Race With The Devil

 

George that well known Portuguese Devil writes:

Someone said on these pages that the devil has all the best tunes. Now, it has been said on more than one occasion that I am a bit of a contrarian, so it will come as no surprise to those who hold that belief that I disagree. Nevertheless, there are more than a plethora of splendid tunes that refer to either the devil or devilish behaviour, and here are two. Same title, different songs (and there’s another series for CC to research). (Stored away for future consideration - Ed)

First up, some splendid hard rock from the late 1960s. I also include a video, mainly because the lead singer has a quite preposterous perm/afro. Younger readers will no doubt associate the tune with NWOBHM female metal band Girlschool, unlike the older contingent such as CC himself, Ernie….And some even younger readers (if they do exist here) will think that Gun did a particularly crappy cover of Cameo’s crappy song Word Up (different band, same name, and again there’s a series in there)

Gun - Race With The Devil

There’s not enough hairy late 60s hard rock on these pages, CC, you need to catch yourself on.

I prefer the Cameo cover (Ed)

But CC is not averse to posting rockabilly:

Would Gene Vincent have had his brief moment of fame without Cliff Gallup’s fantastic guitar playing?

Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps - Race With The Devil

CC writes - Thanks George. That last question is your homework for this week. He is threatening to do another one.

An A to Z of American Cities - O

 

This week is very much a team effort.

I only had one song in mind which was Oil City Girl by Kevin Gordon. Initially I thought it was a reference to Houston, Texas but looking at the lyrics I suspect that it  may refer to Oil City, Louisiana which has a population  now of just 876. There is also an Oil City in Pennsylvania which is massive by comparison with a population of 9608.

It's time for the first of my hauners. As you would expect Rol came up with a number of suggestions in last Sunday's comments box. I've gone for Oakland Skyline  by Austin Lucas who is a new name for me but who apparently is an American Indie artist best known for his own blend of folk punk. Oakland, as I'm sure most of you are aware, is a city in California with a population of over 440K making it the 8th  largest city in that state.

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska on the Missouri river with a population of  486K. Omaha (Sharpless) is a song by the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies and is one from a list of songs suggested by Jez. Sorry Jez much as I would have liked to I couldn't shoe horn Tony Orlando in this week.

Ernie kindly passed on half a dozen suggestions which I have just noticed includes the Austin Lucas number. I have opted for Leaving Odessa by The DeSoto Caucus who as you will all know are a Danish band that started as an offspring to Giant Sand.. Not to be confused with the city of Odessa in Ukraine. Is this the one you were thinking of SWC?

Last, but certainly not least, John came up with a couple of Orange suggestions given that there is an Orange City in Volusia County, Florida which has a population of 10,599. I've gone for Prince Buster and Orange Street.

Thanks everyone. I think I have P covered but any suggestions are welcomed. Get your thinking caps on for Q!

Kevin Gordon - Oil City Girl

Austin Lucas - Oakland Skyline

Chickasaw Mudd Puppies - Omaha (Sharpless)

DeSoto Caucus - Leaving Odessa

Prince Buster - Orange Street

Saturday Shuffle 15

 

More random Saturday nonsense today courtesy of my Gym MP3 player which I again left on my desk which led me having to endure the piped noise that they claim constitutes music.

What better way to start that with some Delta Swamp Rock from the Swamp Fox himself Tony Joe White. Who's Making Love is taken from the splendidly named Delta Swamp Rock Volume 2 (More Sounds From the South 1968-75: At the Crossroads of Rock, Country and Soul) . An excellent CD which I took out from the library - details here

We up the tempo for the second track The Height of the Fighting (He-La - Hu) which was the 5th and final single from Heaven 17's classic Penthouse and Pavements album from 1981. It didn't trouble the charts.I have always being under the impression that the bit in parenthesis was actually Hula Hoops and I am sticking with that.

Finally we conclude with Waxahatchee and the song Witches track 7 from her excellent 2020 album Saint Cloud.

