A wonderful duet to end the year by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, from their 1967 album King & Queen. I don't really do New Year's Resolutions but for all those that feel the need, a great lyric for those looking to turn over a new leaf for the New Year. Hope you all have a great New Year and all the best to everyone for 2015.
I have posted about the uniquely talented Mary Margaret O'Hara previously on Spools, but when you have made an album of such quality as Miss America I fell a second post is justified. To someone who had never heard Miss America I wouldn't really know where to start, it really is that unique and hard to pigeonhole. To say that Miss America is quirky is like saying that Julian cope is a bit odd. I've seen her described as being like "an epileptic Edith Piaf" which is a tad offensive but kinda sums her up (in a good way). It’s hardly the work of a conventional singer songwriter, with odd jerky rhythms and her aching crack of a voice lending an
adventurous edge to the eleven tracks on her debut, and only, album. Miss America is an album whose unique amalgam of jazz, country, rock, and folk and pop styles takes some getting used to, but once you get it there is no going back. Still for me one of the best albums recorded by anyone, it would be great if 2015 saw some new material from Mary Margaret, but I won't hold my breath...
Today's post was initially written about Suggestion by Fugazi, but after reading the post again I thought it may be best to save that one for 2015, as it is not the cheeriest number to post at this time of year. So from one extreme to the other, tonight we will have some Isley Brothers, for no other reason than it being one of the best songs ever written and performed by anyone. Released as their first Motown single, it is up there with the finest tunes released on Berry Gordy's little label. One of those rare records that it is difficult to find fault with. Wonderful melody, great lyrics, inspiring vocals, it ticks all the boxes and more....
Some gentle soul this Sunday as I am laid up in bed with "man flu" (well a cold actually, but you get the drift), so to sooth my pounding head we have the gorgeous voice of Barbara Lynn and her 1962 hit, You're Gonna Need Me. Inspired by the likes of Guitar Slim, Jimmy Reed, Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee, she had a Top Ten hit with her first single, the classic You'll Lose A Good Thing, back in '62 and, as well as being a talented singer, was no slouch when it came to playing guitar, brandishing a left handed Stratocaster and playing it in her own inimitable style.
Today's shuffle through up this little gem from The Queen Of The Organ, Shirley Scott. Taken from her 1972 album, Lean On Me on the Cadet label, Carla's Dance showcases perfectly her virtuosity on the Hammond...
Better late than never, here is my rundown of my personal fave tunes of 2014. A year that has seen some great music released from newcomers and oldies alike. I have listened to more new music this year than for quite a few years and have found quite a few newbies that have made into my Tracks Of The Year. The ten tracks listed are in no particular order, they are quite simply the tracks that have got me excited this year and have made me want to listen to them again and again...
The Nightingales - Dumb And Drummer
Alvvays - Party Police
The Primitives - Spin-O-Rama
Roddy Frame - White Pony
Alexia Coley - Drive Me Wild
Benjamin Booker - Violent Shiver
Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)
Slow Club - Suffering You, Suffering Me
Ben Watt - Forget
Sinead O'Connor - Take Me To Church
Great to see wonderful new albums from The Primitives and The Nightingales(a gig only vinyl release), a huge return to form from Sinead O'Connor and a triumphant return from Ben Watt. But what excites me more are the tracks from Benjamin Booker, Alexia Coley, Alvvays, Future Islands and Slow Club. There is so much great new music still being made, most of which I hear through fellow bloggers. I think we all owe Drew a huge thank you for pointing us in the direction of Slow Club's sublime Complete Surrender. You would be hard pushed to find a better album released in 2014. You would hardly recognise them as the same band that released Yeah, So back in 2009, but this is definitely an album that gets better and more rewarding with each listen. If you don't have a copy, you should remedy that with any Chritmas money/vouchers that you hopefully received.
As mentioned above new finds for me in 2014 were Benjamin Booker, Toronto indie darlings Alvvays and my tip for the top in 2015, Alexia Coley. Booker blew me away earlier in the year when he was on Later with his bluesy Strokes' sounding Violent Shiver. The album is exciting, encompassing soul, blues, grunge and good ole rock'n'roll, but at the same time still managing to sound modern. Bodes well for his Glasgow gig in 2015. Alvvays may not be the most original band on the list, but the way they have adapted the sum of their influences (The Sundays, Belle and Sebastian, to name a couple) sounds fresh and are one of the many reasons why Toronto is one of the best musical cities on the planet at the moment. New voice of the year goes to Alexia Coley, whose unique blend of jazz, funk and soul generated one of the best albums in Keep The Faith. As with Alvvays, you can hear Alexia’s influences straight away but she has taken them and re-moulded them to complement her modern style.
