Hello there!
We kick off with "Buena" by Morphine. While touring the States with Brakes in 2009, we met a couple of fellow music nuts by the name of Bill and Chris, who drove several hundred miles to be at our Philly show, and also brought a bunch of old school tape equipment to record the show with. While chatting about various things, Morphine's 'Cure For Pain' album came up; being a total philistine on the matter, I listened and learned. So keen was Bill for me to hear the record that he went to his car and pulled out his own CD copy and gave it to me. Needless to say, I soon realised this was an intensely amazing record, and shamefully under-recognised. The singer and bass player of the group, Mark Sandman died on stage in Italy a few years after this album came out. This video shows them performing the track on some weird TV show and Mark explaining a bit about his two string bass at the end. Yes please!
Next up, The Chap's "We Work In Bars" - a typically harmonious/dissonant/beautiful/frightening/uplifting/depressing piece of pop brilliance. Who would expect any less from these gods of avant-pop wonderfulness? Not us, which is why we had them down to headline our charity benefit show at the Concorde in Brighton last year. I hardly need to point out that they wiped the floor clean with their Dadaist sensibilities and frankly sadistic application of stringed instruments! This is the official video, taken from their latest album 'Well Done Europe'.
Girls' 'Album' of last year is a real treasure for those who discover it. It's immediately accessible but yet stands up to hundreds of listens. The songs are often very simple, but have an emotional heart to them which is just undeniable and personally just melts me. This is one of their best.. "Laura".
Again, while touring the States in 2007, I heard "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys (a group manufactured in the mid-60's entirely for this one song) on a 'golden oldies' - type radio station on the very first night we arrived in LA. I then spent the next four weeks obsessing over what the tune was, who it was by, why it seemed so familiar, etc etc, as the announcer never mentioned what it was. Turns out it was a one-hit wonder type affair that then turned into several albums and many more hits, but this original tune was based upon Bach's Minuet in G (set in 3 time, but here turned into a more simple, head-nodding 4 beat pop song). An amazing example of the links in music through the ages and how really nothing much changes. A popular piece from several hundred years ago, rejigged into a modern, motown pop hit.
Based in Williamsburg, NYC, Chairlift are probably best known for their tune that was (over)used for some advert a while back, but dig a little and you'll find gems like "Planet Health", a weird, ethereal take on 80's synth pop that shimmers and shines like some rare stone. The album version is great, but this video really gives a sense of how they can nail the production side of things live. Enjoy...
I was working at an advertising agency putting music to adverts a couple of years back, and a colleague of mine was always playing new music and upcoming releases. One day, this frankly amazing track caught my attention and I've been hooked ever since. Francis and the Lights (just one guy called Francis actually) is a deeply brilliant band/artist (?) that one is never quite sure what to expect from. With "My Goals", at least on the E.P. version, we get some sort of Prince-esque workout track, with squeaky-clean production, falsetto vocals and demented guitar riffs. But the video shows the same song from a totally different angle; a very pure, honest, solo piano rendition which is simply beautiful.
Oregon's Lake are a similar discovery, a wonderful little indie band who manage to take the same old formula and make it into something unique. This song has become a bit of a mantra for me over the months; basically when you're feeling a bit crap.. "Don't Give Up". Simple sentiments, but wonderfully executed.
Slightly off-piste here perhaps, but who said this would be anything but random ramblings? Doris Day's 1964 recording of "More" is quite simply one of the most romantic pieces of music I've ever heard, along with Sinatra's "London By Night." It just gets me blubbing every time! Produced by her son Terry Melcher before his underrated solo career had, er taken off. It's a feast of orchestral subtlety, over-emphasised vocals and a heavenly key change.
I was doing an instore performance with the band Official Secrets Act in the Rough Trade East shop a couple of years ago and while we were setting up they were playing 'Le Monde Fabuleax Des Yamasuki', a mad Japanese prog/experimental album recorded in France in the early 70's... needless to say, I was immediately hooked and had to have it! All the tracks are pretty out there, but at the same time very accessible. This is "Aieaoa"..
While Brakes were signed to Rough Trade, we naturally checked out the other bands they had on the roster at that time. One that always stood out were Scotland's Aberfeldy, who manage to make sweet indie pop without it ever being annoying. Some may disagree, and they certainly have their twee moments, but for me the emotion of the songs ring true. This tune, "Love Is An Arrow" is from their first record which, unbelievably, was recorded on a single microphone, yet manages to sound more coherent as a balanced mix than most albums recorded in the traditional tracked way. Just beautiful..
Another Terry Melcher production here, also featuring his mum Doris Day on the harmony vocal. My brother played me Nico's version of this song, but for me this is the definitive version. It's that juxtaposition of the perfectly orchestrated 'Pet Sounds' production with Melcher's often scrappy, wayward singing voice. "These Days" is a man reflecting on what he has achieved and what he hasn't, full of regret, heartache and self-deprecation.
