Operation Catch up 2008 - The Raveonettes

I'm spending the time between Christmas and going back to work on the 5th catching up with some of the music I missed out on in 2008. Next up, the Raveonettes.

These guys have been around for some time now and had a spell on a major label before returning to an indy (Fierce Panda here in the UK!) for their latest album. For some reason I hadn't got round to listening to them before the new album, Lust Lust Lust, but they are very much on my to-do list for 2009. Listen to You Want the Candy below, and download Aly Walk with Me from their website. Then go and buy the album!

Operation Catch-up 2008 - The Sugars

I'm spending the time between Christmas and going back to work on the 5th catching up with some of the music I missed out on in 2008. First up, the Sugars.

I think I saw these guys at Great Escape. I'm not sure as they didn't make much impression, but that was almost certainly down to the fact is was first thing in the morning on a bitterly cold sea front and I had a bit of a hangover. Still, to make amends I recently got hold of the album after Mark Lamarr played one of their songs in his best of the sessions God's jukebox on Saturday. The album is full of songs like this, rock n roll with a noughties twist. Definitely a band I'll be checking out again, I think, and this time I'll try and be more awake!

The Way to My Heart:

Bodies of Water - Water Here

For some reason I have yet to talk about Bodies of Water here, but it's time to remedy that situation. Perhaps the reason that I was a bit reticent in blogging them up was that they're not an easy band to describe. Vocal harmonies, lyrics full of religious imagery, catchy pop hooks, it's all thrown into the melting pot and what comes out is frequently bewilderingly brilliant.

The debut album, Ears Will Pop and Eyes Will Blink, is probably the best place to start, although this years follow up, A Certain Feeling is also excellent. From that album, here is Water Here:


Bodies of Water~Water Here from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

Incidentally the footage is taken from a new (to me anyway) site, Laundromatinee which is well worth a browse.

2008 - 8 Great Albums

And so I finally come to the albums of the year list. To be honest I'm not convinced this has been a particularly outstanding year for the long player. The top 3 are undeniably excellent albums, but after that the list includes 5 from a large morass of merely "very good" albums.

I've raved about Bon Iver at length on this blog, and it's no surprise to see For Emma... at number 1 - I'm still listening to it on a regular basis some time after getting it. The Dodos is another album to have held my attention, the inventive rhythms keep me coming back for more. DJ /rupture is one of only a handful of electronic albums that have made any impression on me in 2008, probably need to talk about it a bit more here.

1) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
2) The Dodos - Visiter
3) DJ /Rupture - Uproot
4) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig
5) The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
6) Lambchop - OH (ohio)
7) Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
8) Why? - Alopecia

Soul on Sunday - 2008

For the last Soul on Sunday of the year, I'm going to take a look at 3 current acts making old-school soul.

100 Days 100 Nights / Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Originally released in 2007, this finally got a proper release this side of the pond in 2008. Much of the recent revival of the 60s Soul sound has come about, particularly in the UK, off the back of the career of pre-tabloid meltdown Amy Winehouse. The Dap Kings lot even went so far as to provide backing for much of the album Back to Black, as well as on tour in 2007. Their work with Sharon Jones is every bit as good as the Winehouse albums, as can be heard from this track. Incidentally the guy who filmed this used 2 vintage cameras bought on ebay for $50 apiece!



Hard Man to Please / Baby Charles
I only got this album last week, but I'm really liking it so it sneaks in. A bit more jazzy and funky than I normally go for, this is a promo for a new single off said album. Also worth checking out is the cover of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, listen to it at their website



Take My Love With You / Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves
This was always going to be one of my bands of the year, and their storming gig at Latitude was one of my highlights of the whole festival. One of the best songs off the album, if there was any justice they would be headline news instead of the likes of Duffy and other no-marks.



I'm looking forward to 2009 already! If you have any tips, leave them in the comments...

2008 - 8 Great Gigs

2008 has been an amazing year for gigs round these parts and this was a hugely difficult list to put together. I had to leave out some superb sets that would have walked into my list in any other year. I couldn't put them in order, so here for better or worse are my gigs of the year (in alphabetical order):

Black Mountain - The Great Escape
Hard to believe they're not the loudest band on this list, Tyrant and Druganaut rocked my Great Escape
Bon Iver - St Giles' Church London
Jaw droppingly good stuff from the phenomenal Bon Iver. The closing song, from the centre of the church still gives me goosebumps when I see the youtube clip
British Sea Power - The Monaco, Canvey
A band at number 10 in the album charts, on top form in a pub 15 minutes drive from home. What more could you want? Shame they were mediocre at Latitude, but this was genuinely amazing, particularly when Wilko Johnson came out for the encore.
Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves - Latitude Festival
Until they invent a time machine, this is as close as it was possible to get to seeing James Brown at the Apollo in 1962. That good.
Grinderman - Latitude Festival
I still cannot believe some people foresook this to go and see Blondie. I pity them - Nick was truly a force of nature on the main stage.
I'm From Barcelona - Scala
Is it possible to see a more fun band? Confetti and singalong songs and fun by the bucketload.
Mogwai - Hammersmith Apollo
The loudest band on this list, possibly the loudest band I'll ever see. Batcat was brutal, a full-on assault on the eyes and the ears.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Brighton Centre
I make no apologies for including Nick Cave again, this is a man at the very top of his form as a songwriter and performer.

I could almost do a second 8 for this list, having missed out the likes of Mercury Rev, Okkervil River (twice), Fujiya and Miyagi and the Mae Shi to name but 4. 2009 will have to go some to beat 2008, here's hoping!

Merry Christmas

From the greatest Christmas film ever:

Not really a Christmas song...

...but like all the best Christmas songs it only got to number 2 in the yuletide countdown.



It is a cover version of a song performed by the less famous half of the Isley brothers, post 1984 schism. Watch the video here (Sony BMG won't allow embedding for reasons that can only be described as stupid).

The Housemartins version is interesting for a number of reasons, not least that it was done entirely acapella. Although it was number 2 at Christmas, it had reached number one the week before, and off the top of my head I can't think of any acapella songs to hit the top since then.

Soul on Sunday - Aretha Franklin / Silent Night

I haven't featured the queen of soul in this thread yet, so here she is singing a perennial Christmas classic

All is clear:

The High Fidelity Question...