A couple of other notable album releases were the debut album (after over 30 years!!) from Glasgow's finest James King and The Lone Wolves and the return of The Boy wonder himself. Over 30 years since we waited for the debut album from James King and it was well worth the wait. Primitive Rock'N'Roll played and sung with a passion that you don't see/hear that often these days. Roddy Frame's Seven Dials may not have sounded like an album of the year upon the first listen, but by the time of his triumphant return to the Glasgow stage in December, it had proven itself to be a worthy contender for album of the year. Along with Benjamin Booker and Slow Club, East Kilbride's finest released one of my 3 fave albums of 2014...
Mr Charity Chic over here has beat me to the birthday boy this morning, but you can never have too much of Shane.Today sees the 57th birthday of the one and only Shane McGowan, and in honour of the great man we have two tracks from his long and illustrious musical canon that showcase the talent of this songwriting genius. Happy Birthday Shane.
There is no doubt that A Christmas Gift For You is the best Christmas album ever released, but outside of the songs on that album, my fave Christmas tune would have to be the classic that is 2000 Miles featuring the distinctive, soulful vocals of the one and only Chrissie Hynde. I feel the merit of a truly great Christmas tune is that it should sound good any time of the year and not just at Christmas, and this fits that bill perfectly.
Hope you and your loved ones have a great Christmas. All the best to everyone this festive season.
Whilst out in Glasgow tonight for a few pre Christmas light refreshments this glorious tune came bursting forth from the speakers in the hostelry that we were in and took me back to my dancing days many years ago in the legendary Sub Club. Not even sure if this was ever played in The Sub, but it seemed to evoke the atmosphere of the place...
It's over 50 years since "Johnny came home..." and almost 20 years since New Order released, as a single, one of their finest tunes in 1963. Although he could never be thought of lyrically as a Morrissey or a Ray Davies, there was a wonderful ambiguity about Barney's lyrics, that was always appealing, and none more so than on 1963. Originally released as the B side to True Faith, in a bygone era when B sides still mattered, 1963 ranks up there with the best B sides released by the likes of The Jam and The Smiths. Once described by Stephen Hague as "the only song about domestic violence that you can dance to", when it was eventually released as an A side in 1995, 1963 was accompanied by a quite lovely, albeit bizarre, video featuring the delightful Jane Horrocks.
Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without the Godfather Of Soul himself. Nothing to beat a bit of Christmas music with a little helping of social consciousness. From the album, James Brown's Funky Christmas, the album is a great mix of covers and JB originals, that may not be up there with Phil Spector's Christmas Gift For You, but is a nice change from 99% of the shit music that I had to endure today when, for some bizarre reason, I decided to go Christmas shopping this afternoon.
This is Christmas given the soul treatment from The Godfather and is fun, funky and festive as festive can be....
Tonight's shuffle track was not the first track to appear on the shuffle tonight, but I could not possibly have a track by Level 42 on Spools Paradise. More worrying was the fact that there was a track from the band with the most irritating bass player of all time on my PC in the first place. An investigation had to take place to find out how this piece of drivel had got there in the first place. Turns out it was on Best Of The 80's CD I had purchased a few years back that also had Soft Cell, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Swing Out Sister amongst many others. From memory I bought it years ago, when I used to do some DJ'ing, to use some of the tracks to play at a friend's 40th Birthday party. More worrying was having a look at a discography of the band and counting up the amount of Top 40 hits that they had. 20 !!! How in God's name did they manage to have 20 Top 40 Hits !!! I am quite pacifistic by nature but Mark King does incite me to violence, just by being Mark King. Especially if I see any footage of that thumb connecting with the strings of his bass guitar....
Anyway things brightened up considerably when the shuffle through up this gem from Middleton's finest, The Mock Turtles. Named after a fictional character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Mock Turtles are pretty much the archetypal one hit wonders. Fronted by Steve Coogans's older brother they managed to get to Number 18 in The Hit Parade with one of my fave songs of the early 90's and never had another hit after it.
One hit for The Mock Turtles and 20 hits for Level 42. It's a cruel world indeed....
