We start with a song from a CD compilation that featured here fairly recentlyInstant Garage was a Mojo compilation and one that I was unwilling to part with as space became a premium.
Track 12 was Outta Reach from Sacramento all female Garage band She from their 1970 album She - Wants a Piece of You on the BIG BEAT label.
Marah are a band who have been around since 1993. Although described in Wiki as a rock'n'roll band there is a bit of Americana thrown in as well as Garage. Faraway You is the opening track from their second album 2000's Kids in Philly an essential album which every household should have.
To conclude we take it down a notch or three with the Silver Fox himself Charlie Rich and The Most Beautiful Girl
Hey if you happen to tune in next Saturday you will be rewarded with the next Shuffle
As I'm sure you are all aware Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae.They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
The subfamily Accipitridae includes goshawks, sparrow hawks ,sharp-shinned hawks , and others. This subfamily are mainly woodland birds with short broad wings, long tails, and high visual acuity. They hunt by dashing suddenly from a concealed perch.
It is helpful to read the above in a Chris Packham voice.
There is no music by Penetration today so I'm not sure that Chris would approve.
We do however have Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy who he might admire with Red Tailed Hawk ( look at that!)
Joe Turner follows that with The Chicken and the Hawk. The Chicken may well feature in its own right later on in this series.
The Dove has appeared earlier in this series and here Scott Miller and the Commonwealth pair it up with the Hawk.
Finally we have Meg Baird with Mosquito Hawk. I have looked this up and it is actually a colloquial name for the Crane Fly but who's quibbling?
No Hawkwind but I couldn't resist a bit of Hamish Hawk
A little Birdie tells me there will be more next week.
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 58 - 10.000 Maniacs -Love Among The Ruins.
I was quite chuffed to pick up a 10,000 Maniacs album alongside The Housemartins. Just before I played it, it suddenly dawned on me - what if it is 10,000 Maniacs record post Natalie Merchant?
Sadly that proved to be the case. From 1997 and on the Geffen label Love Among the Ruins is the 6th album by the band and the first without Natalie.
Mary Ramsay is the lady with the impossible task of filling her boots. She has a pleasant enough voice but it is a bit like Queen without Freddie, The Faces without Rod or even Motorhead without Lemmy.
Mrs CC somewhat cruelly compared them to a covers band. Maybe a more accurate description than I first thought as a cover of Roxy Music's More Than This is one of the two singles off the album and probably the best track.
AllMusic seem to agree giving it 2 out of 5.It still managed to sell over 200,000 copies although Geffen dropped them after 3 months with 30,000 copies sold.
It's going back as it is pretty unlikely either of us would take the trouble to listen to it again.
I'm back to burning and digitalising some CD compilations to free up some space on the shelves.
From 1996 and on the Dino Entertainment label Alternator is a 21 track indie compilation - tracklist here My copy cost me £1.99 from Missing Records.
There is some decent stuff and some dross. I have most of the good stuff elsewhere so I can justify it as being surplus to requirements
Here are three of the better ones from Sugar, Pixies and the Breeders.
Despite the utterly predictable news about Oasis getting back together to fill their boots I somehow have resisted the temptation to feature Supersonic.
More from the much-maligned popsters The New Seekers, and what is not to like about this song?
It compares well to the original by Ms Safka:
Speaking of whom, we (my partner and I) have been watching that series Black Mirror, where we heard this brilliant song (that I have on my “best of Melanie” album, Beautiful People, track 12), and this is, as I am prone to say, the absolute bifters of a song:
Simply glorious. And I’m sure Ernie27 Leggies Goggins agrees with me, judging by his published appreciations of Ms Safka (here and here).
So the final set of songs for this all-too-brief series. And it will not include the ten minute dreary dirge by the Swans. (I think the word dreary might be superfluous). But I do have this, a quite superb rhythm and blues track by James Brown and his Famous Flames
For the “steal” track, I could break the rules (á la Rol) and include here Thieves Like Us. But of course I will not, rules are rules. According to my spreadsheet, this next band comes right after Turkish superstar Barris Manço. And this splendid anthemic track is from the first Manic Street Preachers album I bought:
I was looking for a decent cover version, but all I could find was this disturbing video, in which the young woman, or girl, looks like she is being held hostage:
And for the final track in this all-too-short series, and it’s from one of our (Mr CC and I) favourite country singers (from pre 2000 - Ed):
The final song, that is, if you don’t count this, from Aberdeen’s finest female pop singer:
As always, many thanks to my good friend Mr CC for hosting this. I’ll be buying him an OVD and lemonade when we meet up (shortly after this is published, I think) (A couple of weeks - Ed)
Enjoy the music
CC writes:
Thanks George. More New Seekers that you can throw a shitty stick at.
