In 2023 and 2024 we went on a lengthy odyssey exploring every nook and cranny in Africa.
After that finished I needed a bit of a rest, but six months on I am fully revitalised and itching to get back on the road.
So next month we will be embarking on our third Grand Tour. This time we will be covering the length and breadth of the American continent, from Utqiagvik up in the north to Ushuaia way down in the south and all points in between.
I am going to restrict it to countries on the continental landmass; if we included the North Atlantic and Caribbean islands we'd be wandering forever. We can perhaps set sail for the islands in a separate series in the future.
That still leaves us with 23 countries, so quite enough to be getting on with. I have hundreds if not thousands of recordings from the major hot spots like Belize and French Guiana. It may be more of a struggle to pad out a post on some of the obscure backwaters like Brazil and the US.
Speaking of the US, I have been inspired by their recent enthusiasm for renaming geographical features and written to both them and Canada suggesting they add an 'n' to the middle of Lake Erie for the duration of the tour. I'll let you know when I hear back.
The as yet unnamed tour (CC - any ideas?) will kick off in Argentina in a few weeks time. Until then, here are some songs about just a few of the places we will pass through.
Before we go to any of them, though, I am going somewhere even more exotic in real life. Bristol. I'll be back on here in a week or so.
I recently found myself in London's fashionable Peckham, as you do, so I took the opportunity to pop into the Alex TLC charity shop on the High Street. It is an old school charity shop; slightly chaotic but run by nice people for a good cause and you can usually find a bargain or two.
So it proved on this occasion. It seems that a local resident has recently woken from a twenty year sleep and decided to offload all the free CDs they got from music magazines before they dozed off.
I came away with a very good haul, the centrepiece of which was six Songlines CDs from 2004/05. I will probably share some of those in due course, but today it is the turn of "Wire Tapper 8" which was given away with the January 2002 edition of The Wire and was also in the haul.
Like most of these sort of compilations 'Wire Tapper 8' is a bit hit and miss but when it hits it hits hard and does so right from the start. The compiler leaps off their stool and unleashes this lethal opening salvo. These are no mere taps, these are hefty wallops.
A couple of days ago that Khayem kharakter posted a bee-themed video. That helped to prompt this post. You can call it an example of the hive mind. You would be wrong, but you can.
There are two other reasons for the post. The first is that it gives me an excuse belatedly to draw your attention to "Isidro", the fine new album by Rosa Bordallo that came out at the end of January.
The second, and most important, is to send a get well soon message to my brother-in-law Chris in South Africa. Chris is a professional bee dude (that is what is says on his business card) who has managed to turn his former hobby into a successful small business producing and selling high grade honey. He has been under the weather recently but hopefully will be back to his best soon.
Chris will take his hives anywhere there are plants that infuse the honey with flavour. He has placed them on mountains. He has placed them in forests. He would probably place them in jungles if there were any near him.
For Record Store Day in April last year VP Records issued the excellent compilation “Dubbing At King Tubby’s (Volumes 1 & 2)" - four LPs and 44 tracks of prime 1970s dub. They are a repackaging of three hard to find compilations originally issued on the long gone Blood & Fire label back in the 1990s.
The albums are credited to The Aggrovators, King Tubby's studio band through which numerous luminaries passed. The credits read like a Who's Who of Jamaican musicians of the era - Sly & Robbie, Carlton and Family Man Barrett, Augustus Pablo, Ansel Collins, Dean Frazer, Jackie Mittoo and many more.
The list of producers involved is almost as starry. Most of the original tracks were produced under the watchful eye of Bunny 'Striker' Lee and as well as King Tubby himself there are mixes from the likes of Prince Jammy, Scientist and Pat Kelly.
Vinyl copies of the albums seem to be available from various sources or you can pick up a download version from Bandcamp via the link in the first paragraph. If the price there is a bit steep for your tastes you can also find it going for £10 at the tax dodgers' place, where your money can help to send Katy Perry back into space.
I could have picked pretty much any of the 44 tracks without a drop off in quality but opted for these versions of a few old favourites of mine: "I Killed The Barber" (Dr Alimantado), "Standing Firm" (Jacob Miller) and "King Of The Arena" (Johnny Clarke).
I went to see the Mekons last week at London's fashionable 100 Club. Although I have seen various members in different combinations over the years I had never seen the band itself so I was looking forward to it very much. I wasn't disappointed. My gig of the year to date.
The current touring line-up has seven members. Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh founded the band back in 1977. All but one of the others were recruited when the band was revived and revamped in the mid 1980s (Sally Timms, Susie Honeyman, Rico Bell and Steve Goulding). New boy bassist Dave Trumfio has been with them a paltry ten years.