Like, I suspect, pretty much every blog out there I've been thinking about my albums of the year list. It struck me how a goodly number of the albums likely to feature on it were full of wistful, slightly melancholy songs about disappointment. Which is something of a metaphor for my year really. So, to paraphrase Rob Gordon from Nick Hornby's book, "Am I wistful and slightly melancholy because I listen to these bands, or do I listen to them because I am wistful and slightly melancholy?".

The list should appear next week btw. I'm also going to do a list of gigs of the year...

Soul on Sunday - I Want to Come Home For Christmas / Al Green

More Christmassy goodness for this week's Soul on Sunday, and this time it's the reverend Al Green's turn. A man who found it difficult to separate the spiritual from the secular in his own life, it's perhaps no surprise to find his Christmas efforts more religious than most.

O Night Divine:


Recommended:

Trust in God / White Christmas

Here Comes The Girls

You might recognise this:


It's being used in some advertising campaign or other. Apparently the Sugababes have sampled it or something. The original is, of course, much superior. I didn't realise I owned it until recently... I must stop buying albums and only listening to them the once!

It's called "Here Comes the Girls" and it's by a guy called Ernie K Doe. Check out this album.

2008 - 8 Great Support Acts

So it's time to start thinking about creating a list (and checking it twice natch) or two for the end of year...

I've been to a lot of gigs this year, and I always try and take in at least one of the support acts. This year it's been well worth getting there early, as I've been able to see some top bands. Here are my 8:

8) F*** Buttons (Supporting Mogwai)
7) Apostle of Hustle (Supporting Stars)
6) Port O' Brien (Supporting Bon Iver)
5) Bon Iver (Supporting Jens Lekman)
4) Mitch & Murray (Supporting Alaska in Winter)
3) Soko (Supporting I'm From Barcelona)
2) The Dodos (Supporting Okkervil River)
1) Errors (Supporting Mogwai)

Errors were not only amazing, but they were on first in a 3 band evening so definitely deserved the win there. There are some well regarded bands who didn't make it - These New Puritans and Howling Bells to name two, I guess that reinforces how good this year has been - and I didn't permit myself to include any of the festival bands either.

To be quite honest most of those bands I'd pay to see headline so that is really a strong list; at least 3 of them will be in contention for the album list, not to mention the gig list... watch this space.

Soul on Sunday - I Want to Come Home For Christmas / Marvin Gaye

Apparently Christmas is nearly here so the next few Soul on Sunday's are going to be suitably seasonal... First up is Marvin Gaye. Motown did a number of albums of Christmas material, often of somewhat variable quality. This is typical of the sort of fare they served up, and like most of the best Christmas songs it's somewhat sad as Marvin wants to come home but he can't for some reason.

I wish they wouldn't worry...


Recomended:

The Motown Christmas Collection

White Town - Your Woman

Some one hit wonder goodness for you here, Your Woman by White Town. I bought this on cassette "back in the day" and it's just become the first thing I bought from Amazon's shiny new mp3 store... So anyway it's a bit of a classic, never really followed up although Jyoti Mishra is still recording as White Town. On his FAQ he is asked How do you feel about being a one-hit wonder? Better than being a no-hit wonder! Can't argue with that...

Soul on Sunday - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) / Frank Wilson

Reputed to be the rarest single on the Northern Soul scene, the original 7" of this has changed hands for 15grand in the past. The story goes something like this - Wilson recorded the single in 1966 but decided he would rather be a writer and producer and had the records destroyed leaving only 2 surviving copies. He went on to a successful career behind the mixing desk, producing the Supremes amongst others, but I suppose this represents a tantalising "what might have been" had he stuck to singing.

I lay my heart down at your feet:

I'm From Barcelona

Tuesday and we were back at Scala for I'm From Barcelona - very different to Sunday's excellent Nick Cave gig, but in many ways every bit as good.

Soko was supporting - I saw her at Latitude - and was again great fun. I wasn't sure she'd go down too well with her silly-cutesy stylings, but then I guess IFB fans aren't all that likely to take themselves too seriously. She doesn't ever seem to do the Dandy Cowboys live, which is a shame as it's my favourite song of hers.


I'm From Barcelona were so much fun. From the moment they started throwing balloons into the crowd (about the 3rd song in), it was just a riot of dancing and singing and confetti! Definitely going to see them again, if only as an antidote to the po-faced indie world!

Nick Cave And the Bad Seeds

OK, so maybe I only got 2 out of my 5 hoped-for songs but Nick Cave is pretty much my hero right now. A cracking gig from a band that, in my opinion, are pretty much at the peak of their powers. Highlights? Mercy Seat, Get Ready for Love and Lyre of Orpheus for me. Stagger Lee was a cracking closer as well. Would have liked a few more of the slower, piano songs and ballads, but I guess a concrete barn like the Brighton Centre didn't really lend themselves to a more "initmate" set.

Soul on Sunday - Ain't no mountain high enough / Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Undoubtedly the greatest duet pairing ever, Marvin and Tammi sang together on some of my favourite Motown songs. Marvin sounds positively inspired on the albums he recorded with her, and he never really recovered from seeing her collapse on stage in his arms with a brain tumour that would eventually take her life.



Recomended:
United/ You're All I Need

Orbital - Chime (Live)

It's been announced that Orbital are to reform and play the Big Chill next year. I'm really tempted by this - Orbital are pretty near the top of my list of bands I want to see live.

Here's Chime from their last Glasto appearance. Check out the disco biscuit munching ravers!

5 From Nick Cave

I'm off to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on Sunday in Brighton, and I can't wait. Here are 5 songs I'm hoping to hear.

Hallelujah
I've been listening to No More Shall We Part a lot recently, and this is the standout song.


Do You Love Me?
Nobody deals with the seedy underbelly of the human condition like Nick...


There She Goes My Beautiful World
I was a little bit of a late-comer to the work of Mr Cave, this was the song that really grabbed me.


Mercy Seat
These days Nick is starting to resemble a modern day old testament prophet...


