Only Connect

 

Like Jez I am a fan of the BBC2 Quiz Show Only Connect hosted by Victoria Coren- Mitchell. After his post I now find myself looking at the show in a new light.!

It's pretty difficult and you end up feeling pretty chuffed if you guess a connection correctly. I'm not bad at the missing letters round but struggle to get any connections from the other three rounds.

I think what I'm saying is that I would not be an automatic choice in the Bloggers Team.

I reckon Rol, John, and of course Jez would make a fairly formidable team!

Roy Orbison - Only The Lonely

Yazoo - Only You

Stereo MCs - Connected

Elastica - Connection

More Painter Songs

 

I'm stuck for inspiration so more painter songs today with no focus on the colour this time.

Elmer Gantry, Norah Jones, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot and Belle & Sebastian have all got their brushes out.

Please feel free to point out where they've missed a bit

Elmer Gantry - The Painter

Norah Jones - Painter Song

Neil Young - The Painter

Gordon Lightfoot - Painter Passing Through

Belle & Sebastian - Lazy Line Painter Jane

Paint It White

 

In our part of the street most of the front gardens have small white painted walls.

The neighbour's all take pride in maintaining and painting them. They can get damp from the soil and need repaired from time to time.

I finally got round to painting ours on Friday. Hopefully I can get away with only one coat. And yes that is paint on some of the leaves on the hedge. Collateral damage.

Here are some paint related songs with only Karine Polwart opting for white.

Karine Polwart - Painted It White

Lucinda Williams - Paint It Black

Billy Bragg - Must I Paint You A Picture

The Band - When I Paint My Masterpiece

Half Man Half Biscuit - Paintball's Coming Home

Saturday Shuffle 161

 

We start this week's Shuffle with a some from an album which is quite possibly the greatest of all time.

Yes, as you can see from the picture we are talking about The Byrds and Sweetheart of the Rodeo

An empty bottle, a broken heart
And you're still on my mind

Let's face it you can't follow that. Nevertheless the Shuffle has come up with another two tunes with an Americana feel to them

Next up from Viva Amricana the CD which inspired my recent Americana Compilations series we have Kieran Kane and Table Top Dancer.

We conclude with the UK Americana act The Rockingbirds and Time Drives the Truck.

More shuffled tunes Americana or otherwise next Saturday

The Byrds - You're Still On My Mind

Kieran Kane - Table Top Dancer

The Rockingbirds - Time Drives The Truck

Bellshill Bands - Thrum

 

I'm pleased to say that I have come up with a 9th band for this series

Thrum are an indie rock band from Bellshill who were active from 1992- 1995 and then from 2011 to date..Monica Queen (vocals/guitar), Johnny Smillie (guitar) and Gary Johnston on Drums have been consistent members with Rory McGregor now on  bass

I had the pleasure of seeing them at Cottiers in July when they put on a stonking show promoting a new remastered version of their 1994 classic album Rifferama 

I have little more to add from that previous post other than I have chosen some different songs for this post.

I'm delighted to say that JC has come up with a couple of suggestions which will ensure that this series reaches double figures

Thrum - Purify

Thrum - Here I Am

Thrum - Won't Be Long

Brontës

 2026 Charity Shop Purchases #30 - Brontës - Brontës (LP) 

It was a bit of a surprise to see the eponymous album Brontës in the Oxfam shop in Clarkston as it was only released in April this year. Naturally I pounced given it seemed to be available for a reasonable price ( yes a reasonable price from Oxfam!).

They are part of the Last Night From Glasgow stable .They were founded in 2021 and released a  double A single First Hand Arrogance/Groove in 2022. The album has been a long time coming but it is worth the wait.

The Skinny feels that it  infuses nostalgia through lush harmonies and confident electric guitars.feel that it  whereas LNFG ask you to Imagine  The Tom Tom Club jamming with Chrissy Hynde. For my hyperbole I'll throw Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura into the mix.

The line up (which I think may have already changed) is Amelia Haldane, Katie Forest, Erin Reidy and Eva Watt).

