March 2012 reviews

[Six String]

My disc seems to have arrived ripped from the barrios of Sacramento. I have to admit that I was woefully ignorant that such a hood would yield this bountiful pastiche of sounds. I knew that with this particular mixer at the helm that I would be in for a treat, but you sir, have exceeded my high expectations.

Track 1- A wonderful tropicalia jazz track that screams “Carnival!” kicks things off. I’m missing the scantily clad women sauntering around with fruit on their heads, but otherwise this track provides all the joy I need. I love the bass horn (bari ?) The sax comes in all bright, those percussions keep whispering to my loins. Man! Love…truly. They didn’t even need the flute, but I’m so glad they brought it in. To think I once dismissed the flute as the instrument of New Age and pretentious prog types. It’s becoming one of my favorite instruments.
This worked well as the opening track to Arthur Blythe's Lenox Ave. Breakdown so I figured it would work the same magic for my mix disc. I like the blend of the high (flute) and low (tuba) on that song. That's James Newman (f) and Bob Stewart (tb). James "Blood" Ulmer is the guitarist. It's a recent purchase so you probably saw me post something about it recently.

Track 2- Well, there’s only one way to go from there and that’s down, but fortunately it is not too steep a drop. Mostly this decline is due to the source song. I do not like “I Shot the Sheriff,” mostly due to overexposure and that bastard Eric Clapton, but this now is by far my favorite version. I really like the track best went it breaks away from the confines of the original melody. There is some hot playing on there!
Not an adventurous choice for you but I always think of Marley when I hear it as it was the first version I heard. This is Monty Alexander a Jamaican jazz pianist and yes I do like the music after they take off from the melody of the song.

Track 3- Bossa track, my best guess is Bebel Gilberto; very pleasant. It works much better when she sings in Portuguese. The lyrics all of a sudden sound a little
sappy In English, but it only diminishes my joy ever so slightly. Babymaking music.
Paula and Jacques Morelenbaum and Ryuichi Sakamoto, voice/cello/piano respectively with Vivo Sonhardo. The whole album is this beautiful.

Track 4- Great lively piano trio. Lots of frenetic energy on the ivories and nice brushwork on the skins. The bassist mostly just keeps the tempo going at a brisk pace, which is the right call because the pianist is the star here. Another very strong track!
Mose Allison's Devil In The Cane Field from an early album on Prestige.

Track 5 is the most perplexing one for me. The beginning is very promising, but with the tempo change comes almost a smooth 70s fusion feel; the kind that Horace Silver employed, I think unsuccessfully. The vocal almost sounds like the guy from XTC trying to do a sort of Dean Martin lounge. I might come around in future listens; it’s just messing with me a little bit right now.
That is indeed Andy Partidge and XTC from the recently reissued 45rpm Skylarking. It is a little loungy sounding, isn't it? I've always liked the music part of the song. It makes me think of a James Bond OST song when I hear it. This is The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul. I wasn't sure if you were a fan of the music and even thought it might be something you have but I put it on anyway because of the jazzy feel to it.

Track 6- Back on more familiar footing for me. Latin rhythms and the horns come in like a chorus to greet me. Yes, this is the shit! Play that trumpet, hombre and the sax just as inviting. Nothing fancy, just a perfect Latin jazz track firing on all cylinders. I’m agnostic by nature, but when the trumpet comes in toward the end seems like some evidence for a universal force that promotes good.
This is Cubanismo and Salsa Pilon and something I knew you'd like.

Track 7- I love this one. Some brooding almost soundtrack like piece. I’m not all that familiar with Ry Cooder’s work, but it seems like the sort of thing I imagine he would do. The vocals sound like David Hidalgo, but I don’t think they are. I love the sparse use of the organ.
This is my favorite non jazz obsession these days, Talk Talk with Ascension Day. David Hidalgo? Nope, Mark Hollis. If you like this I recomend their Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock albums and there are some threads floating around that I've revived or started if you need more detail.

Track 8- I know this track-a standard, but I can’t place it and it’s frustrating me. I love the frenzied lullaby intro. Another splendid pianocentric piece. The rhythm section interacts playfully with the pianist. Don’t want it to end.
The song is Theme For The Eulipians by Rhasan Roland Kirk but it's played by Jessica Williams and her trio. Normally I would place one of her originals in the mix but I love her version of this song and how many people cover RRK?

Track 9 – My guess, probably way off, is Lou Donaldson. I say this because it’s certainly is hard bop. Sax seems to be the featured instrument, but I also hear organ and guitar. Of course on those early 60s Lou records he has a tendency to hang back and let the young turks take over, which is not really happening here, though the organist (Babyface?) has a really nice solo. Of course I also remember you speaking of Shirley Scott recently too. This, as you probably already know, is right in my wheelhouse.
I can't fault your logical guesses but this is someone else, Fred Jackson from his Hootin' and Tootin' album, Preach Brother which is a good title for the song. This is the only album I have by him but the whole album is very good and doesn't stray from this style.