I'm not usually one for quirky, novelty cover versions, but seeing as it's The Divine Comedy I'll let it slide. "No One Knows" speaks for itself as a frantic, dynamic rock hit, as good as anything QOTSA have ever done, but here it's given the German cabaret makeover, as only Neil Hannon knows how..
'Transmaniacon' by RTX is one of those records that since it came out, my brother and I have been in love with. It never seems to get boring, no matter how many times I hear it. And "Speed To Roam" is one of the more accessible tracks. The video is from a live show at Razzmatazz in Barcelona, featuring a barely audible vocal and lots of standing-around-looking-perplexed from the audience. Fun times!
Surfer Blood are one of those new bands that I came across that seem to come fully formed, straight out the box. Perfectly crafted pop songs, massive sounding guitars, covered in an insane amount of reverb. What more do you need? This is the official video for "Swim"..
Whilst trying to broaden my musical input, I came across an incredible compilation of African music on some torrent site. The Gaylads' "Africa" is one track I keep coming back to. The groove of it is undeniable, and it's interesting hearing how the initial sounds and styles of Hip-Hop can be traced quite clearly back to records such as this.
Quite simply one of my favourite recordings of anything ever, Al Jarreau's 'Look To The Rainbow' LP was taped across his European tour in 1976. "Letter Perfect" is the opening track, and right from the first few bars you can hear it's something special. Some people get put off by the man's incessant scatting, but for me it's so natural and suits the groove perfectly. He can imitate almost any instrument with his amazing voice, and proceeds to from the very start. The video shows a different recording of the song, performed with the same band for German TV in 1976 and is equally good, if not even better because you get to see the way the band just deliver this amazingly complicated piece without even breaking a sweat. Genius.
While wondering around aimlessly at End Of The Road festival a couple of years ago, not finding anything that took my fancy, I came across Beth Jeans Houghton playing in the Big Top tent. I'd never heard of her, and was almost immediately in love with her music. Off kilter folk songs played by an impossibly tall Geordie lass in gold lame pants and a massive wig? Yes please. This is her latest offering; "Dodecahedron". (Irritatingly Spotify doesn't have this track up yet, so you will hear "Hot Toast" in the playlist instead. Just as lovely, mind..)
Whilst being obsessed with Chicago (we'll get to that at some point!) I was scouring the internet looking for similar sounding groups when I found this little known English band If. They were marketed as 'Britain's answer to Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, etc' back in the early 70s, but actually manage to sound unique, at least to my ears. This tune, "Dockland" is from their first album, and is a romantic description of the Docklands area of London. What I find interesting is that now, 40 years later, the area looks completely different, so the song becomes almost a historical record of what that part of London was like rather than simply a wistful homage. Also, JW Hodkinson has one of the most distinctive voices I think I've ever heard. It's a great album, but for me this is the standout track. Annoyingly, the marvellous youtube doesn't feature a version of it, so you'll just have to make do with the eight and a half minutes of "What Did I Say About The Box, Jack?" instead, from the same album. ("Dockland" is on the playlist at the end.)
A few years ago, I fell completely in love with Laura Nyro, a legitimate genius. She wrote hit songs for acts of the day during the 60s even though she was barely out of her teens, and then embarked on a wonderful solo career. 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession' is about as perfect an album as one could hope to hear, recorded when she was just 22, in 1968. It's simply a masterpiece, and this song "Timer" is about as good as a song could get in my opinion. The way she uses recording techniques like double-tracking (often quad-tracking!), which were fairly new at the time, with such ease and dexterity is astounding. One has to listen maybe four or five times just to unpick what is actually going on. There always remains a magical sense about her music and a lack of explanation; her work demands the listener pay attention and delivers reward upon reward if they do. This is a live version, from the Fillmore East in 1970.
The Pointer Sisters are obviously best known for their cheesy pop disco tracks of the 80s, but back in the early 70s they were a group that knew no bounds musically. Their second album, 'That's A Plenty' features more styles across its 9 tracks than most record stores. On "Fairytale" they tackle country music with such conviction and success that it's easy to forget this is four black girls from Oakland nailing this tale of regret and heartbreak, not Tammy Wynette! The video is a live version of the song, recorded for a TV performance in the mid 70s. Another distinction this song achieved was being covered by Elvis in his last few years performing; quite an accolade.
Todd Rundgen's work is singular and mostly wonderful as far as I can make out, but this is one album that often gets overlooked. Most people are aware of Something/Anything or his other 70s output, but this ridiculously experimental record from the mid 80s is a masterpiece in its own right. 'A Capella' sees Todd in the studio with nothing more than his voice and a Roland Emulator (brand new at the time). For most of the record he uses the emulator to manufacture the sound of instruments using his voice as a starting point, with bizarre and amazing results. However, for "Honest Work" he simplifies it and is true to the album's title. This is three Todds singing together in his convincing take on a folk ballad. It speaks for itself.
Rounding off this first blog with of Montreal's "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal", a massive song, totalling over 11 minutes, which is too demented and complicated to even try to dissect. Just flip it on and sink in... The video shows a version of the song, which given its length and dark subject matter might be left to later on in a show.. no, no, they decide to open with it! Mega...
