A few years ago I made a playlist consisting of four songs from each of the first five American Recordings albums by Johnny Cash which I stuck on a CD.
This may have been on or around my Covered by Cash series in 2017/18
I listened to the CD the other day and thought that long enough had passed for me to get away with sharing some of the covers again.
From the first of the five albums simply titled American Recordings I give you Johnny's version of the Tom Waits song Down There By the Train.
From Unchained, the second one, we have a cover of Tom Petty's Southern Accents..
American III - Solitary Man has, I think, more covers than any of the others. Solitary Man was originally written and recorded by Neil Diamond. This record also gives us Johnny's version of Nick Cave's The Mercy Set.
There are probably enough others to justify a further post in due course.
Johnny Cash - Down There By The Train
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It also gives you the opportunity to catch up with some music which is long overdue for an airing .
One such album that has found its way to my turntable is We Saw The View the second album on Last Night From Glasgow by Paisley's finest The Muldoons from 2024.
A bit of jingle jangle and the occasional trumpet. What's not to love?
As it's still the Season of Goodwill I'm throwing in their non- album version of Cath, the classic Bluebells song.
Consider it a belated Christmas pressie.
It was a bit of a lean year for Charity Shop purchases with 65 purchases compared to 72 in 2024 and 88 in 2023.Can you see a pattern emerging?
There are probably a number of reasons. There are less and less CDs in Charity Shops these days plus I am trying to be more discerning for financial reasons but primarily because of space.
Also this year I didn't really to venture too far. 39 of the 65 were in charity shops in East Renrewshire/South Glasgow (Battlefield Rd 15, Victoria Rd 12, Clarkston 11 and Newton Mearns 1) within a 3 mile radius from my house.
The remaining 26 were from a couple of trips to Galloway (Newton Stewart 12, Wigtown 7, Whithorn 2, Stranraer 2 and Ballantrae (1)
East Kilbride with 2 purchases at the beginning of the year was the only other location and the only new one.
There was one LP (Boz Scaggs), 7 CD singles and 57 CDs, Around 10 were to replace Burns and there was therefore no space implications. 3 were CDs of albums I already have on vinyl.
There were 8 Soul Compilations, 5 Bob Dylan albums and 3 by Karine Polwart
I haven't kept a record but at least 4 have gone back.
I can see 2026 being a bit of a struggle.
Put down those turkey sandwiches for a minute as it is time for Saturday Shuffle 126.
By my reckoning there are two acts who are making their Shuffle debuts today.
First up are today's cover stars San Francisco band The Beau Brummels with Lift Me yet another number from the compilation Jon Savage's 1968 The Year That The World Burned.
I was more than a little surprised to see that the great Southern Soul artist Johnny Taylor has never appeared on the Blog before let alone the Shuffle. Here he is with Who's Making Love taken from an Any Major Southern Soul compilation from the wonderful Any Major Dude With Half a Heart
Finally we have an act who are no strangers to the Blog and the Shuffle. Here are Whiskeytown with Drank Like a River from when Ryan Adams wasn't up himself.,
The next Shuffle will be along in 2026. 2026! Gosh, how did that happen?
It was sad to hear about the death of Chris Rea at the age of 74 although given the list of ailments he had its a miracle he lasted this long.
As you can imagine there were a few bad taste "jokes" on the Internet around Driving Home for Christmas. I would imagine Chris would have found them quite funny.
I'm posting the two you would all expect and my particular favourite Stainsby Girls.
I was also put in mind of a sketch by fellow Smoggie Bob Mortimer from Would I Lie To You.
Rest easy Chris.
Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas
Chris Rea - The Road to Hell (Part 1)
Chris Rea - The Road to Hell (Part 11)
St Etienne - Driving Home For Christmas
That's me until after Christmas.
See you on the other side.
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| M.John Henry |
Another end of year list.
Due to finance and a number of other reasons that I won't go into 2025 saw me attending only 6 concerts. A pawlty number when compared to 15 in 2024, 15 in 2023 and 9 in 2022.
