Here's someone I've been meaning to feature for ages - Orlando Julius Ekemode, best known simply as Orlando Julius. One of the founding fathers of modern Nigerian music, he paved the way for Fela Kuti and many others with his funky mid 1960s recordings, and is not averse to bunging into the mix a bit of soul, calypso, reggae or jazz as the mood takes him. Still going strong at the ripe old age of 69, he played just down the road from me a few months back. Irritatingly, it was when I was out of town. Hopefully he'll be back soon.
"Boju Bari" - Orlando Julius
"Erora Miliki" - Orlando Julius
On the subject of African founding fathers, this one is for Madiba.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Bonnie Lassies
The Bert Jansch tribute concert at the Festival Hall on Tuesday was a great night. It was good to see some old favourites (Donovan, Beverley Martyn) and acquire a new one (Lisa Knapp). But if I could only pick one highlight it would be Bonnie Dobson, Robert Plant and Danny Thompson's version of Bonnie's classic "Morning Dew".
"Morning Dew" is Bonnie's best known song, but she made plenty of other good recordings back in the day, including these two Jackson C. Frank covers. She is alleged to be working on a new album.
"Milk And Honey" - Bonnie Dobson
"You Never Wanted Me" - Bonnie Dobson
As a bit of bonus, here are some other Bonnies for you.
"Too Long At The Fair" - Bonnie Raitt
"You're Gonna Love Yourself In The Morning" - Bonnie Koloc
"Where's Eddie?" - Bonnie Bramlett
And where is the bonniest of all, you ask? Why, here she is with the old Welsh Elvis himself.
"Morning Dew" is Bonnie's best known song, but she made plenty of other good recordings back in the day, including these two Jackson C. Frank covers. She is alleged to be working on a new album.
"Milk And Honey" - Bonnie Dobson
"You Never Wanted Me" - Bonnie Dobson
As a bit of bonus, here are some other Bonnies for you.
"Too Long At The Fair" - Bonnie Raitt
"You're Gonna Love Yourself In The Morning" - Bonnie Koloc
"Where's Eddie?" - Bonnie Bramlett
And where is the bonniest of all, you ask? Why, here she is with the old Welsh Elvis himself.
Sunday, 1 December 2013
The Only Ones
A sad day here at Leggies Central. I received an email from Roberto at Neoworx, who provided the visitor counter that used to appear down in the bottom right corner of the blog.
Neoworx are getting out of the old counting business because, to quote Roberto, "the shift from blogs to social networks and the overwhelming competition of free services has dramatically decreased my customer base to the point where I can no longer pay for the hosting of my servers".
Shakespeare once said, "nothing in his life became him like the leaving it". And so it is with Roberto for, despite his personal difficulties, he has found time to send his remaining customers one final count, showing the number of different unique visitors they have had, by country in descending order.
I have managed to rack up visitors from 184 countries. The top of the table is pretty predictable - US, UK, Germany, South Africa for the Tsonga Disco. More intriguing are the 21 countries from which I have only had one visitor. I would like to bring you a song about each of them but - in the absence of any tunes praising the Faroe Islands, Surinam and the Cook Islands - you will have to make do with these six.
"Paraguay" - Ludditak
"Woman From Liberia" - Jimmie Rodgers
"Uzbekistan" - Abdulaziz Karim
"Liechtenstein" - David Hoffbrand
"Kanaky - Nouvelle Caledonie" - Tim Sameke
"In Belize" - Jared Bartman
For what follows I apologise to you all. But most of all I apologise to Jared.
Neoworx are getting out of the old counting business because, to quote Roberto, "the shift from blogs to social networks and the overwhelming competition of free services has dramatically decreased my customer base to the point where I can no longer pay for the hosting of my servers".
Shakespeare once said, "nothing in his life became him like the leaving it". And so it is with Roberto for, despite his personal difficulties, he has found time to send his remaining customers one final count, showing the number of different unique visitors they have had, by country in descending order.
I have managed to rack up visitors from 184 countries. The top of the table is pretty predictable - US, UK, Germany, South Africa for the Tsonga Disco. More intriguing are the 21 countries from which I have only had one visitor. I would like to bring you a song about each of them but - in the absence of any tunes praising the Faroe Islands, Surinam and the Cook Islands - you will have to make do with these six.
