Saturday Shuffle 72

 

No more skiving - Saturday Shuffle is back with three random beauties.

First up is Hillbilly Country Blues artist the late great Junior Kimbrough who is joined by the Soul Blues Boys on Slow Lightnin' from a Mojo compilation The Black Keys present The Hill Country Blues.

Next up are Bloodshot act Sarah Shook and the Destroyers with Solitary Confinement from the album Sidelong the only thing by Bloodshot that I have on vinyl.

Finally we have Hefner with The Day That Thatcher Dies. It may be dated  but those of us that lived through her regime can all still sign up to the sentiment.

More Shuffling next Saturday.

Junior Kimbrough & the Soul Blues Boys -Slow Lightnin'

Sarah Shook & the Destroyers - Solitary Confinement

Hefner - The Day That Thatcher Dies

i Like Birds 13 - The Flamingo

 

He's back!

The laptop has finally been discharged by the doctor. The good news is that all my music has been retained. The not so good news is that I have had to reinstate various music related apps. Slowly after a bit of effing and jeffing things seem to be gradually getting back to normal.

We start normality with the 13th post in this series and with one of the more unusual birds, the Flamingo, a wading bird from the family  Phonicopteridae  with  four species native to the Americas and two native to Afro- Eurasia.

The song which will immediately spring to most of your minds is Pretty Flamingo by Mannfred Mann. However, for some strange reason, it does not feature in my music folder and given that I have others available I have not bothered to source it.

For example we have the simply titled Flamingo by former Scottish Indie favourites Tuff Love. 

The Subterraneans were a band led by Nick Kent who released My Flamingo in 1980. The Royaltones were an instrumental band from Dearborn in Michigan who released Flamingo Express way back in 1961.

Van Morrison surely needs no introduction. Flamingos Fly is a song from his 1977 album A Period of Transition.

And finally, if only to wind up Rol  and Ernie   we conclude with Chicago doo wop band The Flamingos and Love Walked In.

I feel this series may well be reaching its conclusion but I will try to eek it out for a few more weeks.

Tuff Love - Flamingo

The Subterraneans - My Flamingo

The Royaltones - Flamingo Express

Van Morrison -Flamingos Fly

The Flamingos - Love Walked In

Out of Order

I’m sorry to report that CCM is currently out of order.

My laptop is out of action with diagnostic issues. It is likely to be a couple of days before it is back up and running.

Normal service will resume as soon as possible.

Admin

Brenda(s)

 

Last year Last Night From Glasgow released the eponymous debut album by female Punk Pop trio Brenda.

I went to the album launch at the Glad Cafe on 28th July and in my Live From 2023 post towards the end of the year I wrote:  It was a bit shambolic but in a good way. I'm not sure they had played all the songs before. The  eponymous album is good though and grows on me after each listen

Here is the Bandcamp link for anyone interested.

Just over a year later I have not heard or read anything else about the band.

Worry not, however, as there are plenty of other Brenda's available

Brenda - Pigs

Brenda Lee - All Alone am I

Brenda Holloway - Tell Me Your Story

Brenda George - I Can't Stand It

Kris Kristofferson RIP

 

It was sad to hear about the death of Kris Kristofferson at the age of 88. Walter and Rol posted fine tributes yesterday

Rhodes scholar, helicopter pilot, actor, janny - there was nothing he couldn't turn his hand to. Fortunately for us he turned to singing and songwriting with the support of his great friend Johnny Cash.

We had the privilege of seeing him very briefly on two occasions at Celtic Connections in 2016 when he did a cameo appearance with The Chieftains and a few songs as part of the Roaming Roots Review.He was quite frail as he had been suffering from Lyme disease but he still had a huge aura and presence.

There will be those out there who will say that Me and Bobbie McGee was his best song but they will be wrong there.

Clearly his best song was Sunday Mornin' Coming Down and I'll fight anyone who says differently.

Probably the last of the Country greats.Who else had a cartoon fox named after them?

I'm off to look out my cleanest dirty shirt.

Rest easy Kris.

Kris Kristofferson -Sunday Mornin' Coming Down

Kris Kristofferson - To Beat the Devil

Kris Kristofferson - Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)

Elvis 1986

 

It has to be said that Declan Patrick MacManus comes across as a bit of a diddy these days what with fleecing customers and generally being obnoxious.

