Orange Blossom Special

Here is a fact for you, up to 1965 Johnny Cash had released 20, get that, 20!! albums. Its that 20th album that I listened to on my commute in this morning. It may be Johnny’s 20th but it is my favourite Johnny Cash album, Orange Blossom Special. Orange Blossom Special is the first of a week of Cash albums by the look of it.
I love this album more than any other Cash album because of the songs, obviously, but the choice of songs is more perfect than the preceding 19 or the subsequent 76, all great in their own way, but not as fantastic as Orange Blossom Special.
I can even forgive 3 Dylan songs on this album as in the case of It Ain’t Me Babe, it stops becoming Dylans and Cash claims it, the same could be said for Mama, You've Been on My Mind. The third Dylan track is Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright and this further cements the relationship that Dylan and Cash would have throughout Cash’s life. Great versions.
The album, at least on this version, but the albums highlights for me are two of my favourite Cash tracks. On any given day When It's Springtime in Alaska is my favourite Cash song, its so damn sparse, yet so beautiful, possibly only bettered by The Far Side Banks Of Jordan, that doesn’t appear on this album though. Another contender for Cash’s best is (I'm Proud) The Baby is Mine, appearing here as a bonus track. I man re-affirming his love for a woman that takes the pint. It’s a great song, stunning.
Another highlight of the album in a bonus track form is Engine 143, re-recorded later in Cash’s life and another one of the songs that using train imagery to get its point across, along with the title track of course. Engine 143 in its re-recorded version was the very last song that Johnny recorded, at least according to Wikipedia, I thought that honour befell to the beautiful Like the 309, but that actually may have been the last one he wrote. I have digressed a little.
Enough to say this is another perfect Cash album, 10 out of 10.



When It’s Springtime In Alaska by Johnny Cash

Cowcube

Cowcube and his selftitled album today.
My its an upbeat album, taking the best bits (see my review) of The Avalanches and melding them with Lemon Jelly to produce something quite great by itself.
I havent played it in years and maybe time has dated the turntablistic leanings and its cut and paste sampling but it doesnt stop it being good.
Cowcube is a single person, and he was championed by Peel rather mightily around 2000, and I think this is when this album dates from. It melds rather cutely samples from stereo demonstration records and public information films, with at times drum and bass beats, or is that drum n bass. I am too old for this I feel. Either way it is clever in all the right places and those samples bring a familiarity to the CD.
Its more than knowing samples though as oddly for a CD of this genre, its got tunes, and that is where it is aligned with a similar artist that do that so well, Lemon Jelly.
All in all a great album, enjoyable actually, not great so 6 out of 10.



Itchy Cut by Cowcube

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Sorry about the hurried entry for yesterday. I might have to revisit it at a later date.
Today though its more Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and their debut self titled album.
Many years ago, either late 2004 or early 2005 whilst downloading illegal music on Soulseek, actually was the music illegal or the activity, or was it the format that the music came in? Whats illegal about MP3’s? OK, so some years ago I was downloading music illegally. It was The Magic Numbers, and I was after some of their demo’s, hold on if it was demo’s was that illegal? They were probably given out free, after all who charges for demos?
Anyway, I started downloading these demos and the girl I was downloading off suggested that I try some demos by a New York based band, clap Your Hands Say Yeah. As friends will tell you, those demos changed my life musically, well I say changed my life, if I was listening to purely gospel music and then started listening to CYHSY, then yes it would change have changed my life, but it did at least make me love a new band. I pretty much, actually, I did buy everything the band released from then on in, including the self released, self titled album.
Before I comment on the album, CYHSY are as I have said a New York based band, featuring the songwriting talents of Alec Ounsworth, Ounsworth is still based in Philadelphia and of late has been releasing material under his own name and as part of Flashy Python, the latter released some CYHSY demos under their own name a few years back too.
Anyway, I managed to catch the band live a few years back, and although I still adore the bands music, they are absolutely dreadful live, I mean shocking. They do write good songs though.
That all said, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, initially released by the band in 2005, and then re-released by Wichita Recordings in 2006. 12 tracks.
The album is maybe one of my favourite albums. I think its faultless and each and every track is a joy to listen to even now after playing it a million times and badgering people that they are the greatest band since Hefner. They aren’t but as is the case with me, THE greatest thing ever is fleeting and I always do believe at that point whatever it is I am talking about is the best or greatest ever.
So this album is a lot more earthy and shambolic, and more urgent than its successor. Some Loud Thunders polished the rough edges of the self titles, lest you hurt yourself. Some Loud Thunder maybe had one eye on the indie dance crossover second coming that was emanating out of New York at the time with the likes of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Rapture and the mightily awful Gossip. The self titled wants you to dance, but more dervish than Studio 54, more piano rolls than roller disco. If my steering wheel could be annoyed at the over exuberant drumming, it would.
I thought I knew what was my favourite on this album, Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth, but then I hear and remember On This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood with its Dave Byrne vocal leanings and yelps, its hard not to love it.
Byrnes New York is the major influence on this album and that is the voice that critics have compared Ounsworths to the most. It is there but it is an influence and not a karaoke version from Star In Their Eyes.
Details of The War slows the pace a little and gives you time to breath, and gives the steering wheel a chance to recover, the pace though is steady and the right choice of instruments reminds me a little of their compatriots, The National. Not too much though.
All in all this is one of my very favourite albums, excellent in every way, superb. 10 out of 10.