I look forward to the OVD. I think I've earned it!
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 57 - The Housemartins -Now That's What I Call Quite Good
I don't think that I have any songs with House Martin in the title for my Friday I Like Birds series so here is the next best thing.
For some reason that I can't quite fathom there are no albums by the Fourth Best Band in Hull on the shelves although I'm pretty sure I once had a recording of London 0 Hull 4 . I thought I had posted some of the songs from that album fairly recently but it turns out that it was as far back as September 2020. Time Flies. As you can see it was well received at the time.
Therefore it was a no brainer to pick up the 1998 compilation Now That's What I Call Quite Good on Go! Discs. 24 tracks for a quid! Outstanding value .
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 56 - Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
The jury has spoken.
After a tense stand off with the scores at one all Anon weighed in with the casting vote for Len and therefore for the next few Sundays I will feature in their entirety the recent Leonard Cohen purchases.
If you are unhappy about that you should have voted!
The second album to feature is Old Ideas his twelfth studio album from 2012 and as always on the Columbia label. One that was very well received with a Metacritic aggregate score of 85 out of 100.
Old Len had a bit of a reputation as a ladies man and a fair few feature on this record with Jennifer Warnes featuring on Show Me The Place and both the Webb Sisters and Sharon Robinson popping up on Darkness.
We start with Glasgow band Wojtek the Bear and Slow TV a song from one of their early EPs Old Names For New Shapes on the much missed Scottish Fiction label. The origin of their name is always worth sharing.
Next up is Atlanta based Mattiel Brown with perhaps her most famous number Millionaire from her 2019 Satis Factory album.
This week concludes with the title track of Heaven 17's debut album Penthouse and Pavement ranked by the NME as the fifth best album from 1981.
This week it is the turn of the Sparrow and the House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus) in particular. It is strongly associated with human habitation and can live in urban or rural setting. In Scottish dialect the sparrow is known as the Speug which I think is a brilliant word.
When I was a kid they seemed to be ubiquitous and often were the only bird that you would see in the garden. A few years ago we used to have a squad attracted by our bird feeders but sadly they seem to have disappeared again and we rarely see them now.
To the music and we have to start rather morbidly with the Trinidadian calypso artist The Mighty Sparrow. Hopefully his song Sparrow Dead does not apply to those who used to frequent my garden.
Next up are the brilliant Big Thief with the snappily titled Sparrow from the not so snappily titled album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You.
Let's continue with Toronto's finest band The Sadies who like a Translucent Sparrow.
We conclude with Josh Rouse with Sparrows Over Birmingham which I suspect references the Alabama city as opposed to the West Midlands one.
All that and nary a reference to Dolly Parton or Sparrow and the Workshop.
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 55 - Belle & Sebastian - Sing Jonathan David
One of the many good things about living in Glasgow is that Belle & Sebastian records probably pop up more in Charity Shops than elsewhere. If I see them I buy them.
There are 8 B&S albums on the CD shelves and now 4 CD singles/EP on the shelves diagonally opposite across the room. Only If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress are not charity purchases.
From 2001 on their Jeepster label Jonathan David was released as a 2 song 7 inch single and as a 3 track CD and EP. The title track features vocals from Stevie Jackson and is based on the biblical charactersTheLoneliness of the Middle Distance Runner is a reference to the great Alan Sillitoe and his short story The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It is surely self explanatory.
There are 5 charity shops on Glasgow's Victoria Road. I visited them all and this was the only one that I came away with. Slim pickings.
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 54 - Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Tropical Gangsters
A few weeks ago I picked up a vinyl cope of Tropical Gangsters by Kid Creole and the Coconuts on Ze Records in Oxfam in Troon. It cost me three pounds which I thought was pretty reasonable given that it was in very good condition and it was Oxfam.