Midnight Man
I'm fairly sure we'll be hearing this on Sunday, from the latest album:

Soul on Sunday - Strawberry Letter 23 / Shuggie Otis

Something a bit different for Soul on Sunday this week, but then this is different to practically anything else out there. Blending elements of soul, funk, psychedelia and folk, Shuggie Otis produced this bona fide classic. Starting out in his father, Johnny Otis' big band, Shuggie learnt to play all kinds of instruments and much like Stevie Wonder at the time, he plays more or less everything you can hear on this song.

You may know the Brothers Johnson cover, that was successful in '77, but this is better.

I heard this from you:


Recommended:
Here comes Shuggie Otis/Freedom Flight

Mercury Rev - Thursday

Thursday, and it was back to Shepherds Bush for the second time this week, this time to see Mercury Rev. I'll gloss over Howling Bells who were very disappointing - I liked the album, but live they just didn't cut it for me. Mercury Rev, however, were an entirely different kettle of fish.

Occasionally inconsistent on record, they have never failed to deliver live for me, and Thursday was no exception. Material from their latest album, Snowflake midnight, was given a powerful, epic sound that blew away the recorded versions. With video clips playing out behind him, frontman Jonathan Donahue was as engaging as ever, throwing messianic poses one moment, playing air drums the next. There was a fair smattering of material from '98's classic Deserters Songs, and follow-up all is dreams as well, although I kind of wish they'd do a semi-acoustic show for these as they didn't respond as well to the bombast that made the likes of Senses on Fire come alive.

People are so unpredictable:

Okkervil River

Okkervil River have now reached the stage where they can play for an hour and a half, and still leave plenty of quality material out - No The Presidents Dead or On Tour With Zykos (my favourite song on the new album), whilst apparently the Norwich crowd were treated to a cover of Jealous Guy for the encore. The quality of their growing back catalogue meant that they were still able to play a storming set drawn mostly from their last 3 albums - Black Sheep Boy, The Stage Names and The Stand Ins.

The Dodos

Those of us who went to see Okkervil River were given something of a treat as for the London gig of the tour they had the Dodos as support. This year's Visiter long player is shaping up to be one of the albums of the year, with it's intricate rhythms and thrashy acoustic guitars. In an all to short half hour set, they play most of the highlights from Visiter; Red and Purple, Jody, Winter, Walking. With guitar, drums, and an occasional "multi instrumentalist" playing a weird keyboard thingy and metal bin, the album translated really well to the stage. I expect to see these guys hitting the festival circuit next summer, watch out for them.

Couldn't find any clips from last night, but here's a couple from (mostly american) gigs:

Red and Purple


Jodi

Asobi Seksu - Me and Mary

Last night's gig in a bit, but before then here's the new single from Asobi Seksu... If you're not familiar with their work, I highly recommend you find yourselves a copy of their breakthrough album Citrus.



The NME stopped getting excited about the usual mountain of Indie no-hopers to tell us the album is out in Feb. Should be good.

Soul on Sunday - Heartbeat / Gloria Jones

Definitely a song to get you up on the dancefloor, this is a great slice of funky soul from Gloria Jones. She is best known for the original version of Tainted Love, still a Northern Soul classic, and for being Mrs Marc Bolan.

For me the highlight of this song is the organ, played by a 19 year old Billy Preston. It drives the song at a hectic pace, leaving Jones struggling to keep up!

Heartbeat:

Passion Pit and the Pendulum

Enough with the cheesy pop classics already Mr. Onemoredown... What's that you say, you like the poptastic stuff? OK then, here's some modern electro pop for you, courtesy of Passion Pit. According to this Pitchfork Review, it was recorded for the head pit-pony's girlfriend as a valentine's day gift. Despite that, it is officially quite good.

Here's the vid for sleepyhead.

They don't...

...write songs like this anymore.



Oh yes.

I don't...

...do karaoke. But if I did, it'd be this song.



Oh yes.

You can't beat...

...a mullet.



Oh yes.

I Want...

... a pair of hammerpants.



Oh yes.

I can...

...still do the rap from this.



Oh yes.

I'm in the mood....

...for some pop classics this evening.



Oh yes.

Soul on Sunday - Simply Beautiful / Al Green

Just a short post for this week's Soul on Sunday as I'm currently feeling slightly overwhelmed by NaNoWriMo. I will never, ever get tired of listening to Al Green, the best soul singer ever, no question.

I expect a whole lot of love out of you:


Recommended:
The Legendary Hi Albums Vol.1: Green Is Blues/Gets Next to You/Let's Stay Together/I'm Still in Love With You

Another band with a rude name...

...that obviously aren't bothered about getting radio play is Starf***er. Which is a pity as they make excellent indie-pop in a kind of Shins-if-they-invested-in-more-electro-sounds-type-way.

This is the excellent video for the new single, the pithily titled "Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second"



Buy the album here

Mogwai - Friday Night Part 3

And so we finally come to the headliners - Mogwai. Pretty much veterans of the post rock scene now, this year saw a tenth anniversary of their debut album, Young Team. Despite their age they can still cut it live as they proved in a close to two hour set that included a healthy sprinkling of early favourites from Young Team and Ten Rapid amongst more recent material. I've always preferred the full on LOUD stuff over some of the quieter material and for me things really kicked off with Friend of the Night, the lead single from Mr Beast, the last-but-one album. Other highlights included Scotlands Shame, one of the best tracks on the new album.

The set closed in spectacular fashion with Like Herod being followed by Batcat. The latter was a trully brutal experience with thunderous bass and a punishing light show.



The worry with instrumental music is whether it can hold the attention for 2 hours - well Mogwai managed that, and I doubt there would have been any complaints if they had played for another 2. Just a word on the encore as well - Helicon 1!!! Excellent.

F*** Buttons - Friday Night Part Two

After the excellent Errors came more bleepy goodness in the form of F*** Buttons. If you're not in the know then check out this year's album, Street Horrrsing. They make what I guess you could call electronic post-rock (post-dance?) conjuring drones, bleeps and beats out of cheap synths and childrens toys. Or to put it another way, this is the band you want to see if you like gameboy solos. This was my first time seeing them, and like many of the beardy post-rock types present if I wasn't exactly dancing then I was definitely nodding my head...

From the Edinburgh gig:


And this is from a gig in Florida:

Errors - Friday Night Part 1

Friday's gig was immense, all three bands were on top form. I'm planning to deal with all three separately so bare with me...



