Cumbia, My Lord, Cumbia

I've just booked my tickets to see La Yegros in April. If you're not familiar with her work - and I wasn't until I saw the show advertised and checked her out - she is an Argentinian performer who describes her music as "an explosive combination of the urban and folkloric chamane dubs, mixed with funky coplas and cumbia raps".

I don't know what that means, but I know I like it. I think you might too. Here are a couple of tracks from her 2016 album, "Magnetismo". Her new album "Suelta" is out shortly, and she's touring Europe in April and early May (the London gig is her only UK show unfortunately).

"Carnabailito" - La Yegros

"Chicha Roja" - La Yegros

For today's clip, some music inspired by (although not originating from) the great country of Argentina. Especially for several of our regular readers.

Babies and Buddies

Today we feature one of the great New Orleans' blues dudes, Mr Earl King. Apparently his real name was Earl Silas Johnson IV. Personally I think he should have stuck with that, it is much more distinctive that being yet another bluesman called King. But what do I know?

"Well-O, Well-O, Well-O Baby" - Earl King

"Buddy, It's Time To Go" - Earl King

Issue Of The Day

Never mind Brexit or Liam Neeson or any of those other things we are told are the issues of the day. The question dominating discussion in my local last night was this: If Yvonne Elliman married Yellowman, would she be known as Yvonne Elliman-Yellowman?

I'll leave that one with you.

"I Can't Explain" - Yvonne Elliman

"Yellowman Getting Married" - Yellowman

Chocolate Through The Ages

The Chocolate Watchband were one of the leading lights of the original American garage band scene back in the mid-60s. You could be forgiven for thinking that they left the stage stomping and snarling as soon as the 1970s rolled around never to be heard of again.

But you would be wrong. The band did indeed break up in the late 1960s, but the old gang got back together in the late 1990s and are still going strong. The current line-up includes three members from the old days, including the lead singer David Aguilar. They've just released their first album in nearly 20 years. It's called "This Is My Voice" and its pretty good.

I had planned to feature their classic "Are You Gonna Be There At The Love-In?", but that is one of the many victims of the Great Music Library Transfer Disaster of 2019 (see previous posts). Instead you are getting their moody take on a Bob Dylan tune from 1966, followed by one of the many fine tracks on the new album. You wouldn't think there were 53 years between them.

"Baby Blue" - The Chocolate Watchband

"Take A Ride" - The Chocolate Watchband

Arise, King Bed Bug the First

If you're a fan of innuendo, then the calypsonians are the men for you.

A few years back I was privileged to see the great Mighty Sparrow in a rare London appearance. At one point in the show he asked members of the audience to shout out a topic on which he would them extemporise a calypso. Shamefully, one member of my party yelled out "SEX!!!" at the top of the voice. 

This led to much disapproving tutting from the rest of the audience, not at her vulgarity but at the lack of ambition. Where is the sport in single entendre? Fortunately Sparrow ignored her and picked some other more innocuous subject. I can't now remember what it was, but needless to say it was all "sex, sex, sex" from the second verse onwards.

Which brings us on to Lord Invader and his explanation of why he wishes to be reborn as a bed bug. Once he's finished, Lord Kitchener describes the unfortunate set of circumstances that led to him being struck off by the General Medical Council. We round things off with Sparrow himself and a stinging critique of the then Trinidadian government's decision to restrict food imports from Guyana.

"Reincarnation (The Bed Bug) " - Lord Invader

"Doctor Kitch" - Lord Kitchener

"B.G. Plantain" - Mighty Sparrow

Groovey Joe and Jerry Lee

If these don't get you in the mood for the weekend I don't know what will. Have a groovey one (and, indeed, a Poovey one).

"Ten Long Fingers" - Groovey Joe Poovey

"High School Confidential" - Jerry Lee Lewis

Day of the Jackal

I bought myself a new PC recently - the old one was so ancient you had to turn the crank at the back to get it started - and while most things went smoothly I've been having some problems with my music.

I use a well-known device beginning with a little "i" to play my music on, and it seems that when you transfer the library over to the new PC all the tracks originally uploaded from CDs need to be reactivated one by one in order to be able to play them.

On the one hand this is intensely irritating as it will take me ages to reboot the whole library. But on the bright side, it means I am coming across things I haven't listened to for years and rediscovering their manifold delights. One such is "Golden Hits Collection" by Don Carlos, which we feature now for your listening pleasure.

"Springheel Skanking" - Don Carlos

"Hog And Goat" - Don Carlos

Next in the "pile" is a compilation called "100 Hits: 80s Weekender", which I honestly had no recollection of acquiring. But I tracked down the original 5CD box set, and if the sticker is to be believed I only paid £1 for it. There are enough goodies amongst all the dross to make it a decent buy at that price. Here's one of them.