakeheads -Nighttime

The Amazing Snakeheads - Here it Comes Again

Sunday 21 August 2016

Some Sunday Covered Soul



Long suffering readers will be familiar with my by now regular moaning around the lack of material and indeed inspiration remaining for the Sunday Soul series.
So when thinking  about what to post this week it was a bit of a godsend to see that among the bonus tracks on the recently posted Barton Hollow was a cover of the Michael Jackson classic Billie Jean.
Some covers faithfully mimic the original others are totally different. Not surprisingly this one falls into the latter category.
Which do you prefer?

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

The Civil Wars - Billie Jean

Saturday 20 August 2016

Namechecked - Jon Dee Graham


Jon Dee Graham, Jon Dee Graham
Never been to Birmingham

Jon Dee Graham is just one of a series of Austin musicians namechecked on Name Droppin' on Ray Wylie Hubbard's 2003 album on Rounder records Growl. Surely a song written with this series in mind.
Mary Gauthier is the other artist on the list that I have stuff from but she has featured a couple of times before.
I am assuming that Ray Wylie is referring to the Alabama Birmingham as opposed to the English West Midlands Birmingham.
Having said that if he hasn't been to the former it is pretty likely that he has never been to the latter.
From Hooray From the Moon  Jon Dee's third album from 2001 on New West here is The Restraining Order Song probably the only one in my collection on that particular subject.

These two artists have reminded me of a series I have been meaning to feature and which will follow soon - artists with three names.





Friday 19 August 2016

Vintage Country Vinyl - Gary Stewart


This series is going to limp along for a couple more weeks. Don't blame me blame Walter who has demanded that I continue
This week Gary Stewart of She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles) fame which alas is not on the featured album 1977's Your Place or Mine
Another candidate for Bad Record Covers I feel.

Described by Time as the king of honky tonk he lived the country lifestyle and was rather fond of a drink and indeed drugs. Drink is the subject matter of many of his songs including one featured below.
He died in 2003 aged 59 of self inflicted gunshots shortly after the death of his long time wife Mary Lou

More next week possibly

Gary Stewart - Drinking Again

Gary Stewart - Pretend I Never Happened


Thursday 18 August 2016

Teenage Fanclub Fanclub


With the release of their new single I'm in Love  bloggers favourites Teenage Fanclub have been all over our small corner of the blogosphere like a rash.
This had me reaching to the Teenage Fanclub section for a six track sampler which came free with the Scotland on Sunday in April or May 2005 in the run up to the release of Man- Made
The six tracks are as follows

1- Slow Fade - a preview of the track from Man-Made
2 - I Need Direction (alternative version) - a  2005 softer version of the track from Howdy!
3 - Please Stay - a new song recorded in March 2005 in Hamilton
4 - The World 'll Be Ok (alternative version) - recorded in Busby in April 2005
5 - I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren as opposed to Hank Williams- recorded in 1991 with Brendan O'Hare on drums - previously unreleased
6 - Same Place , Different Place- previously issued by  Twisted Nerve on a limited edition 7" in 2003

Two featured today but if you want all six, and I suspect many of you will, just give me a shout.

Teenage Fanclub - Please Stay

Teenage Fanclub -The World'll Be OK (alternative version)

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Barton Hollow


A last minute change of plan today.
Given the current unseasonally sunny Scottish weather now that the schools are back I thought I would keep the mellow vibe going for a wee while longer.
Who better then to feature than The Civil Wars with a couple of tracks from their 2011 debut album Barton Hollow which I recently picked up in a charity shop in Troon
The duo couple of Joy Williams and John Paul White appeared on the scene to much hype and critical acclaim with Barton Hollow winning best folk album and best country duo/group performance at the 2012 Grammys.
There was a second album The Civil Wars in 2013 before romantic differences as opposed to musical differences brought the partnership to an end.

Musically sound with wonderful harmonies. However it is slightly too polished for my tastes. A little bit more rough round the edges and it would be right up my street.