Errors were on first. I think I mentioned previously that they were one of the highlights of this year's Latitude where they headlined the Lake Stage. Since then they seem to have tightened up, and moving indoors for this show gave them the acoustics to project the muscular nature of their set. Musically they resemble Hot Chip on steroids, and probably provide the missing link between post rock and techno or IDM. Although they only have released one album to date (the excellent It's not something but it is like whatever) some of their best stuff can be found on the singles and EPs put out on Mogwai's Rock Action label. One such set highlight is the closer, Mr Milk which was taken from the EP "How Clean is Your Acid House". Other songs to hit home were National Prism and next(last?) single Pump.

Anyway here's some footage of them from Latitude (couldn't find any from Friday) doing the excellent Mr Milk.

Soul on Sunday - Breaking Up Somebody's Home / Ann Peebles

Another Hi Records Alumni, Ann Peebles was the only female singer to record for the label. Her bluesy style won her many fans and resulted in a clutch of successful singles, the best known of which is "I can't stand the rain" (later covered by Tina Turner) which was reputed to be one of John Lennon's favourite tracks. Like many soul singers in the 70s, her style fell out of favour with the rise of disco, however she kept singing and enjoyed something of a renaissance in the late 80s. Amazingly she is still recording, and released a new album in 2006.

This song is from her early 70s hayday, and is a tale of a woman wronged and plotting her revenge.

On a rainy night like this:


Recommended:
The Complete Ann Peebles on Hi Vol.1:1969-73

Tonight...

...I'm back on the gigs again after a break for a month or two. It's back with a bang as not only am I seeing one of my favourite bands - Mogwai - the support is pretty excellent as well. On first are Errors who were one of my highlights from this year's Latitude. Then it's F*** Buttons whose Street Horrrsing album is excellent. Can't wait!

Soul on Sunday - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) / The Four Tops

Just one contender for Soul on Sunday this week following the sad death of Levi Stubbs. The Four Tops tend to be overlooked when people are considering the Motown story these days, however their contribution should not be underestimated. Their work with the Holland-Dozier-Holland hit producing team in particular gave us a string of hit singles the equal of anything else on the label: Reach Out I'll be there, Standing In the Shadows of Love, Bernadette, the list goes on. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) is one of the more dancefloor friendly singles they released, in 1965 and was a bona fide hit, reaching number 1 in the pop and R&B charts.

You know that I Love you:


Something I only learned when reading this week's obits was that Levi Stubbs did the voice of the plant in little shop of horrors...


Recommended:
The Ultimate Collection

A Football Post

When my team loses, I have a tendency to come home and put Daydream Nation on at full blast. This is pretty much the last vestiges of teenage angst to be found round these parts.

They lost today.

Soul on Sunday - Angel Baby (Don't You Ever Leave Me) / Darrell Banks

Easy choice for this week's "Soul on Sunday" as this album arrived on Wednesday, and has hardly left my stereo since.

One of a long list of contenders for the title of "Best Soul Singer You've Never Heard Of", he had the misfortune to be one of the few Detroit-based artists on the Atlantic roster. With his label concentrating it's efforts on it's Memphis and Muscle Shoals acts, ...is here was under-promoted on its release. It did feature one hit single, Open the Door to Your Heart, but both album and subsequent singles were largely ignored. One of the follow-up singles is this one where Banks shows his ability as a singer of up tempo R&B stompers.

Banks went on to release a second album, this time on Stax (the album, Darell is here to stay, is currently unavailable), however shortly after he was killed by an off duty policeman after an argument over a girl.

Girl, you are my sunshine:


Buy this:
Darrell Banks is Here
(Note: You don't need to pay Amazon's £14+ price, several of the Amazon marketplace types have it for under 6 quid - money well spent)

Firstborn - Mood Club

It's Friday night, so here's a tune from perhaps the Friday night film, Human Traffic.

Have a good one..

A-Ha Take On Me

For those of you that don't remember the 80s (which seems like 90% of the people on the internet these days!), A-Ha were Norwegian before it was cool to be Norwegian (2011 - you mark my words). There 1985 single, "Take on Me" featured a, for the time, groundbreaking video. Some clever so-and-so has taken it upon themselves to re-word the song to match...

Shara Nelson - Friendly Fires

I just upgraded my cassette copy of this album to CD. Shara Nelson is, of course, best know for her vocals on one of the greatest songs of all time: Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy.

After parting company with the Bristollian collective, she went solo and Friendly Fire is the second album she released under her own name. It's a little bit more soul than Unfinished Sympathy, but the Massive Attack influence is obvious.

It gave birth to one hit single, Rough With the Smooth.


Her wikipedia page claims another album is on the way.... It would be good to see her get her dues as she was unfortunate to be around at a time when more soulful vocalists like her were often ignored.

Soul on Sunday - Come on Train / Don Thomas

Sometimes it's nice, in this information-saturated age, to not know anything about a song. Don Thomas, the writer and performer of this mid 70s classic seems to have left no trace on the internet. There was a follow up as he continued the theme with "Train Start Movin'", but more than that I have been unable to find out...

All that's left then is the music, and I love the production on this. Horns, strings, that distinctive plucked melody all contribute to backing up Thomas' bluesy wailing. Unsurprisingly for a Soul on Sunday track, it deals with a failed romance, although this time the protagonist still has hopes as he waits for the train to come so he can try and win back his lover.

Got to get my baby back:


Come on Train appears on a number of Northern Soul compilations, I own this one:
Cooler Shakers - 20 Northern Soul Footstompers

Bon Iver vs Lykke Li

I may have mentioned previously how much I like the Bon Iver album... well I still like it. I also like how much they seem to be enjoying themselves - many who have spent the years plugging away might let the success and critical adulation go to their heads but not this lot... Witness this collaboration with Lykke Li on Dance Dance Dance.... That is a band having fun. Amazing.

Brightblack Morning Light / Motion to Rejoin

So the last couple of weeks have been pretty darn amazing for new releases. I've already talked a little about the new Otis Redding whilst I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the new TV on the Radio or the new Mogwai - you can hardly turn on your interweb access point without reading a review (short review: Mogwai - amazing, TVOTR - quite good).