Track 10- This is another one with which I may need a little more time. The somewhat jerky rhythms make this sound more like a workout or exercise. I think I would love to see it performed live, but in a more passive listening experience, it feels like it doesn’t quite coalesce and therefore is a little more work than I want to expend. You can put this one on me; lazy.
Yes, it's a little difficult on the nerves, kind of like when children begin to run amuck. I had to put something in there to shake you up.
This is Joey Baron, Tim Berne and Howard Roberts and I think they call themselves Miniature on this date.

Track 11- It’s funny I think the same criticisms I have of the above track , could be leveled against this one and yet I like this one so much more. I think the difference is the ebullient horn which holds the piece together a little better than it’s predecessor.
Well the beat is a little more joyful for sure. This is from an old album by Abdullah Ibrahim (1983) with Kaya, the name of the song, album and band.

Track 12- Another hard bop winner with Latin rhythms and the vibes as a feature. I wouldn’t guess Hutch, but since he’s the only vibraphonist I can think of off the top of my head, I should probably keep my guesses to myself. Strong closer to a most satisfying mix.
This is from an underrated and dearly departed pianist Hilton Ruiz. It comes from an album he recorded as a tribute to all of his musical heroes. It has a lot of all-star players on it and the track is Guataca.

Really appreciate this, Six! A wonderful, well-crafted disc!

Glad you liked it. I didn't realise how much Latin flavored stuff I put on it until after it was done but I knew you wouldn't mind. You're pretty easy to make a disc for so I'm never worried about whether you'll like it or not.

1. Down San Diego Way - Arthur Blythe
2. I Shot The Sheriff - Monty Alexander
3. Vivo Sonhando-Dreamer - Morelanbaum2/Sakamoto
4. Devil In the Cane Field - Mose Allison
5. The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul - XTC
6. Salsa Pilon - Cubanismo
7. Ascension Day - Talk Talk
8. Them For The Eulipians - Jessica Williams Trio
9. Preach Brother - Fred Jackson
10. Jersey Devil - Baron, Berne and Roberts
11. Kaya - Abdullah Ibrahim
12. Guataca - Hilton Ruiz

[Six String]

Yes! From Russia With Love. Close but no cigar. Thanks Paul.

[moonie]

This review will unfold over the week, so not entirely my thoughts just yet (or in the formula, as it were), but I have listened quite frequently over the last couple of weeks and can't imagine finding anything wrong with it.

It's an unbelievable collection of New Orleans music, and it certainly reaches back to the roots, as well as covering some great new music...

1) I don't remember if I expressed my next "must do before I die" wishes here, but one of those wishes were somehow get involved in a second line. Imagine my bliss when I inserted the disc into the player and the first tune was totally a NO brass band throw down...

That first track is the unbeatable Stooges Brass Band, with "Wind It Up." And yes, you gotta get yourself down here for a second line. You know, there's a Jolly Up here on Memorial Day weekend, and lo-and-behold, there should be a second line that Sunday.... just saying.

I would love, love, love to. I promise now that the March distractions are over I'm going to get to the rest of this review. The disc has been in my car cd player for over two weeks now, and quite honestly I'm not in the least bit tired of it.

More to come.

[Nolamike]

1) I don't remember if I expressed my next "must do before I die" wishes here, but one of those wishes were somehow get involved in a second line. Imagine my bliss when I inserted the disc into the player and the first tune was totally a NO brass band throw down...

You know, there's a Jolly Up here on Memorial Day weekend, and lo-and-behold, there should be a second line that Sunday.... just saying.

I would love, love, love to.

A short eleven hour drive!

[dgs]

This month I received 14 tracks of golden oldie mellowness. Quite probably also the first month in which I recognized more than two of the tracks.

I think this mix did what I did and pick a selection of their cup tracks…..

1. Spanish Harlem – I am not sure if this is Ben E King though, it’s certainly more clear than my version and the strings/sax are much more prominent in the mix. Very faithful to the original.

2. Track two starts with all sorts of promise then it brakes down into a jazz guitar piece. I was at first a bit hmm but it grows on you and then there is a fabulous switch from guitar to piano, love it. Like fungus it grows on you.

3. Short piece at 1.55 mins, very 60’s sounding piece, actually more 50’s sounding, great track pop music as it was invented and intended. More please.