Given the fact that it is a really new album I'm only sharing one song today namely the opener Cognitive Dissonance which according to the Skinny hides darker emotions of jealousy under sunny pop-rock.

Brontes - Cognitive Dissonance

What's Wrong With Right

 

Following my recent post on The Four Americana H's  which featured the eponymous debut album  by the Hacienda Brothers from 2005  George very kindly sent me What's Wrong With Right the follow uo album from 2006 

I wasn't aware that they had more than one album but it turns out they  have these two plus Music For Ranch & Town: Hacienda Brothers Live (2007), Arizona Motel (2008) and Western Soul  a compilation of demos, unreleased tracks, etc from 2019.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with What's Wrong With Right but for me unlike the debut  on occasions it veers  slightly more towards more mainstream country

Sadly Chris Gaffney, the lead singer died on early 2008 from liver cancer. I'm not sure whether I ever saw him or not on my couple of trips to Austin in the early 2000's for SXSW

Hacienda Brothers - Cry Like a Baby

Hacienda Brothers - Lifes Little Ups and Downs

A Right Load of Jessies

 

If someone from Glasgow calls you a Big Jessie it is not particularly complimentary. It tends to suggest that you are a bit of a wuss.

These insults cannot be levelled as the artists below.

Jesse Malin is a streetwise New Yorker and no one would suggest that the Queen of the Underground is a big Jessie.

Jesse Sykes with her band the Sweet Hereafter deliver their songs in a sparse, dark Gothic sort of a way so they can hold their own.

Jesse Winchester may sing in a gentle Country sort of a way but he is nobody's fool. He has his eye on a Yankee Lady. 

Jesse Ware is a Nu Soul star who shows Devotion to her art.

We may well be featuring our first Oscar winner in the shape of Jessie Buckley. She was certainly no Jessie when she played the part of Rose-Lynn Harlan in the film Wild Rose particularly when belting out Primal Scream's Country Girl.

No Wusses here.

Jesse Malin - Queen Of The Underground

Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter -The Dreaming Dead

Jesse Winchester - Yankee Lady

Jessie Ware - Devotion

Jessie Buckley - Country Girl

Bible Belt

 

 2026 Charity Shop Purchases #29 - Zeke Manyika - Bible Belt (12" Single)

It's a welcome return to CCM for former Orange Juice drummer and close personal friend of Ernie Goggins Mr Zeke Manyika

The 12 inch Single of Bible Belt  from 1988 on Parlaphone/Some Bizzare takes my total of his records to two albums and two 12 inch singles. Matt Johnson of The The fame appears as one of the producers on the title track Bible Belt which is also the opening track on side 2 of his 1989 album Mastercrime.

The other two tracks Huya Ne Keno and None So Blind seem to be exclusive to the single

Picked up from Oxfam in Troon for £1.99 it is a bit crackly in places but it cleaned up reasonably well.

Zeke Manyika - Bible Belt

Zeke Manyika - Huya Ne Kuno

Zeke Manyika - None So Blind

Rough Trade Shops Country 1

 

Well we've finally done it! 50 Americana Compilations every Sunday for the best part of a year. The well is now dry.

From Rough Trade in October 2003 this compilation features forty tracks over two CDs here

Yours for £ 5.17 on Discogs or 30.69 Euros on Amazon Both of the links give details of the tracks. The vast majority of the artists have previously graced this series.

As is now tradition I have selected three for your listening pleasure. I think that all three acts have had songs in this series before but not these ones.

Let's kick off with the Americana super group Golden Smog (who include members from the likes of Wilco, the Jayhawks and Big Star among others ) with Until You Came Along from their 1998 album Weird Tales.

Next Up are Freakwater with their fantastic cover of Dwight Yoakam's South of Cincinnati. I'm not sure if this is available elsewhere.

We conclude the series with the Gun Club  epic Ghost on the Highway. It may predate technically precede Americana but it is definitely a precursor.

In the same vein I've made a last minute decision to throw the Dream Syndicate's cover of Bob Dylan's epic Blind Willie McTell . Don't say I'm not good to you.