One new-to-me band with an album out is Brightblack Morning Light. The album in question, their second, is Motion to Rejoin. It's very laid back, perfect for a late night session. The obvious reference point is Spiritualised, only they've stripped away much of the gospel and added in hints of Blues and Americana.

Hologram buffalo:


The album stands up well as a whole; it subtly works it's way into your subconsious before dragging you down into it's carefully woven haze. The lyrics are... well they're definitely there, but they're not for these ears to work out. The publicity on the bands label page suggests the band are heavily in to ecological issues and saving the planet so one might guess they might be themes on the album.

Soul on Sunday - Otis Redding Live in London & Paris

Going to talk about an entire album this week as Stax have reissued this. It's from the Stax package tour of Europe in '67 (there are two live compilations available from the tour featuring the likes of Carla Thomas, Sam and Dave, and Booker T and the MGs). Otis Redding is one of the outstanding live performers of all time in my opinion, I can't think of anyone that puts as much emotion into a song as he does in Try a little tenderness. The album features what I believe are the complete sets from the London and Paris (I think I just about prefer the London one...) The Norwegian gig was videoed, see the clips below.

It's sad to think that something like 7 months after these recordings were made Otis died in an aeroplane crash, truly taken from us at the peak of his powers. Given that his biggest hit, Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay, was recorded shortly before his death it is amazing to think what he might have achieved had he lived.

I got sunshine:


Oh she may be weary:


Buy this now:
Live in London and Paris

What a week...

... it has been for new albums. So far I've bought the new Mogwai, the re-issue of Otis Redding "Live in Europe", the new TV on the Radio and the new one from Brightback Morning Light. Go and sell your firstborn to raise funds for a visit to HMV, and I'll be blogging on all 4 albums later in the week.

Free Album Alert!!!

Woop woop!!!
What's that sound? It's the freebie alert here at tightwad towers, that's what that sound is. Full Time Hobby (home to Malcolm Middleton, Fujiya and Miyagi and Sufjan Stevens and others) are giving away a free MP3 sampler featuring Malcolm Middleton, Fujiya and Miyagi and Sufjan Stevens and others. Click Here and sign up to their mailing list.

Tunng - Take
Fujiya & Miyagi - Dishwasher
Micah P. Hinson - Tell Me It Ain't So
White Denim - Mess Your Hair Up
Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat
The Accidental - Illuminated Red
The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
Sufjan Stevens - She Is
Viva Voce - Lesson No. 1
Autolux - Turnstile Blues

You know it makes sense. So many onemoredown approved acts gratis!

Soul on Sunday - Kiss My Love Goodbye/Bettye Swann

It was always tough for female soul singers to get noticed - with Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross dominating airplay, many excellent artistes never got the attention they deserved. Bettye Swann is one such singer. Starting out on Money Records, she managed one bona fide hit "Make me yours" in 1967. A year later she moved on to Capitol where her most successful single was "Don't Touch Me" in 1969.

In 1970 she moved to Atlantic, and her output became more influenced by the "Philly Sound". My favourite example of this stage in her career is "Kiss my love goodbye". Dealing with the classic theme of a girl who walks out on her man after catching him cheating on her, Bettye's vocal is subtly restrained, allowing the strings to drive the song.

Momma didn't raise no fool:


Unfortunatley there doesn't seem to be a collection of her Atlantic output currently available, so you'll need to search out compilations with songs from this period on.

I recommend:

Creme de la Creme - Philly Soul Classics and Rarities

The Money Years:

The Money Recordings

Out on Monday...

The album from Mogwai. You know you want it:

Aim - Cold Water Music

Like, I suppose, pretty much any music fan who had a large music collection in 2005 I am engaged in a never ending quest to rip it all into iTunes (I know there are other music players, but I own a mac... what do you expect me to use).

Tonight I dug out my copy of Cold Water Music by Aim. It's pretty much the perfect soundtrack to a lousy Friday night in... Actually it's a pretty damn fine album all round. Lazy hip-hop beats, incisive raps, horror film samples, what more could you want?

The title track sets the scene perfectly with a claustrophobic tune that brings to mind a late night journey on the London underground - with just the merest hint of fear mixed in.



There are a few notable guest vocalists roped in for the album, including Kate Rogers on Sail, a song in which a former lover "could have saved my soul" but didn't...



And of course the albums obsession with fear and death is taken to an extreme conclusion with the Halloween sampling Demonique...

Norman Whitfield RIP

Legendary producer and writer Norman Whitfield died overnight aged 67. He was involved with many of Motown's classics, notably co-writing "I heard it through the grapevine" with Marvin Gaye and "War" for Edwin Starr.

For me it is his work with the Temptations that stands out, particularly the "psychedelic soul" era around 1970. Taking cues from funk and 60s rock, Whitfield and the Temps produced hits including Papa was a Rolling Stone and Just My Imagination (Running away with me). Whitfield co-wrote most of those songs with Barrett Strong of course before taking the producers chair as they moved into the studio.

He left Motown in the early 70s, setting up his own label where he worked with Rose Royce, writing and producing Car Wash for the film of the same name.

Ball of Confusion:

Soul on Sunday - A Nickel and a Nail/O.V.Wright

The first in what I hope will be a regular series talking about some of my favourite soul cuts...

Where Otis Redding and Al Green (almost) always got the girl, O.V Wright deals in heartbreak and failed romance. Just look at some of his song titles: "You're gonna make me cry", "When you took your love from me", "Heartaches, Heartaches"... I could go on. This song, talking about how his love has left him with nothing but a nickel and a nail is typical of his 1960s output on Back Beat records where he had the good fortune to be produced by legendary producer, Willie Mitchell (best known for his work with Al Green). Mitchell was later to take him to Hi Records in the mid 1970s. His work at Hi was, in common with many soul acts of the time, a lot "smoother" sounding, but he is best remembered for his earlier, rawer work.

Unfortunately his personal life was as troubled as in his songs and he was imprisoned for drugs offences in the early 1970s. He never really kicked the habit and died from a drug-induced heart attack in 1980.

Recomended:
The Soul of O.V. Wright - this covers the best of his Back Beat years.

