The Musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber. 2.

 

CC writes - he's back for Part 2. Strap yourselves in!

George writes:

Joseph, son of Jacob, who was a grandson of Abraham, had a truly remarkable life. Someone should write about it in a book, or even better, write a musical about him. And thanks to Mr Lloyd Webber, we have a musical, filled with many songs, and I’ve even heard of one of them. Unfortunately Dolly Parton’s great song was somehow left out. Yes, it’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat this week.

Here’s a song that references the coat,  it’s called Joseph’s Coat:

And there’s this version, which is even better (and better for not featuring the yowling tantrums of Ms Joplin):

And here’s the song that Mr Lloyd Webber wrote:

I could have opted for Stone The Crows, a rather splendid soul  song by Jackie Robinson (no, not the bloke referenced by Joe Tex in Buying the Book).

Or this version by Faith Brown

Wait a minute…….Faith Brown, wasn’t she that comedian who did Thatcher impersonations? 

And here’s the song you’ve been waiting for……

There are many more musicals attributed to Mr Lloyd Webber. I’ve no idea if I’ll be allowed back here to tell you about them. (oh, and for the sake of your sanity, don’t listen to too much of that last song).

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Mr CCM

CC writes:

Thanks George - I think!

I'll leave it to the jury as to whether they are ready for trip 3!

Here is a song by the Glasgow band Stone the Crows who had Maggie Bell (of Taggart theme tune fame) and Les Harvey (brother of Alex) among their members

Stone The Crows - On The Highway

Tracy Tracy

 

A Charity acquistion but not one that counts in my yearly list as this one was purchased by Mrs CC.

Like most folk I suspect I was aware of her eponymous 1998 debut album  ( Tracy Chapman not Mrs CC!)but nothing else. Collection  a compilation from 2001 contains 4 tracks from that debut album, 3 from Crossroads (1989), 2 from Matters of the Heart (1992). 4 from New Beginning (1995) and 3 from Telling Stories  (2000).

This CD then saves us the bother of tracking them all down.

The two that most caught my attention after an initial play were Give Me One Reason from New Beginning and All I Have Is Your Soul from Crossroads. Perhaps these two require further attention.

Tracy Chapman -Give Me One Reason

Tracy Chapman - All That You Have Is Your Soul

Slobberbone Monday

 

A month or so ago I was in Missing Records and saw a Best Of compilation by Denton Texas' finest Slobberbone for four quid.

I hummed and hawed and decided not to buy it given I have 2000's Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today and a burn of 2002's Slippage

It's obviously stuck with me as it popped into my head the other day. Looking at their back catalogue in addition to the two above there are four from 1996 to 1998 and the said Bees and Seas: The Best of Slobberbone from 2016.

I think I made the correct decision.

Slobberbone - Engine Joe

Slobberbone -Gimme Back My Dog

Slobberbone - To Love Somebody

Blue Rose Collection Vol 5

 

We are back in Abstatt, Germany this week to hook up with the good people from Blue Rose Records.

Blue Rose Collection Volume 5 is the third, and I think last, compilation from the label that I have. We appear to be doing it in reverse chronologically given we started with Vol 8, then Vol 7 and now Vol 5

By and large the usual suspects appear with some being more obscure than others as befits such a compilation.

Obviously I can't see past Steve Wynn so we kick off with his song Mandy Breakdown. Farmer Not So John also have a presence on the blue shelf so here they are with Undertow.

I've also gone for two of the five bonus tracks. Firstly I give you Big In Iowa with a cover of the Neil Young classic Cinnamon Girl.We conclude with Rich Hopkins & Luminarios  and the song Poker Face thankfully not a cover of the Lady Gaga number.

This is number 40 in this Sunday Series. I'm aiming for 50. My spreadsheet says  64 but I suspect some of them may be a bit spurious. Not that that's ever stopped me.

Steve Wynn - Mandy Breakdown

Farmer Not So John - Undertow

Big in Iowa-Cinnamon Girl

Rich Hopkins & the Luminarios - Poker Face

Saturday Shuffle 151

 

 

Welcome to Saturday Shuffle 151 - with a bullet.

The first shot is Savoir Complex track 8 from Punisher the 2020 album by Phoebe Bridgers.

The Bullet Hole theme is inspired by the song of the same name by The Dream Syndicate  from their 2019 album These Times the one that caused me to get back into them in a big way.

I would imagine that the late Jamaican reggae artist and producer Keith Hudson would have been no stranger to the occassional bullet hole or two. Here he is with the Soul Syndicate on the song Nuh Skin Up Dub off  the 2007 Mojo Compilation  Sun is Shining here

Hopefully the sun will still be shining next week when we return with SS 152

Phoebe Bridgers - Savoir Complex

The Dream Syndicate - Bullet Holes

Keith Hudson & the Soul Syndicate - Nuh Skin Up Dub

The Musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber. 1.

 

George writes:

Mr CC wrote “I'm lacking inspiration , new material and no ideas for new series'(suggestions welcomed!). “ I suggested something: It has occurred to me that none of the blogs I read show an appreciation of the genre of musicals, any musicals, not just those of the man in the title. And it’s about time someone corrected this, so here goes.

Mr Lloyd Webber has written at least a plethora of musicals. His first is based on a book by Leslie Thomas, not the Virgin Soldiers one but a biography of Thomas Barnardo (of children’s home fame), a man who was in no way related to the pioneering heart transplant chappie. And inexplicably, although written in 1965, when Mr Lloyd Webber was 17 (17, bloody hell I was doing my Highers when I was 17, and discovering the joys of Tennent’s lager),  it was not performed publicly until 2005. 

One of the tracks on The Likes of Us, that all-important first album, is Man of The World, and this is from when they were good:

This is the ALW song, and I dare you to listen to it all the way through.

“Going, going, gone” also graces the soundtrack:

………and here it is:

Did anyone meet the challenge and listen to it?

Big Big Train released an album called The Likes of Us, alas there is no title track. I do not know if this album relates to Thomas Barnardo.

Thanks to Mr CC, and to you for reading.

CC writes

Thanks George .

I think that this is the first time that Andrew Lloyd Webber has appeared on these pages.

I notice with a degree of apprehension that there is a number 1 attached!

If this doesn't snap me out of my writer's block, nothing will!

The Blues Collection - Jimmy Rogers

 

I'll start with an apology. I'm lacking inspiration , new material and no ideas for new series'(suggestions welcomed!). Therefore The Blues Collection and Blog Countries are likely to appear more frequently than I, and I suspect you, would like until I get some new material. 

I did get The Hanging Stars new album Just A Day which is excellent but probably to new to feature.

I still have half a dozen of the Blues Collection to subject you to following my recent excursions to Missing Records.

I'll start with the lowest number which is Jimmy Rogers with That's All Right - number 54 in the series.

The blurb in the inner sleeve reads Teamwork characterises Jimmy Rogers' numbers ,with everyone present contributing equally to the overall sound. As well as that, there is something else that is distinctive about his music. As Mike Rowe, historian of Chicago Blues (an excellent job!) remarks "you can guess what his record collection was"

His songs are full of references to the blues records of his youth, or ones made by older role-models in Chicago. But they are never simply cover versions . Rogers gives them a distinctive shape and weight that makes them at least jointly his.

One pound well spent!

Jimmy Rogers - Goin' Away Baby

Jimmy Rogers - That's All Right