With that line-up I was pretty confident that we would get a set packed with some of the many highlights of their extensive back catalogue, and so it proved. From their second single in 1978 to their brand new album "Horror" it was high quality fare throughout.
Unfortunately Sally Timms ('the Queen Mother of Punk Rock' as she was introduced) was poorly but she gallantly hauled herself onstage for the middle part of the show to sing, cough and indulge in some banter with Jon Langford before going off to lie down. It was most gracious of Her Majesty and hopefully she is feeling back to her best by now.
I've selected the three songs that formed the encore last week. These originals date from 1987, 1989 and 1978 respectively. To recreate the live sound imagine them with added violin, accordion and squawking sax courtesy of guest Andy Wilkinson. Maybe play along on the concertina if you happen to have one.
The 100 Club was the last gig of the UK leg of the current tour but they are meandering around continental Europe until the end of the month and then the US in July. If you get the chance go along.
[Ernie writes: For what I think is the first time in our long-running but irregular series we have a guest post. And what a guest it is too - the famous contrarian goatherd after whom Edwyn Collins is said to have named his album "Gorgeous George". You can tell it is by George from the use of the word 'bobbins'. I have added a few comments in italics and some videos at the end but apart from that it is all his own work.]
Anita and Parsley (these two always Spend The Night Together)
[I believe this is a reference to Anita the goat and not Anita Pallenberg. I hope so anyway.]
The main rule for the series is, I think, obvious. I also believe that there should be an MRV, which I have adhered to. And that the versions should be interpretations, not simply straightforward covers. I am not sure if personal opinions about each version are allowed, but if not it’s not a rule I can stick to.
[There is no rule against expressing opinions and the Mandatory Reggae Version isn't really mandatory, just preferred - we did not have one last time out. It is so anarchic here even Hagar The Womb would feel right at home.]
The original first. I first heard it when I bought the double album Rolled Gold, from Chalmers and Joy in Gellatly Street, for £3.99, in 1976. From the weakest side (3) of the album, track 2.
The second, with which you will all be familiar, is a fantastic glammed-coked-up cover, with that wild piano intro. A frantic, desperate, vocal from Bowie, giving a totally different mood than that whiny, pleading 20-year-old “please stay the night” feel that Jagger delivers.
Melanie Harrold, friend of Jasper Carrott, has a version. Not only a friend of Mr Carrott but a former singer with the Hank Wangford Band. A laid-back almost-funky interpretation. Cengis Yuksek gives an almost easy-listening version, almost-but-not-quite bossanova.
The fifth version might be described as a blue-eyed soul version, and is by The Bonemakers with Jenny Langer. It also might be nothing of the sort, but it’s very good. After that comes what I think is a northern soul adaptation by Jerry Williams and his Dynamite and Soul Band.
[The Jerry Williams record was made in Sweden which I think counts as 'northern' soul. Jerry's real name was Sven Erik Fernström. Fans of this weekend's song contest may be interested to know that this version was arranged by Lars Samuelson, who has a strong Eurovision pedigree.]
Penultimately is an utterly utterly fabulous version, from an album disowned by the artiste himself! The backing is provided by members of Rotary Connection, some heavy, scuzzy psychedelic guitar work, and at about 27 seconds in comes that big, huge blues vocal from Muddy Waters. It becomes not a request, not a demand, but a fait accompli. This is just fantastic, and despite Mr. Morganfield’s protestations (“That Electric Mud record I did, that one was dogshit.””), this is a must-have album.
And the MRV is on Trojan records by Teddy and the Discolettes (who are not to be confused with Disco Tex and his Sex-o-lettes)
Either ACE Records or Cherry Red should put that collection above on a compilation album.
Someone who goes by the name of Anthony McBazooka will not be featuring here. And not because the song is total bobbins, but because it belongs to the series Songs With The Same Titles But Are Different Songs.
Thanks to Ernie for posting, and I hope you enjoy all the songs.
[It has been an absolute pleasure. If anyone else fancies doing a guest post we would be delighted to receive them, just as long as the song in question hasn't featured here before.]
I have banged on about Hominis Canidae a few times in the past. It is nothing to do with human dogs, which is the literal translation from the Latin and one of the more alarming Google searches. As regular readers may recall, this Hominis Canidae is a label that has been releasing 'name your price' samplers of Brazilian independent music via Bandcamp every month since 2012.
Here is a track apiece from the samplers issued in the first quarter of 2025. If you like any of them I would encourage you to explore further. You should do so even if you don't. The albums are a bit of a mixed bag covering as they do sweet and mellow samba, industrial noise and all points in between but there is usually something to enjoy.
Over the last few year I seem to spend an increasing amount of time on here lamenting the deaths of musicians. Today's post is about a couple of recent deaths that are closer to home.
