Some Sunday Soul...

There was only one artist that could conceivably feature on Soul Sunday and that is the incomparable Bobby Womack. From starting out as a backing vocalist for Sam Cooke, through his incredible solo work, to recording latterly with Gorillaz, the man was a true legend.

Rest in peace, Bobby.

Looking For A Love
Harry Hippie

Disco Friday...

Tina Hoskins, better known to the world at large as Tina Charles, had her only UK Number 1 hit with the 1976 disco classic "I Love To Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)". Looking at her biog Tina had an interesting life in the music biz before becoming a disco queen, having Elton John play piano on her first solo single in the late 60's, performing on the first episode of The Two Ronnies and being a backing vocalist on Steve Harley's "Make Me Smile". And, believe it or not, she was also a singer for a short time with Kilburn and thje High Roads !!

But she will be best remembered and loved for her monumental disco anthem "I Love to Love" which apparently sold over 26 million copies worldwide. Unlike some of the other disco artists of that era Tina was a very talented singer who could certainly hit those high notes, with considerable ease.

Today's tune was requested by a fellow blogger whose father helped Jim McLean rescue his pet rabbit 4 years prior to Tina being at the top of the hit parade...hope you enjoy George...

I Love To Love

Coming Soon To A Blog Near You...

D.I.S.C.O.

Talk About The (Lack Of) Passion...

Picture the scene...it is 1956 and you're sitting down to dinner with the radio on and you suddenly hear the immortal opening line "Well be-bop-a-lula, she's my baby" and the musical landscape has changed forever. I was thinking about what it must have been like to have been a teenager in '56 when Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps released one of the greatest songs ever. How life changingly exciting it must have been to hear that song coming through the tinny speakers on the transistor radio for the first time . The thought came to me yesterday as I was standing in a well known record store and "Be-Bop-A-Lula" came on the MP3 player whilst I was perusing the so called "chart".

After looking at the chart yesterday I decided to listen to some of the bands on YouTube last night as I had not heard many of them. Now I try to steer away from negativity as much as possible on Spools but, with the exception of one or two, what a vapid, soulless, passionless bunch they were. Now obviously the bands in the chart are not really meant for me, in the same way that The Jam, The Smiths etc were not meant for my parents, but for fuck sake, whatever way you try to cut the cake most of what constitutes chart music these days is just drivel. I know there is good music being made today but most of it is not in the mainstream. You would never get a track like "Ghost Town" at Number 1 in the chart today.

I know we have to look forward and that music is evolving all the time but I think, for me, what was missing above all else was PASSION. There does not seem to be much of that out there, it just seems to be music by numbers, pretty kids just making music to have hits. When I think of passion I think of Little Richard, The Who, Otis, Aretha, Strummer, Joy Division, The Smiths, Public Enemy and many, many more who made music out of necessity, not out of  desire to have a hit record.

Then just to top it all off I was reading a piece on the web about streaming being included in the charts from now on. What is that all about ?? I am now just waiting for the day that they include the amount of times a song is sung in the shower to be included. Whatever happened to queuing outside a record store for hours waiting for the new album by the likes of The Jam. I know those days are gone but surely it is not too much to ask for some good old passion to be injected back into mainstream music. Especially as the welfare state and NHS as we know it are being dismantled daily by the current lot of chancers that claim to be governing us.

Obviously music can't change the world but is it too much to ask for some music in the charts that reflects what is actually happening out there today. I think not....

Be Bop A Lula
Ghost Town

New York City Girl...

Not sure if I have ever posted a disco song on Spools before and although I am not a great fan of disco there are some songs that defy their genre and are just great tunes, no matter how they are labelled.

One such track is Odyssey's 1977 classic "Native New Yorker", one of the most enduring tracks from that era. I just recently discovered that it is a cover of a Frankie Valli song from the same year but the New Yorkers made it their own to the extent that most people just think of it as an Odyssey song. I always think the sax at the start could have come straight out of a Scorcese film in the 70's.

Native New Yorker

A Truly Remarkable Man...

The first Orange Juice album always reminds me of warm summer days. Not really sure why, it just has a sort of summery, happy feel to it that perfectly compliments this glorious weather that Glasgow has been experiencing these last few days.