I was surprised that I didn't already have it although I am pretty sure that I had it on tape at one stage. When exchanging pleasantries with the lady behind the till while handing over my cash we both expressed surprise that the album was from as far back as 1982.
42 years ago for goodness sake and yet these two songs and Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy remain fresh in my mind. Annie would probably have featured here today had it not appeared earlier in the month when August Darnell's yellow attire caught John Medd's eye and which has led to a wonderful series of all things yellow.
I am not sure, at the time of writing, whether or not my attempts to convince that the New Seekers are a band much misunderstood are failing, but surely this song will win some people over. Today showcases the talents of the band with a …………NEIL YOUNG song. Yes, that is the Neil Young and Crazy Horse bloke, yes, it’s Neil “After The Gold Rush” Young, and this song also appears on the “Crazy Horse” album (by Crazy Horse):
Dave Edmunds also covered the song. Chic (the band not Mr Charity) have a song with the same title:
Which is worth a listen for the absolutely tremendous production. But you really came here for some decent beg or steal or borrow tunes, so here they are:
First, and probably the second most obvious “begging” song is the one made famous by The Temptations…….so you can get the Dennis Smith version. Not Denis Smith the ex Stoke City hardman/defender, though:
Next could have been Richard and Linda Thompson doing a track from their not-very-good First Light album, but The Pointer Sisters version is far superior. Put your listening ears on for this:
And shoehorning in one final song, and it’s another cover by the Pointer Sisters, from the same album (Priority) as Don’t Let a Thief Steal Into Your Heart:
It’s an intriguing album, there’s a great cover of an Ian Hunter song.
The last time we were in the Wigtown Community Shop someone had handed in a number of Leonard Cohen CDs.
Mrs CC is a bigger fan than me and instructed me to buy them - five albums in total. I must admit that I am enjoying them more than I thought I would.
This gives me a bit of a dilemma. Should I feature them all as part of the 2024 Charity Shop purchases or not. And if so, do I phase them in gradually or so for a Laughing Len Sunday Series as his music is probably best listened to on a Sunday. Your suggestions are welcome.
In the meantime here is Recent Songs his 6th studio album from 1979 and as with all the others on the Columbia label. Wiki tells us that it is a return to his normal acoustic folk music sound after the Phil Spector-driven experimentation of Death of a Ladies Man but now with many jazz and Oriental influences.
Death of a Ladies Man is not one of the five we picked up. I don't know whether that is a good or a bad thing.
Len may or may not appear here again next Sunday. The public will decide.
It's Country all the way this week folks - such are the vagaries of the shuffle.
I once saw the country singer Steve Young play at King Tuts to an audience of less than 30 people. Undeterred he put on a terrific show although I bet he wished that he was Going Back to California.
Next in what is a first the MP3 player threw out two songs in a row from the same album namely the brilliant Americana compilation Viva Americana
I may be making the rules up as I go along but I have decided that it would not be fair to feature two songs from the same album on the one shuffle. I'm sure others will disagree but hey - my series, my rules.
Kieran Kane is therefore put on the back burner as I give you Sid Griffen with Cadillac Elvis.
An unintended but very welcome consequence of me playing fast and loose is that we get to hear Kelly Hogan and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts and their brilliant cover version of the Magnetic Fields song Papa Was a Rolling Stone. One of my most favourite songs ever and I can think of at least two fellow Bloggers who will approve.
Right, let's get the boring bit out of the way first:
The European Robin(Erithacus rubecula),, known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain and Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family.
I must admit that they are one of my favourite birds. Often while I'm working in the garden one will appear probably in the hope of finding a dug up worm. My mum was also a fan of robins and when one appears I like to think that she is paying me a visit.
To the songs. You will be familiar with the song Rockin' Robin sung by a very young Michael Jackson but you are not getting that. Rather here is the original version from 1958 by Bobby Day which topped the Billboard 100.
Karine Polwart is a great lover of birds and has already appeared in this series singing about the Wren. Today she is singing about The Robin from her album Laws of Motion.
It appears that Barbara and Brenda are not particular fans of our red breasted friends given that they caution that you should Never Love a Robin.
Who Killed Cock Robin ask The Silver Thread Trio. From the nursery rhyme there is a seemingly endless list of suspects. It seems that the Sparrow and the Bullfinch are the one's most in the frame.