On a more postive note I have 2 lined up for 2026 so far.
With the exception of the final one all this year's gigs have featured here before. Here they are with the links
1 - Dropkick - Glad Cafe, Glasgow 29/03/25 - 7/10 - here
I've seen Dropkick on a few occasions now and I would say that this was one of their more average shows.The highlight of the night for me were the Spanish support band from Valencia Star Trip
2 - Rose City Band - Stereo, Glasgow 14/05/25 - 9/10 -here
The second time that I have seen the Rose City Band (the first in 2022) and both times they have been my gig of the year. As I said at the time it was hard to envisage any better than this
3 - R.Dallas Gray/M John Henry 05/07/25 - Old Hairdressers, Glasgow - 8/10 - here
A small intimate gig at a small intimate venue with two artists promoting their new albums. R. Dallas Gray's music did nothing for me I'm afraid but M. John Henry was mesmerising.
4- Ward Thomas - Corran Halls, Oban 20/08/25- 7/10 - here
Mrs CC is the fan of the band but it was good to get away for a gig. They are good at what they do, but I'm afraid that they don't do much for me
5 - Broken Chanter - Glad Cafe, Glasgow - 8/10 - here
A concert recording songs for a live album which is scheduled for release late next year.
6 -Phil Cunningham's Christmas Concert- Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow 18/12
We traditionally attend this concert every year with Mrs CC's mum..It is a mixture of traditional and folk music featuring Phil Cunningham, John McCusker, Eddi Reader, Karen Mathieson, Kris Drever and others. Unfortunately Phil was ill but John led the line well. Another good show with some great musicianship.
M. John Henry - All Saints Day
Broken Chanter - Don't You Think That Something Needs To Be Done
This week''s Americana compilation comes from the Lone Star State and is living proof that all Texans are not wide eyed loons. Having been to Austin a couple of times I can confirm that it is pretty liberal (for America).
From 2001 on the ever excellent Hightone Records label Texas Boogie - A Collection of Texas Songs it is 13 track selection of Texas related songs.
We start with Lubbock based singer songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore with a song about the city of Dallas.
Jimmie is followed by his close friend and occasional collaborator Dave Alvin who hails from California. Here he sings of the West- central Texan city of Abilene
We stay in West Texas as the wonderful San Antonio born Austin resident Rosie Flores singing about the West Texas Plains
Here endeth the Geography lesson.
That's us a quarter of the way to Saturday Shuffle 200. The Shuffle is throwing up a few tracks that have already been included in the 372 posted so far. I'm hoping to find some time over the Festive Period to load a good few more onto the mp3 player to increase the gene pool.
In the meantime let's start with His Bobness.I first came across I Shall be Released on the cover by the Tom Robinson Band. When I included it in my Dylan Covered series back in December 2016 the jury decided by a margin of 5 to 4 that the cover was better than the original. Somewhat belatedly here is the original.
You will probably recognise today's cover stars Graham Parker and the Rumour.. I would argue that their first five albums are pretty much essential. You Can't Be Too Strong is from their fourth album 1979's Squeezing Out Sparks.
The Shuffle is always better when it includes something from the Bloodshot label. From the 2017 album Sidelong the only Bloodshot record I have on vinyl. Here are Sarah Shook & the Disarmers with the title track
Saturday Shuffle will be back on 3rd January after the Festive holidays.
Bob Dylan - I Shall Be Released
Graham Parker & the Rumour - You Can't Be Too Strong
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Sidelong
This is the first in a run of African countries so I will try my best not to tread on Ernie's toes.
Looking at his African Odyssey post I think that we have only one artist in common namely Ahmed Ben-Ali. I'm sure he won't mind given it is from Habidi Funk and the song Subhana did not feature on his round up.