The Civil Wars - 20 Years

The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner


Guess who's Coming to Dinner
Michael Rose, Puma Jones and Duckie Simpson that's who. Oh, and maybe producers Sly and Robbie thrown in for good measure
Liberation - The Island Anthology is a 2cd compilation of the music of Black Uhuru when they were at their absolute peak between 1979 and 1983 with albums such as Sinsemilla, Red , Chill Out and Anthem.
Picked up for a quid - an absolute steal.
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - the b-side of the 12 inch single  Sinsemilla from 1980 followed by Youth of Eglington off Red from 1981
Michael Rose left to pursue a solo career and sadly Sandra Puma Jones died of cancer in 1990 aged just 36.
Derrick Duckie Simpson is still keeping the flame burning

Black Uhuru - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Black Uhuru - Youth of Eglington

Monday 15 August 2016

Gently Does It







Rachel Sermanni the very talented folk musician from Carrbridge in Strathspey has a gorgeous new song available on Bandcamp called Gently for a very reasonable two quid which you should make it your business to acquire.





Whilst taking this opportunity to promote this it is also an opportunity to post a song from her 2015 album Tied to the Moon released by Middle of Nowhere Recordings
A birthday purchase and one that is currently on heavy rotation.
A true talent.


Rachel Sermanni - Ferryman

Sunday 14 August 2016

Some Sunday Jazz Funk Soul


Is it soul? Is it funk? Is it Acid Jazz? Is it Jazz Funk?
It is 25p well spent that's what it is!
A couple of tracks from Do Your Own Thing from the very recently purchased 1990 album by The James Taylor Quartet.
There may be better songs on the second side but I haven't got that far yet. These two are not bad though
Somewhat strangely on the album cover j.t.q. as they are referred to only consists of three members
James Taylor (fairly obviously) on Hammond Organ, David Taylor (presumably his brother) on guitar and John Willmott (no relation as far as I am aware) on saxophone.
They are no Imagination as I am sure George will agree


James Taylor Quartet - Love The Life

James Taylor Quartet - J.T.Q. Theme

Saturday 13 August 2016

Namechecked - Johnny Rotten


The king is gone but he's not forgotten
This is  the story of Johnny Rotten

Johnny Rotten, or to give him his Sunday name John Lydon, is namechecked on not one but two songs on Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps
I couldn't decide which one to feature so being a generous person I thought I would give you both.
Also I was in a quandary as to whether to play the Sex Pistols or Public Image Ltd.
Good though the Pistols were this is possibly his best six minutes.
And remember Anger is an Energy
More namechecking next week.



Friday 12 August 2016

Vintage Country Vinyl - Rosanne Cash


We step forward slightly in time this week to the 1980's when shoulders were big, hair was big but Country music was generally poor. Roseanne Cash ticked all three boxes.
Retrospective 1979-1989 covers her five albums from this period and is by and large pretty poor fayre. The songs are produced by her then husband Rodney Crowell and quite frankly it shows.They are pretty indicative of what was going on in Country music at that time until it was rescued by the likes of Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams and the Alternative Country movement.
It's not as though she is a bad singer. I have her 2006 album Black Cadillac and 2009's The List which are both terrific albums.
She has also written a book Composed: A Memoir which is an interesting read

Quality control dictates that this series has pretty much run it's course although I may eke out another couple of weeks yet. We'll see

Rosanne Cash - My Baby Thinks He's a Train

Rosanne Cash -I Wonder

Thursday 11 August 2016

Off Windmill


Thursday already and you may well have been wondering what has happened to this week's slice of Americana.
Well wonder no more.
The recent featuring of Patsy Cline by The Guthries in the Namechecked series had me  giving the album from whence it came Off Windmill a listen
An album from 2000 and one I have signed by the band after seeing them at the old Stereo in Glasgow's Kelvinhaugh Street
From Halifax, Nova Scotia the band consisted of siblings Gabriel and Ruth Minnikin and Dale and Brian Murray along with Matt Mays and Serge Samson.
Ruth Milliken is still going strong on the Canadian folk circuit

The Guthries - Better Part of an Hour

The Guthries - Sooner or Later

Wednesday 10 August 2016

Eve's Volcano


The third and final recently acquired 12 incher is from the old Arch Druid himself Julian H Cope with Eve's Volcano (Covered in Sin) the third and final single from his 1987 album Saint Julian which peaked at number 41 in the UK singles chart. Saint Julian on the other hand was his most successful solo album reaching the dizzying heights of number 11 and being the only solo album to earn him a silver disc (The Teardrop Explodes got one for Wilder)
The other two singles from the album were the more successful World Shut Your Mouth and Trampolene.
The other track that I am subjecting you too is a typical Copey  number Almost Beautiful Child (I & II) which contains the proverbial bells and whistles.