Lord Knows I've Failed:

You Genius

Bit of a geeky post this one, sorry! Apple released iTunes 8 last night at an event where the main news was the launch of the new iPods. The usual fanfare and hypefest ensued nobody will be surprised to know. Quite how Apple have got to the point where a new product launch is broadcast as headline news by serious news sources is surely the greatest marketing story of the age. But I digress; amongst the new features on iTunes is the ability to create "Genius Playlists" - by using a database at iTunes central (or wherever) it can suggest a playlist based on any given song. Well almost any given song - it didn't like "Batcat" by Mogwai which is strange given that I bought it from the iTunes store!

Anyway I've been pretty impressed so far. Here is what it came up with this evening...

1) Hoover Dam - Sugar
This was my choice for the starting point. I've been listening to a lot of early 90s American alt-rock lately. For those not in the know, Sugar was what Bob Mould did after Hüsker Dü. They released one classic album Copper Blue which contains this song and was album of the year in NME in 1992.

2) The Silence Between Us - Bob Mould
Not a great jump there really. This is off a sampler for Anti records who put out Mould's recent album, Distirct line. You have to pick and choose with his solo output as he does wonder quite far from the template established with his previous bands, but this is definitely a return the the alt-rock sound he is best known for.

3) The Lung - Dinosaur Jr.
Another classic album, Dinosaur Jr's second - You're living all over me - is the source for this song. Most of their back catalogue has been reissued relatively recently in remastered form and is well worth looking out for.

4) Sitting Still - R.E.M.
Surely they need no introduction? This is from their debut album on IRS, Murmur. A few years ago I listened to all their albums in order and it's fascinating to see the progression. There isn't a bad one from Murmur to New Adventures in Hi-Fi, although they did lose their way a bit after that.

5) Gold Soundz - Pavement
Another classic album, this is from the Desert Origins reissue of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (although it did appear on the original).

6) Academy Fight Song - Mission of Burma
From the reissue of the EP Signals, Calls and Marches, this wasn't on the original release but made it onto the 97 and 08 reissues...

7) Almost Ready - Dinosaur Jr
Back to Dinosaur Jr, this is from last year's LP, Beyond. This was the album where the original line-up reconvened after Lou Barlow had left to do his Sebadoh thing for much of the 90s. Not quite a return to the scuzzy sound of You're Living All Over Me, it still sounds better than most of the pretenders to the alt-rock crown.

8) Cherry Coloured Funk - Cocteau Twins
A short diversion from the fuzzed-up guitar sounds so far, this is from the Twins 1990 classic Heaven or Las Vegas.

9) Get Ready for Love - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
I just can't seem to get away from Nick Cave on this blog - even random selections include him! This is probably the rockiest song on the Abbotoir Blues disc of the double album with The Lyre of Orpheus and is probably a bit of a pointer as the direction Nick would take with the Grinderman album, and his next bad seeds album, Dig, Lazarus Dig!

10) Mahgeeta - My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket really came to attention here in the UK with Z, but this is from it's predecessor It Still Moves. A lot of people prefer this to Z, I'm not totally convinced...

The next 10:
11) Apartment Story - The National
12) Mr Tough - Yo la Tengo
13) I Could Be Dreaming - Belle and Sebastian
14) Man on the Moon - Sugar
15) Rattled by the Rush - Pavement
16) Respectable Street - XTC
17) Tarpit - Dinosaur Jr
18) Constructive Summer - The Hold Steady
19) Incinerate - Sonic Youth
20) Catapult - REM

Given that I have more Sonic Youth than any of the other bands on the list in my iTunes library, it's a bit of a surprise that I had to wait til song 19 to hear some... But as I said, I like this feature and may blog on it again (I'm quite lazy like that!)

Liner Notes - Latitude CD Swap '08

So recently I took part in the Latitude forum CD Swap. You'll be pleased to know I received 3 excellent CDs this year, I hope mine found favour. Here are some “liner notes” for mine...

1) There She Goes, My Beautiful World – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
No surprise to find Nick Cave popping up on any CD I put together – he's now got to the stage where I'm willing to part with my money for anything he does be it Bad Seeds, Grinderman, Films or Books. This is off the double album Lyre of Orpheus/Abattoir Blues which was my album of the year back when it cam out.

This is from his later performance:


2) Life in Jail - Islands
The second Islands album didn't grab me in the same way that the first did, but it's really grown on me. The little twists and turns that marked their debut out are less overt on “Arms Way” than “Return to the sea” but that may not be a bad thing.

This the “crunk section” (whatever that means) done live


3) Sipping on the Sweet Nectar – Jens Lekman
Great album, and an engaging performer live, surely there's room for him at Latitude 2009? I definitely want to see him again, in a show less blighted by sound problems...

Anyway here's the video...


4) After All – The Frank and Walters
One of the most underrated bands of the pre-britpop era, this is one of my favourite jukebox pics as the lunchtime crowd in the Morris will tell you (through gritted teeth perhaps!). Anyway I think they're still going, although perhaps with different haircuts?

TOTP '93:


5) Jaguar Pirates – Jaguar Love
From one of the oldest songs on the album to one of the newest, this is from the recently released debut album from Jaguar Love. I'm not entirely convinced by the album, but I really like the energy of this song.

Live at the 100 club,


6) If the News Makes You Sad, Don't Watch It – Broken Records
One of the best new bands of the festival circuit this year, I saw them twice at Great Escape and Latitude, and they were excellent both times. If there is any justice they will go on to big things.

Live at Belladrum:


7) The Mending of the Gown – Sunset Rubdown
Another of the highlights of Great Escape for me, this is great fun live. Definitely a band I would love to see again.

Live:


8) Rainy Night in Soho – The Pogues
Easily the oldest song on the album, this is where the melancholy-meets-hope ethos of the Pogues comes closest to perfection. They're one of my favourite bands and despite being a tad erratic live I'm deeply tempted to go and see them at Christmas in London (wonder which song they'll do???). One of my all time favourite festival memories was seeing them at the Fleadh a few years ago (2002 if memory serves); the best atmosphere for any band at any festival I've been to.If you're at a loose end, look for the rest of the youtube clips from the show below; it's easy to forget just how many great songs they did.

Live at the Town & Country Club:


9) Doin' The Boom Boom – Eli “Paperboy” Reed and the True Loves
One of the highlights of Latitude, there has been a glut of acts doing 60s style soul in the 00s... This lot do it better than any in my opinion. I seldom venture onto the dancefloor, so any band that can keep me there for as long as them deserve a special mention!

