Bottom

 

A shotout to our dear friend Ernie Goggins who appears to have found himself at the bottom of my sidebar Blog list.

Blogger has been playing silly buggers recently. The other day I was unable to read about half a dozen blogs as gobbledygook appeared. I know, I know, but I actually could tell the difference.

Thankfully it looks as though things have sorted themselves out with the exception of poor Ernie. The sidebar is supposed to show the most recent posts first .It seems to be doing that -apart from Ernie who now finds himself languishing behind retirees such as Brian and Drew.

I deleted them all and started again  tidying it up a little, but he's still there. If I have missed anyone out please give me a  shout.

Keep scrolling down folks, it will be worth it!

James King & the Lonewolves -Bottom of the Sea

Robbie Fulks - Rock Bottom, Pop 1

Big Audio Dynamite -The Bottom Line

Nothing to see here for a couple of weeks as we are off to recharge our batteries and hit the Highlands charity shops. Yes Rol another holiday!

Withered and Died

 

On Monday's Caitlin Cary post I mentioned that Withered and Died was the only cover song on her 2000 EP Waltzie and that I would get round to a compare and contrast in due course.

Well here it is - four days later. Two reasons - I couldn't think of anything else to post today and also if I didn't get round to posting it within a relatively short time I would probably forget. Old age, you see.

I shall post them in the order that they came into my possession.

First up is the cover by the great Louisville Americana band Freakwater. I knew that I had this on an Americana compilation but it took me ages to work out which one. It is from the excellent Cowpunks from 1996 on Vinyl Junkie - 24 trailblazing tracks.

Next we have the original by Richard and Linda Thompson from their 1984 Island album I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (pictured above) which is probably my favourite album of theirs.

The third offering is the only one I do not have in a physical format. It was the b-side of the 1984 single of Peace in Our Time by Elvis Costello & the Imposters. It is not on the  original album of Goodbye Cruel World although it does appear on the bonus tracks of the 1995 Rykodisc CD reissue and also on the bonus disc of the 2004 Rhino edition. Looking at the 26 tracks on that disc I may have to acquire that CD version to accompany my vinyl copy.

Last but not least the most recent one from Caitlin.

It's a tough call but I'm going for Freakwater

Freakwater - Withered and Died

Richard and Linda Thompson -Withered and Died

Elvis Costello & the Imposters - Withered and Died

Caitlin Cary - Withered and Died

Atlanic R&B Volume 2

 

The final CD in my 3 for £5 haul from Missing Records was Volume 2 - 1952- 1954 in the Atlantic R&B series and it was the missing one from the eight piece jigsaw

I picked up Volume 1 a few years back with the intention of  getting the other 7 in order . I ended up doing it in a more round about way. Early last year I picked up Volumes 3 and 4 in a charity shop on Glasgow's Battlefield Rd. Then later in the year I got Volumes 5,6,7 and 8 from Missing. 

I hadn't been back to Missing since but hoped that I would find a copy of Volume 2 on my recent trip and I was pretty chuffed that I did. It has given me a great sense of satisfaction to see all 8 volumes on the shelves.

About half a dozen artists dominate the 26 tracks all of whom have appeared here before and some of whom feature on Volume 1 and/or Volume 3

Here are three of the best

Ruth Brown - Mama,He Treats Your Daughter Mean

LaVern Baker - Soul on Fire

Big Joe Turner - Shake,Rattle and Roll

Favourite Colours

 

A few days ago Khahem posted a tribute to the actress Gwyneth Powell who sadly died recently. She was probably best known for playing Mrs McCluskey the head mistress in Grange Hill. He accompanied his post with a mix of songs in bands which featured a McClusky or McCluskey.

This included the Bluebells who of course include Ken and David McCluskey among their members.I commented that the McCluskey Brothers have also recorded a few albums in their own right.

In the early days of this blog, as far back as 2014, I posted a piece on their third album 1996's Wonderful Affair.

