Tanya and Co

 

Following on from the last post featuring some of Tanya Donelly's solo work I thought it might be worth following it up with some of the bands in which she was part of 

Lets start with Throwing Muses an alternative rock band founded in Newport, Rhode Island in 1981. In this band she was joined by her step- sister Kristen Hersh who also graces the above picture. Tanya was a member until 1991 prior to the occasional guest appearances.

From 1989 to 1992 she was a member of The Breeders joining Kim Deal of Pixies fame and her sister Kelly Deal amongst others.

In 1991 she formed her own band Belly who were active until 1996 with the obligatory reunion from 2016.

To have been a member of one of these great bands is pretty impressive. To having been a member of all three is simply extraordinary.

Throwing Muses - Slippershell

The Breeders - Canonball

Belly - Gepetto

This should have appeared here yesterday but I was having technical problems

Lovesongs For Underdogs

 

2026 Charity Shop Purchases #17 - Tanya Donelly - Lovesongs For Underdogs

It's been a while. My first Charity Shop purchase in over two months. This is largely down to family stuff and a bad chest infection. Having said that I've been in more than a dozen charity shops over the last few days and I've only come away with one from Barnandos in Troon. It's getting harder.

As you can see from the picture the CD in question is Lovesong For Underdogs the 1997 debut solo album by Tanya Donelly on the 4AD label which peaked in the UK Album Chart at number 36.

The Guardian (2/5) and NME (4/10) seemed unconvinced. Uncut (4/5) and Pitchfork (8.5/10) were more impressed.For what its worth I'm in the latter camp.

Ayrshire seems to be the place to go for Tanya's music in charity shops as I picked up The Bright Light CD Single and Whiskey Tango Ghosts in Ballantrae back in November 2022. I could have sworn that it was much more recent.

Tanya Donelly - Lantern

Tanya Donelly - Goat Girl

Seagull Attacks

 

On both Saturday and Sunday when I was going for the papers I was dive bombed by a seagull at the same spot on the journey there and back. I wasn't even eating a kebab!

It looked a right vicious sod but thankfully it didn't come too close. Close enough though and it made a hell of a racket!

I've been on Wiki which states that Seagulls typically nest and raise their young between April and August with chicks hatching in June. During this breeding season, the adults can become highly aggressive and protective of their young.

There is a slightly longer way with less of a hill which I might use for the next few  weeks. I may even take the car.

All the above is basically just a  preamble for some Seagull songs.

Joni Mitchell - Song to a Seagull

Be-Bop Deluxe - Sister Seagull

Overton & McCann - Seagull

A Flock of Seagulls - Wishing ( I Had a Photograph of You)

The Blues Collection - T-Bone Walker

 

Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast Blues  and electric blues sounds. In 2018 Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 67 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

On the Blues Collection CD number 16 Stormy Monday Blues recorded in 1970 he draws on a lifetime of musical experience to retrace some of the most illustrious steps of his career. He also shows his willingness to adapt to new trends as he updates songs such as Glamour Girl and Stormy Monday Blues to suit modern recording techniques.

The acquisition of number 16 means that I now have a continuous run from number 1 to number 32 in the series .

Thankfully today's weather forecast is sunny as opposed to stormy 

T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday Blues

T-Bone Walker - Glamour Girl

The Horse Whisperer

 

There is perhaps a bit  of controversy around this appearing on my Sunday Americana series.

Firstly it is Songs From and Inspired By The Motion Picture The Horse Whisperer here as opposed to the Original Score

The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American  neo- western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel  The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. I think that I would rather have pins stuck in my eyes than watch the film.

I picked this up from a charity shop some years back as the songs looked interesting. This in turn has led to two further controversies.

Up until now the CD has been filed along with further soundtracks and the like a fair distance from the Americana shelves.Also it seems to be a mixture of mainstream Country and Americana so which genre should it be filed under?

Also is there enough Americana to justify inclusion in this series. Just about, I think, but there is probably also an strong argument that it isn't

Surely though, anything which has tracks by The Flatlanders, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and Steve Earle is worthy of inclusion?

The jurys out.

The Flatlanders - South Wind of Summer

Lucinda Williams - Still I Long For Your Kiss

Gillian Welch - Leaving Train

Steve Earle - Me And The Eagle

Apologies I've just realised that these are MP4 as opposed to MP3 files. I hope that doesn't cause too much inconvenience.

Saturday Shuffle 149

 

Let's kick of with The Temptations who in this picture look like they have just about mastered The Slosh. They maybe have a wee bit more work to do as they are Too Busy Thinking About My Baby.

Hill County Review were a band formed by North Mississippi Allstars  member Cody Dickinson and as this article in Vintage Guitar states rock 'n' roll doesn't get much grittier. You want proof? Here is Make a Move

From one extreme to another  here is the Glasgow based American singer/songwriter A Wesley Chung with Helen from his excellent Neon Coast album.

In a remarkable coincidence two of the three acts today also appeared on Saturday Shuffle 94

Stay tuned for the century and a half Shuffle next Saturday.

The Temptations -Too Busy Thinking About My Baby

Hill County Review -Make a Move

A Wesley Chung - Helen

World's Gone Wrong

 World's Gone Wrong - Ain't that the truth?

Fortunately we are still blessed to have Lucinda Williams to put her view on things.

World's Gone Wrong is her 16th studio album and was released towards the end of January (23rd to be precise) on her own Highway 20 label.Like the rest of us she is dispairing at the state of things but being Lucinda she is willing to share her tuppence worth.

Jim Beaugez in the Oxford American writes World’s Gone Wrong articulates the anger, hope, and inspiration she’s carried since the protests of her youth, with songs that explore the struggles of race, poverty, and trauma that continue to shadow America today."

John Amen of Beats Per Minute writes that Lucinda  "examines the 'dark age' we’re currently traversing but refuses to surrender to despair". 

The world would surely be a better and safer place were Lucinda occupying the Oval Office (with Mavis as Vice President). There would be no cage fighting on the lawn, that's for sure.

Lucinda Williams -How Much Did You Get For Your Soul

Lucinda Williams (ft Mavis Staples) So Much Trouble In The World