However there was a time - in the mid 80s when he could do no wrong and was probably my favourite artist on the planet.

1986 is a prime example with two of his greatest albums being released that year -  King of America in February billed as The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates and Blood and Chocolate in September  as Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

I gave the last one a spin the other day for the first time in ages and while it didn't hit me in the solar plexus as it did first time round it was still pretty good if a bit dated.

One from each I think.

The Costello Show - Indoor Fireworks

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Tokyo Storm Warning

Annie Booth

 

Annie Booth is an Edinburgh based singer/songwriter who has previously released music on Last Night From Glasgow but has slipped off my radar recently.

Her first album An Unforgiving Light was a joint release from LNFG and Scottish Fiction in 2017. She subsequently released a 4 track EP Spectral another collaboration between the two labels in 2019.

There was then an EP/mini album on LNFG in 2020 under the name Slow Weather as part of a duo with Chris McCrory . 

The final record I am aware of is Lazybody again from LNFG in 2021. 

She was also a member of Edinburgh band Mt.Doubt who disbanded towards the end of 2022.

I saw her live on a few occasions and she was always very good.

Hopefully she will resurface. If not, thanks for the music.

Annie Booth - Chasm

Slow Weather - Lisbon

Annie Booth - Cocoon

Saturday Shuffle 71

 

When it comes to live albums there are few better than 1969's Johnny Cash at San Quentin. One that everyone should have in their collection. It was his second Prison album following 1968's At Folsom Prison.  He even wrote a song to commemorate the occasion:

San Quentin, I hate every inch of you
You cut me and you scarred me through and through
And I'll walk out a wiser, weaker man
Mister Congressman, you can't understand

Martin Stephenson, who is one day younger that me, is a very underrated singer songwriter. Although born in Durham he is now considered an honorary Scotsman.. Along with his band The Daintees he enjoyed a modicum of fame in the late 80s/early 90s. Sunday Halo is taken from their 4th album 1992's The Boy's Heart.

Twenty years previously Darts, a nine piece British doo-wop revival band, were regularly troubling the charts. Come Back My Love was the first of three successive sons which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Charts. Unfortunately they never quite hit the bullseye.

We will be stepping back up to the oche next Saturday for more Shuffling.

Johnny Cash - San Quinten (Live)

Martin Stephenson & the Daintees -Sunday Halo

Darts - Come Back My Love

I Like Birds 12 - The Hummingbird

 

One of the smaller birds this week but totally worthy of inclusion

Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. There are  approximately 366 species and 113 genera with most species found in Central and South America As of 2024, 21 hummingbird species are sadly listed as endangered or critically endangered, with numerous species declining in population.

They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings which flap at high frequencies audible to other birds and humans. They hover at rapid wing-flapping rates, which vary from around 12 beats per second in the largest species to 80 per second in small hummingbirds.

Right that's enough cutting and pasting. Four songs for you today with three of them by Leon Russell, Wilco and Smith & McLennan simply called Hummingbird. Dean Owens is the outlier with Land of the Hummingbirds.

I am aware that I caused some controversy last week when I included some musical acts with bird names in the title. This will continue for the rest of the series as the number of songs featuring the birds name will get progressively smaller. In the absence of a bird metaphor I am changing horses in midstream.

This week the Dixie Hummingbirds do the honours

Leon Russell - Hummingbird

Wilco - Hummingbird

Smith & McLennan - Hummingbird

Dean Owens - Land of the Hummingbirds

Dixie Hummingbirds - He Cares For Me

Not So Slim Shady

 

For some strange reason three quarters of yesterday's post turned out shaded.

I've no idea how that happened and more importantly I have no idea how to rectify it.

Rather than worrying about it I'm turning it in to a positive by featuring some Shady songs today. Don't panic  when you see the picture above as I have nothing by Mr Mathers III.

Let's start with some Folk and the legends that are Simon and Garfunkel with A Hazy Shade of Winter. I also have the Bangles version on vinyl but you can't improve on perfection.

It's country next with Henson Cargill and Four Shades of Love taken from the great compilation Choctaw Ridge  - New Fables of The American South 1968 - 1973.

Some Alternative Country next courtesy of Conor Oberst aka Bright Eyes with The Difference in the Shades from his album Letting Off the Happiness.