Here's them doing it live...


10) The Homeless and The Humingbirds – Alaska In Winter
One of my favourite albums of last year, this is such a good song to lay back and relax to after a bad day at work. recommended live if you get the chance...

The video:


11) I Want You Around – Gideon Conn
A new discovery at this year's Latitude, I caught his set after giving up on a very flat British Sea Power. Very laid back indie/hip-hop track, perfect for a summer festival (well I think so anyway).

Live:

(I love the way the cameraman is swaying to the music!)

12) Winter – The Dodos
This is from one of my favourite albums of the year so far, Visiter (their spelling, not mine). It's the drums that make it stand out from the crowd for me, love the insistent rhythm. If I had any say in the matter, they'd be headlining the Sunrise arena at Latitude next year...

The video:


13) Breaxxbaxx – Land of Talk
Saw these guys supporting Besnard Lakes at London Water Rats and they rocked. It's not easy for a support act to catch the ear, but they managed it. Apparently there's a new album coming in the autumn, this is from their debut, Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss



14) Take Me To The Riot - Stars
Another Canadian band, Stars are of my favourite live acts of the last 12 months (seen them twice). This song is something of a live favourite, and comes from their most recent album, In Our Bedroom After The War. Definitely worth buying the album, and seeing them next time they tour.

The Video:


15) Blue Plastic Bags – Malcolm Middleton
Another highlight of this year's Latitude, Malcolm Middleton has had an interesting year, what with all the news interest in his attempt at the Christmas No.1! This is from his most recent album, Sleight of Heart which didn't entirely convince me compared to it's predecessor. Live, however, this song was a lot stronger.
Couldn't find it on Youtube, sorry!

16) Walk in The Park – Oh No! Oh My!
I have to confess to knowing very little about these guys. I read about them somewhere on the interwebs (I forget where) and downloaded a couple of songs and that's as far as I got. I really must track down the album sometime.

Anyway here's them live.


17) The Dandy Cowboys - Soko
Another highlight from this year's Latitude, Soko's set was delightfully chaotic. The only French singer on the CD, this is from what I believe is her debut EP, “Soko not Sokute”.

Not sure what's going on here!


18) Chaviach – Derwyddon Dr Gonzo
Continuing with the Latitude 2008 theme, this band were an unexpected highlight of the Friday. Apparently this song is knocking Chavs which is probably something we can all relate to! Definitely hope they're invited back next year.

A brief taster...


19) I Wish I Was Someone Better – Blood Red Shoes
Another live highlight of 2008 when I saw them in London, this is probably my favourite song of theirs. It's a long time since I danced as energetically as at that gig!

Live:


20) Barney (...and me) – The Boo Radleys
From one of my all time favourite albums, Giant Steps, I just had to include this song. The Boo Radleys are massively underrated in my opinion, and this is just a brilliant, brilliant song. If any band of this era were to reform and play Latitude next year, it should be this lot... Anyway I'm planning a more in-depth post on Giant Steps at some point.

Couldn't find Barney (...and me) on youtube, but here's another from Giant Steps, Lazarus, at Glasto '94

Bon Iver Vs Okkervil River

Just a quick post, but I couldn't let one of my favourite acts cover another of my favourite acts without commenting. Okkervil River have a new album out in September called "The Stand Ins". To launch the associated youtube channel they've asked some of their friends to cover songs from the album (do you see what they've done there etc). One such video is of Bon Iver doing Blue Tulip.



I'll be seeing Okkervil River in November in London, assume they'll be doing their version then! Bon Iver will be over in September. I recommend you go see both bands...

Forthcoming Attractions

With the summer festival season now over for me, it's time to look ahead at what the final third has to offer...

Gigs
Well so far as gigs go, I've got some real beauties in the calendar. Things are quiet until October when Mogwai are playing London. It'll be the second time I've seen them, reports have been good about the new album, and the supports are pretty special too, Errors (one of the highlights of Latitude) and F*** Buttons.

Then into November which is just outstanding gig-wise. Okkervil River and Mercury Rev inside 3 days in London. Okkervil River were brilliant at Great Escape, and I'm really looking forward to a full length set from them. Mercury Rev are one of my all time favourite bands. I saw them last at Latitude '06, and will be interesting to see how the new material comes across live. Watch out for a piece to mark the 10th Anniversary of Deserters Songs in September...

After then it's down to Brighton for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As previously mentioned, Nick Cave's slimmed down band, Grinderman, were amazing at Latitude this year, and the full Bad Seeds line-up is a mouth-watering prospect.

Then to round off the month it's I'm from Barcelona who I missed at Latitude 2007 and have regretted it ever since. By all accounts the new album is more "serious" than the first, but I'm still confident off balloon-bouncing fun!

Latitude Sunday

After the quiet Saturday, Sunday is the complete contrast with by far the strongest line-up for me. We start with Joanna Newsom who plays an hour and a bit of delightful music, utterly charming the obelisk arena crowd. Playing a variety of songs both old and new, solo on harp or piano she is quite possibly the best opening act ever on the main stage at latitude.

Perhaps understandably things take something of a dip after that with neither Satin Peaches nor Those Dancing Days doing much to impress. Better are American alt-rock survivors Nada Surf although they struggle with the sound, particularly the bass player who gets quite annoyed. I must confess to not knowing much about them, but will definitely be exploring further.

It's then back to the uncut tent for Patrick Watson who plays a set drawn heavily from his recent album, Close to Paradise. Live the songs take on a whole new dimension as he layers in feedback and effects, playing around with an extensive array of pedals. I'm not sure I like him live as much as on record, but nontheless another good set.

Things then step up a gear on the main stage with the Breeders. I must confess to a degree of sentiment here as when I was a teenager Last Splash was one of my favourite albums. Their subsequent albums, after a not insubstantial hiatus, haven't excited me to quite the same degree but live the recent material is imbued with a warmth not to be found on CD. It helps that the sisters Deal are in high spirits, joking with each other and bantering with the rest of the band. It's the songs from Last Splash that get the best reaction from the crowd, but they also do songs from all three other albums; and a couple from Kim Deal's other, other band The Amps. A band that I was somewhat nervous about seeing, given my fond memories of them in the early 90s, they definitely seem to be back on the right track.