I had a chuckle to myself after reading Drew's post tonight about the amateur drinkers that are hitting the town tonight, the ones that say "cheer up it's Christmas while waving bit's of mistletoe about leching at anybody in the vicinity". After passing through Glasgow after finishing work tonight I am mighty glad to be home in the flat with a nice glass of bourbon and some good sounds on the turntable. Apparently this is the busiest night of the year for the A&E departments. I wonder why ?? I love my home city but on the last Friday before Xmas there are many, many places I would rather be than in the City Centre. As an antidote to all that fake festive fun and frivolity, on nights like this I like to listen to a bit Joy Division. I actually think Atmsophere has a sort of festive feel to it, but perhaps that is just me. I think it is the ripples just after the 3.30 mark. Maybe more of a wintry feel than a festive feel. Don't think there will be many of the "amateurs" listening to this tonight with their stupid Santa hats on...more's the pity.
To this day people still aren't sure just how Little Walter achieved some of the sounds that
he created with the simple harmonica. Similiar in some ways to what Hendrix did with the guitar a few years later Little Walter took the harmonica and transformed the way it was played up to that point. Trained in his early days by the master bluesman himself, Muddy Waters, he added a swinging, more pop orienated feel to the blues and was, by the late 50's, eclipsing the success of the great man himself. Although others had amplified the harmonica before him, he was the first blues harmonica player to explore fully what the humble mouth organ was capable of. Years of heaving drinking, constant fighting and of living life at the limits took its toll and, sadly he was taken from us at the age of only 37 but what he left behind is a legacy of some of the finest blues tunes ever recorded from one hell of a talented man.
Late '62/early '63 (still a matter of debate) saw the release on Laurie Records of one of the all time classics, He's So Fine. Apparently the song was offered to 14 record labels before Laurie Records agreed to release the disc and the rest, as they say, is history. George Harrison was such a fan of the song that he ripped it off hook line and sinker for his own hit My Sweet Lord. The Chiffons were the archetypal girl group with a classic sound and an almost uninterrupted sequence of hits throughout the 60's and as a nice counter punch to the ex Beatle they briefly reformed in the mid 70's to cover My Sweet Lord.
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels exploded onto the scene in late 1965 and over the next 18 months had a string of terrific hits starting with the classic Jenny Take A Ride. Playing a high-octane style of R&B that coupled the Motown sound with some high energy rock 'n' roll for a couple of years they could do no wrong until Ryder made the bizarre decision to become a solo balladeer. Not the best choice he ever made as his solo career failed to take off. What we are left with however is some of the finest songs of their era that went on to influence the likes of The Stooges, MC5 and The Boss himself. And not forgetting what a fantastic soul voice Ryder had.
Today's randomness from the shuffle features Peel faves, The Four Brothers. I haven't listened to this track for years and had forgotten how wonderful the interplay between the lead and rhythm guitars is. Joyous was the first word that sprung to mind when this came on. Life affirming, vibrant, exciting music from Zimbabwe's finest. As soon as this came on I was immediately transported back to the late 80's when both The Four Brothers and The Bhundu Boys were being heavily championed by Peel, recording four sessions for his show and playing at his surprise 50th birthday shindig. Today's song also made it onto Peel's Desert Island Discs...
As a companion post to CC's always excellent Sunday Soul postings over here, Spools Sunday Soul today celebrates the immense vocal talents of Carolyn Franklin, the younger sister of Aretha and Erma. Somewhat overshadowed by her her older sisters, Carolyn was an an exceptional vocalist in her own right. Vocally she is probably closer to Aretha than Erma, but she never had the same material to perform with as her eldest sister and spent large parts of her career as a backing vocalist to Aretha. However when she did get the right material it was electrifying as today's tune will testify to...
Tonight's piece of randomness comes courtesy of a band that have been an integral part of the Glasgow music scene for over 30 years now. Formed in 1981, The Pastels are still going strong today, releasing one of their best albums just last year in Slow Summits. However we go a bit further back to 1986 and their first single for Glass records and their finest moment Truck,Train, Tractor which, as far as I am aware, was also The Pastels only entry in The Festive 50, reaching Number 23.