Finally whereas a Reggae number is not necessarily mandatory in this instance it is always good to have one. Step forward please Third World with 96 Degrees in the Shade.

Nothing shady about those four songs as I'm sure you'll agree

Simon and Garfunkel -A Hazy Shade of Winter

Henson Cargill - Four Shades of Love

Bright Eyes - The Difference in the Shades

Third World - 96 Degrees in the Shade

The Wrong Weekend

 

On Sunday night we went to a gig at Webster's Theatre a converted church on Glasgow's Great Western Road. The gig entitled The Wrong Weekend was put on by Last Night From Glasgow and consisted of three acts as you can see from the poster above.

The first act were Nashville band Draped Apes  signed to LNFG and making their first Scottish date. Somewhat confusingly the were previously know as André Salvador and the Von Kings who in 2022 released an album on LNFG called Draped Apes. They were pleasant enough but I don't feel the urge to explore further.

Next up surprisingly were The Golden Tree who I thought would be the final act. The Golden Tree are Bobby Bluebell and Grahame Skinner (of Hipsway fame) who have an album called Scottish Songs Observed Vol 1. Bobby armed with a computer providing the music sang backing vocals while Grahame flawlessly sang all 12 songs from the album. They were excellent.

Sadly for Constant Follower a reasonably contingent left for the bar after the Golden Tree and did not return. On a more positive note that included the West End luvvies who literally bulled a chap in front of us who had been there from the beginning to move from his seat as they piled in from the bar at the start of Golden Tree's set.

Constant Follower, who have recently signed to LNFG, seemed undeterred and I suspect that the significant number of folk left was probably the largest audience they have played too . This was my third time seeing them and they were excellent. They are very much low- fi and you could have heard a pin drop as they performed their songs.

These included a good few from their 2021 critically acclaimed debut Neither Is, Nor Ever Was and some scheduled to appear on their follow up album The Smile You Send out Returns to You scheduled to be released in February next year.

A good night and Mrs CC and I awarded it a solid 8 out of 10.

Andre Salvador & the Von Kings - White Noise

Constant Follower - I Can't Wake You

The Golden Tree - Feels Like Heaven

Washington Bullets Again

 

More Washington related songs for you this week and the good or bad news depending in your perspective is that there should be enough for a third week.

But first I should start with an apology. As I'm sure some of you worked out Rich Man Blues was by Dinah Washington rather than Ella Washington. The relevant changes have been made.

It seems only fair then that we start this week's offerings with Ella and He Called Me Baby.

And just to show that this thing is not just thrown together the next song up is by Baby Washington (see what I did there?)  with Who's Going to Take Care of Me.

Next up is some jazz funk courtesy of  Grover Washington  with the song Trouble Man.

Some Blues next with Washington Philips and Denomination Blues Part 1.

Finally it is the Only Band That Matters with the song that inspired this mini series.

Stay tuned for the final instalment next week.

Ella Washington - He Called Me Baby

Baby Washington - Who's Gonna Take Care of Me

Grover Washington - Trouble Man

Washington Philips - Denomination Blues Part 1

The Clash - Washington Bullets

Garbage?

 

Like four million other people I bought the eponymous debut album by Garbage which was released in  1995.Wiki says it is on the Almo label but mine says Mushroom Records.

At the time Butch Vig was all the rage  due to the rise of Sub Pop and fronting the band with Shirley Manson who had previously been a member of Goodbye Mr Mackenzie seemed like a leftfield choice but one which worked out very well for all concerned.

I liked it well enough when it came out but I suspect that I haven't played it more than once or twice this century. Also, I have never been tempted to pick up any of their 6 further albums and the only one I recognise is Version 2.0  which also is the only other one I've seen in Charity Shops.

Would it survive a future CD cull? Probably not but I'm happy to sing along (badly) to these two songs whenever I here them on the radio.

Garbage -Stupid Girl

Garbage -Only Happy When it Rains

Sweet Baby James

 

Mrs CC came home from her mum's the other day with a number of CDs including a burn entitled James Taylor Classic Songs. I suspect that this was the work of her dad.

There is no denying that he is a great songwriter with a great voice. He has a couple of standards featured below that you will all be familiar with.

A little known fact is that later he branched out and formed a jazz funk quartet called the James Taylor Quartet.

Some of the above is true.

