In a couple of hours' time I am heading off to Norfolk for a week for a gathering of Gogginses. I am packed and ready to go, so you could say that I was eastbound and down, loaded up and soon to be trucking.
"East Bound And Down" - Jerry Reed
To tide you over until I return, here are some other members of the Reed family. It is a pretty soulful selection, even creepy Uncle Lou who shows - despite his notorious massacring of "Soul Man" - that he can be pretty soulful when he puts his mind to it.
"Top Notch Grade A" - Al Reed
"The Time Is Right For Love" - Bobby Reed
"Keep On Loving Me" - Dalton Reed
"Big Boss Man" - Jimmy Reed
"A Gift" - Lou Reed
Now normally when I go on my hols I get us all in the mood with a bit of DJ Sven & MC Miker G. But I'm going to try something different this time in the hope that it will enduce the sun to come out. I'll be singing along but replacing the islands with the towns of the Norfolk Riviera. Goodbye "Aruba, Jamaica", hello "Sheringham, Cromer..."
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Tsonga and Tsepo
Today's post is dedicated to Anna and Sebastian, the taste-makers and toe-tappers responsible for the High Life club night in Stockholm. Find out more about what they are up to over at their blog (it will help if you speak Swedish or at least have a phrasebook to hand).
We start with a couple from our old friend George Maluleke, one of the founding fathers of Tsonga Disco. These come from his 27th album, "Magolongwani", which came out last year. His albums can on occasion be a bit patchy, but he is on top form on this one. The whole thing is available to download on Amazon (at least in the UK).
"Kuteka" - George Maluleke & Va'Wana'ti Sisters
"Xiavi" - George Maluleke & Va'Wana'ti Sisters
For an extra treat, here is the Lesotho legend Tsepo Tshola, known to his friends and admirers as The Village Pope. Tsepo made his name as the leader of Sankomota but these are from his 2002 solo album "A New Dawn". Listening to them, you don't have to be a genius to spot that Hugh Masekela was heavily involved.
"Indlala" - Tsepo Tshola
"Nonyana" - Tsepo Tshola
I typed "Anna Sebastian" into YouTube in the hope of finding some samples of our Swedish friends' work and this came up first. I suspect the two are unrelated.
We start with a couple from our old friend George Maluleke, one of the founding fathers of Tsonga Disco. These come from his 27th album, "Magolongwani", which came out last year. His albums can on occasion be a bit patchy, but he is on top form on this one. The whole thing is available to download on Amazon (at least in the UK).
"Kuteka" - George Maluleke & Va'Wana'ti Sisters
"Xiavi" - George Maluleke & Va'Wana'ti Sisters
For an extra treat, here is the Lesotho legend Tsepo Tshola, known to his friends and admirers as The Village Pope. Tsepo made his name as the leader of Sankomota but these are from his 2002 solo album "A New Dawn". Listening to them, you don't have to be a genius to spot that Hugh Masekela was heavily involved.
"Indlala" - Tsepo Tshola
"Nonyana" - Tsepo Tshola
I typed "Anna Sebastian" into YouTube in the hope of finding some samples of our Swedish friends' work and this came up first. I suspect the two are unrelated.
Monday, 25 June 2012
ReviewShine Retrospective
There wasn't a lot that grabbed me in ReviewShine this month, and I did think about skipping the usual monthly round-up. But then I had a better idea - why not take the opportunity to showcase a few acts that I did not have room for when I first received their albums? So here are three women whose albums made their way to me around the turn of the year, and are all well worth a listen.
First up are Liz Frame & The Kickers, an alt-country outfit whose album "Sooner" came out on Air Age Sound last November. This is what they look like (that's Liz in the middle).
And this is what they sound like.
"Come Back To Me" - Liz Frame & The Kickers
For a change of scene, let's follow that up with some synth-pop from Caithlin De Marrais. Her album "Red Coats" came out on End Up Records, also last November, and is full of little crackers like this.
