November 14th, 2009
As mentioned in a previous post, I have been listening to a lot of newly discovered Dub music in recent years from King Tubby to UB40 In Dub (which is still a favourite of mine), the U2 Dub tribute and now Augustus Pablo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Pablo).
Dub music is very relaxing and always very groovy and since most Dub music is instrumental with cool reverb and effects, it makes for a great listen.
I don’t know much about Augustus Pablo or Horace Swaby, but there is plenty of information on the web to fill in the story, but I do know that he is a master of his trade, often referred to as the “Dub Master”. He is also very skilled in his use and ability to play the Melodica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica) in perfect arrangements in his dub instrumentals to make some truly beautiful music.
I must admit that I have always loved the sound of the melodica, whether it was New Order in “Love Vigilantes” and “Your Silent Face” (which was interestingly covered by Velocity Girl on an early Merge 7″ - for some totally unrelated music trivia) or The Kinks in “Sunny Afternoon”, or Gang of Four, Dif Juz or any other band incorporating it into their sound - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica_in_music.
Augustus obviously also had much influence on bands like UB40, who dabbled often in Dub and also on most of the Ska bands of the 80’s that I was fascinated with and his laid back style can certainly be felt on songs like “Ghost Town” by The Specials. So if you have not already discovered his music, it is worth digging for his Dub.
Categories: 2009 Favourites, Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music |
Tags: augustus pablo, dub, instrumental, jamaica, King Tubby, melodica, reggae, roots reggae, The Specials, ub40 | No Comments
July 23rd, 2009
The title alludes to my love of dub music (which I will likely have more to say in a future post as I just acquired an excellent Augustus Pablo CD which is amazing - more about that later), and my brief encounter with Roddy Frame (www.roddyframe.com/) many years ago at Barrymores on Wednesday September 28th, 1983 when Aztec Camera played in Ottawa and where like a real fan we got his autograph and chatted about the love of music, something we shared and of course The Blue Orchids (www.blueorchids.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Orchids) - more about that later.
I have been meaning to write something about Aztec Camera (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Camera) for some time now as they have been a band that have stuck with me and influenced my tastes for several decades and their music is timeless, as Perfect Pop is. They were also quite instrumental in creating and fueling my fascination with Scottish Pop music. I first discovered them in 1981 on the NME cassete C81 which had the beautiful masterpiece “We Could Send Letters”, which was also the B-side to their first single on the amazing Postcard Label in Glasgow Scotland (The Blue Orchids were also featured on that cassette with their amazing “Low Profile”). I remember searching and locating their Postcard singles and also seeing them in the NME and Smash Hits magazines back in those days.
They followed their early singles with more great singles like “Pillar To Post” and “Oblivious” with it’s wonderful Spanish guitar influence which brought them some well deserved radio airplay. An Album also came out in 1983 “High Land, Hard Rain” which we treasured and featured some of the early singles and the odd b-side. So you can just imagine how excited we were to find out that Aztec Camera were playing in Ottawa that following year.
My brother and I very excitedly bought our tickets and shortly afterwards attended that memorable show where they did a great cover of The Clash’s “Garageland” and afterward we hung around to get our singles signed and maybe even talk with the band if they were willing. They turned out to be very impressed and flattered that we actually had tracked down copies of their early singles and were so kind to let us hang around and chat.
We talked a lot about British and Scottish music which we were quite fascinated with at the time (and I guess still are). He told us a bit about Postcard records and Josef K and somehow I mentioned The Blue Orchids (www.blueorchids.net/) a band that I had really been enjoying and talking a lot about those days who were formed by Martin Bramah after he left The Fall. As it turns out Roddy was also a huge fan of The Blue Orchids and was telling me how he had seen them live and would travel several hours to see them , something I could relate to as we were at that time travelling a lot to Montreal and Toronto to see bands like New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, Adam & The Ants and more. I was quite jealous as I would love to have seen The Blue Orchids, but it was very cool to find someone else who knew about them and shared our love of their music - The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) was and still is, a favourite of mine.
Anyway, fast forward several years and many more singles and albums and Aztec Camera release the very polished “Deep & Wide & Tall” single which I picked up the 12″ version, which to my excited surprise they do a wonderful cover of The Blue Orchids “Bad Education”, which was quite a contrast to the a-side and made it that much more enduring, with it’s Fall esque drawl, sing along la-la’s and a narrative in the background that sums it up very nicely. Now I don’t know if our conversations, many years earlier had any influence on Roddy recording this cover (maybe a case of me thinking too highly of our meeting, something which he probably doesn’t even recall as he would have met thousands of fans that year alone - although it was something I didn’t forget), but if nothing else it let him know that at least one Aztec Camera fan out there, shared his fascination with The Blue Orchids.
