Two Shots of Happy One Shot of Sad - Matt Dusk

Heard this last night on a Canadian Verve Records promo CD and liked the noir-ish vibe. Apparently it was written by Bono and The Edge in tribute to Frank Sinatra and originally sung by daughter Nancy. 

Press Darlings - Adam and the Ants

Who was the first band that the Sex Pistols supported? The Damned? The Ramones? The Clash? Nah, Adam and the Ants. 

For a brief period Adam and the Ants were MASSIVE, I'm fairly sure they occupied three of the top 5 slots in the singles chart at one point and this was at a time when such things took some doing. Despite having his roots in punk Adam embraced the whole pop/celebrity thing and...well...sadly the press took against him and his music and it's been unfairly sidelined as a bit of an 80's novelty ever since. Listen to tracks like Press Darlings though and it's not a huge stretch to imagine Johnny Rotten snarling it out. Elsewhere there's a touch of Berlin era Bowie in tracks like Physical...

  ...see what I mean? 

PS: This post was prompted by picking up the rather fine Dandy Highwayman 2CD which was languishing in the rain in a box outside a local charity shop. I should report them to the RSPCCD (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to CDs). Thankfully after carefully removing and drying the soggy insert it's no worse for wear. Try treating an LP like that eh? CDs rule. 

Fish In The Jailhouse - Tom Waits

Heavy, heavy blues from the gravel voiced bawler Tom Waits, taken from the appropriately named 3CD compilation Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards which I picked up from a local charity shop recently. There's still some decent stuff out there if you hunt for it but prices are rising. At this rate they'll be back to where they were when I first started buying 'em back in the late 80s. 

PS: Taking inflation into account new CDs should be roughly £40 these days. Bonkers eh? 

Don't Do This Alone - Walt Disco

As a long-term fan of The Associates this track's been floating my boat recently. Walt Disco have been around for quite a while now but perhaps this track will see 'em pull a Future Islands and hit the mainstream...if such a thing still exists. 

Fire - Beth Ditto

Picked up a copy of Beth's debut solo album during my Bristol trip and gave it a spin last night. Here's my pick of the pops, partially 'cos it's a banger and partially 'cos I like setting fire to shit (NB: in my log burner that is...). 

Pictures Of You - Wadi Vision

Picked up a really ace compilation on my last visit to Bristol on the ever reliable Bristol Archive Records label. It's a collection of tracks from Bristol and Bath bands from the early 80's with some fine synth pop from bands like Wadi Vision and more soulful stuff (think Matt Bianco/Swing Out Sister) from, amongst others, Big Outdoor Type. All new names to me and yet another reminder of how much great stuff never gets the audience it deserves. I believe only 500 copies of this CD (it's on vinyl too, of course) have been pressed so if you want a copy get in now Bristol Archive Records » Vinyls

PS: If you're as old as I am how lucky were we to grow up in the 80s eh? I know every generation looks back with rise tinted varifocals but from a music, movie, fashion and telly perspective it was pretty top notch. And, most importantly of all, there was no bloody internet, antisocial media or AI. 

PPS: Yes, I'm aware of the irony of posting this on the bloody internet but you know what I mean.  

October Song - Incredible String Band

Here's a gentle way to ease you into the new week, with a track that none other than Sir Bob of Dylanshire rated when it came out almost 60 years ago. 

Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow - Felt

Listened to this track again for the first time in ages on a 'free' Mojo magazine CD compilation entitled There is A Light That Never Goes Out. You see it in the odd charity shop from time to time and it's well worth picking up. 

Here's another indie classic from the same comp...the mighty Nightingales' Crafty Fag! 

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

Heard this on 6Music yesterday and it tickled my fancy in a Decemberists kind of way. The CD seems to be fetching good money online so I'll have to hunt for it in the wild and wacky charity shops, in amongst the thousands of Susan Boyle CDs. Blimey that woman sold a lot of CDs. I like to build life size models of her using her CDs but for some reason the staff aren't so keen. Spoilsports. 

Archie Shepp - The Girl From Ipanema

Picked up this album along with a bunch of other jazz CDs over the weekend and was quite taken by this ever so slightly wonky but brilliant take on The Girl From Ipanema. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. You'll probably think I'm utterly bonkers, but that's jazz for you. 

Walk on the Wild Side - The Peddlers

One of the CD's I picked up last weekend's introduced me to this lot, The Peddlers, purveyors of top notch Hammond driven jazz funk. Trust me, this is worth a few minutes of your time. 

