Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Hailu Mergia
If you're a fan of artists such as Mulatu Astatke and Getachew Mekurya, then 'Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument:
Shemonmuanaye' is an album you really should track down. Recorded in 1985, but only gaining a wide release this year, it's a
contagious meeting of Ethiopian rhythms and African pop. Bewarned, if 'Hari Meru Meru' doesn't get your party grooving
gently, medical assistance may be required. Happy new year and thanks for stopping by in 2013.
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Saturday Scratch #33 - Zap Pow
We came unstuck on Thursday, as we attempted to maintain our Boxing Day tradition of pub lunch followed by a bracing coastal walk. This year I chose a remote country pub a little inland, to be followed by a 2 mile walk along a nearby river, through a nature reserve, onto the beach and beyond. Lunch was delish, but it soon became apparent that we weren't going to get very far along our chosen route. I hadn't taken into account the residue from the recent dreadful flooding in our part of the world. We were quickly overwhelmed as pathways, fields and the river merged into one vast watery expanse before us. Ah well, there's always next year.
Recorded at the Black Ark in 1977, here's Zap Pow, produced by Lee Perry, with their own, haunting, 'River'.
Boxing Day Blues - Too wet to walk...
Recorded at the Black Ark in 1977, here's Zap Pow, produced by Lee Perry, with their own, haunting, 'River'.
Labels:
Lee Perry,
Reggae,
Saturday Scratch,
Walking,
Zap Pow
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
T'was the Night Before Christmas...1963
Christmas Eve, the one night of the year that my
parents didn't have to cajole, persuade or shout
at me to go to bed. Newly purchased comic in hand,
I'd head up the wooden hills to bedfordshire as
early as I could get away with. The plan was to
read myself to sleep in the quickest possible
time. The sooner I fell asleep, the sooner it'd be
time to wake up and open the pressies that had, by
then, mysteriously arrived at the foot of my bed
- this was usually around 5am, if not earlier.
Here's one such Christmas, 50 years ago.......
I'll leave you with the mighty Long Ryders, performing under the guise of The Spinning Wighats and musing on 'Christmas in New Zealand'. Stay tuned until the end to catch what Sid Griffin wanted for Christmas in 1986.
A happy, peaceful Christmas to you and yours, from all at Swede Towers.
Me. Right, I'm off to bed.
Mum. What now? You've only just had your tea....
Me. (Yawn...) I know, but I'm done in....nighty
night!
(A few hours later)
Me. Hmmm. This is a good haul; games, chocolate, a
yacht...one new slipper apparently, but where's
that special present I asked Santa for?
Me. Ah, there's the other slipper and.....yesssss!
Boxing gloves, just as requested! I wonder if I
can wear these when I start school next year?
I'll leave you with the mighty Long Ryders, performing under the guise of The Spinning Wighats and musing on 'Christmas in New Zealand'. Stay tuned until the end to catch what Sid Griffin wanted for Christmas in 1986.
A happy, peaceful Christmas to you and yours, from all at Swede Towers.
Monday, 16 December 2013
Version City #22 - Arctic Monkeys sing John Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke happened to be a guest on
Radcliffe & Maconie's 6Music show a few days after the release of the Arctic Monkeys
fifth LP, 'AM'. JCC was, as you'd expect, asked for his thoughts on Alex Turner & co's reading of his own 'I Wanna Be Yours', which closes the album. The hosts were a little taken aback when the Bard of Salford confessed to having not yet heard the number in question, a situation quickly rectified by RadMac. At the tune's conclusion an unusually quiet and clearly moved JCC gave the interpretation a big thumbs up.
Sunday, 15 December 2013
The Sufis
Fancy taking a spin through 22 of 2013's grooviest
waxings? Then hot-foot it over to Monkey Picks and check out
Mark's rather splendid year-end playlist (here).
While I was sampling the delights on offer, 'No
Expression' by Nashville combo The Sufis popped
up, a tune I heard on the radio just once back in
the summer. At the time, I was so impressed that I
scribbled the title down on a scrap of paper,
which, with horrible inevitability, subsequently disappeared. So,
thanks for the reminder Mark!
Friday, 13 December 2013
Ezra Furman
The shortlist for my 20 favourite albums of 2013
currently runs to a hefty 53 titles and so, in an effort
to trim down the numbers, I'm diligently spending
a bit of quality time with each one of the lucky
blighters. Among them is Ezra Furman, who recently
reappeared in my collection after a gap of five
years. I lost touch with his output after his
second LP, 2008's 'Inside the Human Body', but
'Day of the Dog', his fifth, is a very fine piece of work that had me scuttling off to catch up with
what I've been missing.