Since this track is now quite hard to find and is missing from many future Aztec Camera compilations (although it did appear on a Japanese compilation once), I thought I would include it here for everyone to hear, along with my story.
As a postscript - Martin Bramah now has a new band called Factory Star and Roddy Frame continues to release great music, although not as frequently as some would like, so it is nice to see bands like Armstrong keeping that sound alive.
Aztec Camera - Bad Education
Tags: [mp3] [british pop] [the Clash] [Smash Hits] [Scottish Pop] [Roddy Frame] [postcard label] [mp3] [Ottawa] [NME][New Order][Garageland][Factory Star][dub][cover song][C81][Blue Orchids][Barrymores][Aztec Camera][Armstrong]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides |
Tags: Armstrong, Aztec Camera, Barrymores, Blue Orchids, C81, cover song, dub, Factory Star, Garageland, New Order, NME, ottawa, postcard label, Roddy Frame, Scottish Pop, Smash Hits, the Clash | 1 Comment
July 16th, 2009
There has been much discussion in the past about the musical genre, referred to as Shoegaze music (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoegazing) and whether this is even a good description or not, or if this was intended as an insult, as many of the bands tended to look at their shoes while playing (while in fact they were busy manipulationg all the effects pedals to get that unique sound), making for a less then exciting visual spectacle. Shoegaze became associated with a whole slew of great bands like Ride, Slowdive, The Cocteau Twins, JAMC, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, The Telescopes, Lush, Chapterhouse, Moose and many many more. Some of these bands, though had already been around for years, but shared a similarity in sound and thus fit in nicely.
All this aside, that’s not why I am writing this to start another debate, but rather to celebrate this style of music which created a significant body of beautiful recordings and sounds that still sound great today and continue to influence bands the world around, why even Drowned in Sound even had a Shoegaze week in April where they featured a wealth of information and some features on some new clubs/labels like Club AC30 that help keep the gaze alive (http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136607).
Many new bands cite this genre as an influence, and many more have borrowed from the sounds created to create further masterpieces of their own. I realized this many years ago when I picked up a copy of the Italian magazine Losing today which came with a free CD that featured many new bands that were inspired by that sound. A few more recent acquisitions of mine really brought this to the fore once again, when I picked up a copy of “Half Dreaming: An Asian Shoegaze Compilation” CD (http://www.tonevendor.com/item/29698) which was relased by the fabulous folks at Quince Records (http://www.quince-records.com/) in Japan. This compilation, along with others like “Just Like A Daydream - A Dreampop, Shoegaze Comp” and all the Dale Marquez’s Filipino bands comps that feature the likes of Some Gorgeous Accident, Sonnet LVIII (www.myspace.com/sonnet58) and The Jealous Sea helped me realize that Shoegaze is alive and well in pockets all around the globe.
First lets travel to Asia and hear a few tracks and later if we have time we can travel to a few more exotic places …
Tracks 5, 11, 13
elemental gaze – unperfect sky
caucus – sing(half dreaming) japan
sharesprings – fix your eyes on indonesia
Tags: [mp3] [Asian Shoegaze] [ Chapterhouse] [Club AC30] [Dale Marquez] [Drowned in Sound] [JAMC] [Lush] [Moose] [My Bloody Valentine][Quince Records ][Ride][Shoegaze][Slowdive][ Some Gorgeous Accident][Sonnet LVIII][Swervedriver][The Cocteau Twins][The Jealous Sea ][The Telescopes]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music, zUncategorized |
Tags: Asian Shoegaze, Chapterhouse, Club AC30, Dale Marquez, Drowned in Sound, JAMC, Lush, Moose, My Bloody Valentine, Quince Records, Ride, Shoegaze, Slowdive, Some Gorgeous Accident, Sonnet LVIII, Swervedriver, The Cocteau Twins, The Jealous Sea, The Telescopes | No Comments
June 22nd, 2009
The Cherry Orchard’s music is an elegant and lush Pastoral Pop with nods to The Left Bank and Burt Bacharach’s swinging sixties with French Pop sung in English, and modern references could be The Go-Betweens, The Wondermints, Tahiti 80, etc. - you het the picture.
I first heard their Song “Everybody Knows” on a March Records compilation and it is such a Groovy song that it should be playing on everyone’s stereo. If you have never heard it, or the wonderfully beautiful sounds of The Cherry Orchard then you are really missing out.
Check out a few of their songs here:
www.myspace.com/thecherryorchardpop
This Is Some Of The Most Beautiful Music In The World - The Soundtrack For Lovers and others.
A While back they also recorded a cover of The Go-Between’s “Streets Of Your Town” for the Firestation Records compilation “These Are The Songs We Always Wanted To Hear” , which will give you a hint of the style of Elegant Pop that they play so well.