This is a very odd video put together by someone, that isn’t them but others. The music is though.



Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Some Loud Thunder

Perhaps I was a little harsh about my Glen Campbell disc, its value according to comments is there, just not for me as I was expecting a best of, only to be met with a live recording that didn't at least as much as I was concerned, the goods.
Enough of that though, that was yesterday, today it was the second, and suspect the final, studio release by New York based band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Some Loud Thunder.
I will save a lot for tomorrow, but I really like this album. They are so different a band and I think non more so than on this album. Main songwriter Alec Ounsworth's voice is stronger and his lyrics even more odd, in a good way, here.
I am a little pushed for time and really can go on, and on about CYHSY, so I will save it for later. Great album, 8 out of 10, best track the final one.



Five Easy Pieces by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Wichita Lineman The Best of Glen Campbell

I have never seen Glen Campbell in concert. I really like him, and his music although the opportunity has presented itself a number of times, I chose not to. Intentionally.
Todays disc is a Glen Campbell disc, its called Wichita Lineman The Best of Glen Campbell and it was released in the 90’s by Castle Communications. That sentence alone should indicate the quality of this recording. That sentence should tell you everything you need to know about this disc.
I have never seen Glen Campbell purely because of this disc, you see this is a live recording, unsure where, and the only date I can pin it to is pre 1990. It contains many covers, but that’s OK, he is a covers man. What galls me though, what angers me beyond belief and what makes state that Campbell will never get a penny of my money is, and he is totally to blame for this and not Castle Communications, is that he condenses, arguably some of the greatest songs ever , into medleys, into shortened versions, into passing nods. Bastard. 0 out of 10.

Standing On A Beach

This weekend bonus commute disc, soundtracking my journey to Villa Park for the ESPN showing late kick off was The Cure's first retrospective, Standing On A Beach.
I genuinely believe The Cure to be amongst the top three singles bands ever to pick up a guitar pick, Ash and The Jam being the other two. The problem with The Cure though is the singles, the good singles, only started really towards the back end of the period this album covers.
Obviously that statement doesnt apply to the sublime, Boys Don't Cry, on any given days one of the most perfect pop songs ever created. Better than Teenage Kicks, better than Video killed the radio star, even better than over the hills with the swords of a thousand men. On it's day.
On this album there is a bit of a wait up to that track and then a bit of a wait till the goods are produced again, Lets go to bed.
This is the start though of something rather special, and it didnt stop there, because as a band, they never got crap after that. For me from Let's Go To Bed to now, The Cure produced/s singles of the highest quality. Restricted to this album we have The Walk, Love Cats, the fantastic In Between Dayas and the equally wonderful Close To Me.
It's a pity about the stuff inbetween, all gothy and brooding and painting pictures. I could smell the patchouli and see the rooms painted black. Cheer up gothy kids, Friday I'm In Love is only 3 albums away! 6 out of 10.