James Taylor -Sweet Baby James

James Taylor -You've Got a Friend

James Taylor - How Sweet it Is (To Be Loved by You)

James Taylor Quartet - Love The Life

James Taylor Quartet - JTQ Theme

Saturday Shuffle 70

 

The Shuffle reaches new heights this week as it becomes a septuagenarian. 

It therefore seems appropriate to feature some old standards.

Up until now I was blissfully unaware that P.F. Sloan (pictured above) had written Eve of Destruction the anti war song made famous by Barry Maguire. Today he is acknowledged by an even greater songwriter Jimmy Webb who wrote a song in his honour. It was subsequently covered by Rumer.

The Kinks do not feature here nearly enough. Today you are getting Wonderboy, one of their lesser known numbers, and yet another one from Jon Savage's 1968 - The Year the World Burned.

We conclude with an absolute belter. Reconsider Me by Johnny Adams from the compilation on the Southern Soul Showcase label Cryin' in the Streets. 

You won't hear a better song today.

More Shuffling next Saturday.

Jimmy Webb -P.F.Sloan

The Kinks -Wonderboy

Johnny Adams - Reconsider Me

I Like Birds 11 - The Swan

 

Bettye and Billy

Don't let this picture fool you. Swans can be fairly brutal creatures and can easily break your arm. Apparently though it is a myth that the British monarch owns all the swans in Britain and is the only person allowed to eat them.

Here is the more technical stuff

Swans are birds of the genus Cygnus within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks (who everybody can eat). Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the  subfamily Anserinae  where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six living and many extinct species of swan (the ones who have been eaten)

To the music and this week we are including both songs and acts so don't say I'm not good to you. Let's start the songs with Ride a White Swan by T-Rex followed by Swan Song by Be- Bop Deluxe. Slightly more up to date we have Swan by Matthew Sweet and Swan Swan H by R.E.M from Life's Great Pageant

There are a number of Swan acts and I have rightly or wrongly omitted The Swans and The Wild Swans. I have however found room for Bettye Swann, Billy Swan and The Swan Silvertones

T-Rex - Ride a White Swan (Peel Session)

Be-Bop Deluxe - Swan Song

Matthew Sweet - Swan

R.E.M. - Swan Swan H

Bettye Swann - Tell It Like It Is

Billy Swan - I Can Help

The Swan Silvertones - If You Think Your God is Dead,Try Mine

Static Union

 

I had high hopes for Glasgow band Static Union following the release of the above single on Record Shop Day 2017. Sadly these hopes have not materialised.

There is a Bandcamp page which includes these two songs and a couple of others.

The band consisted of Sean McGarvey (vocals/guitar), James Harker (guitar/synth), Liam Adams (bass), Cameron “Kangus” Angus (drums) all in their late teens or early twenties 

Some lovely jangly guitars there.

If anyone out there has any further info to share on this band please do so. Another one, it seems, that has slipped through the net.

Static Union - Turn Out The Lights

Static Union -Accelerator

You Had a Kind Face

 

Butcher Boy first came to my attention via JC who is a good friend and champion of the band.

On the strength of his recommendations I went to see them at Govanhill Baths on Record Shop Day in 2017 where they were promoting their single Bad Things Happen When You Are Quiet. Unfortunately the acoustics were terrible and it was hard to make out the words of the songs.

As JC has pointed out the various band members have jobs and families which inevitably leads them to be less prolific than they would probably like to be.

The good news is that in 2022 Pete Pathides' label Needle Anthology issued You Had a Kind Face an anthology of their songs from 2007 to 2017.It is well worth getting hold of.

Butcher Boy - The Day Our Voices Broke

Butcher Boy -Bad Things Happen When It's Quiet

Washington Bullets

 

"I'm a bit stuck for inspiration" I said to Mrs CC followed by " I'm going out to bring in the washing"

That's it I thought Washing Songs! However the only one  I could come up with was Washing Line by The Hanging Stars.

However there were enough Washingtons for two posts so here goes with Part 1

The first one to raise his head over the parapet was Gino Washington with the Ram Jam Band and the song I've Been Hurt.

Next was the great Jazz/Blues singer Dina Washington with Rich Man's Blues.

Ella  is followed by Jerry Washington with Right Here is Where You Belong from Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 5 

Washington as a band name? Yes we can do that too courtesy of  Glasgow Indie Rock band Washington Irving with a cover of Hot Chip's Boy From School.

