I Can't Recall...

 

Last night saw the triumphant return to Glasgow for former Great Western Road resident Lloyd Cole. He played a solo gig fairly recently but this time he was backed up with a full band in the shape of Glasgow cult band, The Leopards. Starting off with Rattlesnakes and Weeping Wine it was obvious from the start that this was going to be a very special night indeed. I first saw Lloyd live back in the 80's with the Commotions, and cannot recall seeing a sub-standard Lloyd Cole gig over the years. Last night was certainly up there with the best of them. The ever deadpan Cole was on good form and he could not have chosen a better band to play with than Mick Slaven's The Leopards. The set was a nice mix of Commotions tracks, some solo material and a fair amount from his latest album, Standards. The show concluded with the ever wonderful Forest Fire, allowing Mick Slaven the opportunity to do justice to that inimitable guitar solo.

Last night was well worth arriving early doors to see The Jazzatears, playing only their second gig in 30 years. They were well worth waiting for with the band playing their eponymous debut album from start to finish and then rounding things off with a cracking cover of Boys Keep Swinging. Their set sounded remarkably fresh for something which has been lying dormant for all of 30 years with Grahame Skinner's suave vocals rarely sounding better. Elements of The Velvets, New York Dolls and Postcard Records all blended together perfectly.

Great gig, both bands on the top of their game. Have a feeling already that this will be in my list of gigs of the year come December.

Past Imperfect

Losin' Boy...

Sometimes you come across a tune where song, performance and production all blend together perfectly. Eddie Giles' Losin' Boy is one such tune. Starting off in his youth with local gospel choirs, he waited until 1966 before releasing his first secular recordings but they were well worth the wait. Sadly his final secular recordings were in 1977 with Giles returning to his roots as pastor of a church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Our loss is indeed the church’s gain.

Losin' Boy

Nag Nag Nag...

One of my fave pub stories was the time when my mate John went to a house party back in the 80's armed with a couple of his own 7" singles, at the time when everyone was listening to all the New Romantic music that was clogging up the charts. After enduring the likes of Howard Jones and Nik Kershaw for what seemed like hours on end John decided to introduce the house to the joys of Nag Nag Nag. Sadly I was not at said party but suffice to say there were a few cries of "what the fuck is that?". Priceless stuff.

Formed in the early 70s and influenced by Burroughs, Dada, Dub and Ziggy Stardust', Cabaret Voltaire were electro pioneers from Sheffield and rank up there alongside Neu, Can, Suicide, Eno etc.. Nag Nag Nag still sounds edgy and threatening and remains a hypnotic joy today. Some of their early material was slightly lacking in the melody department but Nag Nag Nag is a good pop tune if you delve deep. Think Kill Surf City, surf vs noise vs tune...

Nag Nag Nag

*I have just noticed that I done a different post on Nag Nag Nag a few years back but some tunes are worth posting again for the uninitiated out there*

Curly Locks

There are few more unique and beautiful male voices in reggae than that of Junior Byles. In late 1967, Junior formed a vocal group named the Versatiles and by the Rock Steady era, the vocal trio had begun recording with legendary Lee Perry producing some of the best reggae recordings of that time. After Lee Perry had finished working with Bob Marley he was tipped to be the heir apparent but although they produced many great records together major international success eluded Junior. By the mid-seventies, Junior was a major star in Jamaica poised for international exposure. But, like his mentor Lee Perry, he was acquiring a reputation for madness and never reached his full potential. Most of his albums are extremely difficult to get hold of but fortunately most of his best work is available to listen to on youtube...

Curly Locks

Go New York...

I never quite got round to doing a post on my fave tunes of 2013 so although a tad late here goes..

John Grant released a worthy follow up to 2010's "Queen Of Denmark" with his 80's album "Pale Green Ghosts", Bowie came back with his best album in many years, Glasvegas released their best work since their debut back in 2008, Edwyn Collins produced another life affirming set of tunes on "Understated" and Lloyd Cole returned to the jangly guitar and organ driven sound of those classic early Commotions albums with the excellent "Standards".

However my two fave albums of the year both came out of NYC with Parquet Courts' smart, literate, hugely addictive "Light Up Gold" continuing in the tradition of bands like The Strokes. There is nothing very original about the album but sometimes originality is not that important, especially if you produce an album as thrilling as this.

My fave album of the year goes to a band that I'm not even sure I am meant to like. I have a hunch that I am not within the age bracket of most Vampire Weekend fans but there is something about them that really appeals to me. "Modern Vampires Of The City" is instantly recognisable as Vampire Weekend but is a huge leap forward from their two previous albums. It has a slightly darker edge than the first two releases but continues the tradition of making interesting, inventive, unique sounding music. There is something about Vampire Weekend that reminds me of Talking Heads. They may not have produced a "Psychokiller" or a "Life During Wartime" but they are here for the long haul and continue to get better with each album.