Boys Don't Cry by The Cure

The Ugly Organ

Today my commute CD was the reason why I am going through my loosely alphabeticised CD albums. The reason why I needed to listen to things I may have missed, the reason I needed to give something a second chance.
Today the CD was The Ugly Organ by Cursive. At the very least I may have listened to this once before but I suspect this was the first time I had played this album. It came to my notice as I think at the end of 2003 it was featured highly in the year end lists of people who’s opinion I trusted. I must have lost it in a bulk of other CD’s though as it never made an impression at all.
So to the CD, as I said this CD and other CD’s like it is the reason that I am going through my collection, it is an absolute beauty, a real genuine great album.
Released on Saddle Creek it draws its influence, not massively, but a little from Saddle Creeks most famous son, Conor Oberst. However it’s main influence is Brand New. Sonically it draws heavily on the sound Brand New explored on their first two albums. Vocally Tim Kasher falls between that of Brand New’s Jesse Lacey and Bright Eyes’ Oberts, musically they are more aligned, at least on this album with Brand New than Oberst’s folk leanings.
It’s a stunning album though, and one I am pretty angry for missing, it is 6 years old after all, and 6 years it has been on a shelf of mine ignored. I strongly suggest that if either of the influencing artists float your boat, you seek out The Ugly Organ.
How this does differ from Brand New and Bright Eyes though is this album displays a little more aggression than those two are seemingly capable of. The Ugly Organ is a concept album that explores, Wikipedia tells me, the ugly organists life of love lust and empty sex. At times anger comes through but also despondency. It really does take you on a rather fantastic musical journey.
This all leads to the final track, Staying Alive, you recall my criticisms of the bloated Coheed and Cambrai album? Well the final track is a 10 minute epic, with contributions from a Nebraskan who’s who, after 10 minutes, I wanted another 10, I didn’t want it to end and as the album drew to a close, I wanted more. A brilliant and ridiculously good album. 10 out of 10, easily.



Staying Alive by Cursive

Smell of Female

The Cramps came back today, yesterday it was A Date With Elvis, today though was their live album, Smell of Female. Recorded in 1983 at The Peppermint Lounge, New York.
A short album this even in its expanded state it only runs to 9 songs. I think for visceral exhuberance, Live at Napa State Mental Hospital DVD captures them live better. That said though although a little too laidback at times, its still a mighty fine record of a superb band.
Hassil Adkins, She Said pops up on this and the call and response of the audience lift it even higher than it already is. Perhaps the standout track on this album, were it not for a different cover.
Faster Pussycat makes an appearance on Smell of Female. The Bostweeds song is just so much better in the hands of Interior and Ivy. Any song sounds better by them.
This album also features the guitar of Kid Congo Powers from The Black Seeds, its not amazing to be honest, or earth shattering but notable.
All in all it’s a good album with plenty of high points. My favourite Cramps track is Thee Most Exaulted Potentate of Love, my favourite cover, Faster Pussycat. No duff tracks, therefore a well rounded 7 out of 10.



Thee Most Exulted Potentate of Love by The Cramps

1986 - A Year in Music

As I scrolled through the music of '86 on the internet I noticed an album by Emerson, Lake and ...........Powell. Now, I'm no progist, and know nothing about such super-group noodling, but even I've heard of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, or ELP. But Powell? It turns out it was Cozy Powell, him of Rainbow and others. Imagine if this had become a trend. We'd have Crosby, Stills and Nas (hippie rap), Crosby, Stills, Nash and Run (hippie hip hop), Talking Sheds (David Byrne teams up with Rick Witter for Britpop with a twist), The Head Kennedy's (Motorhead vs US Punks in noise fest stand-off) or maybe Huey Lewis and the Muse (It's Hip to be in a Supermassive Black Square Hole). I think I've killed that one.

So, 1986. Notable for me for two conjoined reasons, the first being my attending the Glastonbury festival for the first and only time (seem to remember Microdisney being very impressive, and Billy Bragg being outstanding), and the second being Maradonna's Hand of God against England, the very same weekend. My girlfriend of the time bought the AC/DC single listed below, and I remember going through quite a big Howlin Wolf phase about the same time. Sadly, he had no big hit singles that year. I was quite taken by The Mission, who we seemed to go and see almost every weekend. The PIL album 'Album' (with contributions from Steve Vai, Ginger Baker, Bill Laswell, Ryuichi Sakamoto) was probably my favourite album of ther year, oh and Howlin Wolf London Sessions, but that had been released in 1971. While I loathed Peter Gabriel at the time, I now love the drippy In Your Eyes, but prefer the Jeffrey Gaines version.

