Smoke and Strong Whiskey

 

We have featured Scottish and English folk music here in recent weeks so it is maybe time to cross the water to Ireland.

Mrs CC came in the other week with a few charity CDs one of which  was from the land of her birth.

From 1991 on the Newberry label Smoke & Strong Whiskey is an album by Irish singer ,songwriter and guitarist Christy Moore. We will forgive his spelling of the amber nectar

He is well known for his politics and social commentary which respects a left wing nationalist perspective. I was intrigued by the song Whacker Humphries and suspected that it might well be a true story. And so it proved . Good to see folk singers tackling modern isses

The second song is more traditional in nature and reflects the lot of a jobbing Irish folk singer.

Christy Moore - Whacker Humphries

Christy Moore - Encore

Happy Times

 

 

During the week I have been listening in the car to Happy Times - The Songs of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham Vol 2 and what a treat it has been.

On Ace Records which is always a sure sign of quality it contains various artists covering 24 tracks by the dynamic due who effortlessly straddle the divide between Country and Soul. 

Resident music writes that it features  tracks from their time working together in muscle shoals and memphis, with a broad spread of repertoire than embraces deep soul, sweet soul, southern pop, country and even an instrumental. star names here include dan’s pet project the box tops, sandy posey, wilson pickett, ronnie milsap, b j thomas and many others whose careers intersected in the 60s with those of dan and spooner – to everyone’s advantage. almost none of the versions of the songs featured here have been on any previous ace cd. many have never been on cd at all.

Here is the track list to whet your appetite I  could have literally chosen any of the 24 songs and they would have done the boys justice. I've opted for Sandy Posey  in the country corner with  Arthur Conley representing the soul camp

Sandy Posey - Hey Mister

Arthur Conley - You Really Know How to Hurt a Guy

Live 75-85

 

 2021 Charity Shop Purchases 30 - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live 1975 -1985

Well I did warn you. It looks like someone had off loaded their Springsteen collection shortly before my visit to Barnandos and I naturally pounced to fill in some gaps in my collection.

My brother and I went to see Springsteen and the E Street Band  play at St James' Park, Newcastle on June 5th 1985. I think that  my brother threw a sickie. We got a bus from Battlefiled Rd in Glasgow and it soon became clear that any the the two of us were the only folk on the bus who knew any of his songs that were not on Born in the USA.

Live 1975- 1985 covers the Boss' best years and consists of 40 tracks recorded at various concerts over that period. Columbia Records released it as a 5 LP box set in November 1986 just in time for Christmas and my brother duly got the box set.

Sadly it was sold at some point in the intervening years so I didn't get to inherit it. I'm happy to make do with the 3 CD  version particulalry as in only cost me 3 quid.

We start with what is perhaps his greatest song live Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) recorded at the Roxy Theatre,West Hoolywood, Calafornia on June 7th 1978.

This is followed by Racing in the Street from the Meadowland Arena, East Rutherford , New Jersey  from July 6th 1981.

Finally we have Bruce's version of what should be the US National Anthem Woodie Guthrie's This Land is Your Land from December 28th December 1980 from  the Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York. 

Feel free to loose yourself for half an hour.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Live)

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Racing in the Street (Live)

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - This Land is Your Land (Live)

Tigermik

 

 2021 Charity Shop Purchases 29 - Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk

Over the last couple of years without really trying I have picked up a considerable chunk of Belle and Sebastian's back catalogue both albums and CD single/EPs in various charity shops.

This time round it is the turn of their 1996 debut Tigermilk originally on Electric Honey with subsequent re-releases on their own Jeepster label.

As I'm sure that many of you know Tigersmilk is the stuff of legend.Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David had enrolled in Glasgow's Stow College Beatbox programme for unemployed musicians under the tutorage of Alan Rankine of Associates fame. Tigermilk was recorded live over three days with a thousand vinyl copies on the College's Electric Honey label released. This interesting arcticle by Pitchfork  states that copies were selling for as much as £850 in 1999 .There is one for sale on Discogs at the moment for £550

Needless to say I didn't pick up a copy of the original or even any of the subsequent vinyl re-releases but the 1999 CD version which you can pick up for a couple of quid.

Belle and Sebastian - The State I Am In

Belle and Sebastian - We Rule the School

You Forgot It In People

 

 2021 Charity Shop Purchases 28 - Broken Social Scene -You Forgot it in People

I've gone and done it again getting two acts confused. I'm putting it down to old age.

Previously we have had Wolfmother instead of Wolf Alice and more recently Soft Machine as opposed to The Soft Boys.

This time round instead of British Americana act The Broken Family Band we have the Canadian musical collective Broken Social Scene. Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning seem to be the main men with a large number of others featuring including Leslie Feist and Jason Collett who also enjoy solo careers.

From 2002 You Forgot it in People  on the Arts & Crafts label was their second studio album and the one which brought their commercial breakthrough. Wiki advises that  it  features intricate, experimental production techniques and a large number of instruments coinciding with the band's vastly expanded size. It  was critically well received and subsequently won the 2003 Alternative Album of the year in the Canadian Juno Awards.

Alternative and experimental it certainly is and I wasn't at all convinced after hearing the first couple of numbers. However, it did get gradually better although the jury is still out as to whether it is a keeper or not. A couple more listens are required.

Broken Social Scene - Look Just Like the Sun

Broken Social Scene - Pacific Theme

Birds

 2021 Charity Shop Purchases 27 - Birds (CD Single)

Birds is a CD single of a song which appears of  Dreamlands the 5th album from Aztec Camera from 1993

One I picked up in a local charity shop back in March 2018  

As was the way of things back in the 90's there were two different versions of the CD single released.CD 1 obviously had the title track plus Working in a Goldmine and Knife. Not bad but not in the same league as the one I picked up CD2 which as well as Birds features Somewhere in My Heart, Oblivious and Good Morning Britain.

I've got  Oblivious on High Land Hard Rain and Somewhere in My Heart on Love and they have both graced these pages before. I think it is the first time that I have had Good Morning Britain which they recorded with Mick Jones in a physical format and for that reason alone that makes this a brilliant find.

Aztec Camera - Birds

Aztec Camera - Somewhere in My Heart

Aztec Camera - Oblivious

Aztec Camera with Mick Jones - Good Morning Britain

 

 

Magic

 

 2021 Charity Shop Purchases 26 - Bruce Springsteen - Magic

As one haul ends another one begins.

I took a trip to Some Great Reward a record/coffee shop on Glasgow's Victoria Road at the weekend where a couple of purchases were made. As they are relatively new records they will feature here in due course.

I visited the specialised Oxfam book and record shop and came away with nothing. However en route I visited Barnardos and came away with a reasonable haul.

Springsteen haters (you know who who you are) are advised to look away now as I took the opportunity to upgrade some of his later albums from burns to CD. One such upgrade album was Magic his 15th studio album from 2007 and as always on the Columbia label. 

It was his first with the E Street band since 2002's  The Rising and was ranked as number 2 on Rolling Stone's Top Fifty albums from 2007.It was reasonably well received by other critics.

I can't say it is one that I listen to all that often but it has some pretty good songs on it including the ridiculously catchy Girls in Their Summer Clothes.

A good upgrade.

Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere

Bruce Springsteen - Girls in Their Summer Clothes