If you've enjoyed this series half as much as I have I've enjoyed it twice as much as you.

I haven't a scoobie as to what will come next.

Golden Smog - Until You Came Along

Freakwater - South of Cincinnati

The Gun Club - Ghost On the Highway

The Dream Syndicate - Blind Willie McTell

Saturday Shuffle 160

 

Welcome to Saturday Shuffle where we feature three debutants which is pretty impressive given that it is the 160th post in this series 

We start with Jackie Lee and the simply titled The Duck a 1966 soul song written by Fred Sledge Smith and Earl Nelson. It seems that Jackie Lee is actually Earl Nelson  and was moonlighting from the duet Bob & Earl. Not to be confused with the Jackie Lee who sang the theme tune to the TV series White Horses

Next up is Hamish Hawk who despite being from Edinburgh was the Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion back in 1973.

We conclude with this week's cover star  the wonderful Ann Peebles When she can't stand the rain she may well resort to tearing your playhouse down. You have been warned

More ducks, badminton and playhouses next Saturday

Jackie Lee -The Duck

Hamish Hawk - The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion

Ann Peebles - I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down

Bellshill Bands - Soup Dragons

 

The Soup Dragons were one of the inspirations for this series . They would have featured here much earlier if they hadn't featured a few weeks before the series was launched.

Better late than never plus it is sometimes sensible to keep your powder dry and to save some of  the big hitters on the back burner. Was

That post was raving about their Past Night From Glasgow compilation Raw Products -Singles & Rarities.
I shared three songs from that album but panic not as there are plenty more tunes to choose from. 

They take the number of bands featured up to 8 with one more scheduled .I would love to get to 1o so any suggestions welcomed.

I've ruled out The Pastels, the Vaselines  and anything featuring Eugene Kelly on the grounds of geography as they appear to have originated from Glasgow. I would be delighted if anyone can tell me differently

I've checked musicians born in Bellshill Maternity and so far have come up with Sheena Easton and Sharleen Spiteri!

Soup Dragons - Just Mind Your Step Girl

Soup Dragons - Slow Things Down

Soup Dragons - Pleasantly Surprised

Soup Dragons - Hang - Ten

Leaving Traces

 

I found myself listening to the Neal Casal compilation Leaving Traces: Songs 1994- 2004 on the Fargo label here.

He was an artist I saw a few times and had music by either solo stuff or with Hazy Malaze and Lucinda Williams. Sadly he took his own life in 2019 and I wrote a piece here

He was a great musician and singer/songwriter who had written some powerful songs. There are, however, some references to his state of mind in songs such as Just Getting By  and Free Light of Day which can make it a hard listen in places

In 2020, the Neal Casal Music Foundation was founded to honour his memory. In addition to preserving his artistic legacy, the NCMF provides musical instruments and lessons to students in New Jersey and New York state schools an donations to mental health organizations that support musicians in need

A tribute album Highway Butterfly was released in 2021  with fellow musicians covering 41 of his songs over 3 CD  here .Physical copies have long since sold out but it should still be available digitally here

 A sadly missed talent

If you are struggling, and we all do at sometime, please remember that there is help out there. It's good to talk. Here are contact details for two organisations in Scotland. You should have something similar in your own local area.

Breathing Space

Samaritans

Neal Casal - Just Getting By

Neal Casal - Free Light Of Day

The Blues Collection - James Booker

 

We have reached the dizzy heights of number 79 in the Blues Collection with James Booker the New Orleans Keyboard King.

I'm not sure whether that title was bestowed upon him or self proclaimed. Perhaps the latter as he was also dubbed the Black Liberace or even The Bayou Maharajah. I think it's safe to say that he wasn't known for his modesty.

Booker died aged 43 on November 8, 1983, while seated in a wheelchair in the emergency room at New Orleans'Charity Hospital , waiting to receive medical attention. The cause of death, as cited in the Orleans Parish Coroner's Death Certificate, was renal failure related to chronic abuse of heroin and alcohol. Pretty much the compulsory ending of a Bluesman from that era.