AC/DC - You Shook me All Night Long
Big Black - Kerosene
Big Country - Look Away
Run DMC - It's Tricky
Paul Simon - Diamonds on the Souls of her Shoes
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
REM - Fall on Me
Public Image Ltd - Rise

Steve Earle - My Old Friend the Blues
The Stranglers - Always the Sun
The Style Council - Walls Come Tumbling Down
Talk Talk - Give it Up

The Commodores - Nightshift
The Mission - Wasteland

A Date With Elvis

This morning The Cramps were my co-pilot, their album A Date With Elvis was the soundtrack. This my friends is music how it should be played. This isn’t even their best album and its better than 99% of bands produce.
On this album The Cramps inject their own humour, beligerance, style and attitude that has been with them since their first EP.
On People Aint No Good they tell us that the choir is the McMartin Preschool Choir, I suspect it isn’t. They tell us of a fictional land called Kizmiaz and this date with Elvis wishes us Aloha From Hell. They can do humour without belly laughs and that’s their charm.
They do a pretty perfect cover of Charlie Feathers It’s Just That Song, Feathers meant a lot to the psychobilly scene and along with the Ricky Nelson tribute on the sleeve, Elvis in the title and Feathers in the song, its ok celebrating the future but you got to acknowledge the past.
The thing I love a lot about The Cramps is their turn of phrase, the way they say things, the language they use, language that I think only Americans at the very least can get away with, Cornfed Dames being a perfect example, you couldn’t or at least shouldn’t have Neds Atomic Dustbin singing about Cornfed Dames, where as Lux, well Lux does it perfectly.

Now good girls can't pay the rent these days.
These cornfed dames done found a way.
Unzip that zipper...snap that snap.
Round up the cattle in the Cadillac.
Whip that cream baby 'til the butter comes

I like Lux, he was a great man.

This album in its 11 songs makes me miss The Cramps massively and it’s a band that I wish I took the opportunity to see, however, that’s one of them things.
High points are the fantastic Can your Pussy Do The Dog, hearing that even at 16, I knew it sounded rude, but I couldn’t work out why, that’s a theme with The Cramps, you know it sounds rude but you don’t know why. Hot Pool of Womanneed and What’s Inside A Girl, just track after track of excellent songs and along with Cash and the Clash, the C’s are just going to be marvellous. 9 out of 10.



What’s Inside A Girl by The Cramps

1985 - A Year in Music

I left school in 1985. That summer I was the only teenager in Europe who didn't see Live Aid. We were camping in the south of France and I couldn't even get it on the radio. I seem to remember reading a Frederick Forsyth thriller instead and not being too thrilled. I watched the whole thing on video when I got home, and wondered who George Thorogood was on the US one.

I never really saw the attraction of the Jesus and Mary Chain, and got heartily sick of the NME going on about them. Listening now I quite like it, although it's hardly the musical earthquake it was always painted as.

There are several songs in the list below that I bought, and they got the heavy heavy rotation that only a 15 year old can survive. She Sells Sanctuary blew my mind when I heard it first, and Eldritch and Hussey condemned me to a couple of years of black drainpipe trousers with the ultimate goth template of First and Last and Always. Spear of Destiny also dominated my listening for 12 months, as did going to see them anywhere I could (usually Hanley). The Pogues and The Waterboys opened my eyes to bang-yerself-on-the-head-pissed-up folk, and big expansive 6 minute epic angry folk, respectively.

Notice the rap/rock crossover of Timezone pre-dating Aerosmith and Run DMC by quite some time. It was recorded in a day, and it was very nearly the bloke out of Def Leppard instead of John Lydon. Hmmm.

Aerosmith - Let the Music Do the Talking
Billy Bragg - Between the Wars
Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town

Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
Killing Joke - A Love Like Blood
Kirsty Maccoll – A New England
Lone Justice - Ways to be Wicked

Pete Townsend - Face the Face
REM – Can’t Get There from Here
Spear of Destiny - Once in Her Lifetime
Suzanne Vega - Small Blue Thing
The Cult – She Sells Sanctuary

Tom Waits – Downtown Train
The Pogues - Dirty Old Town
The Sisters of Mercy – First and Last and Always
The Smiths – How Soon is Now (yes I know, the re-release)
The Waterboys - Don't Bang the Drum
Timezone - World Destruction

The Times - 100 Best Pop Albums of the Decade

The Times have jumped in with their list of albums of the decade, and not to be outdone by any other end of the decade list, they have spread theirs over a top 100. Annoyingly, they have also spread the list over 15 bloody pages. Some t'internet boffin at that paper should be poked in the eye with the corner of a broken CD case, preferably Kid A by Radiohead, which is their number one 'pop album'. Click here to see it from number one backwards, or here if you have an empty void in your life.