Who is the most Presidential?

More Washington's to follow ...

The Hanging Stars - Washing Line

Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band - I've Been Hurt

 Dina Washington - Rich Man Blues

Jerry Washington - Right Here Is Where You Belong

Washington Irving - Boy From School (Hot Chip Cover)

Wrong Side of Memphis

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 62 - Johnny Dowd - Wrong Side of Memphis

George was in town over the weekend. We had arranged to go for a meal and as everybody else was running late I was charged to get there on time to ensure that we did not loose our table.

However I am happy to report that as I got off the bus I found a little bit of time to quickly scan the two rows of CDs in Barnardos. Among the usual detritus I was amazed to see Wrong Side of Memphis the 1998 debut album by Johnny Dowd on the Dutch Munich label.It was snapped up

Helpfully the CD back cover includes some blurb which saves me having to search for something to write:

A moving man from Ithaca, New York, embarks on the scariest ride of the year in this homemade work of genius - Top Ten Release of 1997  Chris Morris , Billboard

.. dark, telegraphically visual songs that come off like a fusion of Johnny Cash and Lou Reed stepping out of the pages of a Charles Burns graphic novel .. Top Ten Release of 1997  Jackson Griffith, Tower Records/Pulse!

The jaw-dropping intensity of his dark, twisted country blues makes Johnny Dowd an outright godsend. This exquisite debut is proof that not every story has been told - Top Ten Indie Release of 1997  David Sprague, Request

The intense description is apt as the only time I saw Johnny play (in the Barfly in Glasgow)  he was so intense that my pal Big Pete had to retire upstairs to the bar (that's his excuse anyway).

Shame that second track wasn't available to me back in the Transport Tuesday days.

Johnny Dowd - Ft. Worth, Texas

Johnny Dowd - John Deere Yeller

Laughing Len Sunday - Songs From a Room

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 61 - Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room

All good things sadly come to an end and sadly today sees the fifth and final Leonard Cohen album recently purchased in the Wigtown Community Shop. It shares  a jewel case with last weeks New Skin From The Old Ceremony

For those of you who are bereft  worry not as this his second album from 1969 is probably the best of the bunch It is one that I also have on vinyl and in what can only be described as a remarkable coincidence it was also purchased in Wigtown but in the Book Shop as opposed to the Community Shop.

It actually reached number 2 in the UK albums charts. Wiki writes like his debut LP, it received mixed reviews from critics, who were put off by his unusual singing voice but intrigued by the songs

And therein lies the rub.

You know what might be a better idea? Get Johnny Cash to record the songs!

That's us all Lenned out and as things stand Charity Shop Purchases out. I shall try and rectify the second one sooner rather than later.

Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire

Leonard Cohen - The Old Revolution

Johnny Cash - Bird on a Wire

Saturday Shuffle 69

 

We start this week’s shuffle with the band who were probably my favourite band on the planet around the mid 1990’s From the great 1995 album Tomorrow the Green Grass here are The Jayhawks with track 9 namely Nothing Left to Borrow. I saw them a few times around then and this was a big live favourite.

The Jayhawks are followed by a band that sadly I never saw live. Back from when John Lydon was still relevant here are Public Image Limited with their 1986 album imaginatively titled Album and track 6 Rise. 

Anger is an energy.

We take it down a notch or three for the magnificent Zimbabwean band The Four Brothers. Here is Uchandifunga  from their 1998 album Makoroto on  the Cooking Vinyl label . They were a band championed by Andy Kershaw who provided the photographs for the album cover.

I may be right, I may be wrong but the Saturday Shuffle will reappear here next Saturday for its 70th iteration.

The Jayhawks - Nothing Left to Borrow

Public Image Ltd - Rise

The Four Brothers - Uchandifunga

I Like Birds 10 - The Owl

 

There are five resident species of owl within the British Isles - four native species the barn, tawny, long eared and short eared and the little owl which was introduced in the 1800s,  There is also the occasional eagle owl kicking about but they are not listed as a native species. I have no idea as to whether the one pictured above is one of them. I'm not sure that I've ever seen an owl

Owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees and twist them nearly upside down which let's face it is a pretty neat party trick and surely worthy of a vole or two.