More assorted stuff like this next Saturday

Tony Joe White - Who's Making Love

Heaven 17 - At the Height of the Fighting (He- La- Hu)

Waxahatchee - Withches

Indie City 2

 

As promised/threatened on last Friday's Indie City 1 post I have returned with Indie City 2. It too was released on cassette in 1988.I can't remember if they were released together or a few months apart. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

The tracklist is much more international than the first one  which I think only had two non- UK acts namely Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Sonic Youth. If I am correct this one has 4 US acts together with one Irish and one Australian bands.

By and large it is of the same standard as the first one although the And the Native Hipsters song really irritates me and I am not that keen on the Robert Wyatt number. Also I am not particularly fond of any band who have the word Cult in there title. That still leaves me plenty to choose from.

Rowche Rumble by The Fall was always going to feature and I couldn't ignore Human Fly or Radio Free Europe. I would be interesting to hear your favourites  and in particular Brian's as he appears to be keeping his powder try.

It has been a joy to revisit these two albums after a far too long absence.

The Fall - Rowche Rumble

The Cramps - Human Fly

R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe

Sinéad O'Connor R.I.P

 

I was listening to the Channel 4 news headlines last night when I heard the news of the sad passing of Shuhada' Sadaqat  better known to music fans as Irish icon  Sinéad  O'Connor. She was only 56.

Whereas the news was obviously heart breaking it probably does not come as a complete surprise given her well documented struggles with mental health issues during her life. Many folk have been worried about her since the suicide of her 17 year old son Shane in January 2002.

She led a controversial and non-conventional life but she was fearless and was not afraid to voice her opinions on subjects such as the Catholic Church and child abuse, sexuality and politics. Musically she released 10 studio albums between 1987 and 2014 together with one live album and four compilations.

The song you will here most often over the next few days will be her version of the Prince classic Nothing Compares 2 U which became a world wide number one. However she was more than a one trick pony as the songs below hopefully  demonstrate.

She is at peace now. Rest easy Sinead.

Sinead O'Connor - Mandinka

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares to You

Sinead O'Connor - 4th & Vine

Sinead O'Connor - The Wolf is Getting Married

Sinead O'Connor - Molly Malone

This week's Devil songs which is a guest post has been held over until Monday

62

 

I'm 62 today. I'm not quite sure how that happened but there it is in black and red.

As for posting some relevant music I am in that no man's land between Highway 61 and Route 66 and I've still got a two years to go before I can ask  will you still need me, will you still feed me?

Undeterred I typed 62 in the search box for my music folder and to my surprise three MP3's popped up.

There is actually a tune on there called Figures of '62 which comes from an album called The Debt Collection by a band called The Shortwave Set which The Swede kindly gifted to me last year in Edinburgh. The album, but not this song, has featured here before as part of Swedefest

The other two 62s appear to refer to track numbers from a couple of reasonably large boxsets which I have downloaded. I Stayed Away Too Longer is by the mighty Solomon Burke and is taken from Solomon Burke King of Rock'n'Soul - The Atlantic Recordings 1962-1968.

The final one Got to Be Somebody For Me is by Eddie Floyd and is taken from the 7th and final disc (Uncut Songs - Part 3)  on Written in Their Souls : The Stax Songwriters Demos. I will confess that I've still to get around to giving this one a listen.

There is every chance that these two boxsets will make a reappearance same time, same place next year!

The Shortwave Set - Figures of '62

Solomon Burke -I Stayed Away Too Long

Eddie Floyd - Got to be Somebody For Me

Rock Blast From The Past

 

The second album I bought in Otherside in Strathbungo  in addition to Elvis Costello's Trust was Rock Blast From the Past a compilation album on the Ember label from 1970.

A cheap and cheerful compilation with some of the usual suspects and some new to me artists - details here

Dixie Fried by Carl Perkins would normally have appeared had I not posted it fairly recently

Shake, Rattle and Roll used to be a Radio 2 show hosted by Mark Lamarr which played music similar to this. I used to "tape" it and had a number of songs on minidisc (which was en vogue then) and which a played in a previous gym life. Written in 1954 it has been covered by a myriad of artists the most famous being Joe Turner, Elvis Pressley and today's contributors Bill Haley & the Comets.

The other featured artist Esquerita is new to me. It seems that it is the stage name of Eskew Reader Jr from Greenville, South Carolina who is credited with influencing Little Richard.