The songs on the album are taken from concerts in Hamburg c 1977. When searching for images of the album I came across a recording  on You Tube of the whole album which you might enjoy. 112 out of the 3.3K viewers seem to.

For those of you who prefer something more tangible here are a couple of the tracks

James Brooker - Please Send Me Someone To Love

James Brooker - Ain't Nobody's Business

The Four Americana H's

 

I know that many of you will be familiar with John Medd's monthly photo challenge. If not you should make yourself familiar with it.

August's theme was simple the letter H which led to a wide and diverse collection of pictures.

I was sat on a chair in the Music Room looking for inspiration when I found myself staring at the Blue Americana shelves.

These four albums were side by side and it seemed like a good idea to take a collective photo of them and submit it to John.

In alphabetical order the first one up was the eponymous 2005 Hacienda Brothers album on the Proper label. If you google Hacienda at CCM you will get this as opposed to anything from Manchester! The two main participants were Dave Gonzales and the late great Chris Gaffney. I saw them play once up a close in Glasgow's Trongate.

Next alphabetically is Wayne Hancock with That's What Daddy Wants a 1998 album from Ark 21. He subsequently signed to Bloodshot and plays an Americana form of Western Swing. I saw him a lunchtime set at the long gone Virgin Megastore on Glasgow's Buchanan Street.

Greg Hawk & the Tremblers are the ones that I know the littleist about. Indeed it looks like they are making their debut on these pages. I'm not quite sure how they crossed my radar Fool's Paradise is an album from 2001 on the Yep Roc label They are the only one of the four acts that I haven't seen live.

Finally we have the eponymous 2003 album by the band Hazy Malaze on the Fargo label. They were a trio featuring the late Neal Casal on guitars, lead vocals and harmonica; Dan Fadel on drums,vocals, percussion and Jeff Hill on bass and vocals. I saw them put on an excellent show at King Tuts.

Which one(s) float your boat?

Hacienda Brothers - South Of Lonesome

Wayne Hancock - 87 Southbound

Greg Hawks & the Tremblers -Fool's Paradise

Hazy Malaze - Chicago Blondes

Penguin Eggs For Tea

 

I was in Oxfam in Troon on Saturday and they had a vinyl copy of Penguin Eggs the 1980 masterpiece by Nic Jones on the Topic label for £20.

I was very tempted but given my precarious financial situation I consoled myself with the fact that I had the CD at home.

Needless to say it was the first album to get a spin on Sunday.

I know I did the right thing but it still doesn't stop me regretting it.

I'm sure that many of you have been in similar situations.

Nic Jones - The Humpback Whale

Nic Jones - The Little Pot Stove

Bloodshot Records Sampler 2018

 

Welcome to the penultimate offering in the Americana Compilations Sunday Series

The target of 50 albums would never have been achieved it it wasn't for Chicago's Bloodshot Records label.

By my reckoning Bloodshot have contributed 8 of the 5 entries.5 of these have been Samplers  with 2018 being the most recent. I've tried to make it a mix of the usual suspects with the occasional wild card to mix things up a little.

Robbie Fulks is certainly no stranger to this series. This time he is joined by Linda Gail Lewis  (sister of Jerry Lee) with Wild Wild Wild.

Lydia Loveless has appeared on all the Samplers from 2015 to 2018. Here she gives her views on Midwestern Guys.

William Elliott Whitmore has graced these pages before but only once in a Bloodshot capacity promoting this very Sampler with Busted.

I couldn't conclude the Bloodshot contribution without featuring the omnipresent Jon Langford . Here he is with his Four Lost Souls on the Natchez Trace.

We conclude this Series next Sunday with the 50th and final offering.

Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis - Wild Wild Wild

Lydia Loveless - Midwestern Guys

William Elliott Whitmore - Busted

Jon Langford's Four Lost Souls - Natchez Trace

Saturday Shuffle 159

 

It's been a long time coming (far to long, if you ask me) but we finally get the opportunity to welcome pop star cum gardener Kim Wilde (daughter of Marty) to the Shuffle. Here she is, in all her glory, with Chequered Love.