Yesterday was my uncle's funeral. The sun was shining on the righteous which helped to make the gathering after the service feel more like a celebration than a time for sadness.
My uncle would have loved hanging out in his back garden with so many of his family and friends, including his brand new great-granddaughter, but after a while I think he would have been tempted to sneak off to his shed for a bit of peace and quiet.
On Friday we will be celebrating the life of a woman who with her late husband was there for three generations of my family when we needed them.
They made a home for my grandmother and youngest aunt when my grandparents separated; my Dad and two uncles all stayed with them in the run up to their respective weddings; and 40 years ago they put me up for a month when I moved to London after university. I have never been so well cared for and have been utterly devoted to her ever since.
In some respects today's song selections are not particularly apt. Neither of them were much given to roving, drinking or philandering, although Mary would definitely have jumped up when a steel band passed.
But all of the songs are ones that have the ability to make me reflect on good times past and maybe get just a little damp around the eyes as a result. If they have the same effect on you feel free to blub along.
Moulay Ahmed El Hassani to be precise. He is a Moroccan musician who writes his own songs, plays all the instruments himself, records and self produces at his home studio. He has released more than 50 albums on cassette and CD over the past 30 years or so.
Moulay blends traditional Moroccan folk forms with rai and chaabi and then throws some synths and drum machines into the mix. The resulting sound, according to the blurb, "is like a twenty-first century folk music for a people caught somewhere between a vision of their own idealised pastoral past and a turbo charged, technologically driven urban future". So now you know.
In 2018 the Hive Mind label compiled a selection of his recordings from between 2005 and 2012 on an album called "Atlas Electric". I picked up a copy Bandcamp Friday just gone on a 'name your own price' offer and excellent value it has proved to be.
Here are a couple of tracks from the album. The first one is nearly 11 minutes long, the second seven and a half, so they double up as ritual offerings for one of the more enduring blog cults. Happy Monday Long Song to those who celebrate.
We have an unscheduled and unwanted Part 2 to today's post. The fine country crooner Johnny Rodriguez left us last Friday aged just 73. Here he is with two of his six #1 country hits. RIP Mr Rodriguez.
Some roots and culture for you today, but in reverse order.
Culture. My old friend The Polymath Steve Perfect (which is his official name) has an exhibition of some of his drawings starting tomorrow at the Stone Space gallery in Leytonstone. I was at the private launch last night, very good it was too. If you are in the area any weekend between now and 1 June make sure to pop in.
Unfortunately the photos I took at the launch didn't come out very well so here is an exterior view taken a couple of hours later after a visit to a nearby public house.
Roots. A couple of tunes from Michael Prophet's great self-titled album from 1981. You may know it as "Gunman", the name that has been used on most reissues. Mr Prophet sadly died eight years ago after battling lung cancer and other ailments but left us a magnificent legacy.
I normally keep things light and fluffy here and don't attempt to engage with the issues of the day. But with the way the world is going I don't think that is tenable anymore. It is important that those of us with a platform, however small, stand up and be counted. Starting now.
So here goes...
I think The Supremes got better after Diana Ross left. No disrespect is intended to Ms Ross who made some fine records with them and went on to make some great solo records but as a group I think The Supremes benefited from not having the choice of singer and material dictated by her ego and Berry Gordy's libido.
Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong finally got a chance to shine and new additions such as Jean Terrell and latterly Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene all brought something extra to their sound.
As well as a string of great singles starting with "Up The Ladder To The Roof" and including the mighty "Stoned Love" they wandered into some interesting areas that you suspect might not have been allowed before.
One example was the 1972 album arranged and produced by Jimmy Webb on which they covered the likes of Joni Mitchell and Harry Nilsson as well as Jimmy himself. We have two tracks from that album for you. Jean Terrell takes the lead on the first, Mary Wilson on the second.
As an extra treat I've added on the title track of their 1976 album "High Energy" on which Susaye Greene steps forward to show off her Minnie Riperton style vocal range.
Welcome to the new week and welcome to Part 2 of our exercise in citizen blogging. As explained in Part 1, we asked readers to pick a number between 1 and 26,500. The artists featured below are those that appear in that position in the Last.fm list of my listening habits.
Part 1 featured the first five numbers requested in the order received and we have another five for you today picking up where we left off. Many thanks to all our contributors.
While neither our contributors nor I knew who the acts would be when they submitted their requests there are some similarities between the two parts, notably that the opening three selections for each part are artists from New Zealand, Brazil and Louisiana. Spooky!
First up is the Queen of Colours herself, C from Sun Dried Sparrows. She chose #4260 which means we are hearing from the NZ singer-songwriter Aldous Harding. I was slightly surprised when Aldous's name popped up as I didn't have any idea who she was.