I seem to be going through a bit of an Edwyn Collins phase at the moment. Today I visited Hillhead Library, where they are showing an exhibition of the wonderful photography of former Sounds photographer, Harry Papadopoulos, which contains many great pictures of early Orange Juice. As well as all the Postcard bands of the early 80's, Papadopoulos also took some era defining photos of the likes of Blondie, David Bowie, Devo, Joy Division, Bryan Ferry, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, The Specials, Wham!, ABC and The Associates amongst many others. If you are in the Hillhead area before the end of June it is well worth half an hour of your day.

I am also currently reading Simon Goddard's excellent "Simply Thrilled - The Preposterous Story Of Postcard Records". Goddard has lovingly retold the history of the short lived but hugely influential record label that introduces us to the joys of Roddy Frame, Josef K, The Go Betweens and, of course, Edwyn himself. Hugely entertaining, with a full discography at the end and some great pictures. And of course, the drumming cat.

Last Sunday I found myself in the always pleasant surroundings of Glasgow's Oran Mor where Edwyn was playing a gig to celebrate the venue's 10th anniversary. I saw Edwyn play the same venue 6 years ago, in the splendid Alasdair Gray muralled main auditorium, on his comeback after his illness with Roddy Frame riding shotgun. I have seen him a few times since and thought Sunday was as good as I have ever seen him. Opening with "Falling and Laughing" and "What Presence" was just the start of a truly great gig. There was a good mix of tracks from the new album, "Understated", solo material and Orange Juice classics such as "Bridge", "Rip It Up", "Blueboy" and "Felicity".

Personal faves were the Northern Soul-esque "Losing Sleep" with, former Sex Pistol, Paul Cook drumming like his life depended on it, and the first 2 tracks of the encore where Edwyn performed with Carwen Elle and David Page on acoustic guitars for stunning versions of "Low Expectations" and "Home Again". The show finished with a roof blowing performance of "Don't Shilly Shally".

Edwyn and the band are in great form at the moment and left a massively appreciative crowd eagerly awaiting his return to Glasgow.

A remarkable show from a remarkable man who is going from strength to strength and is a true inspiration to all of us.

Home Again
Felicity  

Some Sunday Soul...

One of the most distinctive of all soul singers is the incomparable Irma Thomas. Understated and bereft of any vocal stylings, Irma just has an honesty to her voice that just makes you believe every lyric that she sings. There is a very good reason why she is known as "The Soul Queen Of New Orleans".

Although still recording and performing today, for me, her best work are the tracks she recorded for the Kent label  in  the 60's. There is a terrific compilation of her Kent recordings available that showcases what a truly great singer she is. I could easily have picked any of the 24 tracks to post today but have opted for these two that may not be as well known as classics like "Time Is On My Side".

Somebody Told You
Times Have Changed

Watch Your Step Re-Post...

Another re-post tonight. I thought I would re-post one or two of the early posts that had few views, just for anyone who may not have seen them first time round.

"Ted Hawkins was almost pre-destined for a troubled life, being the unwanted son of a prostitute and alcoholic mother and an absent father. A the age of 12 he was sent to a reform school where, fortunately for us, he started to show a fascination with the guitar. During his teens he continued getting into trouble with the law but also continued his love of music. As well as teaching himself guitar Ted was by now getting noticed as a bit of a singer, being heavily influenced primarily by the emotive vocals of Sam Cooke.

In the mid 60's he packed himself off to L.A. to try and make it in the music industry. It was here in the early 70's whilst busking on Venice Beach that he was discovered by producer Bruce Bromberg who encouraged Ted to record some songs in his own personal blues style, rather than the cover versions that had been his mainstay up until then. Unfortunately, Ted's habit of getting mixed up with the local police had followed him to California and he spent a number of years in jail. During this time he lost contact with Bromberg and the 1971 recording sessions were left just gathering dust.

Eventually in 1982, out of prison and free from an earlier heroin addiction, Ted once more met up with Bromberg and the tracks that they had cut 11 years earlier were released as an album, Watch Your Step on Rounder Records. True to form, Ted wandered off after making this one album and it was another four years before he could be pushed into a studio to record again. This time the session produced the 1986 release, Happy Hour and this was the record that was to be the catalyst that launched his career around the world.