To the music. Stephanie Dosen an American singer songwriter, knitwear designer (under the brand Tiny Owls Knit) and member of the band Snowbird. She is a new name to me.

The late great Paisley Buddy Gerry Rafferty surely needs no introduction and appears today courtesy of the title song to his 1999n third solo album Night Owl

We go from Night Owl to Nite Owl  a song by Tony Allen and the Champs from as far back as 1955 with the crackles to prove it. 

We conclude the Owl title  songs  with the appropriately  named An Owl Song by Canned Heat.

Eagle owls got a brief mention above ,There is also a lo-fi/indie folk band from Edinburgh called Eagleowl whose lead singer is coincidentally or otherwise  called Bartholemew Owl who also performs as part of Broken Chanter.

More birds who don't have tilted heads and/or haven't played with Broken Chanter next week

Stephanie Dosen - Owl in the Dark

Gerry Rafferty -Night Owl

Tony Allen and the Champs - Nite Owl

Canned Heat - An Owl Song

Eagleowl - For the Thoughts You Never Had

The Soul Queen of New Orleans

 

It is not just Blues which has been neglected here of late. Posts featuring Soul music have also have also recently been scarcer than hen's teeth.

In an effort to compensate for this I shut my eyes and pointed a finger at the music folders on the screen and it landed at Irma Thomas who is also known as the Soul Queen of New Orleans.

She has graced these pages  on a few occasions, as a search will illustrate, but not since November 2018. I feel quite guilty about that particularly as she is still going strong at the age of 83 having appeared on stage with the Rolling Stones as recently as May this year when she duetted with Mick Jagger on Time is On My Side a song that she recorded prior to the Stones better known version.

A true talent. Long may time remain on her side.

Irma Thomas - I Done Got Over It

Irma Thomas - Time is on My Side

Irma Thomas - I'm Your Puppet

Burnside Blues

 

It has been a while since the Blues appeared on these pages so by way of compensation here are some Burnside Blues.

No not music from the most affluent part of Rutherglen but rather the Mississippi Bluesman R.L. Burnside who enjoyed some belated fame on the Fat Possum label in the 90's with his stripped down North Mississippi Hill Country Blues alongside fellow Mississippian Junior Kimbrough a style which was to influence the likes of The Black Keys. ( long sentence!)

After a heart attack in 2001 his doctors advised him to stop drinking which he did but he reported that this change left him unable to play!

He popped up on the MP3 player at the gym the other day and I felt that he merited a further airing.

Great stuff but I suspect that it will not do much for my dwindling figures.

RL Burnside -Going Down South

RL Burnside - Jumper Hanging on the Line

RL Burnside - Miss Maybelle

Spaceships Over Glasgow

 

A month or so ago I had some time to kill in the library while waiting for a bus to visit a friend in hospital. 

I pulled Spaceships Over Glasgow the autobiography by Mogwai frontman Stuart Braithwaite from the shelves and read the first couple of chapters. I put it back with a view to taking it out later. Of course it was never on the shelves whenever I visited and I had to request it. Equally predictable the day I collected it there was  also a copy available on the shelves.

I must admit I am not really a fan of Mogwai but it is a good read particularly if you are from the Glasgow and Lanarkshire areas as it references a lot of  bands and venues that you will be familiar with. Also if you are into Post Punk there will be plenty to whet your appetite.

The subtitle Mogwai Mayhem and Misspent Youth  is pretty accurate given that  there is a lot of references to  youthful hedonism and copious consumption of drink and drugs.

Among the interesting facts is that his father was Scotland's last telescope maker.

It is  well worth a read but still hasn't converted me to Mogwai. It does give me a good excuse though to post the first song.

Mogwai - George Square Thatcher Death Party

Mogwai - Mogwai Fear Satan

Home Again

 

There is nothing on the shelves by Orange Juice except for a battered 12 inch copy of Rip It Up belonging to Mrs CC.

There are, however, a few CD albums and singles by Edwyn Collins. When replacing the latest Leonard Cohen back on the Folk/Singer- Songwriter section it was adjacent to a burn of Edwyn's 2007 Home Again on the Heavenly label. This prompted me to give it a spin.

It was actually recorded in 2004 but was not completed and released until early 2007 following  two brain haemorrhages in February 2005 leading to a long period of hospitalisation followed by rehabilitation..