As with Trust it is not in the best condition. It plays ok on the hi fi albeit it is a bit crackly in places. However the MP3 burner appears to be a bit more sensitive so today's tracks have been sourced from elsewhere.

Time to Shake, Rattle and Roll..

Bill Haley & the Comets - Shake, Rattle and Roll

Esquerita - Rockin' The Joint

Trust

 

I was out for a few drinks last Thursday with my brother in Glasgow's Strathbungo area.

We stumbled upon a small shop called Otherside which sells second hand books, records and oddities. It was new to me but in appears to have been open for a few years.

Naturally I bought a couple of records one of which was Trust the 5th studio album from Elvis Costello  (and the 4th with the Attractions) from as far back as 1981. I bought it in the full knowledge that I already had it. What can I say, drink had been taken.

It  only cost me two quid and hardly surprising for that price it was in pretty poor condition. I will therefore content myself with my previous copy and send this one back.

A quick search tells me that I haven't featured this one before so here goes. Out of laziness however the tracks below have been taken from my CD copy of the 1989 compilation Girls! Girls! Girls! as opposed to me ripping the vinyl.

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Lover's Walk

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Strict Time

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - New Lace Sleeves

An A to Z of American Cities - N

 

I've hoisted myself on my own petard this week with my decision to exclude both Nashville and New York. This has led me to scrambling about a bit and coming up with a couple of tenuous entries.

One song that was always on my mind when it came to N was Nevada, California a song on The Jayhawks majestic Hollywood Town Hall album. Nevada City is the County seat of Nevada County, California and had a population of 3068 at the 2010 census. Not to be confused with the neighbouring state of Nevada.

One city that I could have excluded is New Orleans home of the Mardi Gras and the most populous city in Louisiana. For this one there were plenty of songs to choose from. I've gone for Walking to New Orleans from the great Fats Domino.

After these two I was pretty much snookered as I trawled down the list of cities beginning with N. Lots of New's and North's but none that I had in song titles. Time then to get tenuous.

The city of Nixon in Texas is situated  on Highway 87 some 55 miles south of San Antonio with a population of 2385. As far as I am aware it has absolutely no connections with the former crooked President unlike the song Nixon Stamp by Red Star Belgrade . Needs must and all that.

Finally another example of barrel scrapping as we visit Nelson, Georgia a city in Pickens and Cherokee Counties with a population of 1145. Named after John Nelson an early landowner, farmer and rifle maker. Not to be confused with Nelson in Lancashire a place I have visited. I imagine that the Georgia version is much prettier. I also would imagine that the great Nelson Mandela never visited either.

Next week's letter O promises to be even harder. So far I only have one song up my sleeve.

The Jayhawks - Nevada, California

Fats Domino - Walking to New Orleans

Red Star Belgrade - Nixon Stamp

The Special A.K.A. - Nelson Mandela

Saturday Shuffle 14

 

I've finally made it back to the gym following my recent episode. It's baby steps at the moment until I find my feet again. Thankfully I've got some great tunes on the Gym MP3 player to assist me.

One such tune is He Made a Woman Out of Me by the mighty Bettye LaVette. This is taken from a compilation called Southern Soul Showcase -Cryin' in the Streets which featured on my recent Kent Compilations series

It wouldn't be the Saturday Shuffle without something from a Jon Savage compilation. Here is a preview pressing of Kick Out the Jams by MC5  from 1968 - The Year The World Burned

Finally we have our cover star the Georgia Peach himself Little Richard with a quite magnificent version of the Don Covay song  I Don't Know What You've Got, But it's Got Me.

More shuffling next Saturday if you're good.

Bettye LaVette - He Made a Woman Out of Me

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams (Preview Pressing)

Little Richard -I Don't Know What You've Got But It's Got Me (Parts 1&2)

Indie City 1

 

Indie City 1 was a limited issue cassette compilation issued by the NME in 1988. It contained 20 tracks from an interesting range of bands as you can see from the track list here .  As you would expect there are a number of the usual suspects together with a couple of curve balls such as Motorhead.

As I recall you had to send away for it with something as outdated as a cheque or a postal order . I can't remember how much it cost .A couple of quid I suspect. My copy has gone the way of all cassettes.