4. Scratchy start, big synthesised bass, and driving beat. Jive Talking – the bee gees. Big white suits and teeth ahoy.

5. Track 5 is more down tempos, but I’d guess this is still a 70’s piece. Not one I am familiar with and not one that instantly grabs me but the pace and flow is good.

6. Like this one, again classic pop sensibilities with a bass line that is there to grab the attention. Kind of a reggae/funk cross over, is this a bob Dylan cover, slow train coming?

7. Exquisite Spanish guitar, I know this! this is a tribe called quest with I lost my wallet in El Segundo but hold on no it’s not…….it’s the original therefore I assume this is the chambers brothers? This is nice but I prefer Q-Tip.

8. Spanish vocal on the next track. The only Spanish (Mexican) singing band I know are Los Lobos. Is this them.

9. Sixties production all over this, lovely female vocals, operator, operator, great track no idea who it s but I bet this is one of the tracks on that smashing girl group box set.

10. I think this is probably the first track that is closet to my timelines so far. Great bass, punk sensibilities but a surf reference, so I guess this is a west coast psych tune. Great stuff, who is this?

11. Big opening and then synth drums kick in, guitars, building, is this Pat Benetar. I hope not.

12. 80’s bent now continues nice bassline but not sure about this one either, this is very 80’s American…….sorry…….

13. This one is very Tom Pettyish. Bit of trend developing here.

14. And we finish in the same vein. Sorry but I couldn’t connect with the last 4 at all.


Thanks mixmaster for this disc, mostly enjoyed it but the last 4 were too MOR for even me, and I am a bit of guilty pleasure type. Thanks though, 1 through 10 were great.

[sloopjohnc]

This month I received 14 tracks of golden oldie mellowness. Quite probably also the first month in which I recognized more than two of the tracks.

I think this mix did what I did and pick a selection of their cup tracks…..
This was me dgs. I stiffed ya last time, for which I'm sorry, but it looks like you liked some of this. Let's proceed. . .

1. Spanish Harlem – I am not sure if this is Ben E King though, it’s certainly more clear than my version and the strings/sax are much more prominent in the mix. Very faithful to the original.
It is Ben E. King, so yeah, it's pretty true to the original.

2. Track two starts with all sorts of promise then it brakes down into a jazz guitar piece. I was at first a bit hmm but it grows on you and then there is a fabulous switch from guitar to piano, love it. Like fungus it grows on you.
It grew on me too. I didn't like this song very much at first, but it's Ernest Ranglin, king of the reggae guitar, with Papa's Bag Juice off his Memories of Barber Mack album.

3. Short piece at 1.55 mins, very 60’s sounding piece, actually more 50’s sounding, great track pop music as it was invented and intended. More please.
This is Teach Me How to Twist by Shep and the Limelites off a best of album.

4. Scratchy start, big synthesised bass, and driving beat. Jive Talking – the bee gees. Big white suits and teeth ahoy.
You got it.

5. Track 5 is more down tempos, but I’d guess this is still a 70’s piece. Not one I am familiar with and not one that instantly grabs me but the pace and flow is good.
This is troubador of the California high desert, Brett Dennen off his Hope for the Hopeless album.

6. Like this one, again classic pop sensibilities with a bass line that is there to grab the attention. Kind of a reggae/funk cross over, is this a bob Dylan cover, slow train coming?
Hardly. It's Willy Deville/Mink Deville with Slow Drain off his Le Chat Bleu album. Dylan may have been the Pope of Greenwich Village but Willy was the Bard of the Bowery.

7. Exquisite Spanish guitar, I know this! this is a tribe called quest with I lost my wallet in El Segundo but hold on no it’s not…….it’s the original therefore I assume this is the chambers brothers? This is nice but I prefer Q-Tip.
It's the Young Rascals with Sueno.

8. Spanish vocal on the next track. The only Spanish (Mexican) singing band I know are Los Lobos. Is this them.
This is the Beatles of Norteno, Solido, with Deberia

9. Sixties production all over this, lovely female vocals, operator, operator, great track no idea who it s but I bet this is one of the tracks on that smashing girl group box set.
Operator by Motown chanteuse, Brenda Holloway.

10. I think this is probably the first track that is closet to my timelines so far. Great bass, punk sensibilities but a surf reference, so I guess this is a west coast psych tune. Great stuff, who is this?
It's joke band, The Surf Punks with My Beach

11. Big opening and then synth drums kick in, guitars, building, is this Pat Benetar. I hope not.
You hoped right. It's Suzi Quatro with Daytona Demon.

12. 80’s bent now continues nice bassline but not sure about this one either, this is very 80’s American…….sorry…….
God Wants Us to Wait by Magnetic Fields

13. This one is very Tom Pettyish. Bit of trend developing here.
Out the Door by Ben Kweller. He kinda is the slacker Tom Petty, come to think about it.

