Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

I've spent the past couple of days mulling over just how many superlatives I can get away with using in a piece on Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's concert at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Whatever my allocation, though, it could never be enough.

Overcoming a personal antipathy of the 'stadium experience', this was my first Springsteen show in ten years, my first show since the band suffered the devastating losses of Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons and was a joyous and moving celebration of those who are gone and those who remain. 

We got 'the hits'. We got newer songs, in vastly superior versions to their recorded counterparts. We got audience requested fan favourites. But what those of us lucky enough to be there will always remember, is that we got a quite staggering performance of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' - the whole LP, start to finish.

From the many shaky clips of the show available to view on YouTube, here is the intense reading of 'Lost in the Flood', an audience request, originally released on 'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.', Springsteen's 1973 debut.

Lightning Strikes #5 - Dennis Brown

The range of it's catalogue was diverse, eclectic and downright odd in places (and I've only scratched the surface over the past five days), but Lightning Records greatest commercial successes and critical acclaim came with their many licensed reggae releases, usually from the Joe Gibbs stable and most notably with the Number One hit 'Uptown Top Ranking' by Althea and Donna. So with that in mind, it's only fitting that I conclude this little trawl through the Lightning records in my own collection with a classic reggae selection.

'Money in My Pocket' by the late Dennis Brown was originally issued in Jamaica on Joe Gibbs Music in 1978, before gaining a UK release on Lightning the following year. I initially had every intention of posting the full 12" version, complete with a brilliant and uncredited toast by Prince Mohammed (check it out here), but recently came across this wonderful live vocal performance from Top of the Pops and instantly knew it had to be the one. How great is this?

Lightning Strikes #3 - Jet Bronx & the Forbidden

Day 3 of a haphazard look at singles from my collection on the Lightning Records label, finds us in December 1977 with 'Ain't Doin' Nothin' by Jet Bronx & the Forbidden. It's a red vinyl 7" that I still notice in charity shops and at car-boot sales from time to time, so I assume that the 'limited edition' may have run to substantially more than the 15000 indicated on the sleeve.

The band is a handy one to keep in mind should you ever find yourself in the position of putting together a pub quiz, as their guitarist, and composer of this catchy little number, is the aforementioned Jet Bronx, also known as Loyd Grossman - yep, that Loyd Grossman. I wonder whatever became of that old punk?

Lightning Strikes #1 - Lucy

Flicking through a box of my old 7" singles recently, I was surprised to find how many releases I owned on Lightning Records. Lightning was a Warner Brothers sponsored independent label in the late 1970's, with no uniform profile, releasing novelty singles, proto-NWOBHM, Rock & Roll reissues and second division punk alongside cutting edge reggae from the likes of Culture and the mighty Prince Far-I.

From Monday to Friday this week I'll be featuring a single a day from my box, as originally released on the Lightning label. First up is Lucy with 'Really Got Me Goin'', one of two 1977 singles that form their entire recorded output. A quick glance at existing photos of the band tells you a great deal about the period; unfashionable beards, flares and long hair rub shoulders with ripped tee-shirts, short back & sides and drainpipes - not to mention a glammed up bassist with something of a Steve Priest fixation. It was a confused time! One gets the distinct impression of a band caught between two stools, forced by the changing musical climate to 'punk' their sound up a bit, resulting in a somewhat clunky, but enjoyable approximation of the burgeoning genre .

Guitarist Phil Collen went on to find fame and fortune with Def Leppard - who'd have thunk it?

Saturday Scratch #25

At the very moment that all the tiny newborn balls of fluff, flapping and screeching behind their parents, need it most, we've once again been forced to severely reduce the supply of bird food in our garden. The reason? A very ingenious rat. It stretches, it jumps, it climbs, it dislodges, it prises open and it devours. No matter what lengths we go to to put the feeders in out of the way and out of reach locations, Mr Norvegicus outwits us, usually in broad daylight while we sit just a few feet away and watch. Why do we just sit and watch? Because he's actually pretty impressive in his cunning and guile and also because if we chase him off, he just waits until we are safely back indoors before recommencing his endeavours. He's a clever little thing and certainly a lot less ugly than the gnarled bruiser we had in the garden last year.

So, for the time being, we've removed all but a couple of the bird-feeders, which are hung from the middle of the washing line for maximum inaccessibility, in the hope that our unwanted guest will grow frustrated and wander off to explore pastures new. He's just doing his thing, I certainly don't want to kill him, merely dissuade him and reduce the risk of him getting into the house if we happen to leave the back door ajar.

Here's Scratch in 1977, talking about a very different kind of rat.

Previously on Saturday Scratch

Flip It! #1 - Earle Mankey

Earle Mankey was guitarist with the pre-'Kimono My House' Sparks, but in 1973, when Ron and Russell relocated to the UK, Mankey stayed in LA and began a long career in record production that continues to this day. Along the way he's twiddled the knobs for such artists as The Long Ryders, The Three O'Clock, The Dickies and Concrete Blonde, in addition to engineering albums by Elton John and The Beach Boys.

Mankey the performer has reappeared only sporadically since the Sparks days, one 7" single, 'Mau Mau',  on Bronze Records in 1978 and two mini-albums in the 1980's being the sum total of his output. Look out for a copy of 'Mau Mau' on your travels, it's a good tune, but not as good as the brilliant 'Crazy' on the flipside.

Gaz Coombes

'One of These Days', a gorgeous, if slightly sinister, new single from Gaz Coombes, enhanced by an equally unsettling video.