Aware of All was their debut in 1986 on Thrush Records. Their second record Favourite Colours was released on CD only by Kingfisher Records in 1992. Last year saw it's first vinyl release on Past Nights from Glasgow the LNFG sub label which lovingly release some old favourites as part of a historical archive of all things past but not necessarily Glasgow.

It is well worth acquiring.

The McCluskey Brothers -Favourite Colours

Tne McCluskey Brothers -She Said to the Driver

The Whole Love

 

I've always been slightly wary of anything post Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco. Largely because I was a fan of the Jay Bennett era and also because they became a bit more squiggly leading to them being described as America's Radiohead. For the record that is not a good thing.

However I am gradually becoming braver in my old age and last year saw me picking up 2004's A Ghost is Born from Missing Records.

On my latest trip to Missing I became even braver picking up 2011's The Whole Love their first on their own dBpm label.

Listening to the start of the first track Art of Almost it seemed that I had made a bit of a mistake given a proliferation of electronic nonsense.Thankfully thereafter it began to calm down a bit and became rather good in places particularly with the two tracks featured before.

I recently heard their most recent record Cruel Country which is avery welcome return to their alt-Country roots

Wilco - Black Moon

Wilco - Whole Love

Waltzie

 

I have a few funeral songs which I considered playing today but figured that some folk might find that disrespectful.

Instead you are getting Waltzie an EP from Caitlin Cary from 2000 which I recently picked up in Glasgow's Missing Records.

Caitlin has graced these pages before usually as part of Whiskeytown or with songs from Begonias where she duets with Thad Cockrell.

A solo song from an Uncut compilation has also popped up but this is the first time that I have physically owned any of her solo work

To save me wittering on here is some blurb from her Bandcamp page:

This intimate EP showcases the ex-Whiskeytown member's beautiful soprano and sets the stage for her full YepRoc debut, While You Weren't Looking. Featuring four originals, some more completed than others, all are convincing in their delivery and testaments to Cary's abilities as a lyricist and songwriter, not merely a violin player and harmony vocalist. Highlights are the melancholy, yet moving waltz opener, "Sorry," penned with the help of multi-instrumentalist Mike Daly, who also flavors the affair with pedal steel, dulcimer, and 12-string, and Cary's more upbeat, feminist-tinged plea "Rosemary Moore," encouraging an aging widow to stop grieving and start living. Featuring the dark, humorous lines "take out your hearing aid and go have a drink" and "if he didn't die happy at least he didn't die poor," it's hard not to hear the influence of ex-bandmate Ryan Adams, who lends harmonies and harmonica. Produced by Chris Stamey (Sneakers and the dB's), this is serious work with a warm, living room vibe.

The only non- original song on the album is her version of the Richard &Linda Thompson song Withered and Died which I shall save for a compare and contrast post.

Caitlin Cary - Sorry

Caitlin Cary - Rosemary Moore

Albums on both CD and Vinyl - Harvest

 

I have well over a dozen Neil Young albums mostly on CD. There are only three of those on vinyl and two are relatively recent acquisitions. (Comes a Time and Live Rust if anyone is interested). 

The other one which I have had for years and which you can guess from the picture and post title is Harvest his fourth album released in 1972 on the Reprise label .I think that the CD version may be courtesy of Mrs CC.

It is one of his most famous albums.Indeed it may well be his most famous. Neil told the NME that Harvest is probably the best record I've made.

He is joined by a group of Country session musicians (Jack Nitzsche (piano), Ben Keith (steel guitar), Tim Drummond (bass) and Kenny Buttrey (drums)) who he christened the Stray Gators' . Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Linda Rondstadt are all lurking in the background on a couple of tracks.

Unless you have been living in a bubble for the last 50 years you should be familiar with a good few of the tracks and at the very least Heart of Gold.

He's been to Hollywood, he's been to Redwood.

Absolutely timeless.

Neil Young -Heart of Gold

Neil Young -Are You Ready For the Country?

Neil Young -Old Man