14. And we finish in the same vein. Sorry but I couldn’t connect with the last 4 at all.
Adrian Bourgeois with Mr. Imaginary Friend

I can see about the last four. I kinda broke my own rule on this one because I dislike mix club discs that kinda suck me in with a style or mood and then deviate from it when they shouldn't have.

Thanks mixmaster for this disc, mostly enjoyed it but the last 4 were too MOR for even me, and I am a bit of guilty pleasure type. Thanks though, 1 through 10 were great.

[TG]

I suppose I should hate most of this disc! It really goes against most of what I hold right and wrong about the music I listen to but this is so well sequenced and the songs, even though often not my thing, were chosen very well. I like this mix in spite of myself. I recognize many titles and some voices but really only know a couple of the songs.

1) Did Tiny Tim do a record with Curt Boetccher? Or maybe with the Mael brothers? This is a very odd opener that I find myself enjoying. Lush, string laden pop with falsetto vocals. A very pretty track.

2) Emitt Rhodes doing Love Will Stone You. One of the few that I recognize. Much of the CD travels this sort of path. Mr Rhodes made some fine recordings in his day.

3) Something about Goodbye Lower California that features a very Brian Wilson-esque treatment. I know this title and remember reading about this song/artist in the 70s or 80s. This one is okay but not great.

4) I got a track similar to this last month. A singer singing to his child about the breakup of his marriage. These types of songs don't really work for me. A little too maudlin for my taste. Last month's version was by Louden Wainwright. Is he doing this one too?

5) Beautifully recorded guitar that again put me in mind of The Beach Boys. No idea who this is. It sounds like one of those 70s Henry Gross or First Class type Beach Boys homages. Not as blatant but still in that vein. Hell this could almost be a more current Brit Pop track. I like it.

6) I know this one by title. It's a very 20s jazz, Tin Pan Alley thing about Simon Smith and his dancing bear. Nillson, perhaps? It's a bit too cutesy for my tastes but works so well in this context that I don't mind hearing it. Again, the sequencing of tracks helps to hold this mix together.

7) I've heard this before. Some guy singing about Wake Up Charlie. Did I get this on some previous mix? This one grows on me with each listen and for some reason puts me in mind of some John Prine song. I really want to see the reveal on this one.

8) More Tin Pan Alley/Beach Boys pastiche. This is a good track. Someone like Van Dyke Parks or something? I have no idea, really.

9) Maybe The Honeys? There is still more Beach Boys influence here. Or maybe real Beach Boys if it is The Honeys. Nice SoCal Pop that would fit beautifully into a sunny summer day.

10) Probably my favorite unknown track here. Very lush Bacharach/David type pop. Sounds like Shelby Lynne or someone like her. Long at 5 1/2 minutes but doesn't feel too long. It's a gorgeous track with seriously beautiful production touches. The singer has a wonderful voice and she carries the song - she makes it hers. This one I would likely buy.

11) This is the only track I pretty vigorously dislike. Most of that is down to the cheesy synths and Tom Scott like saxophone. Adult pop with no redeeming values to bail it out.

12) Recognizable voice doing more singer/popwriter music. Interesting instrumentation - mellotrons, simple drums, electric piano, etc. Is this Jeff Buckley? I may own but never play this already.

13) Sounds a bit like Bowie. It starts off all interesting but quickly takes a turn into very English Music hall stylee. This one doesn't really hold my interest.

14) Ah yes. Morpha, Too by Big Star. A song I never hear outside of the end of the LP side. It really fits into this mix and makes me hear it in a different light. Great choice.

15) Gotta be Tyrannosaurus Rex. I like Bolan way more when he plays a Les Paul. This is just too twee and hippie-ish for me.

16) Someone doing a very nice vocal and acoustic guitar take on Singing in the Rain. Very nice finger picking and sounds pretty much exactly like you think it would.

17) Syd Barrett doing Effervescing Elephant. Again the sequencing of the mix is stellar. I wouldn't have thought to include this or the Big Star track but they both work very well.

18) Gotta be Bryan Ferry. What a voice! I could listen to him sing the phone book. This isn't Roxy Music but sounds more like a Cabaret type song. Perhaps Kurt Weill? It is quite lovely.

19) Someone who sounds vaguely like Bryan Ferry doing Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Nothing terribly wrong with this but, truth be told, I've had about an ass full of covers of this song. Dylan did it and no one had ever added anything much to his version. This one is more interesting than most, however.

20) Girl singer in front of giant orchestra. Beautiful voice. Maybe from a film soundtrack? Not entirely my thing but it's very short and doesn't feel unwelcome here.