How do you follow that? With a little bit of Little Feat of course. It's Dixie Chicken time

We get a bit more serious for the final offering as we head to Birmingham where Steel Pulse are singing about a Handsworth Revolution.

More gardening, chickens and revolutions next Saturday.

Kim Wilde - Chequered Love

Little Feat - Dixie Chicken

Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution

Bellshill Bands - Jewel Scheme

 

I think it is safe to say that we are rapidly approaching the end of this series

Martin John Henry has appeared here before  in this series with De Rosa. He has also appeared on the Blog on other occasions as a solo artist and as part of the duo Henry and Fleetwood

Here from 2024 on Gargleblast Records he is joined on the eponymous Jewel Scheme album by Allan Carroll and Chris Connick.

The band are named after a housing estate in the Orbiston area of Bellshill. Such estates are known as Schemes in Scotland. The Jewel Scheme includes Sapphire Road, Diamond Street, Emerald Terrace, Amethyst Avenue, Amber Terrace, Agate Terrace and Cornelian Terrace. Let's face it , this is what you come here for.

Here is some info on the band and album courtesy of The Skinny

And here is some music.

Jewel Scheme -You're Not Wrong

Jewel Scheme - Spectral Index

As things stand there will be at least one more entry in this series

Songs From The Burst Chair

 

On Sunday night I was busily typing away when I suddenly found myself at a jaunty angle.

A bolt on my chair had sheered causing somewhat of a malfunction. I am now using one of the dining chairs until such times as I can procure a suitable replacement from a charity shop.

In the meantime it has given me the inspiration to post some chair related songs

I didn't have as many as I thought but here are a few for you to deposit your derrière on

Cake -Italian Leather Sofa

The Band - Rocking Chair

The Normal - Warm Leatherette

Wet Leg - Chaise Longue

Soup Dragons - Man About Town With Chair

Johnny Cash - The Mercy Seat

Dolly Parton R.I.P.

 

I was coming in from the recycling when Mrs CC called me in to the living room with the sad news that Dolly Parton had died at the age of 80.

It was perhaps not too surprising as she had stepped back recently due to illnesses. Also, she was probably still mourning the death of her husband Carl Dean.

She was the undisputed queen of Country Music. While she often portrayed herself as a dumb blonde she was anything but. She also never shirked from her desperately poor childhood.

Wiki lists her occupations as Singer-Songwriter, Musician, Actress, Philanthropist and (Shrewd) Business Woman. I added the shrewd given her setting up of the Dollywood theme park and Restaurants

The philanthropist reference is down to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library providing millions of free books to children.

Then obviously there is the music. I must admit that I wasn't a fan of all of her songs, but she wrote and sang some absolute classics such as the three below.

A tiny pocket rocket but nobody's fool. What a talent.The best of America.

Rest easy Dolly.

Dolly Parton - Jolene

Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors

Dolly Parton - Down From Dover

Blog Country 149 - Mali

 

I'm happy to say that sourcing music from Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa,  has been the easiest one since Blog Country 115 Jamaica. This is primarily because I have a few albums featuring Malian artists and a sufficient number to save me digging in to the Sahel Sounds Samplers on Bandcamp

Khayem and Ernie are far more informative when it comes to the great music from this Country. 

Some Desert Blues to start with I think courtesy of Tinariwen is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara region of Northern Mali. From their 2006 album Aman Iman (Water is Life) on the Independiente label here is Awa Didgen

Next we have Kasse Mady Diabete  who was a Malian singer, musician and griot. His soft and particular voice with deep undertones – an atypical characteristic for a griot – earned him the nickname "The golden voice of Mali" From his 2008 album Manden Djeli Kan here is the opening track  Bandja.

Salif Keita often known as The Golden Voice of Africa is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. From his 2002 album Moffou I give you Moussolou

From Global A Go-Go a 2007 Uncut album celebrating 20 Years of World Music we have Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (featuring Lobi Traore) with Banani which is taken from the Out/Here album Banani

We conclude with Songhoy Blues a desert blues band from Timbuktu who have enjoyed international recognition. From their 2017 album Resistance on the Transgressive label we have Bamaka.

