Shazam Sunday 6

 

Catching up on episodes of Gone Fishing has been a great source for Shazam Sunday material.

In one that we watched fairly recently Bob Mortimer visits a record shop and buys a Roxy Music album. The track 2HB briefly pipes up in the background suggesting that the album in question is non other than their eponymous 1972 debut album  pictured above.

The music of Richard Hawley is perfect for this series and he pops up quite a lot. Nothing Like a Friend from his 2015 album Hollow Meadows is the perfect choice highlighting the enduring friendship between Bob and Paul.

The episode, which I think was the Christmas Special where Bob hands out this year's awards, concludes with Andy Fairweather Low's Wide Eyed and Legless.

I think that this particular seam has now been completely mined.

Roxy Music - 2HB

Richard Hawley - Nothing Like a Friend

Andy Fairweather Low - Wide Eyed and Legless

Saturday Shuffle 37

 

I briefly made it back to the gym during the week before my cold resurfaced. None of the three songs below popped up during my visit.

Biggie Tembo was the lead singer of the Bhundu Boys when they shot to fame (of sorts) with the brilliant Shabhini album in 1984 and which was championed by John Peel and Andy Kershaw. Sadly he completed suicide in 1995. This obituary in the Independent  gives more details of his life and times. Out of Africa is taken from a Cooking Vinyl 2000 compilation called Rhythms of Africa which I have just stuck on.

The Mekons version of Folsom Prison Blues is taken from  'Til Things Are Brighter - A Tribute to Johnny Cash on Red Rhino in 1988 here

Curated by Jon Langford who also painted the cover above it raised money for the Terrence Higgins Trust

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, I give you the brilliant Thirteen by Big Star. It is highly unlikely that you will hear a better song today.

Biggie Tembo - Out of Africa

Mekons - Folsom Prison Blues

Big Star - Thirteen

Risin' Outlaw

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases #2 - Hank Williams III - Risin' Outlaw

My first non Frightened Rabbit Charity Shop purchase of 2024 was Risin' Outlaw the 1999 debut album by Hank Williams III (or just Hank III for short) on the Curb label

It is the kind of Americana honky tonk which immediately put me in mind of Wayne Hancock. Hardly surprising given that three of the songs on the album (including the first one below) are pretty faithful covers of songs written and recorded by Wayne.

It turns out that Hank, or III as I'll call him, is not a fan of this album and considers Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' as his "real debut" .In his words I'm not happy with it. I hate it; can't even listen to but maybe two songs on it. I said (to the label) that every damn interview that I do I ain't gonna talk good about it. Curb thinks this album is so different and so alternative. It's a headache

I quite like it which is hardly surprising given I am a big Wayne the Train fan.

He joins his more famous grandfather and his half-sister Holly on the shelves. Hell will freeze over before his father Hank Williams Jr joins them.

The original owner of the CD paid £15.99 for the privilege at Tower Records! For one second I thought that the lady who couldn't get the till open and then gave me change of a fiver rather than a tenner was going to charge me that rather than the pound it cost me.

Hank Williams III - 87 Southbound

Hank Williams III - You're the Reason

How The West Was Won

 

If Peter Perrett had done nothing more than written and recorded Another Girl, Another Planet with The Only Ones his legendary status would still be assured.

Sadly due to the death of drummer Mike Kellie and Perrett's on-going addiction problems they only recorded three albums between 1978 and 1980. There has since been the obligatory re-appearances on the retro scene.

In June 2017 Peter Perrett popped up (I can feel a tongue twister coming on!) with his only solo record to date How the West Was Won on the Domino label

Townsend Music writes: before this comeback, Peter Perrett, whose incisive songcraft and sardonic drawl with The Only Ones made him one of the most distinctive voices of the seventies, hadn’t released any music for 20 years. Each song on How The West Was Won sounds natural and effortless, as though he were continuing a briefly interrupted conversation rather than picking up the threads of a solo career that faltered two decades previously.

Given his addiction to crack cocaine and the damage it caused to his lungs no-one could have anticipated him getting clean and releasing  such a critically acclaimed record.

Sadly there has been nothing since to my knowledge.* (see comment below)

Peter Perrett - How The West Was Won

Peter Perrett - An Epic Story

Brothers ,Sisters .... 13

 

    

The 13th post in this series - it will be unlucky for some but will it be the sisters or the brothers?

Let's start with the ladies this week. Kehinda Lijadu and Taiwo Lijadu  were identical twin sisters from Nigeria who performed as the Lijadu Sisters from the mid 60's to the 80's. I suspect the fact that they appear in my music folder is down to Ernie.

Sadly Kehinda died in November 2019 aged 71 leading to this article in The Guardian  describing them as the twins who fought the elite with funk.

The Statler Brothers (minus Waldorf) were a Country and Gospel vocal group who sang as the opening act and back up singers to Johnny Cash from 1964 to 1972. No member of the group actually had the surname Statler although the band did include two brothers in Don and Harold Reed. They started out in 1955 and disbanded following a farewell tour in 2002.

It's a pretty tough call this week but I can't see past anyone who is prepared to fight the elite with funk. If only we had some folk like that here.

Lijadu Sisters - Amebo

Lijadu Sisters -Come on Home

Statler Brothers - Hello Mary Lou

Statler Brothers - Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy

Trains and Boats and Planes 8

 

 

The good news or the bad news, depending on how you want to look at it, is that  thanks to Rol we now have enough material to ensure that this series reaches double figures.

People of the world join hands start a love train. Quite why it has taken until the 8th entry in the series to include the O'Jays I'm not entirely sure. All of you brothers over in Africa will be glad we've finally done it though.

As any of you nautically minded folk will be aware a Cruiser can either be a large battleship used in war or a boat with an engine and a cabin in which people sail for pleasure, In this context it is an excuse to shoehorn in the Mighty Fall.

Planes are proving to be the hardest category to fill so it is helpful that Benny is willing to share his Jets with us this week.

Rol's contribution to the title track for this series this week comes from the Everly Brothers.

Two more to go!

The 0'Jays - Love Train

The Fall - Cruiser's Creek

Elton John - Benny and the Jets

The Everly Brothers - Trains and Boats and Planes

Winter Mixed Drinks

 

2024 Charity Shop Purchases #1  - Frightened Rabbit - Winter Mixed Drinks

Following a bit of a barren patch as far as Charity Shop purchases are concerned we are now back in the saddle with the first purchases of 2024.

The main reason for the drought has been the paucity of decent CDs available. I think that streaming is partly responsible as less folk are buying CDs and those who still do tend to holding on to them. A recent foray to the charity shops of Bridge of Allan, Dunblane and Callander was pretty disappointing with one notable exception.

Fortunately  struck lucky in Chest Heart and Stroke in Bridge of Allan where I came away with three Frightened Rabbit albums for three pounds. I left The Midnight Organ Fight on the shelves as I already had it. There was a similar amount of Biffy Clyro albums but I wasn't tempted!

Rather than feature them all at once I think I will drip feed them gradually with hopefully some other in between. Today I am featuring Winter Mixed Dreams their third album from 2010 on FatCat Records. You may recall that I featured Karine Polwart's version of Swim Until You Can't See Land on the Saturday Shuffle a few days ago. Today it is the turn of the sadly prophetic original.

Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land

Frightened Rabbit - The Wrestle