Ferment

The next CD for my commute was the Catherine Wheel’s album Ferment. The debut album by the band, released in 1992.
I once met Catherine Wheel, they played Lion Street Cultural Centre where I volunteered during the nineties. They were fairly pleasant men and put me and a friend on the guestlist of a gig they were doing the following night in Shrewsbury, as it was supporting Levitation, I didn’t bother.
The current Mrs D liked them immensely when she was a lot younger, and it is her album that soundtracks the A roads of the Midlands, the abundance of CD singles and 12”s by this band are also down to her. She had a thing for shoe gazing bands, Moose, Lush, My Bloody Valentine etc, I didn’t. That’s why I greeted Ferment with a heavy heart and the knowledge that todays journey was going to be as good as yesterdays.
Or at least that is what I thought, you see that’s the reason why I am listening and relistening to all my CD albums. I prejudge things and do not give them a chance. This album contradicted my preconceived notion and you know what, although it was of it’s time, it wasn’t half bad.
The 1992 me was a big fan of bands that were not by any stretch of the imagination, I liked bands that had witty T-shirts, not serious bands like Catherine Wheel.
Ferment though is rather pleasant, even with the bandwagon jumping shoegaze sound, it has depth and songwriting that appears to have stood the test of time, even if the music style it is part of hasn’t.
There was a familiarity to the songs though, I was obviously aware of them as some of them were moderate indie hits, Black Mettalic certainly rings a bell and it is Rob Dickinson’s (cousin of Bruce) voice that adds to that familiarity, a soulful voice that I may have been quick to judge.
The melodies through out make it an enjoyable listen, where Coheed and Cambria failed yesterday was that the songs were lengthy and lacking melody and structure. Here Catherine Wheels songs are far from short but this is not important as they do have the melodies and structure.
All in all, I kept listening, I listened and liked what I heard and I think the current Mrs D may be surprised. Unsure if I could take another album by them though, I suspect time will tell on that. 5 out of 10.



Black Metallic by Rob Dickinson

1984 - A Year in Music

1984 - one of those balmy happy-go-lucky Thatcher years, where all was well with the world, apart from the miners strike, the IRA bombing in Brighton, Reegan winning another election, and John Hurt having his face chewed by a rat. In contrast to this misery if you turned on the radio you could hear Agadoo, Wake me Up Before You Go Go, Karma Chameleon and other such classics. The first Band Aid single came out (Live Aid was the following year), and Frankie finally made it to number one with Relax. Rather like 1982 it was a bumper year for quality songs, although Peter is going to moan about the Cockatoo Twins being included (but secretly love Van Halen).

Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain

Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark
China Crisis – Wishful Thinking
Cocteau Twins – Lorelei
Echo and The Bunnymen – Seven Seas
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Two Tribes
Husker Du – Something I Learned Today
Killing Joke – Eighties (poor quality video clip, but they sound great)

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Forest Fire
Meat Puppets – Lake of Fire
Mighty Wah – Come Back
REM – Pretty Persuasion
Spear of Destiny – Liberator

The Cult – Spiritwalker
The Smiths – Reel Around the Fountain
The Stranglers – Skin Deep
Van Halen - Panama

1983 - A Year in Music

I was looking for a nice way in to this 1983 post, but I couldn't find one. When I looked through the news of the year it was so depressing (Thatcher wins by landslide) that I thought I should just focus on the music. I have a very distinct memory of hearing 68 Guns by The Alarm for the first time. It was either on or walking past Morecambe pier which, just like The Alarm, no longer exists. The similarities don't end there either, as 68 Guns and the seaside town are both blustery and full of wind, and even though they have passed their peak there is a certain faded grandeur and pomp in both, that appeals a great deal to me.

The Alarm - 68 Guns

Aztec Camera - Oblivious
Big Country - Fields of Fire
Eddie Grant - Electric Avenue
Eurythmics - Love is a Stranger
Grand Master Flash - White Lines
Heaven 17 - Temptation
Icicle Works - Whisper to a Scream

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing
REM - Radio Free Europe
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride and Joy
The Beat - Can't Get Used to Losing You
The Lotus Eaters - First Picture of You

The Mighty Wah! - The Story of the Blues (might be 1982?)
The Rolling Stones - Undercover of the Night
Violent Femmes - Add it Up