"Paraguay" - Ludditak
"Woman From Liberia" - Jimmie Rodgers
"Uzbekistan" - Abdulaziz Karim
"Liechtenstein" - David Hoffbrand
"Kanaky - Nouvelle Caledonie" - Tim Sameke
"In Belize" - Jared Bartman
For what follows I apologise to you all. But most of all I apologise to Jared.
Friday, 29 November 2013
Rain And Snow
I am looking forward to what promises to be a memorable night at the Festival Hall next week, when friends and admirers gather to pay tribute to the late great Bert Jansch. I was lucky enough to see one of his last gigs with Pentangle there two years ago. Most of the surviving members will be in the line-up next week, along with the likes of Martin Carthy, Donovan, Robert Plant and someone called Clapton.
Today I have been working my way through some of the complimentary albums that pop up in my in-box, and about an hour ago came to "December Moon", the new album by a bunch of Irish sisters called the Henry Girls. Very nice it is too, and one of the stand-out tracks is their version of the old Pentangle standard, "Rain and Snow". Here is are both versions.
"Rain And Snow" - The Henry Girls
"Rain And Snow" - Pentangle
As I am feeling in a benign mood tonight, we'll give you some more rain and snow.
"Feels Like Rain" - John Hiatt
"Rainfall" - Bruce Cockburn
"Snow" - Georgia Seddon
"Snow Shadows" - Vince Martin
Today I have been working my way through some of the complimentary albums that pop up in my in-box, and about an hour ago came to "December Moon", the new album by a bunch of Irish sisters called the Henry Girls. Very nice it is too, and one of the stand-out tracks is their version of the old Pentangle standard, "Rain and Snow". Here is are both versions.
"Rain And Snow" - The Henry Girls
"Rain And Snow" - Pentangle
As I am feeling in a benign mood tonight, we'll give you some more rain and snow.
"Feels Like Rain" - John Hiatt
"Rainfall" - Bruce Cockburn
"Snow" - Georgia Seddon
"Snow Shadows" - Vince Martin
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Odysseys
There are some band names that are unlikely ever to be alighted on by more than one group of people - like "Fruupp" and "Frumious Bandersnatch", to look just at the "Fru"s. Others are more popular. Of late I have been banging on about the old British psychedelic band Kaleidoscope. When they were at their peak there was an American band with the same name plying their trade over there.
I have records by three different bands called Odyssey. Here is a track from each of them. The first comes from an album titled "Setting Forth" released in 1969, and is a mildly psychedelic blue-eyed soul version of the Janis Ian song. The second comes from an album called simply "Odyssey" that was released on various Motown subsidiaries in 1972. And the final one, from the best known of the three groups, was rightly a big hit here in the UK in 1980.
"Society's Child" - Odyssey
"Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love" - Odyssey
"If You're Looking For A Way Out" - Odyssey
Some bands have had to use different names in different countries to distinguish themselves from local acts. For example, the band we fondly remember as The Beat in the UK are fondly remembered as The English Beat in the US. But by far the greater indignity was inflicted on The Spinners, who were forced to call themselves The Detroit Spinners over here to avoid being confused with this lot.
I have records by three different bands called Odyssey. Here is a track from each of them. The first comes from an album titled "Setting Forth" released in 1969, and is a mildly psychedelic blue-eyed soul version of the Janis Ian song. The second comes from an album called simply "Odyssey" that was released on various Motown subsidiaries in 1972. And the final one, from the best known of the three groups, was rightly a big hit here in the UK in 1980.
"Society's Child" - Odyssey
"Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love" - Odyssey
"If You're Looking For A Way Out" - Odyssey
Some bands have had to use different names in different countries to distinguish themselves from local acts. For example, the band we fondly remember as The Beat in the UK are fondly remembered as The English Beat in the US. But by far the greater indignity was inflicted on The Spinners, who were forced to call themselves The Detroit Spinners over here to avoid being confused with this lot.
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Myths and Legends
I promised a brief review of the two gigs by legendary bands that I went to at the beginning of the week. Here they are.