Ahmed Fakroun is a singer/songwriter from Benghazi and apparently he is a pioneer of modern Arabic World Music and a pioneer of bringing disco music to raï
That's the Ahmeds taken care of so lets move on to the Asmas . I haven't been able to find out much about Asma Salim other than she is an exponent of Magreb Pop (blending traditional Arabic,Berber and Andalusian sounds with modern pop, hip-hop and electronic beats) and Dabke (a vibrant, energetic Levantine folk dance). I know that will be the first thing that springs to mind when you listen to Yaleb Bel-Nar
Abdelhamid Ali Ahmed al-Shaeri, better known as Hamid al-Shaeri, is an Egyptian-Libyan singer, songwriter, and producer, who lives in Egypt. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Arabic pop and has been credited for incorporating Western musical styles of synth-pop, western dance and rock'n'roll influences alongside traditional Arabic musical features, which came to be known as El Geel.
Finally we have Dania Ben Sassi a Libyan Amazigh singer whose music went viral during the First Libyan Civil War, due to the fact her music praises Amazigh resistance and are sung in Tamazight. Today's njmber is called Tagrawla
Next time round we are heading South and East a bit to the Horn of Africa
A post of female names ending in INE.
I know desperate niche or what?
Let's start in the order I downloaded them with Jacqueline by Franz Ferdinand.
Next up it is Glasvegas with a song about a Social Worker called Geraldine
The Super Furry Animals are keen to let us know that Hermann loves Pauline - that's nice.
I was looking for Christine by Souxsie and the Banshees but came across a much better one by Tarnation.
We conclude the music with a band name as oppposed to a song with Closer from the band Nadine.
Finally we have a clip from when today's cover star Jacqueline McCafferty met Marti Pellow. Please note that this is not safe for work, for elderly relatives, fans of Wet,Wet, Wet or for those with a nervous disposition
Super Furry Animals - Herman Loves Pauline
It's that time of the year when us Bloggers begin to compile even more lists than usual.
Early Songs, Of Late by M. John Henry turned up on my back door step yesterday which was a bit of a surprise (albeit a pleasant one) given that Bandcamp, from whom it was ordered, have the release date.of 16th January.
It took my total of albums purchased in 2025 to 10. A paltry number compared to 20 in 2024 and 22 in 2023. Can you see a pattern emerging?
Having said that, even with a charity purchase by Boz Scaggs, I reckon I have forked out just north of £200. It's an expensive hobby.
In the unlikely even that anyone is remotely interested here are the 10. Most, if not all, will have merited a post this year so feel free to hit the search button.
1 - Shop Assistants - Will Anything Happen
2 - Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees (second hand)
3 - Constant Follower - The Smile You Send Returns to You
4 - Butler, Blake & Grant - Butler, Blake & Grant
5 - Edwyn Collins - Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation
6 - Dropkick - Primary Colours
7 - Rose City Band - Sol y Sombra
8 - Star Trip - Velocidad
9- Various Artists - That Summer! (second hand)
10 - M.John Henry - Early Songs, Of Late
Recently I have managed to track down a couple of Drinking Songs that have eluded me for a long time.
Sadly it took the death of Todd Snider for me to get hold of a copy of Beer Run. I used to have it before my i-tunes disappeared and I had to start from scratch. Thanks to Rol for including it as part of his poignant tribute/obituary following Todd's premature death.
All I Got for Christmas was Drunk went the same way although it this case I was unaware as to who had recorded it. I have since discovered that it was by Jim Bachmann and I have now managed to track it down.
They could perhaps be described as novelty songs, but they are good novelty songs.
Cheers!
Now that all the 2025 Charity purchases to date have featured I am required to use my imagination to come up with something else to post.
Fortunately the Scottish League Cup Final between St Mirren and Celtic is on the radio (Sunday PM) so I have decided to feature some Saints and some Celts
Looking back I did something similar for the Scottish Cup semi final back in April when Celtic beat St Johnstone but lost to Aberdeen in the final. A bit of a stretch then to say I'm using my imagination!
As things stand it is 1-1 after 22 minutes
Dexys Midnight Runners - The Celtic Soul Brothers
The Skids -The Saints Are Coming
Siobhan Wilson - There Are No Saints
Van Morrison & The Chieftains - Celtic Ray
Postscript
Final score
St Mirren 3 Celtic 1
There will be a few sore heads in Paisley today!
