The Past is Still Alive

There is so much music out there it is virtually impossible to keep up with it all and to weed out the wheat from the chaff.

Hurray for the Riff Raff is a name which periodically crosses my radar. That is the nom de plume of Alynda Segarra from the Bronx who formed the band in New Orleans way back in 2007. Since then they have  released an EP and 10 albums.

During that time I have come across the occasional song here and there and have briefly featured on these pages before here and here

 I recently downloaded a copy of their latest album The Past is Still Alive. I quite enjoyed it but not enough to rush out and buy it or to take the time and expense to see them perform live even although I suspect they would put on a good show. In the unlikely event that I ever found any of their albums in a charity shop I would certainly swoop.

Too little time and money, too many bands

Here is one from the new album and two older ones.

Hurray for the Riff Raff - Buffalo

Hurray for the Riff Raff - Look Out Mama

Hurray for the Riff Raff - Hungry Ghost

Saturday Shuffle 47

 

Week 47 of Saturday Shuffle and we move to a new dimension a trip into outer space . Like Teenage Fanclub with this song from their 1997 masterpiece Songs from Northern Britain I feel the Planets surround me

Indeed like Cake with their first single from their 1996 album Fashion Nugget you could say that we have gone The Distance with our trip into space.

Waxahatchee on her 2020 album Saint Cloud does not get as far as space. She does manage a trip to Arkansas though where she notes that West Memphis is on Fire

More songs celestial or otherwise, distant or near, on fire or not or something completely different on next Saturday's Shuffle

Teenage Fanclub - Planets

Cake - The Distance

Waxahatchee - Fire

Sheffield Steel

 

The Sheffield Nativity

On Monday I had the enormous pleasure of meeting up with Spence from Sheffield our regular Friday night commentator.

Together with his family he had, for a birthday treat, enjoyed hospitality on his first visit to see his beloved Scottish team Stenhousemuir at Ochilview. Unfortunately for them it was a nil-nil draw with Peterhead but it seems that they had a great time no doubt comforted by the fact that Stennie are still a stick on for promotion.

Thereafter he and his wife Cathy spent a couple of days in Glasgow and I caught up with a him for a coffee. Unfortunately it was chucking it down. It is Raintown after all.

We spend a very pleasant hour or so gabbing away like old friends with the majority of the chat centring around football, blogging and music in general before venturing back out to the rain.

I said I would feature some songs today by bands from his home city. 

I hope you enjoy them Spence.

ABC - The Look of Love

Pulp - Do You Remember the First Time?

Human League - The Lebanon

Longpigs - On and On

Joe Cocker - Delta Lady

Townes

 

The Missing Haul - Steve Earle  - Townes

I used to be a fanatical fan of Steve Earle who I saw on multiple occasions and would buy his albums on vinyl and then on CD often on the day they were released.

He has released 21 studio albums and I have the first 10 on either vinyl or CD (with a couple on both) up to and including 2002's Jerusalem. Thereafter he slipped from near the top of my radar and I contented myself with burns/downloads of CDs more often than not from the library. I probably have about half a dozen or so including his 13th Townes from 2009 which was released on New West Records

It is well known that Steve was a friend and huge fan of Townes who he considered to be his mentor. There is of course his famous quote Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that"

It is also the first in a trilogy of artists who inspired him the others being Guy from 2019 paying tribute to Guy Clark and Jerry Jeff from 2022 referencing Jerry Jeff Walker .

I had this in my hand as part of the 3 for £5 deal. I thought I had put it back and replaced it with something else given I had a burn of it but no I hadn't. Still I am happy to have the upgrade  on CD and it will now replace the burn on the Americana shelves.

Steve Earle - White Freightliner Blues

Steve Earle - Loretta

Steve Earle -To Live is To Fly

Time (The Relevator)

 

The Missing Haul - Gillian Welsh - Time (The Relevator)

I’m not having much joy in terms of Charity Shop purchases of late.

Time then to adopt Plan B with a trip to Missing Records to take advantage of their 3 for £5 selections. Another benefit of this is that there is far more fairly decent Americana on offer than you average Charity shop.

On my latest trip I hit the jackpot at the start of my browsing when I stumbled across Time (The Relevator) by Gillian Welsh -  From 2001 and on the Alcony label it was her third studio album and up until now the only one of hers that I didn't have in some shape or form.

And what a record it is. Quite possible her best. The critics seem to agree giving it a whopping 86/100 on the Metacritic Aggregator. Paste go as far as to name it as number 7 in their top 50 albums of the decade. Not bad for £2 or £1.67 if you buy in bulk.

I'm not sure as to why it has taken me so long to get it but it was definitely worth the wait. The music is sparse but haunting. She truly is a unique talent.

My external CD drive is playing silly buggers so I have had to access these files via other sources.

Gillian Welch - Revelator

Gillian Welch - Elvis Presley Blues

The End of the Road

 

I'm afraid it is the end of the road as far as Caravans are concerned.

it's knackers yard time but not before we salvage what we can.

An instrumental called  Caravan you say? Why not? Here is one by George Jenkins . I also have a copy of this by Sandy Nelson.

Another version of The Isley Brothers classic Caravan of Love you say? Why not? Here are the 4th Best Band in Hull with their cover version which was the UK Christmas number 1 in 1986.

A funky song by Burano and his Gypsy Caravan you say? Why not? Here is Good Time Girl

A cover of a Clash song by a Rockabilly band called The Caravans you say? I'm not sure that is actually a good idea but let's do it nevertheless.

That's Caravans done and dusted.

Lest I am accused of being unreasonable I am willing to bow to Ernie and have Buses as the next theme for Transport Tuesday on the proviso that he provides a guest post.

I may have another exciting guest post lined up and obviously if anyone else is willing to provide one they will be more than welcome.

Sandy Nelson - Caravan

The Housemartins - Caravan of Love

Burano and his Gypsy Caravan - Good Time Girl

The Caravans -Jail Guitar Doors

The Hanging Stars at the Glad Cafe

 

John beat me to it and with a much better post and pictures to boot

On Friday at the sold out  Glad Cafe it was a privilege to see The Hanging Stats  promoting their new album  On a Golden Shore. Along with the likes of  the Rose City Band they are exponents of what I would describe as Cosmic Psychedelic Americana which is something which totally floats my boat.

I say them play at Stereo in October 2022 and they were pretty good although that set was a good bit short with no encore. This time round it was a longer and much better set with a terrific encore.

Support came from local band The Poachers. Their guitarist Seb cut my back hedge last year. He never came back to do the laurels; probably too busy rehearsing.

The band (Hanging Stars that is) were very tight and obviously were enjoying themselves. They had the audience eating out of the palm on their hand.  Richard Olson is a great front man and when Joe Harvey-Whyte lets loose on the pedal steel it is  truly something to behold.

My gig of 2024 so far by a country mile. It will take something very special to better it.

Ava is for John!

The Hanging Stars - Golden Shore

The Hanging Stars - Ava