On The Buses 4

 

I'm grateful for the guest posts from Brian, Khayem and after a fashion Ernie. It is good to see so many bus lovers out there.

Unless anyone out there has a burning desire for me to repeat the songs from Bus Pass Day or has a guest post to submit I will conclude with some stragglers.

I'm not sure how Bus to Baton Rouge by Lucinda Williams escaped the State of the Union and A-Z of American Cities series' , but escape it did. But not for long!

Tom Russell is another fine Americana story teller and here he is checking in from the Bus Station.

Kissinger contributed to the truck series. Here they are again with Girl on the Bus. Finally, in the comments, John gave a shout out for ZZ Top. Happy to oblige.

Unless that missing bus finally turns up it's bikes next on Transport Tuesday. I might just about stretch to two posts unless we travel in tandem

Lucinda Williams - Bus to Baton Rouge

Tom Russell - Bus Station

Kissinger - Girl on the Bus

ZZ Top - Waitin' for the Bus

Duane Eddy

 

George writes:

Duane Eddy died on May 1. He was 86. And I felt sad at this news.  Which is a bit strange, I never knew him at all, except through his records of course. These deaths  of singers, pop and rock stars, I rarely give them more than a passing thought, even those whose music features heavily on my shelves. Not Mark E Smith, not Bowie. But George Michael, absolutely yes, and Duane Eddy too. 

Duane Eddy - Cannonball

There’s definitely something very appealing about that sound, it never fails to make me smile, the records are simply joyous, even as they lumber along like this:

Duane Eddy - 40 Miles of Bad Road

One of the first singles I bought (and I still have it) was the 1975 UK hit Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar. And 50 years on I still know those opening lines

Duane Eddy & the Rebelettes - Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar

(And 50 years I’m still unsure what those lyrics mean). The 12 year-old me was a Duane Eddy fan, and the 61 year old me still is. Our musical tastes change, bands and singers come and go, but I’ve been a fan of Duane Eddy’s music for nearly 50 years. And if Mr CC will indulge, here’s a fourth song, my absolute favourite of his, I love the anticipation for the moment the great man hits those deep twangy notes.

Duane Eddy - Because They're Young

That song frequently appears in the ever evolving list of Top Ten Records of All Time.

Thank you, Duane Eddy, you’re a bloody legend.

CC writes:

Many thanks George. A lovely tribute. From the heart. Good music can do that to you.

Sunday Highway Songs 5

 

Week 5 and we encounter our first Ghost on the Highway. From  1981's Fire of Love the debut album by The Gun Club featuring the late great Jeffrey Lee Pierce. As SWC would have it an essential album. Every home should have one

Every home should also have Rockin' From the Roots - A Hightone Record Anthology .One of the artists featured is the great Rosie Flores with the song Blue Highway. If you ever find yourself in Austin on August 31st raise a glass to Rosie as it is designated as Rosie Flores Day. (I may stow that away for a future post)

Finally another two artists who should have designated days. Here is Steve Earle with the title song from Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal . Sadly Neal took his own life in August 2019 aged just 50. 

Highway Butterfly  has 41 acts interpreting Neal's songs with any proceeds going to the Neal Casal Music Foundation created to inspire future musicians and to provide mental health support to musicians "already on the path" A worthy cause as I'm sure you will agree.

We will be rolling on down the highway again next Sunday

The Gun Club - Ghost on the Highway

Rosie Flores - Blue Highway

Steve Earle - Highway Butterfly

Saturday Shuffle 52

 

A Goo Goo Muck Hazy IPA from Fall Brewery? Don't mind if I do.

I know you will all be thinking "oh good it's The Cramps at last" and maybe seeing them in your mind's eye. I was going to apologise for disappointing you but I suspect that most of you will not be disappointed with the original from Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads. This is taking from a terrific compilation Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Wild Rockers - a Collection of Rare Rockabilly, Surf and Exotica available here .Every hose should have one.

How do you follow that? San Francisco jingly jangle band The Umbrellas give it a go with Lonely the opening track from their eponymous 2021 album available here They have  recently released a follow up Fairweather Friend which is also available on Bandcamp.

Hear no bullshit? You certainly won't here. Unless of course it is Hear No Bullshit (Fire Mix) on the Enough is Enough CD single by Chumbawamba & Credit to the Nation.

Join us next Saturday for a bullshit free shuffle.