However, someone very kindly posted all the tracks from it and the imaginatively named Indie City 2 and which I downloaded  and burnt onto two CDRs.  Cassettes, CDRs this is a bit like a history lesson.

Plenty of great songs to chose from and share today. It would be churlish not to include Motorhead (Track A6). To accompany Lemmy & Co I've gone with Candy Skin by Edinburgh's The Fire Engines (Track A 8 ) and from the other side Lean on Me from The Redskins (Track B6).

I could have featured any of them as there is not a duff track on the album.

Indie City 2 next Friday.

Motorhead - Motorhead

The Fire Engines - Candy Skin

The Redskins -Lean On Me

The Devil Has All The Best Tunes

 

As well as the outpouring of love for Cliff on last week's Devil Women post there appeared to be a bit of an appetite for more Devil posts. Then again maybe it is just my imagination.

Whatever the case I will bash on for the next few Thursday's on the basis of these words of wisdom from Paddy McAloon namely that The Devil Has All the Best Tunes.

That Ole Devil Called Love was a number 2 hit for Alison Moyet back in 1995. Good though it is you can't improve on perfection so here is a version  by Billie Holiday (which she first recorded in1945) of the song written by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher.

I think it is fair to say that Steve Earle has had more of his fair share of run- ins with the Devil over the years. Here is a live version of The Devil's Right Hand taken from the album Shut Up and Die Like  an Aviator. He may reappear later.

More devilishly good songs next week.

Prefab Sprout -The Devil Has All The Best Tunes

Billie Holiday -That Ole Devil Called Love

Steve Earle & the Dukes - Devil's Right Hand

Stick or Twist? - Wednesday Morning 3AM

 

There are a handful of CDs on one of the bottom shelves that I don't quite know what to do with. By and large they come from CD job lots. Some have been played, some haven't but none have been filed as yet.

Should we keep them or send them back?

One such album is Wednesday Morning 3AM by Simon & Garfunkel. Originally released in 1964 to widespread indifference it enjoyed a modicum of success in 1966 on the back of the success of The Sound of Silence. It was not released in the UK until 1968 in both mono and stereo formats. 

Amazingly Simon & Garfunkel only had five studio albums - this one, Sound of Silence (1966), Parsley, Sage,Rosemary & Thyme (1966), Bookends (1968) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970). Like everyone else on the planet we have the ubiquitous  Greatests Hits  on vinyl and also The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel on CD.

Given that do we really need it particularly as it is only the disc and no cover that we have?.

I genuinely don't know. I've burnt it while making up my mind. Of course whatever I decide I may well be overruled by Mrs CC who brought it in in the first place.

I quite like these simple folky numbers so I suspect that it will stay.

Simon and Garfunkel -Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream

Simon and Garfunkel - Bleeker Street

Simon & Garfunkel -Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Greendale

 

I've had a burn of Greendale the 25th studio album by Neil Young pretty much since it came out in 2003.I haven't really paid it very much attention recently but I dug it out from the shelves when drafting An A-Z of American Cikties - G to consider whether it contained a song that could

 be included in that series.

Alas, the answer was no as there is no song on the album called  or featuring the word Greendale.There is a Greendale in Winsconsin but it is classified as a village. Anyway it turns out that Greendale is a 10 track rock opera set in a fictional California town and based on the saga of the Green family and is essentially a exploration of small town America.

Now whereas that all sounds a wee bit pompous don't worry as the songs stand up in their own right. It helps that Neil is joined by Crazy Horse for the first time since 1996's Broken Arrow. You can instantly recognise that unique Crazy Horse sound. In November 2020 a live album of the songs from Greendale was released with the title Return to Greendale.

In the unlikely event that I ever saw it in a charity shop then I would definately upgrade to CD. Then again I would pick up any of his albums that I don't have if I saw them.

I'm throwing in a Devil song even although it is only Tuesday! The world has clearly gone mad.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Devil's Sidewalk

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Bandit

The Last Star

 

2023 Charity Shop Purchases #66 - Heidi Talbot - The Last Star

Mrs CC and I are fans of Irish born but Scottish based folk singer Heidi Talbot. We have previously seen her at Paisley Arts Centre and Glasgow's Mitchell Theatre. We are hoping to see her somewhere further afield on the tour she is doing with Boo Hewerdine later on this year.

