When the Levee Breaks

The version of When the Levee Breaks by Kristin Hersh on the Your Ghost CD single is attributed to Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham and  Minnie.
This is somewhat strange as it was first recorded by Minnie and her husband Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929.
This song was written following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and on my Ladies of the Blues No. 4 CD, purchased in a French hypermarche, it is attributed to Minnie and Joe McCoy.
I have a hunch that the blog police will take umbrage at the the third post (which would be a bit rich as it is not their song in the first place!) so hopefully you will forgive me if I attribute it to El Zee.

By the way has anyone read Paradoxical Undressing by Kristin Hersh? I keep meaning to take it out the library but it looks a wee bitty intense.

Kristin Hersh - When the Levee Breaks

Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe - When the Levee Breaks

El Zee - When the Levee Breaks

Reggae's Expanding with Sly and Robbie

There have been a couple of passing references on the blogosphere recently to the Tom Tom Club the side project of Talking Head's husband and wife team of Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth.
All of which is a good enough excuse, as if an excuse was needed, to play the genius that is Genius of Love.
This track pays homage to a number of their heroes including Smokey Robinson, Kurtis Blow, Bob Marley and of course Sly and Robbie the legendary  Jamaican rhythm section and production duo.
The list of artists they have worked with is truly amazing.
Here are Messrs  Dunbar and Shakespeare with one of their own efforts purchased for 99p from Woollies in Campbeltown.

Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

Sly and Robbie - Boops (Here to Go)

It's A Family Affair 1

First up in this occasional series of relatives who have had musical success in their own right are two female country singers who I didn't know were related until I watched Country at the BBC last Friday night.

Loretta Lynn, the Coalminer's Daughter, hardly needs an introduction.One of the undisputed stars of country music performing from 1960 to date.
Singer of the fantastic Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (with Lovin' on Your Mind)
However the track featured is the title track from her 2004 album produced by Jack White which she recorded at the tender age of 72

What I was unaware of  until last week is that she is the older sister (by 19 years) of Crystal Gayle

She also had a stellar career but not in the same league, I would argue, as her big Sis.
Most famous for her 1977 country-pop crossover hit Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Voted as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1983.

Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose

Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

Budos Gold

It's time for some Staten Island based, heavily bearded instrumental funk courtesy of the Budos Band.

From the mighty Daptone Records stable they take inspiration from African music,psychedelic rock and doom metal (whatever that may be).
They range from around 10 to 12 members led by the splendidly named Jared Tankel on baritone saxophone.
Their imaginatively named albums are the Budos Band, Budos Band II and Budos Band III along with an EP  somewhat surprisingly entitled the Budos Band EP
All recorded in the Daptone House of Soul studio in Brooklyn, New York
Apparently, they have played on every continent with the exception of Antarctica.
Perhaps it's just as well as their funky music would almost certainly melt the polar ice cap!

The Budos Band - Up From the South

The Budos Band - Budos Rising

Bloodshot Tuesday 17

Bloodshot Tuesday 13 - 2 hits; Bloodshot Tuesday 16 - 194 hits and counting.
Such are the vagaries of the blogger's world.
This week's offering is from Ha Ha Tonka , a band from West Plains, Missouri with their excellently named 2007 album Buckle in the Bible Belt (BS145)
Purchased in Missing Records, Glasgow for two pounds.

One quote on the Bloodshot website claims their music owes as much to Paul Simon as Big Star.
I prefer the quote that states "Ha Ha Tonka combines the rustic twang of the Ozark region with Southern rock riffs and a flair for inventive, melodic songwriting."
They put me a wee bit in mind of the Drive-By Truckers
It will be interesting to see whether this one is in the BS13 camp or the BS16 camp or more probably somewhere in the middle

Ha Ha Tonka - St Nick on the Fourth in a Fervor

Ha Ha Tonka - Bully in the Pulpit

Charity Chic Music - One Today!

Charity Chic Music celebrates it's first birthday today!
It is kind of hard now to imagine life without it.
It has proved to be a great stress buster in a year in which there has been a lot of family illness.
It has also led to a lot of CDs and records I haven't listened to for ages being dusted down and played and  to me buying more music than I have done for a good few years defying the myth that home taping is killing music!
Thanks to Mrs CC for all her support and encouragement although I suspect she is secretly glad to see me sloping of to the muso room to do my stuff!

Without boring you with statistics, and taking on board Dirk's suspicion as to the veracity of Bloggers statistics, I will simply say that the equivalent of the population of Airdrie (that is the town as opposed to the football team Drew) have viewed pages over the year.
More interestingly the views have come from every conceiveable country on the planet .Hello to my recently arrived new friends in Poland and Malaysia!

Thanks to all the bloggers featured on the right, and of course to Luca, for their support, comments (mostly kind) and the occasional link or MP3.
You all appear to be like minded individuals with excellent musical tastes. Indeed, I rarely venture much further for my daily musical fix these days.
I've never had the pleasure of meeting any of you, with the exception of George, but I have taken the liberty of considering you as true friends.

Here's to the next year and beyond!

The Tune Weavers - Happy Happy Birthday Baby

Kathy Young & the Innocents - Happy Birthday Blues

apologies if these appear on your screen as Altered Images songs - technical gremlins

Southern Soul Sunday 8

Seeing as how it is Sunday it is surely time for the Reverend Al Green from Forest City, Arkansas with the title song from the simply magnificent Kent 3 CD Box Set - Take Me to the River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977
75 songs and not a dud amongst  them
Written by the Reverend and Teenie Hodges it was first released on the Al Green Explores Your Mind LP on Hi and was not originally released as a single.
Hi stablemate Syl Johnson put it out as a single and had a huge hit.

It was subsequently introduced to a new generation by the Talking Heads on 1984's Stop Making Sense -surely one of the best live records of all time.
Not Southern Soul but what the heck!

Al Green - Take Me To The River

Talking Heads - Take Me To The River