The Alarm Clocks recorded two raw slices of garage punk, Yeah! and No Reason to
Complain, live in a studio in 1966 and released it on their own Wake Up
label, and a month or so later recorded a live demo tape of their live
set at Sound Ideas Recording Studios. Nothing much came of either
venture, and the group disbanded in 1967. Fast forward over 25 years and both tracks appear on the wonderful Crypt Records compilation, Back From The Grave, and all of a sudden The Alarm Clocks are one of the coolest garage bands ever. Bet they never thought that 20 years after they recorded both tracks that Mojo would name it as one of Top 20 garage - rock songs of all time.
Released in 1979, Kill The Poor is a terrific satire on the elite who would like to eradicate poverty by eliminating those pesky poor people that are helping themselves to all that welfare money. Not sure if The Smiths fan currently residing in Number 10 has thought of this catchy little ditty as his campaign song for next year's General Election, but like his fellow lover of the poor and dispossessed in the 80's, who completely misunderstood Born In The U.S.A., I'm not quite sure he would grasp the satire and humour of one of Jello's finest moments. Should maybe get a move on Dave just in case your opposite number gets in there and uses it first...
We now appear to be in a race to the bottom and could do with some modern day Jello's before the shit really hits the fan in the next few years. Apologies for the sombre tone of today's post but every time I hear a speech from Tweedledum or Tweedledee I really do despair....
All of the posts in December so far have been tracks that have appeared on the shuffle and today's is no exception. Delighted I was when everyone's favourite genius/madman(You decide) Julian Cope burst forth this morning with one of his crowning moments Spacehopper. One of my earliest gig memories was going to see cope at The Barrowland on his Saint Julian tour, where he had his famous seated microphone stand and was adorned in his Elvis leathers. I have a vague recollection of him appearing on Wogan at the time to show off his mic stand to the nation's bemusement. His first release on Island Records, Saint Julian is my personal fave Cope album and is probably his most accessible if you are not familiar with Cope's vast output over the years.. Featuring some impeccable guitar work from Donald Ross Skinner, live favourite Spacehopper is one of the standout tracks from an album that has plenty to admire.
Don Varner is not a name that springs to mind when trying to think of great soul singers. Which is a pity as he was possessed of a formidable soul voice, whether he was singing ballads or up tempo soul numbers. One of the great undiscovered talents of soul, he only released a handful of songs in the 60's including the Northern Soul classic Tear Stained Face, he was extremely versatile and could turn his voice to pretty much anything he wanted to. Quite why he never took off in the same way as a Wilson Pickett or Percy sledge is one of life's great mysteries. Today's track was on the flip side of Tear Stained Face and showcases his wonderful voice to full effect...
Best known for her '64 hit The Shoop Shoop Song, in the same year Betty Everett also released the wonderful Getting Mighty Crowded. Born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, she was nine years old when she began singing and playing piano in church but it was not until 1963, when she signed with the Vee-Jay label, that she achieved wider success. Getting Mighty Crowded appeared the following year and cemented itself as a firm favourite with the burgeoning Mod scene in the UK. It's a pity that she is most remembered for a fairly decent tune, that was destroyed in the 90's by Cher, as she should be remembered as one of the great soul singers of the 60's. Check out some of the great duets she performed with Jerry Butler for proof positive of the prodigious talent of the one and only Betty Everett. Also check out an excellent cover by Elvis Costello and his Attractions...
Everyone should have an Overdose Of Joy at least once a week, so this week's comes from Chi-Lites lead singer Eugene Record. From 1977 this little gem is smoothness personified. I usually prefer my soul a little rougher round the edges but this appeared on the shuffle today and brightened up a dreary day in the cold, wet environs of Lanarkshire. Feel good music of the highest order. If this doesn't lift your spirits nothing will...
In honour of the recent release of the deluxe edition of The Jam's fourth studio album , Setting Sons, tonight's post features one of my fave Weller tracks, Saturday's Kids. All Mod Cons was the album that showed that The Jam were more than mere Mod revivalists, but Setting Sons showed beyond any shadow of a doubt that Paul Weller, at only 21 years old (!!), was one of the UK's best songwriters. Astonishing looking back to think that he was writing songs of this calibre at that age. Originally planned as a concept album about three childhood friends who,
upon meeting after some time apart, discover the different directions
in which they've grown apart, it never quite worked out that way but what we are left with is a must have album that managed to articulate the feelings of growing up without ever once sounding like a cliche.