I was therefore pleased to pick up her 2010 album The Last Star on the ever excellent Navigator label in Troon last week. That takes the total on the shelves up to 4 CD albums and 1 CD EP. The line up is a veritable who's who of contemporary Scottish folk music - John McCusker (her then husband), Donald Shaw, Boo, Phil Cunningham, Kris Drever, Eddi Reader and Karine Polwart to name but a few.

The album contains some Talbot/McCusker compositions, their interpretations of traditional ballads and a cover of Sandy Denny's At the End of the Day. Lovely stuff.

Heidi Talbot - Bantry Girls

Heidi Talbot - At the End of the Day

An A to Z of American Cities - M

 

We start this week in Montgomery the state capital of Alabama with a population of just over 200K. It played a prominent part in the Civil Rights Movement with the Montgomery Bus Boycott following the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat for a white person. The US Supreme Court subsequently ruled that laws on segregated buses were unconstitutional.

The song is Montgomery in the Rain, not by Hank Williams Jr  who made it famous, but by its writer Steve Young who I once saw in King Tuts playing to an audience of around30.

I said that I wouldn't be including Memphis this week given my previous Memphis v Nashville series. If you are therefore wondering why I am including the Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again wonder no more. It is Mobile we are focussing on, another Alabama city slightly smaller than Montgomery with a population in the region of 187K and which was the birthplace of the Mardi Gras.

We now venture further north to Minnesota and to Minneapolis (425K) one of the Twin Cities with St Paul bisected by the Mississippi River .It is a week of long titles. Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis is a Tom Waits song but I have gone for the cover version by Neko Case. Apologies for posting a Christmas song in July.

Finally we head just about as far north as you can go in the United States to the state of Wisconsin and  the city of Milwaukee with a population of 577K making it this week's largest city. Situated on the shore of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers it is a port city primarily for wheat. However it is not wheat but beer  which is the subject of the song What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me) written by Glen Sutton.. Another long title. Originally a hit for Jerry Lee Lewis it enjoyed a second wind in the UK courtesy of Rod Stewart.

It is the letter N next week and as hinted at above Nashville will be excluded.

Steve Young - Montgomery in the Rain

Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again

Neko Case - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis

Rod Stewart - What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)

Saturday Shuffle 13

 

Unlucky for some it's baker's dozen time.

We start with a song from yet another Bob Stanley compilation although this time he has moved from the 60's to the 70's. Music by American jazz singer Carmen McRae is the final song on 76 in the Shade here celebrating that long hot summer.

The picture above should fairly easily give you the answer to the next song. Back to the 60's with Nancy Sinatra and These Boots are Made for Walking. Boots was not surprisingly chosen as the name for her All- Time Hits Album.

Finally we actually dip our toes into the 21st century - 2009 to be precise. Recovery Mode is a song off the excellent These Times album the 6th by one of my favourite bands The Dream Syndicate a band who have made a great comeback after a nine year gap with some great albums. Their earlier ones are none to shabby either.

More assorted nonsense next Saturday.

Carmen McRae - Music

Nancy Sinatra -These Boots Are Made For Walking

The Dream Syndicate - Recovery Mode

No Hope for High Hopes

 

2023 Charity Shop Purchases #65 - Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes

I had 20 of the 21 studio albums by Bruce Springsteen on vinyl, CD or Download (Letter to You, Only the Strong Survive). The only one I didn't have was 2014's High Hopes.

That has now been rectified as I picked up a copy in Oxfam in Troon for 99p .I had been warned on these pages by various  folk that it was by far his worst album and boy were they right. Metacritic gives in 67/100 and Any Decent Music? 6.4/10 .They are being over generous. Rolling Stone incredulously  had it as its second best album of 2014 for goodness sake. The fact that U2's Songs of Innocence was number one gives that ranking some perspective.

Whereas some of the blame must lie with the Boss guitarist Tom Morello also must take some responsibility. He had previously sat in on the Australian leg of a tour when Steve Van Zandt was unavailable, He features on many of the songs and in my opinion his style of guitar playing is not  conducive to the E Street Band sound.

