After the Phnom-Penh-omenal (did you see what I did there?) response to the Ros Sereysothea track in my previous post I thought you lovely people deserved another one. You are also getting a song from her male equivalent, the King of Khmer Music himself - Mr Sinn Sisamouth.
Sadly both of them "disappeared" during the Khmer Rouge genocide of the mid 1970s, along with nearly two million others.
On a happier note, doing this follow up post means I can play the other 1980s hit with Cambodia in the title. Dead Kennedys vs Kim Wilde, that's a heavyweight battle to rival Nirvana I vs Nirvana 2.
On paper, Dengue Fever and what the blurb on their website calls their "trademark blend of sixties Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock" should be right up my street. However, when I listened to them back in the mid 2000s when the critical acclaim started they didn't really do much for me.
I found their 2008 album "Venus on Earth" going for 50p in a local charity shop recently and decided it was time for a reappraisal. Having listened to the album a couple of times I am still not convinced. It isn't a bad record, but compared to the original Sixties Cambodian pop it is just a bit timid and restrained.
Here is perhaps the wildest track on the album, alongside one by the Queen of the Cambodian scene Ros Sereysothea so you can compare them for yourselves.
According to Elton John, sorry seems to be the hardest word. I think that tells you a lot more about Mr. John than it does about the act of apologizing. Plenty of other musicians from all over the world seem to manage it, even those arrogant enough to refer to themselves in the third person.
Apologies are due from me as well. The service has been a bit irregular round here recently and is likely to continue that way for at least the couple of weeks - there's lots going on in the real world, both work and pleasure.
NEWS FLASH. Stung by the discovery that even raging egomaniacs like Keith Sykes and Ernie Goggins can say sorry, Elton John has decided to give it a go himself. Over to you Elton...
Still some way to go. Watch and learn, Elton, watch and learn.
Bonny Light Horseman's self-titled debut album was quite possibly my favourite album of 2020 - there or thereabouts anyway. Their follow-up, "Rolling Golden Holy", is due out in just over six weeks, which is causing great excitement here in the Goggins household.
To tide us over until then we have a couple of tracks for you from Eric D. Johnson, one-third of BLH, in his Fruit Bats guise. There is one apiece from "Tripper" (2011) and "Gold Past Life" (2019). Both can be found on his/their Bandcamp site along with many other fine things.
In other news, starting later this week Mr Johnson as Fruit Bats is in the UK playing in Glasgow, Bristol, Leeds and London as well as a couple of festivals. Unfortunately I'm double booked the night he's in London so won't make it, but get along if you can.
It is Single Song Sunday again, and this time round we're featuring the soul standard "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right". It is a title that sometimes appears without the brackets, sometimes without the "I Don't Want To Be Right" and, on at least one occasion, in Swedish.
We kick things off with the original by Luther Ingram, which made it all the way to No. 3 in the Billboard charts and topped the R&B charts 50 years ago last month.
We follow Luther with a couple more soul versions, from Bobby "Blue" Bland in 1973 and Millie Jackson in 1974. Millie has an 11 minute version of the song on her album "Caught Up" but on the CD and digital versions of the album they split it into three separate tracks, which is why you're getting the single edit. There is a live version in the videos though that closely resembles the full-length original.
Next up are a couple of countrified covers. Barbara Mandrell's version went to No. 1 in the country charts in 1979 but O'B. McClinton's is the twangier of the two. Some of you may be familiar with it from the "Dirty Laundry" compilation series.
We rattle through a Christian rap remake by The Artist Partially Known As Gammage and a Swedish version by a former Eurovision runner up before finishing things off with an excellent Mandatory Reggae Version by George Faith, possibly the premier reggae interpreter of 1970s soul standards.
Of the recorded versions I know I would put Luther, Millie and George at the top of the pile in no particular order - but the live version by David Ruffin in the last video is right up there with them.
Today's post features some music from Sweden - more specifically, from a 4CD box set titled "The Essence of Swedish Progressive Music 1967-79".
It is dedicated jointly to everybody's favourite non-Swedish Swede and to George, possibly the only reader whose eyes might light up on seeing the words "progressive music". To the rest of you, don't be afraid. These are among the least proggy tracks on the compilation.
Although the box set is billed as including music from 1967 to 1979 the earliest track actually dates from 1966. In the same year this lovely couple represented Sweden at Eurovision and finished as runners up. You will be encountering the gentleman again on Sunday.
Personally I have nothing but admiration for Richard Branson and the Virgin Group. Their products and services are always reliable, excellent quality and reasonably priced while Sir Richard himself is a shy, retiring entrepreneur who seeks only to make the world a better place. And his decision to sue the NHS in a fit of pique because Virgin Care didn't win a contract a few years ago is one that I am sure all right-minded people would support.
Unfortunately there appear to be a few Moaning Minnies out there with what I have no doubt are ill-founded gripes against his record company. Shame on them.
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.