21) Someday My Prince Will Come but no idea who is doing this. Just over a minute so drifts by and is over just as it gets going.

22) Live track by very British sounding gentleman with an acoustic guitar. Long intro about his hemoglobin. It's called 12 Hours of Sunset - I know this cause he said so. We are over an hour into the mix and I've begun to lose my ability to pay attention. I keep trying to hear this song but it keeps drifting past me. I suppose it's not my thing.

So, overall a nice mix with some tracks that really surprised me. Or, rather, that I like this sort of thing more than I thought I did surprises me. Thanks to the mixer for a swell mix. I'm looking forward to the reveal.

[beenieman]

Track 1 – Tinny sound and lightweight singing. Intentionally so I guess. Sorry this is not a positive opening for me. Bar band. Hopefully not the mixers own recording.
Track 2 – Somewhat more professional. Very familiar intro. A missing 70’s rock song that should have hit, or did but not here.
Track 3 – Steps up again. I’ve forgiven the first track now. Very familiar feel to this very 70’s sounding pop tune.
Track 4 – To noisy for me. Possibly would have loved it at the time.
Track 5 – A respite after the previous song. Lovely introduction to a beautiful song. This is a very eclectic mix.
Track 6 – Not for me. A bit like B52’s in some of the playing around with instruments.
Track 7 – Another great song. Very quiet and a singer who if not a star should be. A look forward to the reveal.
Track 8 – Essentially a novelty song but a cute one.
Track 9 – Somewhat slight but another enjoyable track.
Track 10 – “Hate it when you leave”. A pleasant pop song. By Keith Richards no less! A surprisingly good voice unless it’s a cover.
Track 11 – The rhythm for this is SAW like. The vocals wouldn’t fly with those guys but a great tune there.
Track 12 – Another pop song that works well enough
Track 13 – Some 50’s jive. Amazing how this stuff holds up & still fits into mixes with much later stuff
Track 14 – Another great oldie. Not sure by me.
Track 15 – Another old old track. Good stuff.
Track 16 – Old blues track that works well. I like the girl’s interjections.
I like most of the mixes that come my way but this did not work well for me. Some excellent tracks but marred by some choices which no doubt felt great to the sender but failed to work for me. Put it down to different strokes for different folks. Thanks for the effort. I did warm to it as it progressed.

[Mike Boom]

I suppose I should hate most of this disc! It really goes against most of what I hold right and wrong about the music I listen to but this is so well sequenced and the songs, even though often not my thing, were chosen very well. I like this mix in spite of myself. I recognize many titles and some voices but really only know a couple of the songs.

1) Did Tiny Tim do a record with Curt Boetccher? Or maybe with the Mael brothers? This is a very odd opener that I find myself enjoying. Lush, string laden pop with falsetto vocals. A very pretty track.

2) Emitt Rhodes doing Love Will Stone You. One of the few that I recognize. Much of the CD travels this sort of path. Mr Rhodes made some fine recordings in his day.

3) Something about Goodbye Lower California that features a very Brian Wilson-esque treatment. I know this title and remember reading about this song/artist in the 70s or 80s. This one is okay but not great.

4) I got a track similar to this last month. A singer singing to his child about the breakup of his marriage. These types of songs don't really work for me. A little too maudlin for my taste. Last month's version was by Louden Wainwright. Is he doing this one too?

5) Beautifully recorded guitar that again put me in mind of The Beach Boys. No idea who this is. It sounds like one of those 70s Henry Gross or First Class type Beach Boys homages. Not as blatant but still in that vein. Hell this could almost be a more current Brit Pop track. I like it.

6) I know this one by title. It's a very 20s jazz, Tin Pan Alley thing about Simon Smith and his dancing bear. Nillson, perhaps? It's a bit too cutesy for my tastes but works so well in this context that I don't mind hearing it. Again, the sequencing of tracks helps to hold this mix together.

7) I've heard this before. Some guy singing about Wake Up Charlie. Did I get this on some previous mix? This one grows on me with each listen and for some reason puts me in mind of some John Prine song. I really want to see the reveal on this one.

8) More Tin Pan Alley/Beach Boys pastiche. This is a good track. Someone like Van Dyke Parks or something? I have no idea, really.

9) Maybe The Honeys? There is still more Beach Boys influence here. Or maybe real Beach Boys if it is The Honeys. Nice SoCal Pop that would fit beautifully into a sunny summer day.

10) Probably my favorite unknown track here. Very lush Bacharach/David type pop. Sounds like Shelby Lynne or someone like her. Long at 5 1/2 minutes but doesn't feel too long. It's a gorgeous track with seriously beautiful production touches. The singer has a wonderful voice and she carries the song - she makes it hers. This one I would likely buy.