It is only the completest in me that is stopping this one going back.

Bruce Springsteen - The Wall

Bruce Springsteen - Dream Baby Dream

Devil Women

 

Although I still have plenty of Jesus material left I think we may all  be Jesus'd out by now. I know I am.

In a less than original thought I am contemplating following it up with a Devil series. This may or may not come to fruition. It won't if I can come up with anything better but still might if I can't. Watch this space.

Suggestions and/or guest posts welcomed as I'm short on inspiration.

Meanwhile here are some devil women to keep you going including a mandatory reggae one.

Suzy Quatro - Devilgate Drive

Manfred Mann - Devil Woman

Dandy Livingstone -Suzanne, Beware of the Devil

Oh go on then , you know you want to ... Making his long awaited debut on these pages ....

Cliff Richard - Devil Woman

Modern Lovers

 

On Monday's Remain in Love post I mentioned that I was unaware that Jerry Harrison had been a member of the Modern Lovers.

This was probably because he was in the original incarnation of the band from 1970-1974. I am more familiar with the post 1976  line up particularly the one on Modern Lovers Live - namely Jonathan Richman (guitar and vocals), Leroy Raddiffe (guitar and vocals), D.Sharpe (drums and percussion) and Asa Brebner (bass) .This was the album I sought out for a listen after drafting Monday's post.

Three of their more famous songs for you today.You used to know that summer had officially arrived whenever Drew posted That Summer Feeling. The aforementioned band members all get a name check on the live version of The Morning of Our Lives.

Gimme one more. Gimme one more. Roadrunner (once)? No Roadrunner (twice)

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - That Summer Feeling

Modern Lovers - The Morning of Our Lives

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - Roadrunner (Twice)

Bugs

 

Ever since BlogCom 23 in York I have had a recurring bug.

I'm restricted to a very limited bland diet with no alcohol or coffee. It is pretty debilitating and I can't stray very far from a toilet. I've been to the doctors and submitted a sample so hopefully they can get to the bottom of it if you excuse the pun.It could be worse I could have said that it's a bit of a pain.

This got me thinking of songs about bugs and I've managed to come up with a few 

Spare Snare -Bugs

Robbie Fulks -Wedding of the Bugs

B52's - June Bug

Tina Charles -Love Bug (Sweet for my Sweet)

Remain in Love

 

I took Remain in Love  the autobiography by Chris Frantz out the library a few weeks back. It is written in a chronological diary type format. I rattled through the first 100 or so pages but thereafter it became a bit of a slog.

From a priveleged WASP background he studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design where he met David Byrne and his future wife Tina Weymouth and formed Talking Heads. Jerry Harrison came along slightly later. I was unaware that he had previously played with the Modern Lovers.

It must have been a bit of a culture shock moving to a loft in the Bowery and playing at CBGBs. Their first tour to Europe was in 1977 and the book references the famous weekend where four of the CBGBs bands played in Glasgow.On Saturday May 21st Talking Heads supported The Ramones at Strathclyde University Union with Blondie supporting Television at the Apollo on the following evening (ticket price £1.50) Unfortunately I was just too young and not fully immersed in music then so I missed the opportnity to see history being made.

He is madly in love with Tina Weymouth. I know that because he mentions in on every other page. It is nice at first but by the end of the book it has you reaching for the sick bucket. Also David Byrne rapidly becomes the villian of the piece which is perhaps not surprising.

As well as charting the careers of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club there are a few interesting stories from their (him and Tina) production days. Most notably these concern John Martyn trying to drown his naked new wife by holding her head under water in a sink in an appartment in the Bahamas and trying to produce a Happy Mondays album in Barbados at the same time as Shaun Ryder discovered crack cocaine.

Worth a read I suppose but nothing startling. I'll stick to the music thanks.

Talking Heads -Cross Eyed and Painless

Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

An A to Z of American Cities - L

 

I managed fairly easily to come up with four American cities beginning with L without having to resort to the two big hitters of Los Angeles and Las Vegas,

Lawrence,Ks by Josh Ritter from his 2002 album  Golden Age of Radio was always going to appear. The same album gave us Harrisburg earlier in the series. The county seat of Douglas County, Lawrence has a population of 95K making it the 6th largest city in Kansas

If you are wondering why there is a picture of Mohammed Ali above wonder no more. His home town was Louisville the largest city in Kentucky with a population of 633K. It sits on the Ohio River which is where local boy Mohammed Ali (then Cassius Clay) threw his Olympic gold medal into in anger having been refused entry to an all white restaurant. This incident is the subject of the song Louisville Lip by Freakwater on their Springtime album.