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Stirring Up Memories
Consciously and unconsciously, Dad taught me a lot
of important stuff during his life, including the
value of respect, a love of music and the joy of
laughter. To my eternal regret, however, one thing
I never did learn from him was his own unique
bread recipe, which he'd perfected after many
years of tweaking. He tried to share this secret with me on a couple of occasions, but my mind was
elsewhere and as he never wrote it down, it's now
gone forever. He did teach me his method for
making good porridge though. I guess the time that
it took was about perfect for my attention span.
Now that the porridge season is upon us, I often
find myself, early in the morning, coffee in hand,
standing over a steaming saucepan of oats, with
Dad's voice echoing down the years, '...stir,
stir, stir, stir......keep stirring.....don't stop
stirring.....it's very important that you keep
stirring.....that's the secret of good
porridge....never stop stirring.....' Not so much a
method as a mantra. I stir Dad, I stir, but it
never tastes as good as yours did.
On the subject of oats, I found this old sheet music in a charity shop last week and it sparked a warm glow of recognition. I became aware of 'Mairzy Doats' at 7 or 8 years of age via BBC Radio's Junior Choice, where 'Stewpot' played the contemporary version by The Innocence, while Dad, of course, was already familiar with the song from previous recordings dating back to his own childhood in the 1940's. Together he and I would sing this silly little song ad infinitum, much to Mum's bemusement. That's another thing Dad taught me - there's nothing wrong with a little silliness every now and then.
On the subject of oats, I found this old sheet music in a charity shop last week and it sparked a warm glow of recognition. I became aware of 'Mairzy Doats' at 7 or 8 years of age via BBC Radio's Junior Choice, where 'Stewpot' played the contemporary version by The Innocence, while Dad, of course, was already familiar with the song from previous recordings dating back to his own childhood in the 1940's. Together he and I would sing this silly little song ad infinitum, much to Mum's bemusement. That's another thing Dad taught me - there's nothing wrong with a little silliness every now and then.
Friday, 6 December 2013
Roy Orbison
Regrets, I've had a few...and many of them concern
artists I never got to see in concert. Roy Orbison
is a prime example. Thanks to Dad's record
collection, I'd been listening to Roy Orbison
since before I could walk - to this day 'Running
Scared' can reduce me to tears. By June 1985,
however, neither Dad or I gave serious
consideration to travelling the barely one mile
from home to see him onstage at the Ipswich
Gaumont. Dad's tastes had moved away from 'pop'
towards the classics and I was concerned that, by
now, Orbison's performance would be a pale,
embarrassing, showbizzy, shadow of its former
glory, replete with lazy vocals and greatest hit
medleys.
A week later, I ran into a friend who'd attended the concert. My heart sank as he raved about the show, confirming what is now commonly known to be the case, that Roy Orbison never 'phoned in' a performance in his life, not even in the lean years. His voice, a magnificent mystery, hit every glorious note and continued to do so, right up to his untimely death in 1988, 25 years ago today.
A week later, I ran into a friend who'd attended the concert. My heart sank as he raved about the show, confirming what is now commonly known to be the case, that Roy Orbison never 'phoned in' a performance in his life, not even in the lean years. His voice, a magnificent mystery, hit every glorious note and continued to do so, right up to his untimely death in 1988, 25 years ago today.
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Jonathan Wilson - Live in Concert
How many artists, touring in support of only their
second album, have the confidence and ability to
play a set of over two hours in length, including
a sprinkling of unreleased material, which has no
dips, lulls, or wristwatch-checking moments? Step
forward Jonathan Wilson, who, with his superb
band, had the audience in Norwich agog from the
get-go on Monday evening. A lesser band would doubtless have saved material as strong as the
opening salvo of 'Lovestrong', 'Illumination' and
'Fazon' for their encores, but Wilson has considerable strength
in depth, there are few weak-links in his
catalogue. In fact he elected not to play one of
his very best songs, 'Cecil Taylor', at all.
Jonathan Wilson's sound is past-acknowledging and
forward-looking, musically rich and subtly
complex, where time signatures shift and solos go
off at unexpected tangents. Grandstanding is not
his style, but it's quietly intricate, frequently
breathtaking stuff all the same. Touchstones
include everything from CSN&Y (collectively and
individually) to elements of progressive rock, Pink Floyd
in particular. One gets the impression that he is
only just beginning to flex his musical muscles.
Miss him at your peril.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Saturday Scratch #32: Special Edition - R.I.P. Junior Murvin
Very sad to hear of the passing of the legendary Junior
Murvin at the age of 64 (or 67 depending on which
report you believe). Murvin recorded with a clutch
of great Jamaican producers over the years, but
it's his work with Lee Perry on 1977's seminal
'Police & Thieves' LP for which he'll inevitably
be best remembered. Here, from those sessions, is
'Memories', the b-side of the album's second
single, 'Tedious'.
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