"Lovers Light" - Caithlin De Marrais
Last up in our brief "slightly oldies but goodies" section is Simone Stevens' "Right On Time". It is hard to describe her overall style, unless you consider "a bit of everything" to be a style. Highlights include her piano ballad version of Lucinda Williams' "Right On Time" and this next one. I really like the cod 1980s choruses.
"Below Zero" - Simone Stevens
The Replacements weren't averse to a bit of folk-twang themselves, in their day. That now makes sense because the paragraph and download that preceded it have been removed by request. But never mind, it's a good tune anyway so don't let a lack of logic put you off.
First up are Liz Frame & The Kickers, an alt-country outfit whose album "Sooner" came out on Air Age Sound last November. This is what they look like (that's Liz in the middle).
And this is what they sound like.
"Come Back To Me" - Liz Frame & The Kickers
For a change of scene, let's follow that up with some synth-pop from Caithlin De Marrais. Her album "Red Coats" came out on End Up Records, also last November, and is full of little crackers like this.
"Lovers Light" - Caithlin De Marrais
Last up in our brief "slightly oldies but goodies" section is Simone Stevens' "Right On Time". It is hard to describe her overall style, unless you consider "a bit of everything" to be a style. Highlights include her piano ballad version of Lucinda Williams' "Right On Time" and this next one. I really like the cod 1980s choruses.
"Below Zero" - Simone Stevens
The Replacements weren't averse to a bit of folk-twang themselves, in their day. That now makes sense because the paragraph and download that preceded it have been removed by request. But never mind, it's a good tune anyway so don't let a lack of logic put you off.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Never Mind The Quality...
... Feel the length.
The aim of this post is to fill up an entire page on Hype Machine all by myself. So here in ascending order are the ten longest song titles on my iPod.
In tenth place, with a respectable 72 characters:
"I Have Been Known To Be Wrong From Time To Time But I'm Afraid I'm Right" - David Mayfield Parade
Ninth place (74 characters):
"You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" - Johnny Boy
Eighth place (75 characters):
"There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated At The Conference Table)" - The Chi-Lites
Seventh place (77 characters):
"Ever See A Diver Kiss His Wife While The Bubbles Bounce About Above The Water" - Shirley Ellis
Sixth place (78 characters):
"Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males" - Todd Snider
Fifth place (86 characters):
"Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day)" - The Carpenters
Fourth place (93 characters):
"Come Sing Me A Happy Song To Prove We All Can Get Along The Lumpy, Bumpy, Long And Dusty Road" - Bert Jansch
Big up - well, very big up actually - to our top three, all of which manage to reach the one hundred character mark.
Third place (100 characters):
"Chop Yourself Into Little Pieces And Mail Yourself To New Brunswick, Canada For Immediate Reassembly" - Penny Blacks
Second place (101 characters):
"All The Blowing-Themselves-Up Motherfuckers (Will Realise The Minute They Die That They Were Suckers)" - Julian Cope
Huge - very huge - fanfare for a winner. Weighing in at a massive 105 characters, and without having to resort to brackets and other padding, here is:
"Come Throw Yourself Under The Monstrous Wheels Of The Rock 'n Roll Bandwagon As It Approaches Destruction" - The Juggernauts
Of course, if Rolf had used the full title for this next one it would have knocked the rest of them into a cocked hat.
The aim of this post is to fill up an entire page on Hype Machine all by myself. So here in ascending order are the ten longest song titles on my iPod.
