The Great Eastern

Glaswegians of a certain vintage will remember The Great Eastern a notorious common lodging house or hostel that used to stand at the High Street end of Duke Street. It has since been converted into flats.
Hopefully the  former residents have found more suitable accommodation.
The Great Eastern is also the third album by The Delgados from 2000 released on Chemikal Underground and until my recent trip tp Ballantrae was one of the two missing pieces of my Delgados jigsaw the other being Peloton.
I think that No Danger just might be my new favourite Delgados song.
Another great record from a consistently great and sadly missed band.

The Delgados - Accused of Stealing

The Delgados - No Danger

The Captain

Scottish weather, eh?
Last Tuesday it was snowing so when we headed to Portpartick in the bitter cold sleety rain on Wednesday we took woolly hats, scarves and gloves.
Needless to say the sun ended up splitting the skies and I got sunburnt on the Saturday!
Mrs CC kindly sourced me the above  rather dapper cap to protect my thinning napper.
By coincidence the Kasey Chambers song The Captain features on the Sopranos CD I put on on Tuesday.
Strangely neither of the other two I'm giving you today do





Kasey Chambers - The Captain

Spizz Energi - Where's Captain Kirk

Burnt Offerings 12

Some Blues to kick start Burnt Offerings 12
The splendidly attired chap above is none other than J.B.Lenoir who had a penchant for social commentary as well as zebra suits.
His 1954 song Eisenhower Blues was controversial at the time leading to Al Benson the head of Parrot Records taking him back to the studio to re-record it as the more generic Taxpayers Blues.

J.B. Lenoir - Eisenhower Blues

From Chicago Blues to Liverpudlian Americana with The Good Intentions  the husband  and wife team of  R Peter Davis and Gabrielle Monk (and previously Frank Roskell as well)  voted the Best Americana Band at the British Country Music Awards in 2011.
Not content to having a song called Neil Young they have also recorded You Love Jimmie Rodgers and She's in a George Jones Mood

The Good Intentions - Neil Young

Last but certainly not least we head back across the pond to Virginia for a rendezvous with Thao Nguyen sometimes known just as Thao and also with her band as Thao & the Get Down Stay Down 
She has also collaborated with Mirah Yom Tom Zeitlyn as Thao & Mirah
Here is some of her country -tinged indie folk-pop (I think that's most of the bases covered)

Thao Nguyen - We

A baker's dozen's worth of nonsense next week

Gangsta Rap

I wandered up to the till of the BRICC shop with 2 CDs to be informed that it was three CDs for a pound.
So it was back to what must be the most disorganised and thrown together CD section out there to quickly select a third.
I plumped for The Sopranos -Pepper & Eggs -music from the HBO Original Series.a double CD therefore giving 25 tracks for 33.33(recurring) pence.
A bit of a mixed bag to be honest as you can see from the tracklist
For my first pick I've gone for a song that I was sure that I'd featured before but apparently not Cake with Frank Sinatra. One which would have not been out of place in my name checked series and really only proper then that I next feature Ole Blue Eyes himself.
And finally some Italian rap courtesy of Lorenzo Jovanotti  the name on the CD although more commonly known as Jovanotti
The third Ballantrae offering will feature shortly

Cake - Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra - Baubles. Bangles and Beads

Jovanotti - Piove

Concrete Sky

Just back from a few days in Galloway with quick pit stops to the charity shops of Stranraer and the BRICC Thriftshop in Ballantrae.
Slim pickings this time round I'm afraid.
Here is the first of a three for  a pound combo from Ballantrae
Concrete Sky was the second EP released by Beth Orton with the lead track  taken from her 2002 album  Daybreaker.
Co-written with Johnny Marr and featuring vocals by Ryan Adams.
The other track I have selected is called Bobby Gentry - I've no idea why other than it is very pleasant as is Bobby.

Finally here is a picture from Logan Botanical Gardens which features ducks but no concrete sky

Beth Orton - Concrete Sky

Beth Orton - Bobby Gentry

Nostalgia - It Ain't What it Used to Be

Another keeper from my recent windfall is The Ultimate Collection by the Kinks.
I've posted some of their 60's stuff before from a vinyl compilation to great acclaim.
It was released however before 1982's Come Dancing their first UK top 20 hit in 11 years.
Written by Ray Davis in memory of his sister Rene who died of a heart attack while dancing at a dance hall.
On the back of this hit the followed up with Don't Forget to Dance which was not nearly so successful.

Ray has recently been knighted so arise Sir Ray. This begs the question. What about the rest of Muswell Hill's finest. Why not Sir Dave and indeed Sir Pete and Sir Mick?

The Kinks - Come Dancing

The Kinks - Don't Forget to Dance

Springsteen Covered - Hungry Heart

We are away for a few days so I penned this earlier in the week.
At the time of writing Brucie was to my surprise holding a narrow lead over Bowie with It's Hard Being a Saint in the City.
The scores therefore are now The Boss 2 The Rest 1. If there is a late surge of votes for Mr Bowie then clearly this will be reversed.
I like the interactiveness of this series. There is the comments and the voting along with suggestions of other versions of the song featured.
In week one Drew shared Camera Obscura's version of Tougher than the Rest.
This week I am featuring Hungry Heart our first trip to The River. The great Ernie Goggins legendary surfer of the zeitgeist has weighed in by forwarding me not one but two versions - one by Lucy Wainwright Roche and an ever so slightly bonkers version (Ernie's words) by Swamp Dogg.
Given that how could I not feature Mr Jerry Williams Jr?
Who's got a wife and  kids in Baltimore, Jack ? and indeed who has taken a wrong turn and just kept going?

I'm going for the Dogg - bonkers but brilliant.
Others, as always, may choose to disagree.


Bruce Springsteen - Hungry Heart

Swamp Dogg - Hungry Heart