Celebrity Lake-a-Like

This will be the last time you'll see me round here for a week or so. I will be spending a few days in sunny Southport with a pair of my oldest and dearest pals, and then after I get back to London I will be engaging with Uzbeks (I can say no more).

But before I go I have a couple of updates on the new series covering the music of the Americas, which will kick off shortly after I return. The first is that I have settled on a title - Ernie's El Dorado, named after the mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America not the short-lived 1990s soap opera. I can't promise that we will find musical gold at every stop on our journey, but that's the quest.

I am also able to report on developments since I petitioned the US and Canadian governments to rename Lake Erie 'Lake Ernie' for the duration of the tour. I have not heard back from the orange oligarch's acolytes yet but the Canadians have been in touch. They have politely declined for two reasons - the cost of changing all the signs and stationery, and because people might get confused if two lakes have the same name. 

That's right, there is already a Lake Ernie in Canada, less well known than its near namesake but the pride of Clearwater County, Alberta. Two hours north of Calgary, or even less if you can afford to charter a flight into nearby Rocky Mountain House Airport, Lake Ernie offers plenty of opportunities for fishing. There are probably other things to do as well but the only activity anyone mentions is the fishing.   

If you take a trip up there to bag some largemouth bass you will need somewhere to stay. The Voyageur Motel in the Otway district of Rocky Mountain House is a ten minutes drive from Lake Ernie and comes highly recommended.

That address again:

"Halfway Hotel" - Voyager

"Middle Of Winter" - John Otway

"Rocky Mountain House" - Mouthfeel

"Someday Never Comes" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Distant Chores" - Alberta Beach

In the world of cheesy country music videos going fishing takes priority over anything else God, the devil or Mrs Brad Paisley might try to tempt you with.

Brian Wilson RIP

 

 Nothing else to add. RIP Mr Wilson.

Newness Abounds

It is time for one or our irregular round-ups of new sounds sent to me by the good folks in Promo Land. There have been some goodies in recent weeks. Here are just five of them.

We will start with a new record from some old favourites. I enjoyed Jeanines' jangle-tastic last album "Don't Wait For A Sign" very much when it came out back in 2022. Their new album "How Long Can It Last" is a worthy successor. It will be released from captivity on 27 June and can is available for pre-order on Bandcamp.

Jeanines will be touring the UK in July. I have seem them before and can heartily recommend them. I'm hoping to make their London gig and they will also be playing Brighton, Exeter, Oxford, Coventry, Manchester and Glasgow. For some gigs they will be joined by their label mates Lightheaded who are also pretty nifty. But not London unfortunately.

One band I am definitely going to see are The Thing from fashionable Brooklyn who are playing at the Shacklewell Arms in London's equally fashionable Dalston tomorrow (their only other UK gig is Nottingham on Friday). You can find the new single below on Spotify and their previous releases on Bandcamp, but the upcoming self-titled album due out in August is currently nowhere to be seen.

The PR wiz that came up with the headline "Ugandan industrial hip-hop gone psychedelic" knows exactly how to press my buttons. That is the phrase they used to describe "Magada Biwuka", the new collaboration between Ugandan MC Swordman Kitala and UK-based producer Soft-Bodied Humans which comes out on 11 July. Once you have pre-ordered it make sure to pick up a copy of their previous effort "Kaiju Kitala" as well.

Stocking with the vaguely exotic, next up we have La Banda Chuska, who describe themselves as being "Brooklyn-based purveyors of cumbia and surf". I wonder if they hang out with The Thing? Their debut album "Basic Bichos" came out at the end of May and is just what you need to get in the mood for our forthcoming tour of the Americas.

Last but definitely not least is Montreal's own Common Holly whose new album "Anything Glass" is out this Friday. The selected track is described as "a cinematic and delicate piece of lyrical imagery that unfolds like an apocalyptic folklore tale, grappling with themes like the acceptance of finality and the relentless force of mother nature". So now you know.

You should consider buying all of these records.

"Wrong Direction" - Jeanines

"The Waltz" - The Thing

"Magada" - Swordman Kitala x Soft-Bodied Humans

"La Única Sana" - La Banda Chuska

"The Wood From The Sail" - Common Holly

Speaking of gigs as we were, last night I had the pleasure of seeing the Zawose Queens at the Curve Garden, yet another venue in London's fashionable Dalston. The Queens last appeared on these pages when the African Odyssey visited Tanzania. There was just the two of them and lots of percussion but they made a splendid sound.

Inner Circle In Joke

Yesterday Khayem a.k.a. the King of Kool treated us to another of his always excellent reggae and dub mixes, this one featuring exclusively tracks from 1975.

Tucked away in the middle of the mix was "Baby I Love You So" by Jacob Miller & Augustus Pablo. Jacob was one of the greatest reggae singers of the 1970s and as well as his work under his own name he had a parallel career as the singer with Inner Circle.

By coincidence, earlier in the day Khayem and I met in person last week I had picked up a 45 track compilation bringing together many of Jacob and the gang's finest moments. It included half a dozen tracks credited to Augustus Pablo & Inner Circle. Here a couple of them, both of which also date from 1975.

"Hillside Airstrip" - Augustus Pablo & Inner Circle

"The Big Rip Off" - Augustus Pablo & Inner Circle.

In unrelated news, 1975 was also the year The Shadows represented the UK at Eurovision with "Let Me Be The One". It came second behind "Ding-A-Dong", but haven't we all. 

Single Song Sunday

Following the worldwide acclaim for George's recent guest 'Single Song Sunday' I thought I should pull my finger out and do one myself. After reviewing the long list for all of a minute or two I opted for Gerry & The Pacemakers' "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying". 