In tenth place, with a respectable 72 characters:
"I Have Been Known To Be Wrong From Time To Time But I'm Afraid I'm Right" - David Mayfield Parade
Ninth place (74 characters):
"You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" - Johnny Boy
Eighth place (75 characters):
"There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated At The Conference Table)" - The Chi-Lites
Seventh place (77 characters):
"Ever See A Diver Kiss His Wife While The Bubbles Bounce About Above The Water" - Shirley Ellis
Sixth place (78 characters):
"Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males" - Todd Snider
Fifth place (86 characters):
"Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day)" - The Carpenters
Fourth place (93 characters):
"Come Sing Me A Happy Song To Prove We All Can Get Along The Lumpy, Bumpy, Long And Dusty Road" - Bert Jansch
Big up - well, very big up actually - to our top three, all of which manage to reach the one hundred character mark.
Third place (100 characters):
"Chop Yourself Into Little Pieces And Mail Yourself To New Brunswick, Canada For Immediate Reassembly" - Penny Blacks
Second place (101 characters):
"All The Blowing-Themselves-Up Motherfuckers (Will Realise The Minute They Die That They Were Suckers)" - Julian Cope
Huge - very huge - fanfare for a winner. Weighing in at a massive 105 characters, and without having to resort to brackets and other padding, here is:
"Come Throw Yourself Under The Monstrous Wheels Of The Rock 'n Roll Bandwagon As It Approaches Destruction" - The Juggernauts
Of course, if Rolf had used the full title for this next one it would have knocked the rest of them into a cocked hat.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
(Still) Lost Classics
Back in the early 1980s there was a steady stream of independently released compilation albums featuring bands from the same town or region. There were a couple that I never owned myself but heard through friends, and which included tracks that I have been desperate to track down ever since.
The first was a 1984 EP from Norwich called "Music from the East Zone" which included "Baby I'm A U-Boat" by The Fire Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes). Copies of it turn up on Ebay evey now and then but they invariably go for upwards of £40, which is rather more than I am willing to pay for a three-track EP. I have, however, managed to track down their 1985 album "Missed It By That Much", from which these gems are taken.
"99 Years in Sing Sing" -The Fire Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes)
"Mayday in Moscow" - The Fire Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes)
The other track I have been longing for is "Locked Out" by The Chefs from "WNW6 - Moonlight Radio", a 1981 compilation of mostly Brighton bands (I think, although I may be confusing it with "Vaultage 79" on which they also featured). I have never seen a copy of this for sale and, although The Chefs went on to have a decent career under the astute leadership of Helen McCookerybook (not her real name incidentally, she was born Alice McCookerybook), the song was never released on a record of their own.
So you can imagine my excitement a couple of months ago when I learnt that a compilation called "Records and Tea", billed as being the best of the Chefs, was released. And you can equally imagine my disappointment when, having dashed over to Amazon, I found that it did not include "Locked Out". Aaaarrgghh!!!
To be fair, there was a lot of good stuff on there to console me, like these next two, but it can't really be a "best of" without "Locked Out".
"Sweetie" - The Chefs
"24 Hours" - The Chefs
In the, admittedly perhaps unlikely, event that any readers have "Baby I'm A U-Boat" or "Locked Out", I would love you forever if you were able to share it with me. Until that happens, let us tide ourselves over with a rare clip of the Fire Hydrant Men (and the Fezettes) in action in 1984 - as you can see you had to make your own entertainment in Norwich in those days - and a more recent clip of the former Alice McCookerybook, prefaced by the story of how The Chefs came to be.
The first was a 1984 EP from Norwich called "Music from the East Zone" which included "Baby I'm A U-Boat" by The Fire Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes). Copies of it turn up on Ebay evey now and then but they invariably go for upwards of £40, which is rather more than I am willing to pay for a three-track EP. I have, however, managed to track down their 1985 album "Missed It By That Much", from which these gems are taken.
"99 Years in Sing Sing" -The Fire Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes)
"Mayday in Moscow" - The Fire Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes)
The other track I have been longing for is "Locked Out" by The Chefs from "WNW6 - Moonlight Radio", a 1981 compilation of mostly Brighton bands (I think, although I may be confusing it with "Vaultage 79" on which they also featured). I have never seen a copy of this for sale and, although The Chefs went on to have a decent career under the astute leadership of Helen McCookerybook (not her real name incidentally, she was born Alice McCookerybook), the song was never released on a record of their own.