Rest assured that Blog Country 150 is going to be considerably harder.

Tinariwen - Awa Didjen

Kasse Mady Diabete - Bandja

Salif Keita - Moussolou

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (ft Lobi Traori) - Banani

Songhoy Blues - Bamaka

The Tower

 

 2026 Charity Shop Purchases #28 - James Edwyn & the Borrowed Band

Like many other artists Glasgow based James Edwyn & the Borrowed Band first crossed my radar courtesy of Last Night From Glasgow.

Although, in my opinion, they were not that heavily promoted, I picked up High Fences (2017) and Highlights of The Low Nights (2022) .With their Americana feel they were right up my street.

I was therefore pretty chuffed when I picked up a CD in Oxfam of their 2014 debut album The Tower on the Dead Records Collective label. After two or three listens I'm coming round to thinking that it is the pick of the bunch

There is an excellent review by Rudie Humphrey on the Glasgow Americana Blabber 'n' Smoke site

I thought that was all that they had released but I have just discovered courtesy of Bandcamp that they released a 7 track digital album Before We Go in 2020. It has been duly purchased.

Hopefully there will be more soon and I will get an opportunity to see them live.

James Edwyn & the Borrowed Band - On Meeting The Man In The Suit

James Edwyn & the Borrowed Band - The Last Waltz

The Bottle Let Me Down - Songs For Bumpy Wagon Rides

 

It shows how much I was immersed in Bloodshot Records  when I picked up 2002's The Bottle Let Me Down - Songs For Bumpy Wagon Rides here. It is essentially a children's album and I don't have kids. Oh oh -is that Social Services at the door?

In my defence here are some quotes from critics:

The rare album that kids, parents and music snobs will all appreciate - Times Record News

Pleasing to both the pint sized and pint drinking listener - Harp Magazine

A must for everyone who had a childhood and/or likes music. There is not a lame track on the disc - Chicago Arts and Entertainment.

I think that I might be in the clear

As you can see from the link above giving details of the tracks there are an impressive array of Bloodshot artists and guests participating and clearly having enormous fun

Those of you with Grand Kids, you know what to do

It is not one that a play very often, if at all. But given the participating it surely merits  the 48th place in the Sunday 50 Americana Compilations series.

Tune in next Sunday for the penultimate entry

The Cornell Hurd Band - Don't Wipe Your Face On Your Shirt

The Handsome Family - Snowball

Jane Baxter Miller - On Top Of Spaghetti

Saturday Shuffle 158

 

As you can see today's cover star is Dion.

I was unaware that Mr Di Mucci had been the first artist to cover the song Abraham, Martin and John written by Dick Holler in 1968. My money, and maybe yours, would have been on Marvin Gaye.

The name Curtis Ousley may not ring many bells, King Curtis on the other hand ..,  Here he is with some Memphis Soul Stew.

From Memphis Soul Stew to a Splendid Scottish Racket we conclude with The Hedrons and Be My Friend.

Friends , shall we reassemble next Saturday for SS 159?

Dion - Abraham, Martin and John

King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew

The Hedrons - Be My Friend

Bellshill Bands from Brian

 

Todays offers are a response to a comment on last Friday's post:

Hey CC. How about the Boy Hairdressers or the Groovy Little Numbers? - Brian

These suggestions from Brian will come as no surprise to anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting him. Despite living in Seattle he has introduced me to more Scottish bands than I care to remember.

I am vaguely familiar with his first suggestion but the second one is new to me.

The Boy Hairdressers (pictured above)  were a  a short lived band from Bellshill 

 Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, Francis McDonald (all Teenage Fanclub), Joe McAlinden (Superstar/Linden) and Jim Lambie (contemporary artist) were their members. I'm sure that many of you will recognise most of these names.

I didn't have anything by them but have sourced a couple of songs for your listening pleasure.

