Today's post goes out especially to our old friend George. He's a big Osmonds fan and doesn't mind who knows it. I considered featuring a couple of their singles but then realised he has probably got them all already, so here are a couple of Mandatory Reggae Versions instead.
"One Bad Apple" - Barry Biggs
"Love Me For A Reason" - The Fabulous Five
Even surfers of the zeitgeist and epicures of the exotic need to switch off sometimes. As much as I enjoy the rich stew of Patagonian funk and Uzbek prog that we serve up every week, sometimes I need to cleanse my palate with some good old-fashioned tunes I can tap my toes to.
Ladies and gentleman, please give a big jazz hand to Ms Liza Minnelli. Both tracks come from her 1973 LP "The Singer" on which she interprets in her own unique way the works of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Donny Hathaway and... er... Hurricane Smith.
"Dancing In The Moonlight" - Liza Minnelli
"Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" - Liza Minnelli
Something a bit special for you today, folks. Some vintage pop tunes from São Tomé and Principe.
Being the sophisticated bunch you are, you don't need me to tell you that the beautiful island nation of São Tomé and Principe can be found off the west coast of Africa (opposite Gabon to be precise) or that it was formerly a Portuguese colony.
What you may not know is that it is home to some fantastic music. To be fair, I did not know that either until I listened to "Léve-Léve", a brilliant compilation of music made in the islands during the 1970s and 1980s. The album was released last year by Bongo Joe records and is available on Bandcamp etc.
"Tólá Muandgi" - Sum Alvarinho
"Zimbabwe" - Africa Negra
"Cladênço Padê Cluço" - Tiny Das Neves
It has been ages since we last had a Single Song Sunday, and I feel the need to try to make it up to you. You may say it's too late. And you'd be right.
Carole King took her singer-songwriter standard to number one in the Billboard charts 50 years ago this month, which gives us all the excuse we need. Not that an excuse is really required to feature some of these cracking cover versions.
We kick off with Carole's original then swiftly follow it up with three great soul versions from 1972, including the Isley Brothers' ten minute psychodrama. Almost as long is the extended mix of the Quartz and Dina Carroll version which made the UK top ten thirty years ago. I should've got the single version. In this case, less is more.
At that point in proceedings Mr Ray Conniff and friends step in to liven things up, before introducing our international guests - one each from Finland, Germany and Cambodia. The event culminates, as always, in the Mandatory Reggae Version.
"It's Too Late" - Carole King
"It's Too Late" - Billy Paul
"It's Too Late" - Denise LaSalle
"It's Too Late" - The Isley Brothers
"It's Too Late" - Quartz (featuring Dina Carroll)
"It's Too Late" - Ray Conniff
"Jotain En Enää Saa" - Kisu
"Es Ist Spät, Zu Spät Für Uns" - Daliah Lavi
"Huos Haenuy Bong" - Poev Vannary
"It's Too Late" - The Chosen Few
In today's episode of Trenchtown Eastenders, Dr Alimantado wants to acquire a gun but Nicodemus tries to talk him out of it.
"Gimme Mi Gun" - Dr. Alimantado
"Dog Better Than Gun" - Nicodemus
Today's selections are from "Lez Dance", the second album from Durham (North Carolina) based Loamlands. Released in 2019, it is available on Bandcamp, as is their first album "Sweet High Rise". Both are well worth checking out.
Loamlands describe themselves as "a distorted country music outfit based in North Carolina that places queer storytelling at the forefront", and go on to say that "their music intimately grapples with identity, pronouns and experiencing a queer existence in both modern-day and historical Southern culture".
That's not an experience that is particularly close to my own - although I did once inadvertently spend an evening in a lesbian bar in Raleigh (its a long story) - but I can tell a bloody good record when I hear one. This is one.
"Maureen" - Loamlands
"Wrong Days" - Loamlands