So you can imagine my excitement a couple of months ago when I learnt that a compilation called "Records and Tea", billed as being the best of the Chefs, was released. And you can equally imagine my disappointment when, having dashed over to Amazon, I found that it did not include "Locked Out". Aaaarrgghh!!!
To be fair, there was a lot of good stuff on there to console me, like these next two, but it can't really be a "best of" without "Locked Out".
"Sweetie" - The Chefs
"24 Hours" - The Chefs
In the, admittedly perhaps unlikely, event that any readers have "Baby I'm A U-Boat" or "Locked Out", I would love you forever if you were able to share it with me. Until that happens, let us tide ourselves over with a rare clip of the Fire Hydrant Men (and the Fezettes) in action in 1984 - as you can see you had to make your own entertainment in Norwich in those days - and a more recent clip of the former Alice McCookerybook, prefaced by the story of how The Chefs came to be.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Gee, Gigi!
We are having a run of people so good they renamed themselves twice. Following Penny Penny (real name Eric Nkovani) we have Gigi (real name Ejigayehu Shibabaw).
Gigi is an Ethiopian chanteuse who got her big break with her eponymous 2001 album which was produced by Bill Laswell, who she later married. Bill got some of his arty jazz mates involved, no doubt to add some "textures" to Gigi's sound. For me this backfired. Ethiopian music is wonderfully wonky by nature; tinkering with it on this occasion made it a bit more bland.
That said, "Gigi" is not a bad album. But I much prefer her 1998 album "One Ethiopia". Here are a couple of tracks from that record.
"Adey Abeba" - Gigi
"Gera Geru" - Gigi
As a bonus, here are some GeeGees of a different order.
"The Horse" - Cliff Nobles & Co
"Is Horse" - Explainer
Gigi is an Ethiopian chanteuse who got her big break with her eponymous 2001 album which was produced by Bill Laswell, who she later married. Bill got some of his arty jazz mates involved, no doubt to add some "textures" to Gigi's sound. For me this backfired. Ethiopian music is wonderfully wonky by nature; tinkering with it on this occasion made it a bit more bland.
That said, "Gigi" is not a bad album. But I much prefer her 1998 album "One Ethiopia". Here are a couple of tracks from that record.
"Adey Abeba" - Gigi
"Gera Geru" - Gigi
As a bonus, here are some GeeGees of a different order.
"The Horse" - Cliff Nobles & Co
"Is Horse" - Explainer
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Papa Penny's New Direction
It's our old friend Eric Nkovani, better known to us all as Penny Penny, one of the greats of Tsonga music with over 30 albums to his credit. Last year he released "Mhani Wa Nkoka" which, in a radical new career direction, moved away from the usual Shangaan Disco to something he calls "Shangani Jazz". The reason for this change of tack, according to an interview he gave to The Sowetan, is that "I am not getting any younger".
Personally I think that is no excuse for jazz. But fear not, it isn't really jazz at all. Most of it is a more mellow take on his usual style, while "Boer Is A Boer" is a sort of country-soul number in which he warns against every trusting Afrikaners. On the whole I prefer his disco stuff, but this is not at all bad.
"Rose" - Penny Penny
"Boer Is A Boer" - Penny Penny
Speaking of Erics, here is the recently deceased Eric Charden back in 1968 with some funky Frenchness.
Personally I think that is no excuse for jazz. But fear not, it isn't really jazz at all. Most of it is a more mellow take on his usual style, while "Boer Is A Boer" is a sort of country-soul number in which he warns against every trusting Afrikaners. On the whole I prefer his disco stuff, but this is not at all bad.
"Rose" - Penny Penny
"Boer Is A Boer" - Penny Penny
Speaking of Erics, here is the recently deceased Eric Charden back in 1968 with some funky Frenchness.
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