11) This is the only track I pretty vigorously dislike. Most of that is down to the cheesy synths and Tom Scott like saxophone. Adult pop with no redeeming values to bail it out.

12) Recognizable voice doing more singer/popwriter music. Interesting instrumentation - mellotrons, simple drums, electric piano, etc. Is this Jeff Buckley? I may own but never play this already.

13) Sounds a bit like Bowie. It starts off all interesting but quickly takes a turn into very English Music hall stylee. This one doesn't really hold my interest.

14) Ah yes. Morpha, Too by Big Star. A song I never hear outside of the end of the LP side. It really fits into this mix and makes me hear it in a different light. Great choice.

15) Gotta be Tyrannosaurus Rex. I like Bolan way more when he plays a Les Paul. This is just too twee and hippie-ish for me.

16) Someone doing a very nice vocal and acoustic guitar take on Singing in the Rain. Very nice finger picking and sounds pretty much exactly like you think it would.

17) Syd Barrett doing Effervescing Elephant. Again the sequencing of the mix is stellar. I wouldn't have thought to include this or the Big Star track but they both work very well.

18) Gotta be Bryan Ferry. What a voice! I could listen to him sing the phone book. This isn't Roxy Music but sounds more like a Cabaret type song. Perhaps Kurt Weill? It is quite lovely.

19) Someone who sounds vaguely like Bryan Ferry doing Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Nothing terribly wrong with this but, truth be told, I've had about an ass full of covers of this song. Dylan did it and no one had ever added anything much to his version. This one is more interesting than most, however.

20) Girl singer in front of giant orchestra. Beautiful voice. Maybe from a film soundtrack? Not entirely my thing but it's very short and doesn't feel unwelcome here.

21) Someday My Prince Will Come but no idea who is doing this. Just over a minute so drifts by and is over just as it gets going.

22) Live track by very British sounding gentleman with an acoustic guitar. Long intro about his hemoglobin. It's called 12 Hours of Sunset - I know this cause he said so. We are over an hour into the mix and I've begun to lose my ability to pay attention. I keep trying to hear this song but it keeps drifting past me. I suppose it's not my thing.

So, overall a nice mix with some tracks that really surprised me. Or, rather, that I like this sort of thing more than I thought I did surprises me. Thanks to the mixer for a swell mix. I'm looking forward to the reveal.

Hi TG
Im glad you enjoyed at least some of the disc, I realised I was taking a bit of a risk with such a dosage of tweeness (which Im afraid I have an extremely high tolerance of, but I totally understand that others dont ), but Im glad you listened with an open mind, and I thought if you cant take a bit of a musical risk in BCB mix club then where ?

So..

1. Strawberry Tea - Tiny Tim
2. Slow Kiss - The Autumns
3. Love Will Stone You - Emitt Rhodes
4. Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear - Harpers Bizarre
5. Lower California - Jack Nitzsche
6. Charlie - Split Enz
7. Just Like a Man - Biff Rose
8. Kisses For The Misses - Richard Swift
9. It's Like Heaven - American Spring
10. People Used to Dream About the Future - A Girl Called Eddy
11. Never Let Her Slip Away - Andrew Gold
12. Losing Sleep - Richard Swift
13. The Whole Shebang - Grant Lee Buffalo
14. Morpha Too - Big Star
15. Once Upon the Seas of Abyssinia - T. Rex
16. Singin' In The Rain - John Martyn
17. Effervescing Elephant (Take 2) - Syd Barrett
18. September Song - Bryan Ferry
19. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Antony & The Johnsons
20. Brazil - Kate Bush
21. Someday My Prince Will Come - Sinéad O'Connor
22. Twelve Hours of Sunset - Roy Harper

My track listing for the first 5 or 6 songs doesnt seem to quite match up with yours, so maybe Ive made a mistake here, but the rest it right. The song you really like is a A Girl Called Eddy, its a seriously beautiful album, glad you liked it. The stinker was mellow California mafia dude Andrew Gold, and was probably a mistake to put this on, I actually like Lonely Boy so have a tolerance for this, but I understand your hate and actually fully support you, and the theory that Don Henley is the devil. The last track is Roy Harper, who I love, but I realised it was perhaps a track too far , its a long disc, but I love that track so much I left it on, revisit it when you have a chance, its a really lovely song that grows on you if you hear it in the right mood!