Stephen Encinas' Disco Illusion was recorded in 1979 in Trinidad
& Tobago by a group of local musicians, and released on the obscure
Kalinda label. The only problem was a lack of distribution which meant no-one got to hear this wonderful blend of Caribbean disco and Middle Eastern psychadelia, with it's extremely funky bass line and smooth soulful vocals. That all changed in 2012 when it was discovered in a warehouse in Trinidad and released to the world at large on the Invisible City Editions label and we got to experience a true disco classic that could well have been massive if released in the late 70's.
Originally released on the independent Paula label from Shreveport, Louisiana, Hung Up On Your Love was a big fave at the Blackpool Mecca in the 70's and it is not hard to work out why. Featuring a stellar vocal performance from Phil Perry, this is one of my personal fave Northern Soul tunes from East St Louis' The Montclairs.
As well as being the busiest time of the year for me at work, year after year it also seems to be the busiest time of the year for attending gigs. After my couple of recent gigs at Glasgow's world famous Barrowland Ballroom for the JAMC, I had two other gigs in the last week that I had been looking forward to for a while.
I vowed after the Ocean Rain debacle that I would not go and see Echo and The Bunnymen again, but I bit the bullet and decided to head along to Glasgow's ABC last week and, boy oh boy, what a wise decision that turned out to be. The Bunnymen were in imperious form, with McCulloch sounding better vocally than I have heard him in years. Having seen The Bunnymen far more times than any other band over the years I genuinely didn't quite expect a show of this standard. Apart from three tracks from the new album, this was, to all intents and purposes, a greatest hits setlist to showcase what a fantastic back catalogue they have. Highlights included Villiers Terrace, Never Stop and a truly, glorious, lift the roof off version of The Cutter. Unlike the Concert Hall gig from a few years back this time we did get to witness a truly stunning take on closing number Ocean Rain. Yeah McCulloch can sometimes be a bit of a twat onstage - the drunken attempt at a Glesga accent does get a bit dull after all these years - but on this form, as a live act, they are still up there with the best of them and I, for one, will be there to see them when they next visit McCulloch's second favourite city after his beloved Liverpool.
Last night we made the pilgrimage to Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall to see the annual return of The Boy Wonder himself. I did not make the High Land Hard Rain gig last year (for obvious reasons) but nothing was going to stop me seeing the homecoming of Roddy Frame this year. From the opening note of Oblivious everyone knew they were in for a very special evening last night. There was almost a sense of worshipping a deity at points as the audience were so polite and reverential, until this was pointed out by Roddy, and then we managed to get some good old Glasgow banter going (maybe a bit too much from one audience member who had seen them 30 years ago at The Barrowland and wanted to relay the whole story). I wouldn't even know where to begin with high points of this gig. The high points were the entire 21 tracks he played over a 2 hour gig, including quite a few songs from his excellent new album, Seven Dials. If push came to shove, Bigger Brighter Better was immense, The Bugle Sounds Again was heart achingly beautiful and set closers Killermont Street and a stunning Back On Board were worth the admission fee alone. Special mention must go to a wonderful band that he had with him,especially the violin playing of the two backing singers, which Roddy himself, made mention of for understandable reason.
I have been to more gigs in 2014 than I have for a long time, but saved the best to last. These two gigs stand head and shoulders above any others this year. The Mary chain was special as they were performing one of my favourite albums of all time live, but these two gigs are the ones that I will remember most from a great year for live music.
Originally known as Greg Webster and the Ohio Untouchables, it wasn't until they signed to Capitol Records in the mid 60's that they changed their name to the one we know and love them by, The Ohio Players. It would take a further eight years before they had a hit in the shape of the wonderful Funky Worm. They might only have had a string of hits, over a few years in the mid 70's, but their influence has lasted well beyond that, with many of their tunes being sampled years after they last had any hits. Today's tune comes from 1967, in the shape of the very funky Trespassin'...
When I was looking for a suitable photograph for the posting I was reminded of how risque some of their album covers were. Obviously unsuitable for a family friendly blog like Spools Paradise. Very innocent nowadays but very risque for the more socially conservative 70's....
A belting Northern Soul number to start December off with, courtesy of Roy Hamilton. Released in 1966, Crackin' Up Over You always brings a lovely vision into my head of jam packed clubs in the North Of England with everyone dancing their socks off to one of the finest floor fillers around. I had this song on repeat today and could happily listen to it another 20 times. Timeless, peerless classic from a former heavyweight boxer...