Julian Cope - Eve's Volcano (Covered in Sin)

Julian Cope - Almost Beautiful Child (I & II)

Tuesday 9 August 2016

Goodbye Mr MacKenzie


Another of the 12 inch purchases was Goodbye Mr MacKenzie by the band of the same name quite possibly the biggest band ever to have come out of Bathgate.
Nowadays they are best known for having Shirley Manson who went on to play with Garbage on keyboards.
Martin Metcalfe was the singer with Big John Duncan of Exploited fame on guitar
They actually put out about about half a dozen albums over the years and are probably best known for this song, Candlestick Park and The Ratler which was the nearest they came to having a hit
The two b-sides are much of a muchness and nothing special and I have opted to include Green Turns Red.
Turns out as is sometimes the case that there was already on the shelves. However this one is in a gatefold sleeve and in better condition so the other one will get dispatched.


Goodbye Mr MacKenzie - Goodbye Mr MacKenzie

Goodbye Mr MacKenzie -Green Turns Red

Monday 8 August 2016

Turning The Town Red


For my birthday Mrs CC very kindly and very thoughtfully got me a portable turntable.
So the muso room now presently houses not one, not two but three turntables!
A man can't have enough turntables.

The main purpose of the recent foray to the Oxfam music shop which I referred to last week was to stock up on vinyl.
Meagre pickings I'm afraid but I came away with three 12 inch singles.
First up is I Wanna Be Adored by Elvis and his Attractions.
A very good song and one that features on Goodbye Cruel World.
However the main reason for purchasing this one was to get my hands on Turning the Town Red a track I did not previously have.
UK readers with long memories and a love of trivia will remember this as the theme tune to Scully a TV series written by Alan Bleasdale where Elvis played  the brother of the title character

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - I Wanna be Loved

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Turning The Town Red

Sunday 7 August 2016

Some Sunday Soul


The other day I stumbled across an album I have never knowingly played. In The Heat of the Night by British soul group Imagination. I am reliably informed that it belonged to Mrs CC's sister.
Surely a candidate for the worse album covers category.

In the Heat of the Night - could it be a cover of the magnificent song by Ray Charles from the magnificent film which featured last week?
Sadly not.
Nope it is one of their own and one which reached number 22 in the UK singles chart in 1982.
You will all be more familiar with the other track Just an Illusion which reached number 2 criminally denied the top spot by the Goombay Dance Band and Seven Tears. There were some quality songs released in 1982.

Imagination - In The Heat of the Night

Imagination - Just an Illusion

Saturday 6 August 2016

Namechecked - Sister Rosetta Tharpe


Whilst doing my extensive "research" for my recent Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sunday Soul post I discovered that there were two songs on which she is namechecked.
When I say discovered, reminded would probably be more accurate as I have the two songs and indeed one has previously featured. I have also seen the two bands in question perform tremendous concerts at King Tuts.
The one that has featured before is Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit) from The Noisettes which features on their album What's the Time Mr Wolf? The Noisettes - a band who do what it says on the tin.
The other one (which allows the previously posted one to feature) is Sister Rosetta from Alabama 3's quite magnificent debut album Exile on Cold Harbour Lane.My copy is a promotional copy which I picked up in Vinyl Exchange in Manchester.
They were fantastic when they started out but lost their way and became complacent following the success of Woke Up This Morning which featured as the opening theme to The Sopranos

More namechecking next Saturday

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happen Every Day

The Noisettes - Sister Rosetta (Capture The Spirit)