I actually have a song  by The Groovy Little Numbers  namely A Place is So Hard to Find taken from Disc 5 of Big Gold Dreams - A History of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989. They were formed by Joe McAlinden an ex Boy Hairdresser and future member of BMX Bandits and Superstar* 

* takes a mental note to explore Superstar  further.

Thanks Brian for filling in these gaps.

Any further suggestions (from anyone) welcomed.

Oh, and just to confirm, Sheena Easton is NOT a band!

The Boy Hairdressers - Don't Need a Drum (4 Track Demo)

The Boy Hairdressers - Golden Shower

The Groovy Little Numbers -A Place Is So Far To Find

The Groovy Little Numbers - Happy Like Yesterday

Vultures Await

 

 2026 Charity Shop Purchases #27  Will Johnson - Vultures Await

I've had a burn of Vultures Await a 2004 album by Will Johnson for a number of years courtesy of my friend Gordon. I was pleasantly surprised to see a copy of it in Oxfam and immediately took the opportunity to upgrade it.

We've seen him play on numerous occasions either as part of Centro-matic or South San Gabriel in Austin or as a solo artist.

In his solo capacity we saw him play in someone's garden in Austin and as support to My Morning Jacket  at King Tuts and to Great Lake Swimmers in the Admiral Bar, both in Glasgow.

Playing this again brought back some happy memories.

To quote Uncut - American bedroom indie where acoustic and feedback lie happily together

Hope the tracks turn out all right as my CD Ripper was playing silly buggers

Will Johnson - Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming

Will Johnson - Catherine Dupree

Blog Country 148 - Uganda

 

I had no problem finding plenty of music from Uganda the landlocked East African country but more of an issue finding some decent tunes. I'm still not sure that I managed.

Needless to say Ernie had no such problems with his Odyssey and many other posts containing Ugandan music.

Uganda famously was the home of the self proclaimed King of Scotland Idi Amin. I'm sure that he turned his hand to performing songs but I'm not going to subject you to them. On the other hand  one of our Guyanan contributors is happy to give him his place

Let's start with Akasheko a song by the legendary Afro Pop star Sister Charity. It has to be said that she shakes her bootie a lot more than you would expect from a lady of the cloth.

Sister Charity is followed by Joel Sebunjo one of Uganda's most recognised young folk/world music artists. His offering is Owino.

Joseph Mayanja, commonly known by his stage name "Jose Chameleone", is a Ugandan AfroBeat artist and musician. He sings in Luganda, English, and Swahili. I'm not sure  whether Bolingo Ya Nzambe  comes under the first or the third.

I struggled to find out much about Lady Mariam until I stumbled upon this piece by Viberate. I have no information on the song Mpanggudde.

From 1968 we conclude with Freddie Kigozi & the Hodi Boys with Mega Jukira

The next Blog Country is yet another African one but one which I have a bit of music from so it should be easier than today was.

Sister Charity - Akasheko

Joel Sebunjo - Owino

Jose Chameleone - Bolingo Ya Nzambe

Lady Miriam - Mpangudde

Freddie Kigozi & the Hodi Boys - Mega Jukira

Mighty Sparrow - Idi Amin

Zoe Muth and The Lost High Rollers

 

 2026 Charity Shop Purchases #26 - Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers - Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers

Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers first came to my attention when I picked up a copy of their 2011 album Starlight Hotel from the much missed Record Library in Langside Library. I was particularly taken with the song If I Can't Trust With a Quarter ( How Can I Trust You With My Heart?)

Further along the way I picked up 2014's World of Strangers attributable solely to Zoe and featuring the brilliant Mama Needs a Margarita.

My car was in for it's MOT last week so I took the opportunity to pop into Oxfam and came away with three pretty good purchases with an Americana feel.

One was 2009's Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers from 2009 here It seems to be attributable to Continental Song City. The opener You Only Believe Me When I'm Lying is the one which catches the ear. 

It also looks like it may have been signed by Zoe, which is nice.

Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers - You Only Believe Me When I'm Lying

Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers - I Used to Call My Heart a Home

Draining The Swamp

 

Our dear friend Ernie recently shared a number of new albums from Promoland  (jammy get) which he very kindly brought to our attention.