Ronnie Cook & the Gaylads - The Goo Goo Muck

The Umbrellas - Lonely

Chumbawamba & Credit to the Nation - Hear No Bullshit (On Fire Mix)

The Prog Home Nations

 

I'm assuming that anyone who has ever read this Blog will immediately recognize that this is a Guest Post and that a good few of you will correctly suspect that it is from George.

Take it away George:

I used to play some  prog.  to classes in my last year of teaching (I don’t think it was my last year of teaching because of this, although two students did raise a formal complaint that I was playing music during teaching time). The band in question was Gong, whose music will not be featured here today. (Thank Christ - CC)

So, English prog. First, and tempted as I am to have a Jethro Tull track or King Crimson, I have decided on an act rarely praised in these pages.  Or any others. And it’s Gnidrolog, named after reversing the surname of two founding members, partially undoing that reverse then inserting an extra vowel because Gnirdlog would have been an idiotic name for a band. There’s only one Gnidrolog album in the collection, Lady Lake, and here’s a track from it. Not track 1, my favourite of the 6, but at nearly 12 minutes it’s not for the faint-hearted, so you can have track 4, a mere 8 minutes of sax-heavy prog (“Jesus Christ this gets on your nerves” I’ve just been told):

Gnidrolog - Lady Lake

I think it’s Northern Ireland who come next, and I suppose the young men of that country had more pressing matters to deal with in the late 60s early- 70s than prat and prance about in prog bands, but somehow 4 young men found the time to do so, and they gave the world Fruupp. They are not titled from reversing founder member Declan Ppuurf’s last name. But they did have an oboe playing member (Stephen Houston) and the obligatory key-board playing member (Stephen Houston). 

Fruup - Lord of the Incubus

(could I sneak this into my Bus series? CC)

Next up, Scotland, and I am personally acquainted with the founding members of a Scottish prog. band, but they have yet to release any recordings, which is probably because they are a Genesis tribute band.(Jesus Christ - CC) Overall, there’s a dearth of prog. bands from the country of my birth, and thus a dearther dearth of decent prog bands. But there is Beggars Opera, who were a bloke from Edinburgh, some Weegies, and a couple of other probably very hairy men., Their first album is an aural pleasure, especially this belter:

Beggars Opera - Memory

I am saving the best until last, with the band from Wales. It’s the best band to come from Merthyr Tydfil, and that is of course Man, and this eleven minute classic has Dave Edmunds on pedal steel guitar.

Man - C'mon

Maybe Mr CC should have a series about bands named after musical instruments. (And, as always, many thanks to him for posting this piece)

CC writes

Jesus Christ! Had I met George during his Prog phase we may well not have become friends

Gnidrolog -Jesus Christ! That takes me back to school in the late 70's when the "Punks" occupied a small bridge near the gym hall while the Greatcoat wearing "Hippies" polluted the common room with music such as this.

Thanks George - I think!

Fear of Music

 

On Saturday, at a Record Fair in East Kilbride, I completed my Talking Heads collection with a vinyl  copy of Fear of Music. I say completed but I don't have a copy of Naked their final studio album from 1988. I don't consider it essential but for the sake of completeness I would probably pick it up on the off chance that I ever saw it (cheap) on CD.

From 1979 and their 3rd album Fear of Music produced by Brian Eno and on the Sire label IS essential. Indeed the first four albums - 77,  More Songs About Building and Food, Fear of Music and Remain In Light are all essential . The 5th, Little Creatures, is ok and True Stories is not that good. 1977 to 1980 was clearly their purple patch.

Nothing more to say really. If you like good music you will like Fear of Music. If you don't, you don't like good music. Simples.

Talking Heads - Paper

Talking Heads - Life During Wartime)

The Golden Tree

 Recently golfing buddies Robert Hodgens (aka Bobby Bluebell) and Grahame Skinner (ex Hipsway) got together as The Golden Tree to record Scottish Songs Observed Vol 1.

Bobby did the music and Skin the singing with the album being produced, recorded and mixed at Bobby's house. They re- interpreted 12 songs by Scottish artists (well 11 and one by Talking Heads. David Byrne was born in Dumbarton - so they count.) Tracklist here

From that description it all may sound a bit DIY but the interpretations of the songs is very good. Originally it was only released in CD format in a limited format but LNFG have now committed to a vinyl copy 

The words Vol 1 are encouraging as they suggest that there may well be further volumes somewhere further on down the line. Let's hope so.

All the songs are of a similar high standard. Here are a couple of examples

The Golden Tree - Catch the Wind

The Golden Tree - Why