This week's Americana compilation is a burn of a compilation curated by the No Depression magazine which I used to subscribe to and which has featured here of a Sunday in it's own right when I posted the editions #32 to #62
I bought a copy of the compilation released by Dualtone in 2004 but have never " owned" it. I think I should explain.
I bought it as a present for a work colleague's 40th birthday party. Obviously being a consientious chap I took the precaution of burning it to ensure that there were no faults or jumps. It was the least I could do.
As you can see from the tracklist above it contains a good few of the Americana royalty along with a couple of lesser known artists. As you can see below I've gone for three of the big hitters.
It seems that there was a Volume 2 released in 2006 and I should probably try and track it down. That appears to be the extent of the series if you can call two releases a series.
Whiskeytown - Faithless Street
Let's see what assorted nonsense we have for you this week.
We start with a band who are no strangers to that sort of thing. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Carter USM with their cover of Another Brick in the Wall taken from the 2012 Deluxe Edition of 1992 -The Love Album. It was originally recorded for Ruby Wax -The NME's Roaring Forty compilation. Count yourselves lucky, I could have posted the original.
Next up is Jimmy" Duck" Holmes a Blues musician and proprietor of the Blue Front Cafe the oldest surviving juke joint in Mississippi. Here he is with appropriate Catfish Blues.
Yalla Yalla is an Arabic colloquialism for Come on,lets go, hurry up. It is also the name of a Lebanese Kitchen restaurant in Soho. From the pictures the food looks fantastic. I may send Ernie out on a scouting expedition!
Much more importantly than that, however, Yalla Yalla is a belter of a song on the 1999 album Rock Art and the X-Ray Style by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros which I have just put on.
More assorted nonsense next Saturday.
Carter USM - Another Brick in the Wall
Jimmy " Duck" Holmes - Catfish Blues
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Yalla Yalla
You would think that in a twofer double CD by The Byrds that the one to accompany their second album 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn! would be their 3rd one 1966's Fifth Dimension. Well you would be wrong there.
Rather it is accompanied by their 5th album from 1968 namely The Notorious Byrd Brothers. According to Wiki the album represents the pinnacle of the Byrds' late-'60s musical experimentation, with the band blending together elements of psychedelia, folk rock, country, electronic music , baroque pop and jazz . That's most bases covered then.
It wouldn't by The Byrds without a degree of controversy and animosity. David Crosby, who could cause a row in an empty house, was fired by Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn leading to the return of Gene Clark. The Notorious Byrd Brothers is therefore an inspired name for tha album.
Having had a further look at their discography I have decided to focus on their eight 60s releases only. By my calculations that means I have only Mr Tambourine Man, Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde and Ballad of Easy Rider to get. Wish me happy hunting.
2025 Charity Shop Purchases # 65 - Kate Rusby - Awkward Annie
My third and final purchase in a four CDs for a pound in the Wigtown Community Shop. Try as I might I couldn't come up with a fourth.
Awkward Annie was the second ony by Kate Bush that I picked up and it replaces a burn from the library. From 2007 and on the Pure label it was her 7th studio album. It's predecessor The Girl Who Couldn't Fly was also available but I already had that one.
As with most of her albums from that period it is a mixture of her own songs and covers of traditional songs. One of each for you I think. Bitter Boy is one of her own compositions and one she feels is the favourite of the ones she has written.
Andrew Lammie is a traditional Scottish ballad and is Child Ballad 233.
Her version of The Kinks classic The Village Green Preservation Society is included as a bonus track. It was recorded as the theme song for the BBC sitcom Jam and Jerusalem which from my patchy recollection was pretty awful and not remotely funny.