Part of the problem with Ted's music was that it was almost impossible to categorise with elements of soul, gospel, country and blues all merging together to create a unique sound that was distinctly Ted Hawkins. Over in the U.K. his music was picked up and championed by Andy Kershaw. At one point in the late 80's you would rarely tune into Kershaw's show without hearing at least one track by Hawkins.

It wasn't until 1994 that he finally came to the attention of the US public, when Geffen Records picked up on his talent and persuaded him to record what was to be his final album, 'The Next One Hundred Years'. Sadly, just as sales of this record were taking off, Ted suffered a stroke on the 28 December 1994 and died a few days later on New Year's Day. 

Ted Hawkins dark and often quirky songs are balanced with a suprisingly upbeat sense of humour. With his rough-edged soul/country voice and simple acoustic guitar, Ted brings you into his moody world and all his tracks are sung with a total investment of emotion and with an oddly lyrical twist that frequently has a beautiful sweet edged melody that is completely at odds with a somber theme. There is an intensity about Ted's singing and playing that was completely captivating back in the mid 80's and is still so to this day."

Watch Your Step
Bring It On Home Daddy

Some Soul Sunday...

I have featured the great William Bell a couple of times previously, back here in 2011 and more recently with his 1972 classic "Fifty Dollar Habit", but I feel you can never get too much of a good thing so today's post features another classic Bell track.

When you have written and recorded a track that has been recorded by the likes of Otis Redding, The Wailers, The Byrds and The Triffids you know you must have done something right. "You Don't Miss Your Water" was originally released on the Stax label back in 1961, and like many songs of that era, started life as a B side, before some DJ's realising the potential of the track, flipped it over and started playing it instead of the A side, "Formula Of Love".

He may not be the first name that springs to mind when people consider legendary soul singers from the 60's but William Bell, for me, is one of the great singer/songwriters whose best work on Stax ranks alongside the label's finest.

You Don't Miss Your Water

Hot Off The Grill...

 

After receiving an email recently from Mark over at the excellent Cooking Up A Quiet Storm I have compiled a "summer mix" that you can find on his site, alongside many great mixes from fellow bloggers. Hopefully we might get some decent weather over the weekend to accompany it.

Hope you enjoy...

Hot Off The Grill - compiled by Spools Paradise by Cooking Up A Quiet Storm on Mixcloud

At The Country Club Re-Post...

As far as I can recall I have not re-posted any old posts on Spools but whilst looking through the archives there were a few that I felt would be worth sharing again now that a few more people look at the blog than did back then.
First up is a posting from 2011 about one of the finest musical talents that Scotland has ever produced, Mr Billy Mackenzie

"I have just finished reading Tom Doyle's biography of Billy MacKenzie, The Glamour Chase, and would heartily recommend it. As frontman of the Associates, gifted with an otherwordly, octave-scaling operatic voice, MacKenzie, together with partner Alan Rankine, enjoyed Top Twenty chart success in the early 80's. The book is a fascinating insight into the life of one of our most eccentric, endearing, talented and sorely missed pop stars.It is by turns funny, strangely innocent and ultimately ends up as a tragic family story. It showcases a complicated man driven by fame but endlessly pulling away from it. Read the book, put on your copy of Sulk and remember the immense talent that was Billy MacKenzie.
 
Party Fears Two remains the track that most people remember The Associates for, but for me it was the follow up that was their highpoint. Club Country remains as incredible and enthralling as it ever did and pop music would be much the poorer without it." 

Club Country (12")

Some Cosmic American Music...

Today's post over at  Charity Chic has put me in the mood for a bit of the pioneer of country rock himself, Mr Gram Parsons. His Cosmic American music still has a huge influence on so many musicians today. It is almost impossible now to imagine most of the current Americana scene, so beloved of Uncut, without thinking of Gram.

He lived hard and died young but in that short time he managed to leave behind a lasting musical legacy that has influenced generations of rock and country legends. He didn't invent the wheel but Parsons was a true innovator taking the old time country music he loved and mixed it with what was happening musically at the time and made something brand new.

In My Hour Of Darkness is a eulogy as well as a celebration for three of his closest friends whom he had lost and, for me, is one of his finest recordings.

In My Hour Of Darkness