[geoffcowgill]

TRACKLISTING:
01) The Clean - Diamond Shine, 3.13.
02) Verlaines - You Say You, 7.14.
03) Split Enz - So Long For Now, 3.18
04) Pyjama Party - It's Love, 2.40.
05) Roland Kirk - Fallout, 3.01.
06) Wayne Shorter - Yes Or No, 6.34.
07) Rodriguez - Cause, 5.25.
08) Gary Higgens - I Can't Sleep At Night, 3.52.
09) John Martyn - Smiling Stranger, 3.29.
10) Triffids - Wide Open Road, 4.08.
11) Rowland S. Howard - Silver Chain, 4.38.
12) Opal - Supernova, 4.17.
13) Mission Of Burma - 1001 Pleasant Dreams, 3.49.
14) Mary Wells - If You Can't Give Her Love (Give Her Up), 2.57.
15) Harmonia - Dino, 3.30.
16) La Dusseldorf - Viva, 2.35.
17) Elizabeth Cotten - Oh Baby It Ain't No Lie, 4.40.
18) Marty Robbins - Running Gun, 2.12.

Thanks, Magilla! I'll have to look into that Neil Finn side project and keep a few of these others on my radar as well. Nice to be able to put a specific sound to the Triffids name now. Some very good stuff on here. I think maybe it was all just a bit too much to take in at once.

[geoffcowgill]

Well, Beenie, sorry this didn't do much for you. The concept, for what it's worth, was to give you half a disc from 2012 and then go back a decade at a time (2002, 1992, etc.) for a trek back into the past. Not much of a unifiying idea, really, but there you go.

Track 1 – Tinny sound and lightweight singing. Intentionally so I guess. Sorry this is not a positive opening for me. Bar band. Hopefully not the mixers own recording.

I find this stuff really infectious, but I can see how it might be a bit, ah, unpolished for some. It's Dr. Dog from Be The Void.

Track 2 – Somewhat more professional. Very familiar intro. A missing 70’s rock song that should have hit, or did but not here.

Yeah, pretty shamelessly retro, with a great Zeppelin-y swagger. The Heartless Bastards.

Track 3 – Steps up again. I’ve forgiven the first track now. Very familiar feel to this very 70’s sounding pop tune.

Yeah, some lovely power pop from John K. Samson.

Track 4 – To noisy for me. Possibly would have loved it at the time.

From the new Mark Lanegan. Sounds a bit Husker Du-like to my ears, at the start anyway.

Track 5 – A respite after the previous song. Lovely introduction to a beautiful song. This is a very eclectic mix.

This is a guy named Brian Lopez from a very good album, Ultra. He also does a good cover of "The Killing Moon" on here.

Track 6 – Not for me. A bit like B52’s in some of the playing around with instruments.

I can't quite hear the B-52s in this myself. Fanfarlo with "Tightrope".

Track 7 – Another great song. Very quiet and a singer who if not a star should be. A look forward to the reveal.

Yes, a great track from the new Nada Surf. I never got any of their earlier stuff, but had heard good things about their latest, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, and I might have to track down their previous work.

Track 8 – Essentially a novelty song but a cute one.

Punch Brothers, a collective of bluegrass-instrumentalists doing non-traditional original material. A couple of the songs on the album rub me the wrong way, but there's a lot to dig on there.

Track 9 – Somewhat slight but another enjoyable track.

Here's where we start to journey into the past, with Spoon from 2002's Kill the Moonlight.[/color]

Track 10 – “Hate it when you leave”. A pleasant pop song. By Keith Richards no less! A surprisingly good voice unless it’s a cover.

[color=#4040FF]Yep, Keef from one of my favorite 90s albums, Main Offender.

Track 11 – The rhythm for this is SAW like. The vocals wouldn’t fly with those guys but a great tune there.

That's Glen Tilbrook, sir! Squeeze from Sweets from a Stranger.

Track 12 – Another pop song that works well enough

Pre-"Year of the Cat" Al Stewart from Orange.

Track 13 – Some 50’s jive. Amazing how this stuff holds up & still fits into mixes with much later stuff

Early-60s Lee Dorsey.

Track 14 – Another great oldie. Not sure by me.

George's aunt Rosemary Clooney with the pretty nutty "Botch-a-Me," complete with harpsichord solo that splendidly spins out of control. Novelty nonsense, but fun.

Track 15 – Another old old track. Good stuff.

The incomparable Hoagy Carmichael with "Don't Forget to Say 'No', Baby". The scat isn't top notch, but fantastic lyrics. "If you want to please while I'm overseas, do a blackout from head to toe," sings the serviceman to his hopefully faithful sweetheart.

Track 16 – Old blues track that works well. I like the girl’s interjections.

No one sings the blues like Blind Willie McTell.

I like most of the mixes that come my way but this did not work well for me. Some excellent tracks but marred by some choices which no doubt felt great to the sender but failed to work for me. Put it down to different strokes for different folks. Thanks for the effort. I did warm to it as it progressed.