There are two reasons why perhaps I should not have done. The first is that that I had forgotten about the blues song "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'" (no 'g') first made famous by Louis Jordan. Both songs have been covered extensively and several cover artists stray onto the wrong side of the 'g/ no g' boundary, which added considerably to the amount of time required for weeding out.

The second is that you really only need Gerry's version (which I adore). But the work has been done now so we are going ahead.

We start with the original recording which, to my surprise, turns out not to be the one by Gerry and the lads even though they wrote the song. They gave first dibs to Louise Cordet, a singer who had toured with them and The Beatles, and her version came out in February 1964. It was only after Louise failed to bother the charts that the band decided to release it themselves.

Gerry's version was a relative failure in the UK when it was issued in April 1964. The band's first three singles all went to #1 and their fourth made it to #2 but this peaked at #6. However it was their first big hit in the US were it got to #4. a position they never subsequently bettered.

I am going to partially retract my earlier comment about only needing Gerry's version and add one more to my personal 'must haves'. That is the rendition by the always magnificent Rickie Lee Jones on her "Flying Cowboys" album (1989). We follow that with another iconic female singer, Ronnie Spector. Her take can be found on "English Heart", her final album that was released in 2016.

We go mildly Latin next, first with the ever reliable Jose Feliciano (from 1967) and then an obscure Latin Soul take credited to The Mumy. I have not been able to find any information about it but it sounds like it dates to the late 1960s and the label says it is produced by Pagan, Alvarez & Mingo. I suppose it is possible that Pagan is Ralfi Pagan, who performed with some success on the Fania label in the 1970s, but I have no proof that is the case. 

From Latin to Continental. We commence with a super smooth French version by Lucky Blondo from 1965 followed by a marginally less smooth Greek version from 1970 by The Olympians. Lucky (real name Gerard Blondiot) later went on to record in Nashville with The Jordanaires. The Olympians did not later go on to record an album on Daptone in 2016 - that was another band of the same name - but they did churn out a lot of singles.

We end in the traditional way with some MRVs. In fact we have a double dose for you today. The first is by Dave Barker (1970), produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry with backing by an obscure band called The Wailers. The second is from 1982 and is performed by a man who sings so smoothly he is sometimes known as "the Jamaican Lucky Blondo", Mr Barry Biggs.

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Louise Cordet

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Gerry & The Pacemakers

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Rickie Lee Jones

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Ronnie Spector

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Jose Feliciano

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - The Mumy

"Tu l'Oublieras Cette Fille" - Lucky Blondo

"Grapse St' Asteria T' Onoma Sou" - The Olympians

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Dave Barker

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Barry Biggs

Shipshape And Bristol Fashion

I got home yesterday afternoon after spending a few days hanging out with the cool kids in Bristol in such fine establishments as the Crafty Egg and the Kings Head. It was great to see everyone, and particularly good to meet Khayem, Walter and The Swede for the first time.

It wasn't just eating and drinking though, there was plenty of culture too. Bristol has some fantastic street art as you would expect from Banksy's hometown - you can find a few examples in my holiday snaps - and some pretty nifty museums and galleries too.

In one of them - possibly the Arnolfini - I found another piece by our old friend George Ginnis. This one was rather different in style to previous examples of his work I have seen but reflects the same preoccupations.

This one is called 'Water, The Destroyer' and was produced using some technique involving photographic negatives and zinc plates. According to the blurb the piece is "a literal and metaphorical representation of the impact of over-development on the urban environment". I'm not sure I get it, but then what do I know.  

Bristol's musical heritage is as storied as its artistic one, and many of those stories have been collected and compiled by the good folks at Bristol Archive Records. Pretty much everything in their catalogue is worth a listen and I have opted for a couple of examples of 1980s MAR (Mandatory Avon Reggae) from their 'Bristol Reggae Explosion' series. 

"Tribal War" - Black Roots

"Peacemaker" - Dennis McCalla

And some more vintage Bristol sounds to send you into the weekend. I have saved the best to last. It may be a slightly controversial inclusion but Brother Adge was originally from Portishead so I think it counts (also he mentions me three minutes in). 

Only At The Oto

Friday evening found me in London's fashionable Dalston at Cafe Oto, home to all that is weird and/or wonderful.

Some of it is too weird for me. In your average week there will be some musique concrète, some atonal jazz squawking and some other stuff that I can neither describe nor tolerate.

But there is a lot of wonder as well. Lonnie Holley, James Blood Ulmer, This Is The Kit, Trembling Bells, Bas Jan, Hiss Golden Messenger, Meg Baird and Josephine Foster are just some of the many fantastic acts I have seen there over the years.

Then there are the gigs that manage to be both weird and wonderful. Last Friday was one example, as travelling musical family Tennger were in town. I can't really describe the experience but here is a brief factual summary to give you the general idea.

The band consists of a funky Japanese synth dude, his wife a Korean vocalist who also wields a mean harmonium and their 12 year old son who expresses himself through the medium of interpretative dance.  They dress all in white and wear gongs around their necks. At one point in the show mother and son wander around the venue waving jingle bells in the faces of the audience and bar staff. Add in some bird noises and that is about it.

The music is pretty good too. I suspect if I has listened to it before seeing the band I might have dismissed some of it as being too 'new age' for my tastes but live it works really well. Today's selection comes from their most recent self-titled album that came out in 2023.

I also enjoyed the support act Marina Moore who arrived armed with two violins and more buttons and switches than the cockpit of Concorde. 

Marina is no slouch on the old fiddle, having worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry and Peter Gabriel. Her own music has been described as 'pastoral' and 'bucolic' and I agree even though I'm not entirely sure what either of those words mean. Her brand new album 'Baroque Era' is worth a listen.

"Twilight" - Tennger

"Run Hide Run" - Marina Moore