Woza Friday - Johnny Clegg & Juluka

Translating as 'come Friday' this weekend celebrating track from Johnny Clegg & Juluka predates Paul Simon's genre blending Graceland album by a full four years, but the Lancashire born Clegg had been playing with Zulu musicians in his adopted homeland of South Africa since 1969! And you can imagine how well that went down with the authorities...

Sadly Clegg went to that great gig in the sky back in 2019, so why not pop on this track and have a tipple or two after work while you still can eh? As the old Irish saying goes, 'we're here for a good time, not a long time'. 

Rock n' Roll - Gruppo Sportivo

Picked up a Gruppo Sportivo compilation on my recent trip to Bristol and it's a top notch collection of quirky tongue in cheek new waveyness, with little nods to Squeeze, Elvis Costello and the B52s. Here's another gem...

Dr John - I Walk On Gilded Splinters (Nathan Micay's Gumbo Theremin Edit)

Endured a nasty bout of Plantar Fasciitis over the weekend and would quite happily have walked on gilded splinters if it had helped to get rid of the pain. Genuinely debated sawing off my own foot for a while, but thankfully with some gentle exercise (if you can call moving half a tonne of logs gentle exercise) it appears to be getting better. Still, it gives me a good excuse to share this rather splendid remix of the Dr John classic so every cloud and all that shit. 

Everything's Odd - A tribute to Grandmaster Gareth and Misty's Big Adventure

Regular readers will be very familiar with my ongoing love affair with Misty's Big Adventure so imagine my chuffedness (yes, that's a word...probably) when I came across a brand new tribute album featuring such talents as Jeffrey Lewis, Dufus and Toby Goodshank! There are 18 tracks to get stuck into and I highly recommend that you do. 

Bristol Fashion...

 

Holy moly it's Holy Holy, the Bowie related supergroup featuring the Dame's original drummer boy, Woody Woodmansey, his producer Mr Tony Visconti and...lead me into temptation...Heaven 17's very one Glenn Gregory (the only bloke I can imagine filling Bowie's platform boots). This was the first of three gigs in three nights in one of my favourite cities in the world, Brizzle, just an hour and a half away by train from my home town, and it was, as you'd expect a cracker. Featuring some deep cuts from Bowie's early 70's prime as well as the classics it was a joyful but occasionally poignant romp through some of the finest moments in proper pop. 

At 82 Visconti's a steady performer these days but at a mere 76 Woody's quite possibly the most energetic drummer on planet earth (or any other planet for the matter) and you get the impression that he's releasing all of the pent up post Bowie years angst that came from what was a pretty brutal dismissal (Bowie famously announced that the Spiders From Mars were disbanding live onstage in 1973). Allegedly this is the last ever Holy Holy tour but I wouldn't bet against further shows if Woody has anything to do with it. 

The next night we went to The Canteen to catch one of the best live bands I've ever seen, The Makings, an 8 piece soul jazz collective that could get a marble statue shaking its ass. I'm not a natural dancer but on the two occasions I've been to see them I've ended up a sweaty mess at the end of the night (in retrospect wearing a waistcoat and tweed tie wasn't the wisest choice) and if there's any justice in this world The Makings will be headlining Glastonbury in 2027. Trust me Emily Eavis, I guarantee they'd go down a storm and they'll be much better value for money than Harry Styles. How about it eh? 

Sunday night was a little less sweaty but funkier than we were expecting. The usual Sunday night act at The Duke wasn't there this week but his place was taken by The Patsy Gamble Quartet who played a jukebox worth of classic soul and jazz numbers capping off the weekend in sax-sational fashion. 

Autumn Song - Van Morrison

I don't mind the change in seasons as long as they all behave themselves and do what's expected of them. Happily we had a decent summer this year, which makes the gentle sliiiiiiiiiiiiiide into autumn much more tolerable. Besides I can dust off the candles, log burner, electric blanket and Van Morrison's Autumn Song too. 

Johnny Hit and Run Pauline - X

Finally got round to watching The Decline Of Western Civilisation documentary over the weekend featuring some of the cream of the late 70s early 80s US punk scene, along with the slightly more rockabilly stylings of a band called X who contributed this delightful little ditty.  

Same Old Drag - The Apples In Stereo

Picked up a bargain The Apples In Stereo compilation the other week and am currently digging my way through their back catalogue, including this little beauty. Psych tinged noughties pop at its very best. 

It was 20 years ago today (sort of)...

Being an old man I missed the 20th anniversary of The Hearing Aid a couple of weeks ago, so here's Jimi and co to make up for it!