Kate Rusby - The Village Green Preservation Society
As things stand this is my final Charity Shop purchase of the year. It is getting harder and harder. I was in a shop yesterday which probably had 700 to 800 CDs. I came away with nothing
2025 Charity Shop Purchases # 64 - Reverend and the Makers - The State of Things
I was vaguely familiar with the name Reverend and the Makers. I knew that they were a band from Sheffield and that's about it.
I thought it was worth a punt to pick up their 2007 debut album on the Wall of Sound label given it was available for 49p in Cancer Research in Stranraer. They were selling three for a pound but I could only come up with this and yesterday's Jackson Browne offering.
Heavyweight Champion of the World which apparently made number 8 in the UK Singles Chart seemed vaguely familiar.
It is pleasant enough but hardly inspiring. On the basis that I am unlikely to play it much (if at all) and the fact that the Pop/Indie shelves are full to bursting it point towards this one not being a keeper.
2025 Charity Shop Purchases # 63 - Jackson Browne
I can't say that I have ever been a huge fan of singer songwriter Jackson Browne.
I have a battered second hand vinyl copy of his 1976 album The Pretender and a CD burn of The Very Best of Jackson Browne from the sadly missed Record Library and that was my lot.
However I felt morally obliged to fork of 49p for a CD copy of Lawyers in Love from Cancer Research in Stranraer given the paucity of purchases in recent visits to the town.
From 1983 on the Asylum label it is his seventh studio album.It is a relatively short album with only 8 tracks and a running time of only 35 minutes and 21 pence. Just as well I only forked out 49p!
It is pleasant enough but nothing special. As things stand it is a keeper but it is unlikely to survive any future cull should space once more become a premium.
I thought that Guyana was an island in the Carribean but it is in fact a country on the North Atlantic coast of South Americana. Further evidence that I am pretty hopeless at Geography.
Maybe not that rubbish given that in the back of my head I had the notion, correctly as it turns out, that Eddy Grant was Guyanese.
That was the extent of my knowledge so I had to resort to doing some fishing on Google.
First out of the hat was Bunty Singh who is a four time Chutney King of Guyana. Chutney music, as I have now found out, is a genre of music that developed in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname and is popular in Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. It is a fushion of Indian Folk Music, specifically Bhoijpuri folk music, with Caribbean Calypso and Soca music.. Here is Bunty with Ah Want to Get Marry.
Natural Black is the stage name of Mortimer Softley Guyanese reggae singer.I'm not sure why he changed it as Mortimer Softley is a great name.His offering today is Far From Reality
Eddie Hooper was a singer, composer and musican from Fyrish, who in Guyana is best known for his early patriotic calypso songs. Hopefully Take Warning falls into this category
Finally we have a Chutney/Soca nunber by Vanessa Matura & Nishal B which may or may not be called Yeh Ladka Hai Year.
The next six countries to feature all come from the African continent so I may well have to call on Ernie for assistance.
Eddy Grant - Gimme Hope Jo'Anna
Bunty Singh - I Wanna Get Marry
That's us 13 weeks into the Sunday Series featuring Americana Compilations.
We have already featured the great German label Glitterhouse. This week it is the turn of the other great German label namely Blue Rose from the municipality of Abstatt in the district of Baden- Wurttemberg in southern Germany.
It is another great source of Americana for those of us on this side of the pond.You will be pleased, or otherwise, to note that I have a couple more of the volumes in the collection which will feature later in this series.
Two of my favourite artists who regularly feature on these pages are up first.
A search for the legend that is Alejandro Escovedo will reveal that he has appeared here many times before but I think this is the first time that Rhapsody a track from the brilliant A Man Under the Influence album has featured
You could say the same about Steve Wynn with the song Butterscotch from the album Here Come The Miracles.
Finally Delbert McClinton has only ever appeared here once before but with this very song.
On the off chance that anyone else is remotely interested in this album here is the tracklist
Stay tuned for week 14
I'm sure that there is some significance to the number 123 but I just don't know what. Any takers?
While we wait for a response let's kick off with the late great Paisley Buddie Gerry Rafferty. Take the Money and Run is Gerry's advice which seems eminently sensible to me.