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 52 - Various Artists - Fill Your Head With Prog.
As part of a recent 3 for 50p purchase I put my prejudices to one side as I picked up Fill Your Head With Prog an Uncut compilation from July 2007.
It says on the cover that it contains 11 mind bending classics see here and so with an open mind I gave it a listen.
God God Almighty I have never heard such drivel in all my days, It is unlistenable. I have a good mind to head back to Newton Stewart and demand a rebate of 16.66p.
I'm not sure that I want to sully a charity shop with this but rather than throw it out (which is very tempting) I may save it for an assignation in September.
I would rather eat my own ear wax than listen to this again.
These three tracks are chosen at random as they are all as bad as each other
I’ve been doing some reading in my bid to rehabilitate the New Seekers. And I have belatedly realised that they wanted to contribute to the soundtrack of a film version of a rock opera (and there’s two words to strike terror in your heart). This effort dates from 1973. And I have absolutely no recollection of this version, despite it reaching no. 16 in the charts. And, as we know, there was only one radio station available that played pop songs, so I’ve no idea why I simply cannot remember it.
And it’s not absolute bobbins either, is it? (That bloke on the left, is it me, or was that Peter Frampton guesting in the band?). The band failed the audition, Mr Russell opted for Elton John, and quite rightly too. I went with my mum to see the film (in The Regal in Broughty Ferry). And how cool was that?
Even more cool are the next three tunes, inspired by the song of the title of this piece, the first featuring the absolutely fantastic voice of Francesco Stephen Castelluccio.
The chequered flag has been raised and the last lap is under way.
Let's start with Gemma Ray (with a little help from Alan Vega) with the simply titled Motorbike.
Hard on Gemma's rear tyre is Northern Irish singer songwriter Andy White who is more concerned about Italian Girls on Mopeds.
It's getting tricky now so time for something a bit spurious. How about The Fall with I am Damo Suzuki?
The only other thing that springs to mind is Funky Moped by Jasper Carrot but don't worry I am not going to subject you to that!
Rather I will conclude with two acts who have two wheeled motorised transport as part of their name.
Firstly I give you The Motorcycle Boy with the motor bike related Under the Bridge and finally we have a Johnny Moped song.
I don't intend to do a series on Cars as I have absolutely no interest in them, so unless there are other plausible suggestions that's Transport Tuesday concluded.
2024 Charity Shop Purchases # 51 - Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
All We Could Do Was Sing the third album by Oakland band Port O'Brien from 2008 was part of the 3 for 50p haul which has already yielded Acid Haze.
I was going to say that it was a total shot in the dark but even although I had never heard of them the fact that the album is on the City Slang label sealed the deal.
I was pleasantly surprised when I got round to listening to it. It is described by The Line of Best Fit as a "not quite" concept album based loosely on the sea
There are obvious comparisons with Arcade Fire which is no bad thing. They also toured with Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse and were named by M.Ward as his favourite new band. Good company to keep as I'm sure you will agree.
It was also critically well received receiving a Metacritic rating of 78/11 based on 11 reviews.
The band released a further album Threadbare in 2009 prior to calling it a day in 2009.
A couple of weeks ago my brother sent me a video of a band called Broken Peach doing a version of Tainted Love with the words one for the blog.
Some blurb may be required -
Broken Peach, formed early 2009, creating a new way of merging music with entertainment. BP differs from the typical cover bands, giving a personal sound to each of the songs they perform, including also some mashups.
This got me thinking about some other versions. Two immediately sprung to mind - the original Northern Soul classic and possibly the best from Gloria Jones in 1964 and the version by Soft Cell which became a monster hit and brought the song to the world's attention
I have another couple of versions by Imelda May and Inspiral Carpets for good measure.
Squeeze are a band that have not appeared as many times on these pages as they should have. In an attempt to somehow right that wrong here they are with one of their best songs Pulling Mussels (From a Shell)
More parenthesis this time courtesy of our cover star Lefty Frizzell. From as far back as 1951 here he is with one of his classics Always Late (With Your Kisses)
Staying with classics Summerlong by Rose City Band was one of my favourite albums from 2020. Any of the eight songs on the album would have been worthy of inclusion but the shuffle has opted for Real Long Gone.
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