If the Breeders were one of my favourite bands of the early 90s, then Nick Cave in any of his many guises is one of my current heroes. His Grinderman outfit are up next. Playing mostly songs from their debut album, together with a couple of newer songs they are probably the highlight of the entire festival for me. Regular Cave sidekick Warren Ellis sets the tone as he batters a solitary cymbal with a pair of maracas. Midway through the set the wind gets up, blowing the rain and dust into a maelstrom, but Nick Cave is its equal as a force of nature as he stands legs apart on the edge of the stage, hair blowing out behind him seemingly challenging the weather to do its worst. An absolute triumph, and I can only hope that Cave is back with the Bad Seeds next year.

Interpol are one of those bands that have never done it for me so I foresake their headlining slot for The Tindersticks in the Uncut Tent. As the rain begins to bucket down I think I made the right decision, particularly when they begin to play. As expected their setlist drew heavily from recent album, the hungry saw, although a smattering of early songs also go down well. Perhaps a bit too low-key to be the perfect ending to the festival, but pretty close.

So how did this Latitude compare to the previous two? Pretty well all things considered. As I said at the start of the write-up, I arrived with relatively low expectations as there were few must-see bands on the line-up. There were enough stand-outs (notably Grinderman and Eli 'Paperboy Reed) and new discoveries (Derwyddon Dr Gonzo, Gideon Conn) to keep me interested, not to mention the many other attractions on offer!

Latitude Saturday

Saturday is the quietest day for yours truly, bands wise. Time is spent in the Literary, Film and Caberet tents sampling some of the other delights Latitude has to offer... learning to play the ukelele in under an hour, hearing poetry about drugs and watching a film about... well I'm not entirely sure as I missed both beginning and end!

So far as bands go I start off with French songstress Soko who is delightfully ramshackle. With backing from Johnny Flynn and the drummer from his band she sings songs which mostly seem to be about failed romances and how much she likes peanut butter.

Next up is Malcolm Middleton. His former band, Arab Strap, are long time favourites of mine and his solo work has also been regulars on the stereo round these parts. With a tight backing band and playing songs from the last 3 albums his set is one of the highlights of the weekend. Blue Plastic Bags from the recent album "Sleight of Heart" is a standout.

After ten minutes of Elbow frankly I'm bored so I head over to the Music and Film tent of Mark Lamarr's God's Jukebox evening which turns out to be one of the best evenings of any of the 3 Latitudes so far. Not just the bands, but the music played in between which keeps me dancing into the small hours.

First on is Pete Molinari who mixes rock n roll with early Dylan to good effect. After a set drawn almost entirely from his most recent album he finishes with a cover of Folsom Prison Blues which goes down a storm.

Next up is The Heavy an energetic funk rap crossover act, seemingly at odds to the rest of the bands on. They seem to have a lot of fans in just to see them and the tent is full of people having a great time...

Midnight hits and the third act comes on, R&B revivalist James Hunter. Less energetic than the Heavy, Hunter and his band keep people dancing with their bluesy soul.

The highlight of the evening for a soul fan like me comes with the next act, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and the True Loves. Great soul with more than a nod to legend James Carr they blow me away with some of the best grooves heard in many a year. Despite having not had a beer since the start of the evening (beer or water!) I'm still dancing throughout and really I can pay no higher compliment.

Latitude Thursday + Friday

So then, my third Latitude and the one that had (for me) the weakest line-up on paper...

Things did not get off to a particularly promising start - delays getting into the carpark and then into the campsite. Normally they happen like clockwork, but it seems like a lot more people have decided to arrive early on the Thursday this year. Still, not to worry, friends met and tents up we settle back for a beer or two and let the festival begin!

Opening the Friday on the Sunrise stage is Godwits who appeared to be absolutely petrified at the size of the crowd as they start. Despite the singer admitting his nerves they improve as the set wears on but never really manage to shine.

After a quick beer break we catch the second half of Rosie and the Goldbug who played some energetic indie pop accompanied by dancers dressed as gold bugs (do you see what they did there, etc?) and are a lot more livelier than Godwits.

Next up is one of the highlights of the first day, Broken Records who have improved on the Great Escape show we saw in May. They seem more confident than before and the result is a more powerful performance. Single "If the news makes you sad, don't watch it" is one of many highlights and if these guys don't make it to near the top of one of the main stages next year then the world is truly a cruel place.

Slow Club, by contrast, seem a little subdued compared to their Great Escape gig so we head off to the lake stage for Derwyddon Dr Gonzo who by some margin are the most fun band of the weekend. With a horn section dressed as superheroes (except one dressed as a nurse, for some reason!) and the rest of the band in a variety of different fancy dress outfits their welsh ska/funk gets a good sized crowd dancing along despite not knowing any of the words. Recent single Bwthion/Chaviach gets a good reception (and gets purchased by me on my return home!).

After that it's off to the main stage for Aliens who faff around a lot, play Robot man for about 15 minutes and don't play happy song... could have been good but aren't. Beth Orton is next on and does well despite playing a fair amount of new songs. Swears a lot too...

British Sea Power follow Beth and despite the addition of a Bulgarian choir they just don't recapture the energy of the Canvey Gig. It's hard to say why, but the band just never seemed to get going so I leave a little early and head for the lake stage.

..where I find Gideon Conn rapping away. I arrive just as he finishes my favourite song of his, I want you around, but the rest of the set is of a consistantly high quality with his witty lyrics and funky beats going down very well.

A quick bite to eat later and I head to Julian Cope who produces perhaps the most frustrating set of the festival (or indeed any festival)... comes on late, then after a slow start is just beginning to hit top form when he runs out of time... hopefully next time he'll be given a bit longer!

Leaving frustration behind I head back to the lake stage for the headliners, Errors who put on a suitably intense show. The usual description of them is a more electronic Mogwai which seems to be fair. I'll be seeing them supporting the aformentioned Mogwai in October so will say more then, except to add I'm looking forward to the support acts almost as much as the headliners for that gig (I did say almost!).

Franz Ferdinand headline the main stage but are hampered by poor sound in the back half of the arena so after hearing most of my personal favourites I head to the poetry tent when the rain arrives...