Gerry is followed by Gentry although alphabetically speaking it should be the other way around. I am of course referring to the great Bobbie Gentry who thankfully is still with us at the age of 83.
Penduli is a Latin word primarily meaning hanging or swinging so I suppose it helps to make a bit of sense around the title of her song Penduli Pendulum.
No such worries with Fred Eaglesmith. He's seen your truck and he wants to buy it. Straightforward, no messing about.
Stay tuned to see what's on offer next Saturday.
Gerry Rafferty - Take The Money and Run
Back in January I featured the album Fifth Dimension by The Byrds
At the time I wrote they only released 12 studio albums so that's a quarter or them now accounted for. Don't be surprised to see others popping up here during 2025
Well I've taken my time but I've just about made it. A few weeks back I was in town and popped into Missing Records with the expressed intention of picking up some of their earlier albums.
It turns out I was in luck as I was able to pick up two of their albums in a mini CD box set.
One of the albums as you can see from the picture above was Turn! Turn! Turn! their second release from as far back as 6th December 1965. Therefore by my calculations this post is a day short of the 60th Anniversary of its release! Better late than never.
Some of the tracks may come across as a bit dated but I would argue that most of them have stood the tests of time. Here are a few examples.
Stay tuned for album two sometime next week
The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! ( To Everything There is a Season)
2025 Charity Shop Purchases # 62 - Mississippi John Hurt 1928 Sessions.
It is remarkable to think that these songs by Bluesman Mississipi John Hurt were first recorded almost 100 years ago.
In the AllMusic Review reviewer Michael Erlewine writes:
The 13 original 1928 recordings of Hurt. Justifiably legendary, with gentle grace and power on these understated vocal and fingerpicking masterpieces. These are the ones to hear, although all Hurt is worth listening to. He's not wrong there.
Here is another review courtesy of Bear Tree Records
The version above which I picked up in Wigtown is the 1990 CD on Yazoo Records which includes some interesting sleeve notes commencing with the words that listening to these recordings is to visit an America that no longer exists and can only be imperfectly imagined. It is to fly backwards a full fifty years (longer now) not to a recording studio, but to the hill country town of Avalon, Mississippi which had no significance beyond its own miniscule boundaries.
A history lesson set to music. Terrific stuff.
Mississippi John Hurt - Nobody's Dirty Business
Mississippi John Hurt - Got the Blues, Can't Be Satisfied
2025 Charity Shop Purchases # 60 - Lucinda Willaims - Little Honey
Long suffering Regular readers will know that I am a long-term admirer of the music of Lucinda Williams.
As well as having seen her live on a number of occasions I have the vast majority of her 15 studio album, her Live@the Fillimore album and downloads of the first 6 of the 7 in the Lu's Jukebox series.
Little Honey, her 9th studio albums on the Lost Highway label from 2008, was one of the only two which I only had as a burn with the other one being 2011's Blessed.
It was the third and final one from a recent South Side mini haul upgraded from a Burn to CD the other two being Revival by Gillian Welch and yesterday's Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis. Not a bad trio as I'm sure you'll agree.
The album features the band Buick 6 who often accompany her on stage so it is perhaps more rockier than some of her other offerings. That is not necessarily a bad thing as evidenced by her first nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2010 losing out to Electric Dirt by Levon Helm.
2025 Charity Shop Purchases # 59 - Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
From the same recent foray which yielded Revival by Gillian Welch albeit I had moved on from Victoria Road to Battlefield Road. I give you Acid Tongue the 2008 debut solo album by Jenny Lewis on Rough Trade.
She previously released albums as a member of Rilo Kiley and as Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins ( which is a terrific record) and so she is no stranger to these pages.As with Gillian Welch this was another case of a CD replacing a burn in this instance with an added bonus of coming in a cardboard sleeve as opposed to a jewel case thus saving space.
It is a decent enough album with a few good tunes two of which are featured below. It is definitely a keeper although I must admit I have never really felt the urge to track down any of her three other albums. Having said that if they were to pop up in a charity shop ....