A dig around in the files reveals I was sent a promo copy of Aldous's "Warm Chris" LP when it came out in 2022, which I must have listened to once then promptly forgotten. I did her a disservice as it is a decent record. Many thanks to C for prompting me to give it another listen.
Next to appear in the comment section was the intriguingly named Trail of Bread. According to his profile he is "fat, gray and 60", runs his own business and is a big Microdisney fan. Based on that description he could actually be me using an online alter ego to contact myself. Or he could be a real person. Your guess is as good as mine.
Whatever the truth he (or I) has chosen well. At #183 in the charts we find the king of Brazilian soul, the great Tim Maia, who has featured on these pages regularly over the years. Tim and Trail are both welcome back any time.
Definitely real is Rol, the go to man for quizzes, namesakes and much more. Rol requested #1267 and is rewarded with Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown. Gatemouth could play pretty much any style and any instrument with great distinction, When I saw him in Knoxville many years ago he played "Never On A Sunday" on the fiddle, speeding up every verse until the last dancing audience member collapsed with exhaustion. You had to be there, but I'm glad I was.
Next up is my dear old pal Mister Fwho took a brief break from his life of incessant partying to ask for #1999. I am not sure he will be thrilled by Swedish folk-proggers Kebnekasje - I'm not sure anyone will except possibly George - but he has only himself to blame.
Rounding things off we have our German correspondent Walter, a man who is always having the time of his life. His request for #2205 means that you have the chance to hear from the late reggae polymath Lloyd Charmers.
As a producer Mr Charmers worked with the likes of Gregory Isaacs and The Abyssinians. As the leader of a session band he backed Ken Boothe and others. As a songwriter he is maybe best known for "Birth Control" which became "Too Much Too Young" at the hands of The Specials. And he was a fine performer in his right, as this magnificent Curtis Mayfield cover shows.
That's it folks. Many thanks to everyone who joined in. We must do this again some time. It was fun.
I mentioned in Part 1 that according to Last.fm there are only four acts that have clocked up more than 1000 listens. We treated you to videos of numbers 3 and 4 then, now here are the top two.
Time for our exercise in citizen blogging, where I invited you each to pick a number between 1 and 26,500 and I would then select a track by the artist(s) that appeared at that position in the list of my listening habits according to Last.fm.
There were more suggestions than I was expecting so I am splitting this into two posts, the first five today and the rest on Monday. Which means that if anyone wants to take part but has not yet done so there is still a chance. Just get your numbers in by Sunday afternoon.
The distribution of the data in the Last.fm list is quite interesting. Just over 40% of artists have been listened to only once (making One what I believe former maths teachers would call the mode). In contrast only 1.5% of them have received 100 or more listens.
This clearly reflects my unceasing quest for newness and it should not be assumed that those 11,000 or so acts never got heard again because they were rubbish. Having said that, many were. All those Indonesian death metal samplers and Macedonian hits of the 1980s albums can be a bit of a curate's egg to be honest.
Speaking of former maths teachers as we were, George of that ilk was first to send in a request, closely followed by his tartan twin Charity Chic. Both of them dived headfirst into the Ones, with George opting for number 22,705 and CC 23,281, and both have come up clutching duos.
George hasn't done too badly with his choice of some hypnotic vintage Cajun music from 1929. I'm personally less keen on CC's Kiwis from 1990 but I can recommend "Tally Ho!", the Flying Nun label compilation on which I found them.
Next in line was Pete from Minnesota who interrupted his attempts to catch a fish alive to ask for number 12,345. Still a risky request but in this case the risk paid off. Clara Nunes was a huge star in Brazil before her tragically early death at the age of 40 in 1983 but I have apparently only listened to her twice. I'll be putting that right.
At this point Swiss Adamstepped in to steady the ship with the reliably low number 23. His reward (and ours) is the great Fairport Convention. I have gone for a song from "Liege And Lief" which I think is the perfect showcase for Sandy Denny's voice. Thank you Adam for ensuring there is a small oasis of sanity in here.
Last but not least today we have an appearance by the famed polymath Mr John Medd. His choice of the number 666 can only reflect his belief that all this is the devil's work. And after listening to the Mexican Elvis take on T. Rex who is to say he is wrong.
"I Am Happy Now" - Bixy Guidry & Percy Babineaux (George)
All in all you've done a pretty good job. Maybe I should hand over to you lot more often.
I mentioned that only a small percentage of the acts on Last.fm's list had ratched up over 100 listens. Of those only four have passed 1000. Here are numbers 3 and 4 on the list, we will have contributions from numbers 1 and 2 with the rest of your selections on Monday.
Links stay up for a month or so. If you are an artist or copyright holder and want me to remove the link, or if you want to get in touch for any other reason, e-mail me on leggies27@hotmail.co.uk.