Welcome Back!!!
Now if only I can convince them to do a Television Personalities cover, one of their love songs, that would be a real treasure.
Tags:[cherry orchard] [paisley pop] [brit pop] [cover song] [Jangly pop] [dan treacy] [tvp] [mp3] [Northern pop] [pop] [television personalities]
Categories: 2009 Favourites, Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music |
Tags: cherry orchard, jangle pop, paisley pop, Pop | No Comments
May 5th, 2009
It’s time for bit more Primal Garage Stomping Mayhem and what better band to provide this then Montreal’s own Gruesomes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gruesomes and http://www.myspace.com/thegruesomes ) who have been doing this for over twenty years and have inspired the revival of the Nuggets and Pebbles loving folk the world over. Not only did this band sound great but they also had the look of 60’s mod mixed with early Rolling Stones circa Brian Jones with a measure of Ramones hair and jackets thrown in for good measure.
The fine folks at Ricochet Sound Recordings (www.myspace.com/ricochetsoundrecordings) have been doing a fantastic job re-issuing much of the Gruesomes output, old (all the albums and more) and new (Gerry Alvarez magnificent solo album and John Davis and Bobby Beaton’s absolutely essential Fuad And The Feztones side project - here is a nice write up - www.soundflat.de/shop/shop.cfm?artnr=12951) and I have been meaning to say a bit about the label and the releases for some time now, so after picking up a copy of “Guesomania” (RSCD - 006) it spurred me on.
To quote their liner notes “The study of “Gruesomus Erectus” and the evolving evolution of their development defy logic or explanation … With an equal mix of humour, sweat, sonic driven backbeat and supercharged kinetic energy … these gents sidestepped trends” and “gyrate their way into your tell tale heart … Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump … Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Gruesomania lives on …”.
Here are a few tracks from 1987 starting off with a real favourite of mine “Whirlpool” and although this is not their traditional sound as it is an instrumental, I think it really shows how amazing they were/are and how they played so well together (and I am a bit of fan of instrumental music). The second track is “Unchain My Heart” and I will just let the music speak.
The Gruesomes - Whirlpool
The Gruesomes - Unchain My Heart
Tags: [Ramones] [Garage] [Rolling Stones] [Nuggets] [Montreal] [Pebbles] [Punk] [mp3] [Instumental] [rock] [Ricochet Sound Recordings]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45 |
Tags: Fuad And The Feztones, Garage, Gerry Alvarez, Nuggets, Pebbles, Ramones, Ricochet Sound Recordings, Rolling Stones | No Comments
March 6th, 2009
Butcher Boy (butcher-boy.co.uk), are another great band from Scotland (Glasgow), who have been around for several years and have been likened to bands like Felt, Tindersticks, The Go-Betweens, Belle & Sebastian, Love, The Pale Fountains and The Smiths (which alone should give any Pop fan sufficient reason to check them out). They have a very rich and poetic sound and sing from the heart with passion and brilliance. They are on one of UK’s premier POP
labels How Does It Feel To Be Loved? (howdoesitfeel.co.uk), the same label that brought us the wonderful “The Kids At The Club” release a few years back.
Butcher Boy have released an album “Profit In Your Poetry” and several singles, which are sadly sold out, and are about to release, what will be one of the finest releases of 2009 “React Or Die” next month. The single “Carve A Pattern” is already available as a free download, so you may want to react quickly and you don’t even have to buy it.
That is all fine and good, but the real reason I am writing this is that I included “Permanent Past Tense” on my latest mix tape Beyond The Beautiful Music - Volume 14 as I think this song is amazing. This song is also proof that Butcher Boy is a band of quality and distinction and heading for greater things when the B-Side is this good.
Butcher Boy - Permanent Past Tense
Tags: [Belle & Sebastian] [Butcher Boy] [Felt] [The Smiths] [Beyond The Beautiful Music] [Scottish+Pop] [The Kids At The Club] [mp3] [The Pale Fountains] [pop] [The Go-Betweens] [Acoustic pop]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music |
Tags: Belle &, Belle & Sebastian, Beyond The Beautiful Music, Butcher Boy, Felt, How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, Love, Scottish Pop, The Go-Betweens, The Kids At The Club, The Pale Fountains, The Smiths, Tindersticks | No Comments
February 28th, 2009
I really love the song “Lauging Eyes” from The Coral ( thecoral.co.uk/ ) and have included it
on my latest mix BTBM Volume 14. It is one of the b-sides from the “Who’s Gonna
Find Me” single released in 2007. It blends perfectly a folk influenced country
with a modern sound reminiscent of Shack or maybe a bit of The Weather Prophets.