On Monday morning, Mister F got in touch to say he had picked up free tickets to see Mott the Hoople that evening, so off we toddled to the O2 Arena. Had we paid, my view would probably be similar to that of the man from the Guardian. But as we didn't it seems a bit churlish to complain, so let's just say the last half an hour was great and you would have to be a bit of an old misery not to have had a bit of a lump in the throat when they finished off with "Saturday Gigs".
The Kaleidoscope gig the night before, on the other hand, was fantastic from start to finish. Peter Daltrey looked and sounded great, in the Trembling Bells he has found the ideal band to bring his songs to life, and we had the bonus of Ed and Danny from the original line-up joining them on stage for a few numbers. Even the tediously self-regarding support acts could not spoil a perfect night.
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From legends to myths. Here are four pop-tastic songs with links to assorted mythical kingdoms.
"The Legend of Xanadu" - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
"Eldorado" - Electric Light Orchestra
"Atlantis" - Donovan
"Give Him A Great Big Kiss" - The Shangri-las
And here's that "Saturday Gigs" moment I mentioned, with thanks to Georlron and the man in front of him with a very emotional hand.
On Monday morning, Mister F got in touch to say he had picked up free tickets to see Mott the Hoople that evening, so off we toddled to the O2 Arena. Had we paid, my view would probably be similar to that of the man from the Guardian. But as we didn't it seems a bit churlish to complain, so let's just say the last half an hour was great and you would have to be a bit of an old misery not to have had a bit of a lump in the throat when they finished off with "Saturday Gigs".
The Kaleidoscope gig the night before, on the other hand, was fantastic from start to finish. Peter Daltrey looked and sounded great, in the Trembling Bells he has found the ideal band to bring his songs to life, and we had the bonus of Ed and Danny from the original line-up joining them on stage for a few numbers. Even the tediously self-regarding support acts could not spoil a perfect night.
.JPG)
From legends to myths. Here are four pop-tastic songs with links to assorted mythical kingdoms.
"The Legend of Xanadu" - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
"Eldorado" - Electric Light Orchestra
"Atlantis" - Donovan
"Give Him A Great Big Kiss" - The Shangri-las
And here's that "Saturday Gigs" moment I mentioned, with thanks to Georlron and the man in front of him with a very emotional hand.
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Papa Penny/ Nerija
UPDATE: I got an infringement notice today from Box telling me they had taken down "Keliai Savi". Now, they are an occupational hazard in this game, but to be honest I had not expected to get one for a track from a 1970s Lithuanian funk and schlager combo. However, the fact that the second track survives unscathed leads me to suspect this is the work of S. Vonderio's "people". Boo! Hiss!
Later in the week when I have a bit more time I will regale you with tales of the Kaleidoscope and Mott The Hoople gigs I have been to the last two nights. But for now, a quick public service announcement.
Our good friends over at Awesome Tapes From Africa have reissued Penny Penny's classic "Shaka Bundu" album in almost every format known to man. You lot being hipsters probably have it already but - if not - BUY IT NOW.
That was the announcement.
How better to follow the King of Tsonga Disco than with some vintage Lithuanian funk? You will recognise - or you would have done if the b*gg*rs hadn't removed it - "Keliai Savi" as a slightly luke-warm version of "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (or S. Vonderio as he is called on the sleevenotes). The second track may possibly be an original, but I am happy to be corrected.
"Keliai Savi" - Nerija
"Ar Nebuvai Miške?" - Nerija
Here is Stevie showing us how to do it properly.
Later in the week when I have a bit more time I will regale you with tales of the Kaleidoscope and Mott The Hoople gigs I have been to the last two nights. But for now, a quick public service announcement.
Our good friends over at Awesome Tapes From Africa have reissued Penny Penny's classic "Shaka Bundu" album in almost every format known to man. You lot being hipsters probably have it already but - if not - BUY IT NOW.
That was the announcement.
How better to follow the King of Tsonga Disco than with some vintage Lithuanian funk? You will recognise - or you would have done if the b*gg*rs hadn't removed it - "Keliai Savi" as a slightly luke-warm version of "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (or S. Vonderio as he is called on the sleevenotes). The second track may possibly be an original, but I am happy to be corrected.
"Keliai Savi" - Nerija
"Ar Nebuvai Miške?" - Nerija
Here is Stevie showing us how to do it properly.
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