The Coal Porters - Find The One

 

I am vaguely familiar with the London based singer song writer  Sid Griffin with the occasional solo song or ones with his band The Long Ryders popping up in my music folder from time to time.

I was also aware that he had another band called The Coal Porters but was blissfully unaware that this was a Bluegrass band. It was only after picking up their 2012 album Find The One on Prima Records that I discovered that this was in fact the case.

At first I was a little bit unsure but it has fairly rapidly grown on me after a few more plays. I mean what's not to love about Bluegrass covers of iconic songs by David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, and an instrumental named after the famous London Pub The Betsy Trotwood  which I'm sure Ernie is familiar with.

My version has the first 12 tracks from those featured on Bandcamp who also kindly list the band members and guests which saves me a bit of work. Sadly my version does not include Richard Thomson's guitar solo on Hush U Babe/ Burnham Thorpe live from Shetland.

Very much a grower and a find

The Coal Porters - Heroes

The Coal Porters - Gospel Shore

News of the World - 7

 

It's the penulimate day of scanning the newspapers today.

This series started off fairly promising but is gradually petering out. It seems that most folk are getting their news on line these days.

The Daily Mirror is one of the many papers which has taken a hit over the last decade or so with its circulation, like all the other papers, plummeting. Weyes Blood however is still championing the Mirror Forever

The Independent only lasted from 1986 to 2016 and is now only available online. Gretchen Peters is rueing Independence Day

Lampchop have opted for the telly and the Six O'Clock news which as Julie Durocher has suggested is likely to be full of  Bad News

As a former paper boy I find the demise of newspapers pretty sad although I don't miss getting up at the crack of dawn to deliver them in all weathers

I'll be rattling your letterboxes with your final papers next week

Weyes Blood - Mirror Forever

Gretchen Peters - Independence Day

Lambchop - 6 o'Clock News

Julie Durocher - Bad News

The Blues Collection - Lonnie Brooks

 

The post from August 2025 featuring Fats Domino gives some history as to my Blues Collection quest

This outlined how the flood has become a trickle with new acquisitions rarer than hens teeth.

A few weeks ago I was in Missing Records and lo and behold there were a couple from the Blues Collection that I didn't have.

One was number 40 featuring Lonnie Brooks with Reconsider Baby .His was a new name to me.  A quick Google search reads Lonnie Brooks was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in Rolling Stone, stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, brimming with novel harmonic turnarounds, committed vocals and simply astonishing guitar work.

The 10 tracks on the CD are from live performances in France from December 1975 when he was blazing a trail across Europe and leaving rapturous reviews in his wake .Indeed they are none too shabby.

I ended up picking this up again in a subsequent visit to Missing. I had updated my spreadsheet after the first purchase but had forgotten to update to Google Drive from where I can access it via my phone. A schoolboy error..

Lonnie Brooks - Reconsider Baby

Lonnie Brooks - Crazy 'Bout You Baby

I- Pod Playlist - Rivers

 

This week' I-Pod Playlist is Rivers

Many on the tracks on the  I-Pod playlist have not made it to the Music folder but a good few have. There have also been many river related tracks on here including the River Deep or Mountain High compare and contrast series.

Drank Like a River by Whiskeytown has made it to these pages several times before and rightly so.

Somewhere Down the Crazy River by Robbie Robertson has appeared here only once before just over ten years ago. Time then for a second appearance.

Up on Cripple Creek by The Band has also appeared here once before in 2023 as part of the Debra Haul

The next I-Pod Playlistt will be Rockabilly Rebel featuring songs from that genre.

Whiskeytown - Drank Like A River

Robbie Robertson - Somewhere Down The Crazy River

The Band - Up On Cripple Creek

Neil Sedaka - A Guest Post

 

George writes:

I saw via 2 reliable media sources (The Guardian and here) that Neil Sedaka had died.  He was one of those people responsible for a huge number of insanely catchy pop songs,  especially in the late 50s  through the 1960s, sometimes with his friend Howard Greenfield, at times on his own. I had no idea he wrote Is This The Way to Amarillo? until I started this piece, but it comes as no surprise, it somehow has that Neil Sedaka feel to it.  I think he came to my musical attention when I started buying singles in the early 70s, when his career revived.  Like all good pop songs, this one comes in at about three m

inutes:

Neil Sedaka - Laughter in the Rain

I suggested a stroll around the country lanes by the farm on Saturday with my baby, and there was no sign of rain, but I was told No! 

Neil Sedaka had the huge talent to compose a simple, melodic and memorable tune, something we could all easily sing along to.  I think the second tune here is simply a genius pop song:

Neil Sedaka -Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Pop perfection that tune. I’m not alone in having a soft spot for the music of the great man, I’ve just seen Alyson’s glowing (and much better than this load of bobbins) tribute here. 

Good god, he wrote this too, again I had no idea until Saturday.

Enjoy the music.

CC writes:

Thanks George .

There is a lot of love for Mr Sedaka out there and rightly so

Bob Harris Presents - Volume 4

 

"Whispering" Bob Harris is probably best known for hosting The Old Grey Whistle Test  on BBC2 in the 1970s

From the turn of  the century he presented a Country show on BBC Radio 2 on a Thurday evening  with a focus on Americana.

I think that there were 5 CDs in this series on Assembly Records. The only one I have is Volume 4 from 2005  - tracklist here which was a charity acquisition.

This one is right up my street given that I have albums  and / or have seen live more than half of the 15 acts who appear on the CD.

I've gone for Rosie Thomas, Rod Picott and Jon Dee Graham although there were a good few others on the long list.

Rosie Thomas - Wedding Day

Rod Picott - Torn in Two

John Dee Graham - One Moment.

Saturday Shuffle 134

 

Yeah, the Shuffle is back after having enjoyed a well deserved weeks rest.

We start with a man who never seemed to rest. I am of course revering to this week's cover star the legendary Pop Stables a pivotal figure in gospel and soul music and the leader of the incredible Stable Singers. He was born in 1914  the youngest of 14 children Down in Mississippi

Syl Johnson was another Mississippi man turning his hand to both Blues and Soul which clearly was just his luck. 

It's wall to wall legends this week as we conclude with Fairport Convention. Throwaway Street was the 1968 b-side to Meet On The Ledge and was also to be found on bonus editions of What We Did On Our Holidays.

Meet me on the Ledge next Saturday for some more shuffling.

Pops Stables -Down In Mississippi

Syl Johnson - That's Just My Luck

Fairport Convention - Throwaway Street