He also highlighted Swamp Dogg's latest album Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlive here which he very kindly forwarded to me. He rightly highlighted the cover of the Jenny Lewis song Acid Tongue which for me was very much the pick from a very good bunch.

This got me thinking of all things Swamp Dogg and two tunes very quickly sprung to mind.

The first is also a cover this time Sam Stone a song written by the late great John Prine. It first came to my attention via a Kent compilation A Soldier's Sad Story here. If you don't have this you should rectify that immediately.

Finally, for today, I give you  They Crowned an Idiot King from his 2007 album Resurrection. Written about George W Bush but arguably even more relevant today.

Swamp Dogg - Acid Tongue

Swamp Dogg - Sam Stone

Swamp Dogg - They Crowned An Idiot King

The Rough Guide To Americana

 

Number 47 in my quest to post 50 Americana Compilations and one that I am surprised has not featured before is The Rough Guide to Americana

From 2001 on World Music Network it is  a pretty good stab with the selected 20 artists here

I have albums by and/or seen 16 of the 20 artists. There are only three acts that I am not familiar with Utah Carol, Cowboy Nation and Western Electric. Tempted as I was to feature them they are not that good and any of the others would do more justice.

It was a pretty hard task to select 3 from the other 17 but I have gone for Dave Alvin, the late great Neal Casal and Nadine.

Numbers 48 and 49 are accounted for but I'm still sweating over the elusive 50th one!

Dave Alvin - Railroad Bill

Neal Casal - Me and Queen Sylvia

Nadine - So That I Don't Miss You

Saturday Shuffle 157

 

We start Saturday Shuffle 157 with some Trash.

In case you think that our standards have dropped worry not as it is good Trash courtesy of the New York Dolls.

Raw Soul was a great Mojo compilation from 2004  - Mojo Music Guide Vol 3 - Raw Soul to be precise here. From it I give you Maxine Brown with Baby Cakes.

I once had a ticket to see Desmond Decker. I turned up, he didn't which is a shame as I never got to hear 007 (Shanty Town)

Hopefully everyone will turn up for next Saturday's Shuffle - same place, same time. No trash. Baby Cakes optimal.

New York Dolls - Trash

Maxine Brown - Baby Cakes

Desmond Dekker - 007 (Shanty Town)

Bellshill Bands - Lightships

 

This series might be shorter than I  first thought after, despite their Bellshill associations,  having to rule out The Vaselines for geographical reasons

I think that Lightships count given that they are a band formed by Gerard Love of Teenage Fanclub fame There is however a debate as to whether it is an actual band or a recording project.

There has only been one album recorded namely 2012's album Lightships, on Stephen Pastel's Geographic label (re-released in 2022), alongside a 10 inch single Fear and Doubt.

Gerry continues to perform as a solo artist from time to time but to the best of my knowledge there have been no other releases. I would be delighted to be proved wrong.

Lightships - Sweetness in her Spark

Lightships - The Warmth of the Sun

Lightships - Sunlight to the Dawn

The Blues Collection - Peetie Wheatstraw

 

Confession time - I'd never heard of Peetie Wheatstraw until now which may go some way to explaining why The Devil's Son-in- Law weighs in at number 82 in The Blues Collection.

He was born William Burch on December 21st 1902 in Ripley, Tennessee and adopted the name Peetie Wheatstraw from early African American Folk tradition. Coincidentally he died aged 39 on the same date in 1941 in East St Louis.

He was quite prolific recording 161 songs which was only surpassed by Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy,Lonnie Johnson and Bumblebee Slim.

All but two of his records were issued under the names "Peetie Wheatstraw, the Devil's Son-in-Law" and "Peetie Wheatstraw, the High Sheriff from Hell"

It seem appropriate then that the two songs I have selected are Devil's Son-in-Law (Chicago 1931) and Gangster's Blues (New York 1940)

More Blues Collection artists soon

Peetie Wheatstraw - Devil's Son-in-Law

Peetie Wheatstraw - Gangster's Blues