The Coral are from the UK, somewhere near Liverpool and have released many
exceptional songs through the years and although I admit I am not a huge fan - I
always seem to find songs that I really love by them. I probably should pick up
their Singles Colection released last year which is sure to have many true gems.
The Coral record for the very cool Deltasonic Records ( deltasonic.co.uk/) in Liverpool
which is run by Alan Wills who I think played with Shack, The Wild Swans and The
Woodentops among others and have released some of Ian Broudie’s (The Original
Mirrors, Care, The Lightning Seeds) solo stuff. And speaking of Ian Broudie, he
also has produced many of the Coral’s songs, adding his production magic to their
sound, something which he has done for many bands through the years (I can’t even
begin to list them all right now).
the Coral - mp3
Tags: [Alan Wills] [Care] [Deltasonic Records] [Ian Broudie] [Liverpool] [Rather Records] [Shack] [The Coral] [The Lightning Seeds] [The Wild Swans] [The Woodentops] [pop] [indie] [rock]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music |
Tags: Alan Wills, Care, Deltasonic Records, Ian Broudie, Liverpool, Shack, The Coral, The Lightning Seeds, The Wild Swans, The Woodentops | No Comments
February 10th, 2009
I came accross a single by Denise James at the Firestation Records mailorder store along with many other gems and treasures (like The Cherry Boys “Kardomah Cafe” 7″ and The Bodines “Skankin Queens” 12″) and thought I would post a song from the b-side - a more laid back tune.
Denise James was signed to Alan McGee’s Poptones label and released a self titled album on Poptones and also has recorded for the Rainbow Quartz label (http://www.rainbowquartz.com/artists.asp?BC=DJ) where she has released two full length albums. I hadn’t realized that she also released this Ep till I saw it at Firestation. She has worked with Matthew Smith from Outrageous Cherry and The Volebeats and has a wonderful 60’s influenced jangle pop that most will enjoy. I even had a chance to catch her show when she played Ottawa a few years back at one of the summer festivals.
Denise James - Same Day Sadness
Tags: [Denise James] [Matthew Smith] [Outrageous Cherry] [Rainbow Quartz] [Firestation Records] [Jangle Pop] [mp3]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music |
Tags: Denise James, Firestation Records, jangle pop, Matthew Smith, Outrageous Cherry, Poptones label, Rainbow Quartz | No Comments
February 10th, 2009
Terry Hall just seems like an old friend, although I must admit to not knowing him outside of his music. He seems to have been involved to great extent in the soundtrack to my life throughout the years - fading in and fading out - from the early days with The Specials and classic songs like “Ghost Town” and their cover of “A Message To You Rudy” was always a favourite of mine (this song has taken on even greater meaning now, with a Rudy in the family), to his Fun Boy Three days when we all could relate to “The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Assylum” (I think they may still have control) and tunes like “Summertime”, to his Pop outfit The Colourfield and then onto a brilliant solo carreer. He has also worked with David A. Stewart (in Vegas and recording on his Anxious label), The Lightning Seeds (even recording a great version of “Sense”), Sinead O’Connor, Stephen Duffy, Dub Pistols, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, Tricky and Lily Allen (see more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Hall_(singer) ).
Terry’s solo career and albums “Home” (1994) and “Laugh” (1997) and the respective singles from these albums are ones that I seem to come back to quite often and everytime they are a real pleasure to listen to. They are Pure Pop in the finest form and to prove my point I am featuring two of the b-sides from the “Forever J” Ep from 1994. Not only is the a-side a beautiful Pop masterpiece (interestingly featuring Craig Gannon from the Bluebells, Aztec Camera, The Smiths, Blue Orchids and more), but Terry’s b-sides would easily be the stuff that would make anyone proud, and could easily be the a-side.
Terry Hall - Suburban Cemetery
Terry Hall - Guess It’s Not A Great Day To Be Me
Tags: [Terry Hall] [Craig Gannon] [The Specials] [The Bluebells] [Sinead O'Connor] [Damon Albarn] [Dub Pistols] [mp3][Gorillaz][David A. Stewart][Stephen Duffy][Forever J][The Smiths]
Categories: Beautiful B-Sides, Feature 45, Great Music |
Tags: Anxious Records, Aztec Camera, Blue Orchids, Bluebells, Craig Gannon, Damon Albarn, David Stewart, Dub Pistols, Fun Boy Three, Gorillaz, Lily Allen, Sinead O'Connor, Stephen Duffy, The Colourfield, The Lightning Seeds, The Smiths, The Specials, Tricky, Vegas | No Comments
As mentioned in a previous post, I have been listening to a lot of newly discovered Dub music in recent years from King Tubby to UB40 In Dub (which is still a favourite of mine), the U2 Dub tribute and now Augustus Pablo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Pablo).