Alabama 3 - Sister Rosetta

Friday 5 August 2016

Vintage Country Vinyl - George Jones


This week's featured artist is the one and only George Jones and his 1972 album on RCA Poor Man's Riches.
As the sleevenotes state The Jones Boy Has Done it Again! More Songs of misery and regret (ok I made up that second line)
The pick of the tracks is the great She Thinks I Still Care. However this has featured before so here are another two which I'm sure you will agree are pretty tasty.
Vocal accompaniment by The Jordonnaires in case you were wondering.
I've posted it before but here is a blow up of that natty green suit



More Vintage Country Vinyl next Friday

George Jones - Till I Hear From You

George Jones - Once A Day

Thursday 4 August 2016

Three For a Pound # 3


There is an argument that says that if I did not do this blog that I would not go out and sometimes buy semi random music.
I would counter this argument by stating that my life would be less complete.
An example being the purchase of Since I Left You by The Avalanches. It wasn't quite  what I suspected it to be at all and I was not that impressed on first listen. It has the potential however to become a grower.
The Avalanches are an Australian electropop band who dabble in plunderphonics which apparently means that they take one or more existing audio recordings and alter them in some way to make a new composition.
I was aware of Not So Manic Now by Dubstar but only relatively recently when it was featured at JC's place We'll let the great man do the talking. Mine is disc one
It's always good to feature The Proclaimers  and whilst King of the Road is probably not one of their better songs it is nevertheless entertaining to hear the Roger Miller classic being delivered in a broad Scottish accent

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Dubstar - Not So Manic Now

The Proclaimers - King of the Road

Wednesday 3 August 2016

Three For a Pound # 2


A recent foray to the Oxfam music shop on Glasgow's Victoria Road saw me come away with 6 CD singles from the three for a pound box.
So three lead tracks today and three tomorrow reserving the right to re-visit them in due course to share other tracks if need be.
Sadly I'm not as flush as the chap who left 46 quid cheaper but with two Fall vinyl albums under his arm (I Am Kurious Oranj and another whose name I did not get.)

So the first three of my meager pickings.
Sylvie by a band held in high regard by many a blogger Saint Etienne. From 2006 the first single from their fourth album  Good Humour and one which reached number 12 in the UK singles charts
Another hugely popular artist is the late great Kirsty MacColl. with 1995's Caroline from the Galore album which criminally only peaked at number 58
We are off to Wales for the final song in this first trio and the  cuddly Super Furry Animals with Hermann ♥'s Pauline the first single off their second album Radiator which reached number 26 in the UK singles chart in 1997.
Second installment tomorrow.

Saint Etienne - Sylvie

Kirsty MacColl - Caroline

Super Furry Animals - Herman Loves Pauline

Tuesday 2 August 2016

Take Your Pretty Hands Off My Heart


This weeks slice of Americana comes from Stewboss with their 2006 album Take Your Pretty Hands Off My Heart recorded on  their own label Stewboss Records out of Calabasas, California.
Recorded over 4 days in Chaos Studios, Escondido, California.
Band members - Greg Sarfaty, Frank Lee Drennen, Jano Janosik and Luke Storey with Cindy Wasserman on harmony vocals.
All the above from the sleevenotes
Supplementary information from the internet  suggests that this is the 5th of 6 albums they have put out. There is also a free download of a track from their 2011 album Pilgrims and Runaways.
Nothing further to report other than these are probably the best two songs on the album.


Stewboss - Cheap Candy Disguise

Stewboss - Swing That Axe

Monday 1 August 2016

Charlie Faye & the Fayettes


Some new music for you today seeing as how it is a new month.
Here are Charlie Faye & the Fayettes with a couple of tracks from A Modern Day 60s Girl Group on the Rise which is available to download on Noisetrade.
Some retro soul pop but with a modern feel.
They are from Austin, Texas and in case you are wondering the Fayettes are BettySoo and Akina Adderley 
Charlie I suspect is the one in the middle
Apparently they are Jewish, Korean and African-American and are all within half an inch of 5 foot 1 inch.
Good to know

Charlie Faye & the Fayettes - Carelessly

Charlie Faye & the Fayettes - Eastside