There were three further albums but nothing since 2019. Edwyn now contents himself with production at his studio at Helmsdale in the Scottish Highlands.

Edwyn Collins - Home Again

Edwyn Collins - 7th Son

Laughing Len Sunday - New Skin For The Old Ceremony

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 60 - Leonard Cohen - New Skin For the Old Ceremony

This week we are going as far back as 1974 with Leonard Cohen's 4th studio album New Skin for the Old Ceremony. Back to the time when he was still under the illusion that he could sing rather than croon.

Amazon describes it as telling intensely personal stories, with tales of love, loss, regret and a degree of political activism, each verse feels lovingly crafted. According to Wiki on this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with  violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars ,percussion and other instruments giving the album a more orchestrated (but nevertheless spare) sound

Chelsea Hotel#2 is apparently about a fleeting liaison he had there with Janis Joplin

The CD is part of one of those old 2 x CD packages which came in a jewel case about an inch thick and which take up a lot of room on the shelves. The other CD will conclude this series next Sunday.

Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel #2

Leonard Cohen - I Tried To Leave You

Saturday Shuffle 68

 

Another week, another shuffle

First out the blocks this week is R.E.M. with Radio Free Europe. It is the first track from the band's 1993 debut album Murmur and was the one which first brought the band to the world's attention. Coincidentally I gave Murmur a spin earlier in the week for the first time in ages.

Somewhat criminally Martha and the Vandellas have only ever graced these pages once before when Nowhere to Run featured as part of a tribute following the death of Lamont Dozier  Honey Chile is yet another song taken from the compilation Jon Savage's 1968:The Year the World Burned.

I'm sure our final act Los Texmaniacs would feel privileged to appear with such exalted company. I think that Polka Politos is the third song from their Americano Groove album to appear in the Shuffle and it is a mighty fine finale.

More of the same  or maybe something different next Saturday.

R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe

Martha and the Vandellas - Honey Chile

Les Texmanics - Polka Palitos

I Like Birds 9 - The Chicken

 

When I was in the RAF I had far more important things to do than write Blog posts about Chickens!

As well as staring in Chicken Run, quite possibly the greatest animated film of all time, the Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)  is a large and round short-winged bird, domesticated from the Red Junglefowl of Southeast Asia around 8,000 years ago. Most chickens are raised for food primarily for providing meat and eggs.

I like that they have the word Gallus in their Latin name as Gallus is a Glaswegian word  which can be described as bold, cheeky or flashy.

For me there was only one song to kick off today's selections and that was Louis Jordan with Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens.

Dixie Chicken by Little Feat was a close second.

Others worthy of a mention come from John Grant, Bobby Rush  and Hasil Adkins and I couldn't resist concluding with Dr John Cooper Clarke and Evidently Chickentown.

More finger lickin' birdsong next Friday.

Louis Jordan -Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens

Little Feat - Dixie Chicken

John Grant - Chicken Bones

Bobby Rush - Chickenheads

Hasil Adkins - Chicken Shake

John Cooper Clarke - Evidently Chickentown

Made For Each Other

 

I'm quite surprised that I haven't featured Paisley band The Muldoons before.

I'm turning to Five Rise Records for some blurb on their 2020 album  Made For Each Other on the Last Night From Glasgow label:

The long awaited debut album from Paisley’s Muldoons is a glorious jangly guitar lovers dream.

The music will excite lovers of Lou Reed, Lloyd Cole, Lawrence and of course, the sound of Johnny Marr’s guitar.

The Muldoons are inspired by bands like the Brilliant Corners, The Bodines, June Brides and all the great indie outfits who might have graced John Peels evening shows.

Recorded at Studio 1790 in Cumbernauld and mastered by Colin McGeoch at La Chunky Studios in Glasgow, Made For Each Other pays homage to the alternative music of yesteryear and is a memoire of “growing up, getting drunk and falling in and out of love every week” in the band’s hometown of Paisley featuring anthemic three-chord post-punk accompanied by brass and string compositions.

Originally formed in the early 90s, The Muldoons are a 5-piece outfit comprising of childhood friends who bonded over an enthusiasm for three chord post-punk and alternative music whilst growing up i their native Paisley, Scotland. The Muldoons reformed in 2018 for a supposed one-off hometown show.

