Hello Goodbye....

For personal reasons I shall be taking a break from Spools Paradise for, hopefully, a short while. As anyone who reads the blog on a fairly regular basis will know my recent posts have been few and far between which is for the same reason.

I love doing the blog and will still try and do the odd posting here and there as well as still trying to check out all the fine blogs that are on the Paradise Links section on the right hand side of the blog.

Much as I love doing the blog, however, sometimes there are more important things in life and whilst I try to sort those things out the blog will have to take a back seat.

Finally I just want to say a big thanks to all those who regularly view and support the blog - you know who you are - it is very much appreciated.

Soothing Sunday....

Sometimes you don't really need to write anything to accompany a wonderful piece of music....this is one such occasion...

Simply sublime for a Sunday morning...

The Impressions - Young Mods Forgotten Story

Not The Future Of Rock 'N' Roll....

Even for a new band less than 40 minutes on stage seems pretty damn short. But that is precisely what Glasgow got on Wednesday at King Tuts with Spector. If you take away the in between song inanities from Fred MacPherson the set was closer to half an hour.

Was it a good half hour, well spent I hear you blithely enquire. Yes and No is the simple answer to that question. I had seen the comparisons beforehand to the likes of The Strokes and Pulp, but for me I felt for most of the gig that I had been transported back to 1979 at the height of the New Wave scene. I kept thinking of bands like The Jags and The Knack when watching them. Which is no bad thing but those bands were in the first division when you had the likes of The Jam and Joy Division sitting at the top of the Premier League.

I also worry at gigs when the band try to encourage the crowd to show more appreciation and enthusiasm. It did appear to be a fairly lacklustre crowd but that was largely because most of the material was not strong enough to warrant much energy from the sold out crowd. In saying that I have been to a many inferior gigs over the years and I did enjoy the brief set, in particular Never Fade Away and Chevy Thunder. I just don't think they are as good as they think they are and are certainly not "the future of rock'n'roll".

Then I Will Receive You Gladly....

Sometimes original is best. When it comes to music more often than not this is the case. And it most certainly is the case when it comes to Cherry Oh Baby.

As with most people I first came upon the track through the Brummie boys, UB40 and to be fair they did a pretty decent cover. But one listen to the original and that falsetto and you wonder why they bothered.

Eric won the Jamaican Festival Song Competition back in '71 and to date there are over 30 covers, most notably the aforementioned UB40 and, perhaps surprisingly, The Rolling Stones. He went on to win the Song Festival another six times and has resulted in him being known as "Mr. Festival".

His high-pitched vocal is filled with an exuberant joy that is displayed to full effect on his most famous tune.

Eric Donaldson - Cherry Oh Baby

Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012

I do not own any records by Whitney Houston, unless you include her "collaboration" with The JAMs, but it would be churlish to deny that she was an incredibly gifted vocalist. Sadly she had led a very troubled private life for quite a few years now but should be remembered for the over 400 awards she won for that wonderful, unique voice.

R.I.P. Whitney.

From Iceland To Luton....

For that difficult fifth album The Fall released an album that still sounds as fresh, invigorating and inventive today as it would have done upon its release. Recorded in Iceland and an abandoned cinema in Luton, Hex crackles with the kind of fervor you just don't seem to get from bands today. The album is dominated by the dual drumming of Paul Hanley and Karl Burns and the wonderful bass playing of Steve Hanley that drives most of the tracks along. Smith himself rarely sounded as abrasive or vitriolic and the album is all the more essential for it.

Hex contains some of the most uncompromising post-punk songs ever committed to record with Craig Scanlon providing some of the most abrasive guitar work on any Fall album.
Smith has, in the years since, claimed that he thought Hex Enduction Hour was going to be his last-ever, and maybe that explains why for a lot of people it's the definitive Fall album.

The Fall - Fortress/Deer Park

Dot Dash....

If you name yourself after a track by Wire are you going to sound like Wire. In the case of Dot Dash the answer is not really. After a few listens to their debut album "Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash" I was thinking more along the lines of The Jam, The Byrds and early Creation bands.

Just as well I like my songs short as the 14 tracks on the album clock in at only about 35 minutes. The album contains some great pop tunes with hooks aplenty. Opening track "The Color and the Sound" sets the tone for the rest of the album with a strong 80's power pop feel to it. All the tracks are fresh and immediate and showcase a band in thrall to the sound of vintage post-punk and jangly indie.

The album won't win any awards for originality but if you like timeless guitar bands with songs that grab you by the scruff of the neck and hooks to die for then maybe, just maybe Dot Dash are the band for you.

Album can be purchased here .

The band have very kindly given me permission to post a couple of tracks....

Dot Dash - The Color And The Sound
Dot Dash - I'm Going Home

Better Late Than Never....

There was an almost reverential silence when Kenny Anderson and Jon Hopkins took to the stage at Glasgow's ABC a couple of weeks ago. I had been looking forward to this gig for a while although I wasn't sure how the Mercury nominated album would translate live.

Any concerns were swiftly allayed when they started with the wonderful piano instrumental First Watch. Poignant,thought provoking and just simply beautiful. One of the many highlights of the night followed next with, for me, the highlight of the album, John Taylor's Month Away. Romantic, powerful and effortless came to mind when witnessing this track performed live. The audience was transfixed and with good reason. They then went on to play the rest of Diamond Mine and the crowd was lost in the beauty of these songs with Kenny's plaintive singing and guitar playing being complemented by Jon's delicately understated electronics and some nice backing vocals from none other than KT Tunstall.

With the album done and dusted, the duo played a selection of KC songs, punctuated by the Fife man’s brilliant banter and a great cover of The Only Living Boy In New York before finishing the night on a high with Kenny's own personal fave, My Favourite Girl.

They were only playing a few select dates to tour Diamond Mine and if they decide to play any more dates this year and you haven't seen them perform the album live I would strongly suggest making a date in your diary.

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - John Taylor's Month Away