Little Rock is the state capital of Arkansas with a population of just over 200K and houses the William J Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. Little Rock is also the title song from an 2005 album by Hayes Carll.

Finally not for the first or last time in this series we turn to Lucinda Williams. I had two choices Lake Charles or Lafayette.  Lake Charles has featured here a couple of times before so I have gone for Lafayette in Louisiana with a population of 121K.  George posted this song and another referencing the city on his State of the Union -Louisiana post but it is the first time round from me .From one of her earlier albums 1990's Happy Woman Blues when she was more Blues than Americana.

M next and Memphis will not feature given my previous Memphis v Nashville  compare and contrast series.

Josh Ritter - Lawrence, Ks

Freakwater - Louisville Lip

Hayes Carll -Little Rock

Lucinda Williams - Lafayette

Saturday Shuffle 12

 

Another Saturday, another Saturday Shuffle. A dozen so far. I think that calls for a refreshing drink.

First up is yet another song from a Jon Savage compilation  and by my calculations it is the third song from 1968 - The Year the World Burned. This time round it is the mighty Otis Redding with Hard to Handle.

Some Rolling Stones covers featured earlier in the week and today we have the real thing. Here are the Stones from even further back in 1966 with Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing in the Shadow.

That refreshing drink I was talking about? Something non-alcoholic is in order I feel given it is the Gym MP3 player. Orange Crush it is then by R.E.M off their Green album. Now thats a gym song.

It's bakers dozen time next Saturday

Otis Redding - Hard to Handle

The Rolling Stones -Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing in the Shadow

R.E.M. - Orange Crush

Friday on My Mind - Not

 

Now that I have retired I don't get as excited about Friday's as I used to. In reality the days tend to blend into one another and it is sometimes hard to remember which day is which.

I usually just about manage but don't ask me about dates as most of the time I have absolutely no idea what the date is. Usually it is not important but I rely on the calendar on my phone to keep me right.

For those poor sods who eagerly await  Fridays here are some songs to see you through the day.

Suzy Quatro - Friday

The Jody Grind - Friday

Beth Orton - Friday Night

Richard Thompson - Friday on my Mind

Here's To Jesus

 

It is a resurrection  of sorts this week .I had hinted last week that it may be the final post in this series if I could come up with a new one. I couldn't so it looks like the big man is hanging in for now.

I think, therefore, it is only fair to raise a glass and to join  Colorado  band Shovelin Stone  in a toast to mark his longevity - Here's to Jesus.

Robbie Fulks would have us believe that the resurrection actually took place in the 70s and he gives us the song Seventies Jesus as proof.

Finally please be upstanding for  the Reverend Charlie Jackson as he implores Fix it Jesus.

He's fixed another week but will he be back next Thursday?

God knows - but nobody else does.

Shovelin' Stone -Here's to Jesus

Robbie Fulks - Seventies Jesus

Rev. Charlie Jackson - Fix it Jesus

Sticky Soul Fingers

 

Soul posts - like Corporation buses. None for ages then two come along at once.

Sticky Soul Fingers is a fantastic CD from Mojo in 2012 with the Rolling Stones' classic 1971 album Sticky Fingers being given a track by track Soul reinterpretation with a cover of Angie also being thrown in for good measure.

I've previously posted this CD as far back as April 2014 when I featured Brown Sugar and Wild Horses. The version of Wild Horses by the late great Sharon Jones (& the Dap-Kings) is simply too good not to post again.

They are joined this time round  by Ren Harvieu with Sister Morphine  and by Anthony Joseph & the Spasm Band with Dead Flowers

It is not one of the Mojo compilations that you would normally be likely to stumble upon in a charity shop but if you do see it pounce.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Wild Horses

Ren Harvieu -Sister Morphine

Anthony Joseph & the Splash Band - Dead Flowers

Summer Breeze

 

2023 Charity Shop Purchases #64  - The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze; The Best Of

My second York purchase is much more pleasing to the ear. Summer Breeze is a two CD Best Of by The Isleys with a whopping 32 tracks. I've only listened to the first CD so far which seems to contain most of the big hitters.

