The Bird Returns

I went to my friend Brandon's 8th birthday party yesterday, where a good time was had by all - after a bit of whining on my part his Mum gave me one of those bouncy rubber balls that flash brightly on impact with the ground, which are far too good to be wasted on children.

Anyway, while at the party I got talking to Joel from Trinidad. As inevitably happens when I meet someone from Trinidad, the conversation eventually turned to calypso. And conversation about calypso inevitably turns to the greatest calypsonian of them all, Mighty Sparrow. It has been a fair while since we featured him. Joel has given me the prompt I needed to put that right.

"Obeah Wedding" - Mighty Sparrow

"Ten To One Is Murder" - Mighty Sparrow

From Sparrow to a bird of a different variety. This song helped me win a pub quiz in Leeds once. If it is the answer, what the question? First correct answer gets a Christmas treat of some sort.

2015 Part 1

Well, I call it Part 1. Whether there is a Part 2 depends on whether I can get my act together blog-wise, which has not been my strong point recently. Anyway, here are some tunes I have enjoyed this year. I hope you do too.

"Wah Wah" - Trembling Bells

"Dipo Nagizala" - Bobi Wine

"Been Waitin'" - Strange Faces

"Stepping Out Of Babylon" - Etana

In what passes for real life, the main event of the year for me was resigning from my job so I can try other things next year. I put it a bit more graciously than Johnny Paycheck when I broke the news to my boss, but it amounted to the same thing.

Troubled Times

Last night Mister F and I went to 229 Great Portland Street to see the reformed Any Trouble promoting their new album, "Present Tense". While admittedly they do not exactly exude the menace that might help them attract a more youthful crowd - as this shot of frontman Clive Gregson demonstrates - it was still a travesty that they were shoved down into the basement as the main room was booked for a Style Council tribute band.

The only songs I knew were the old singles from 35 years ago, two of which we have for you to enjoy. The new stuff was pretty good and in a similar style, so if you like these you might want to check the new album out as well. I've bunged in my favourite (alright, only) Clive Gregson solo song as well.

"Girls Are Always Right" - Any Trouble

"Second Choice" - Any Trouble

"I Love This Town" - Clive Gregson

Any Trouble's new single is called "Glen Campbell". In what may or may not be a spooky coincidence, Glen performed Paul Westerberg's "Any Trouble" on his "Ghosts On The Canvas" album. But which of them is the best? Decide for yourselves...

Single Song Title Sunday

A variation on our occasional theme - three different songs with the same title, all of them excellent. Includes the Mandatory Reggae Version courtesy of Mr Errol Dunkley. As a bonus, we have added a song by some Amazing guys about a slightly less amazing love.

"Your Love Is Amazing" - Eddie Floyd

"Your Love Is Amazing" - Robert Ward

"Your Love Is Amazing" - Errol Dunkley

"Third Rate Romance" - Amazing Rhythm Aces

Diggin'

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Eartha Kitt...

"Honolulu Rock a Roll-a" - Eartha Kitt

"I've Got That Lovin' Bug Itch" - Eartha Kitt

Gozando With Chico Time

Last time out I recounted how I had found myself at a very good gig due to mistaken identity. It was at an even better gig earlier in the year that I acquired a pretty decent CD by the same process.

After watching the legend of Latin soul that is Joe Bataan I went over to the concession stand where Mr Bataan himself was in charge of proceedings. I asked him which CD he would recommend, he thrust one at me, I handed over my money and moved on to make way for the rest of the queue.

When we got to the pub round the corner I had a look at it. Turned out it wasn't one of his albums at all, but a compilation called "Gozando With Chico Volume 1" to which he had contributed a couple of tracks. These aren't them. The album as a whole is pretty mellow, but that is no bad thing on a Sunday afternoon.

"Going To Call You" - Mestizo LA

"City Lady" - Recession

The Wrong Turks

On Sunday, Mister F and I went up to Dalston to watch the Turkish psychedelic band BaBa ZuLa. When I saw the gig advertised a few weeks ago I dimly recalled that I had bought an album of theirs while visiting Trabzon in Turkey a few years back. I couldn't remember much about the record but decided that owning it was sufficient reason to go along and watch.

I am very glad we did. They put on a good show in front of an enthusiastic and largely Turkish crowd. One of the highlights was when this gent in the silly hat was pulled around the dancefloor on a speaker box by a roadie while playing an extended saz solo, at the end of which he attempted to spin the giant chandelier above the sound desk.

So it seemed obvious that my next post would be accompanied by a couple of tracks from the album I had at home. Except when I dug it out it transpired that my memory had been playing tricks on me. The album - "Crazy Love" to give it its name - was not by BaBa ZuLa at all, but by the similarly named Babutsa. So for everyone who likes one band, here's a different one!

"Babutsa" - Babutsa

"Gençlik Böyle Geçer" - Babutsa

Needless to say, when I realised my mistake I put my head in my hands and shouted out "Ay! Ay! Babutsa, Babutsa, Babutsa, Ay! Ay!"