Album Back in the USA (Atlantic,1970) Chart Pos: #N/A
Yesterday, I went in to a record shop and bought a picture disc reissue of Back in the USA only to discover to my horror that the damn thing was warped. This put a bit of a damper on my day as the album was brilliant set of short sharp pop songs. Compared to their first (and slightly overrated IMO) album the production of Back in the USA is much more tame and the songs (for the most part) less politically inclined. This is not surprising as it was produced by future Bruce Springsteen producer Jon Landau. Teenage Lust the main standout track where the band opts to create songs about sexual frustration instead of race riots and Vietnam. Despite the tame production the songs lean composition surely must of been a huge influence on bands like The Ramones.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Monday, 4 April 2011
Ike & Tina Turner - Bold Soul Sister
Album Hunter (Blue Thumb,1970)Chart Pos US#59 US R&B#22
Growing up the only things I remember about Tina Turner was the rather bland output she released in the 80's and Ike's wife beating, coke snorting antics. Even though the two of them had personal problems they still managed to release some impressive music together. Bold Soul Sister from 1970 took heavily from Sly & the Family Stone's 1968 hit Sing A Simple Song yeat still managed to top the song. Tina screams her way through through this raw funky cut, suprising when much of my earliest memories of hearing Tina Turner was hearing The Best being played on televised sporting events.
Here is the song that was the basis for this one, apparently Jimi Hendrix pilfered from it too.
Growing up the only things I remember about Tina Turner was the rather bland output she released in the 80's and Ike's wife beating, coke snorting antics. Even though the two of them had personal problems they still managed to release some impressive music together. Bold Soul Sister from 1970 took heavily from Sly & the Family Stone's 1968 hit Sing A Simple Song yeat still managed to top the song. Tina screams her way through through this raw funky cut, suprising when much of my earliest memories of hearing Tina Turner was hearing The Best being played on televised sporting events.
Here is the song that was the basis for this one, apparently Jimi Hendrix pilfered from it too.
Friday, 1 April 2011
Super Furry Animals - Run-Away
Album: Hey Venus! (Rough Trade,2007) Chart pos:UK#120
Super Furry Animals are one of those bands who are musical magpies, one minute imitating the Beach Boys one minute and then imitating Burt Bacharach the next (in their own tongue-in-cheek way). Run-away is the Welsh eccentrics attempt at Spectorish wall of sound pop with singer Gruff Rhys singing about a breakup with quirky offbeat lines such as "We may have fought with teeth and nails/I still recall your banking details".
Funnily enough i saw the bandplay mime at T4 on the Beach in Weston Super-Mare (as seen on the link above as embedding is forbidden)and instead of miming like the rest of the band he put his microphone against the robot helmet he was wearing. A pity that more bands pull stuff like this at miming gigs.
Super Furry Animals are one of those bands who are musical magpies, one minute imitating the Beach Boys one minute and then imitating Burt Bacharach the next (in their own tongue-in-cheek way). Run-away is the Welsh eccentrics attempt at Spectorish wall of sound pop with singer Gruff Rhys singing about a breakup with quirky offbeat lines such as "We may have fought with teeth and nails/I still recall your banking details".
Funnily enough i saw the band
Thursday, 31 March 2011
The Morning Benders - Excuses
Album: Big Echo (Rough Trade,2010) Chart pos:N/A
Despite avoiding 'hip indie bands' for the last decade due to some totally dreadful overhyped bands, i decided to buy The Morning Benders second album Big Echo on a whim. On first listen the album seems to take a while to sink in, despite this there is some stand out tracks. Excuses is the opening track from the album is a sunny indie-pop number that is indebted to the Beach Boys (especially in its endless use of vocal harmonies). The song is the finest moment from an album that has had a bit of a muted reaction in the press.
Here is an amusing ukulele cover.
Despite avoiding 'hip indie bands' for the last decade due to some totally dreadful overhyped bands, i decided to buy The Morning Benders second album Big Echo on a whim. On first listen the album seems to take a while to sink in, despite this there is some stand out tracks. Excuses is the opening track from the album is a sunny indie-pop number that is indebted to the Beach Boys (especially in its endless use of vocal harmonies). The song is the finest moment from an album that has had a bit of a muted reaction in the press.
Here is an amusing ukulele cover.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
The Troggs - Love is all Around
Album: Single (Fontana, 1966) Chart pos: UK#5 US#7
Ampshires finest.
Reg Presley the lead singer of The Troggs is an odd fellow. When Wet Wet Wetruined covered Love is All Around he was in for a huge royalty cheque as the song spent most of 1994 in the charts. Most sane people would re-do the kitchen or buy a new house, but good old Reg had to be different by using his royalties to fund research into the results of drunken actions by Wiltshire drunkards aka Crop Circles (excuse my cynicism).
Unlike Wet Wet Wet's bombastic and overproduced version, the original version feels much more pared down with the basic guitars and comparatively slight strings. This brings credence to Reg's claim that he wrote this in 10 minutes, but yet again sometimes the simplest songs can be the most effective.
REM did an acoustic version of the song, interestingly enough the Troggs and REM collaborated on an album together in the early 90's.
Ampshires finest.
Reg Presley the lead singer of The Troggs is an odd fellow. When Wet Wet Wet
Unlike Wet Wet Wet's bombastic and overproduced version, the original version feels much more pared down with the basic guitars and comparatively slight strings. This brings credence to Reg's claim that he wrote this in 10 minutes, but yet again sometimes the simplest songs can be the most effective.
REM did an acoustic version of the song, interestingly enough the Troggs and REM collaborated on an album together in the early 90's.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Zapp - Be Allright
Zapp (Warner Bros, 1980) Chart pos:N/A
Fans of 2pac will probably recognise the song as the basis for Keep Ya Head Up. Zapp took over the P-Funk mantle after the Parliament-Funkadelic machine floundered in the early eighties. The song Be Allright from their first (and possibly best) album moves away from the heavy vocoder-funk of the rest of the album and operates at a slower ballad like tempo. Interestingly Roger Troutman the lead singer went on to collaborate with 2pac and Dr Dre for 1995's California Love. Unfortunately the band met a grisly end in 1999 when Roger and brother (and fellow band mate) Larry were involved in a tragic murder-suicide.
Fans of 2pac will probably recognise the song as the basis for Keep Ya Head Up. Zapp took over the P-Funk mantle after the Parliament-Funkadelic machine floundered in the early eighties. The song Be Allright from their first (and possibly best) album moves away from the heavy vocoder-funk of the rest of the album and operates at a slower ballad like tempo. Interestingly Roger Troutman the lead singer went on to collaborate with 2pac and Dr Dre for 1995's California Love. Unfortunately the band met a grisly end in 1999 when Roger and brother (and fellow band mate) Larry were involved in a tragic murder-suicide.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Jacques Brel - Jaures
Album: Les Marquises (Barclay,1977) Chart Pos: N/A
When Brel sang this ode to the murdered pre-WW1 pacifist Jean Jaurès he apparently only had one lung left as his body was being ravaged by lung cancer. Thus making this one of the most poignant records that he ever made.
When Brel sang this ode to the murdered pre-WW1 pacifist Jean Jaurès he apparently only had one lung left as his body was being ravaged by lung cancer. Thus making this one of the most poignant records that he ever made.
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