Although it has featured here a couple of times before given the time of year it would be churlish to exclude Summer Breeze. That Lady (parts 1 and 2) is another which I feel that I can't possibly ignore.

Finally from their cover album Givin' It Back we have what I have previously described as a slab of social commentary weighing in at 9 minutes and 13 seconds starting with Neil Young's Ohio and morphing into Jimi Hendrix' Machine Gun.

I may well come back to you with some of their lesser known numbers once I have given CD2 a listen

The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze

The Isley Brothers - That Lady (Parts 1&2)

The Isley Brothers - Ohio/Machine Gun

England's Irie

 

2023 Charity Shop Purchases #63 - Black Grape (featuring Joe Strummer and Keith Allen) -England's Irie (CD Single)

A little bit of history was made on our recent visit to York with my firsr charity shop purchase on English soil. For the record I have bought numerous CDs and records in various towns and cities in England before but never from a charity shop.

Given this momentous occasion a CD single called England's Irie seems appropriate. I will be honest it was the words Joe Strummer  which first caught my attention rather than Black Grape or indeed Keith Allen.

Released in June 1996 to coincide with Euro 96 which was held in England. As you would expect the English public were convinced that their team would inevitably win the tournament. However they lost 6- 5 on penalties to arch rivals Germany in the semi-finals.  Karma perhaps from when England "defeated" West Germany in the World Cup final in 1966 with a goal awarded when the ball didn't cross the line!

Black Grape - England's Irie

Black Grape -England's Irie (Pass the Durazac Mix)

Black Grape -England's Irie (Suedehead Dub)

Black Grape - England's Irie (Mel's L.A. Irie Mix)

An A to Z of American Cities K

 

We have now reached as far as K in this series. I had two in mind right away. The other two took a little more time.

Somewhat strangely Kansas City with a population of just over 500K is the largest city in the state of Missouri as opposed to the state of Kansas. I suspect that there is more than one song about Kansas City but the one which immediately sprung to my mind was The Train from Kansas City by The Shangri-Las

Next up is Knoxville the third largest city in Tennessee after Nashville and Memphis with a population of 190K. Knoxville Girl is a traditional murder ballad. I have versions by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and the The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with Brett Sparks.They both pale into insignificance when compared to the original by the mighty Louvin Brothers. You cannot improve on perfection.

Anyone who worked in hospitals in the pre- computer days will be familiar with the Kalamazoo Patient Recording systems. Named after the city of Kalamazoo in Michigan with a population of 74K.. It is also the home of the original Gibson Guitar Corporation. I was all set to give you I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo by the Glen Miller Orchestra until Rol suggested Kalamazoo by Ben Folds.

Last but by no means least we are off to the state of  Florida and Key West an island city on the Florida Keys archipelago with a population of 26527. It is a city that the great Bob Dylan is fond of and which features on Key West (Philosopher Pirate) a song from 2020's excellent Rough and Rowdy Ways album.

Next week is the letter L and  which, even if we ignore the two obvious ones, should not prove that difficult.

The Shangri -Las - The Train From Kansas City

Louvin Brothers -Knoxville Girl

Ben Folds - Kalamazoo

Bob Dylan - Key West (Philosopher Pirate)

The Saturday Shuffle 11

 

Today's shuffle starts with a song from one of the greatest Americana albums of all time namely Hollywood Town Hall by The Jayhawks. Wichita is a song which may well feature on another series here in due course.

From a song off one of the greatest Americana albums to one off one of the greatest Live albums of all time. Live from 1975 was the fifth album released by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. It was recorded on the 24th May 1975 at London's Hammersmith Odeon. Delilah is a song written by Les Reed and Barry Mason which previously was a huge hit for Tom Jones

We conclude with one of the greatest Punk singles Blank Generation by Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

Three absolute classics this week as I'm sure you will agree.

The Jayhawks - Wichita

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Delilah

Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Blank Generation