Energised by the success of the sold out show, The Muldoons embarked on a recording project which has yielded their debut album.

There that saved me a bit of time and effort. I gave it a spin for the first time in ages earlier in the week and thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the trumpet bits. I suspect that Brian will concur!

The good news is that they have a follow up album We Saw the View scheduled for release by LNFG on 29th November this year - not long now!

The Muldoons - Every Week is the Same

The Muldoons - Made For Each Other

Captain, It's Wednesday

 

Yes it's come to that!

I'm so short of inspiration that I'm posting stuff relating to the day of the week. Fortunately if as few people read this as was the case with yesterday's offering I'll probably get away with it.

When I was working I used to feel that Wednesday was the hump of the week and thereafter it was downhill to the weekend. Now it's just another day.

To make it even just a little bit interesting which is your Worst Wednesday and which is your Wow Wednesday?

One thing for sure is that The Siddeleys will be  bang on the money as up here in Glasgow it will almost certainly be a wet Wednesday.

In no particular order here are:

Emiliana Torrini - Wednesday's Child 

Simon and Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning 3am

The Siddeleys - My Favourite Wet Wednesday Afternoon

The Undertones -Wednesday Week

Ronnie Dyson - A Wednesday in Your Garden

Hop, Skip and Jump

 

You may well have thought that after George's  recent Beg, Steal and Borrow series that that would be the end of the three word phrases. Well you would have been wrong there.

On Friday night and stuck on the couch I found myself watching athletics for some reason. One of the disciplines was the Triple Jump which is known more colloquially as Hop, Skip and Jump.

That sprung to mind for today's post when I had nothing else in the tank.

Kip Tyler and the Flips were a rockabilly band who have been described as an influence for The Cramps. They provide the Hop part of this post with the song Jungle Hop.

For Skip we turn to Country and Dwight Yoakam with My Heart Skips a Beat a song from his 2007 album Dwight Sings Buck an album I was unaware of up until now. I had moved on from him by then as his music became more and more mainstream.

Who needs Van Halen with Jump when you can have the Pointer Sisters with Jump (For Me Love)?

Kip Tyler and the Flips - Jungle Hop

Dwight Yoakam - My Heart Skips a Beat

Pointer Sisters - Jump (For My Love)

September Gurls and Boys

 

September the 2nd! How did that happen? Two thirds of the year gone already.

More importantly what happened to the summer? It has probably been one of the wettest ones that I can remember and I've been around the block a few times.

Time then, before we contemplate turning on the heating and dread the cost, for some music to cheer us up.

Let's start with something that is far to positive  and bouncy for the ninth month namely September by Earth, Wind and Fire.

This is followed by another song again simply called September this time by David Sylvian.

September When it Comes sings Rosanne Cash. Get with the programme Rosie it is already here!

Gillian Welsh is somewhat optimistic given that she is holding out for a Fair September.

An artist called September you say? Here is September Jones with I'm Coming Home. As far as I am aware she is not the September Jones the former Miss Universe contestant who was stripped of her crown after having sexual relations with all five judges.

In case you were panicking I have saved the best for last. It is of course the great September Gurls by Big Star

Earth, Wind & Fire - September

David Sylvian - September

Rosanne Cash - September When it Comes

Gillian Welsh - Fair September

September Jones - I'm Coming Home

Big Star - September Gurls

Laughing Len Sunday - Ten New Songs

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 59 - Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs

You may or may not be relieved to hear that we are now over half way there to completing this mini series.

There is no chronological logic to this series. Rather they are plucked from the shelves at random. We started with 1979's Recent Songs, his 6th and then 2012's Old Ideas his 12th.

Today we are featuring Ten New Songs his 10th album from 2001 and his first in 9 years and as always on the Columbia label. It was co-written and produced by Sharon Robinson and I'm guessing that it is she who is accompanying him on the cover.

The album was number 1 in Poland and Norway and was also well received elsewhere with Steven Chean from Rolling Stone writing that the album  manages to sustain loss's fragile beauty like never before and might just be the Cohen's most exquisite ode yet to the midnight hour

Enough of that as I know you are desperate to get to the songs, In My Secret Life is the album's opener and first single.

For my second offering I have chosen Here it Is solely because it was covered by Jonathan Richman  on his album Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild.

Leonard Cohen - In My Secret Life

Leonard Cohen - Here It Is