1- "Over Here Over There" Dr. Dog
2- "Late In The Night" Heartless Bastards
3- "Cruise Night" John K. Samson
4- "Quiver Syndrome" The Mark Lanegan Band
5- "Under Watchful Eyes" Brian Lopez
6- "Tightrope" Fanfarlo
7- "When I Was Young" Nada Surf
8- "Don't Get Married Without Me" Punch Brothers
9- "All The Pretty Girls Go To The City" Spoon
10- "Hate It When You Leave" Keith Richards
11- "Out Of Touch" Squeeze
12- "I'm Falling" Al Stewart
13- "Behind The 8-Ball" Lee Dorsey
14- "Botch-A-Me" Rosemary Clooney
15- "Don't Forget To Say 'No,' Baby" Hoagy Carmichael
16- "Searching The Desert For The Blues" Blind Willie McTell

[beenieman]

Quite a mellow little mix this month. Here we go.

The idea was to have something of a movie soundtrack fee, which you astutely noted on Track 1l.

1. Kicks off with a gentle laid-back instrumental. Harmonica takes the lead although at times it sounds like a melodean. Has a TV/movie soundtrack feel. Eight minutes long but something fresh always crops up as the attention sags.

Lee Oskar - Before The Rain. Lee was the white guy/harmonica player in War, one of my favourite bands who I put on Mix club discs quite a bit. Although I was already into War I’d never bought a solo album of Oskar’s till one day a friend & I went to Sam’s Record Store and agreed to but each other an album that they’d find great. I got himthe first Spandau Ballet LP which was a recent release at the time and he got me Lee Oskar’s Before The Rain LP. The exchange shames me to this day. Fortunately we lost touch so I don’t live with the shame on a regular basis.

2. Ethereal fade-in to an acoustic ballad. A touch of the antipodes in the vocals? I know it's a bit of a cliche but there's a definite Nick Drake influence going on. Lovely song though.

Alexi Murdoch - Through The Dark 5.41. I heard this in the movie “Gone Baby Gone” and downloaded it straight away. He’s a Scot.

3. Things stay rather blissed-out for this one. A sweet little song about despair and suicide . The voice is familiar but it aint coming.

David Francey - Things They Do. A Canadian singer who is obscure even there. I’ve used him a few times on Mix Club without repeating myself. Hag-man introduced me to him. Not from a soundtrack but it should be.

4. Morose female vocal buggering about with "Blue Moon". The mix went from laid-back to comotose with this one.

The Cowboy Junkies - Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis). More Canadians from yes, the world’s most comatose band. They’ve made their name by being slower than anyone else. I don’t like a lot of them but inserted on something like this mix worked for me.

5. Has to be Lucinda Williams though I don't know the track. A tellingly-detailed song about going back to the old place, childhood memories, etc. As with most of her stuff you start out thinking it's just okay but by the third play it gets under your skin. Best thing on the mix.

Lucinda Williams - Bus To Baton Rouge. My favourite on the mix too. I’ve liked this for a while but last year this came up on my mp3 player while I was on a boat going up the Li River to Gwailin in china (not trying to name drop here). Though about a bus rather than a boat it was perfect & I probably repeated it about 20 times. A beautiful song.

6.Well, this is "Belated Promise Ring" by Iron And Wine. First heard this on a Mojo cover disc. I was so impressed I bought the album. It wasn't very good. This is still a fantastic song though.

I got it from the Mojo disc too. Great song.
Sunday morning my Rebekahs sleeping in with me again
There's a kid outside the church kickin' a can

When the ceder branchs twist she turns her collar to the wind
The weather can close the world within it's hands

And my mother says Rebekah is as stubborn as they come
They both call me to with words I never knew

There's a bug inside the thimble there’s a band aid on her thumb
And a pony in the river turning blue

They say time may give you more than your poor bones could ever take
My Rebekah says she never wants a boy

To be barefoot on the driveway as they wave and ride away
And to run inside and curse the open door

I once gave to my Rebekah a belated promise ring
And she sold it to the waitress on a train

I may find her by the phone booth with a fashion magazine
She may kiss me when her girlfriends leave again

They say time may give you more then your poor bones could ever take
I think I could never love another girl

To be free atop a tree stump and to look the other way
While she shines my mothers imitation pearls

Sunday evening, my Rebeka's lost a book she never read
And the moon fell into the sea

So the statues of our fathers in the courthouse flowerbed
Now they bend with all the lighting tattered trees

They say time may give you more then your poor bones could ever take
My Rebekah said she knew I'd want a boy

A dollar for my boardwalk red balloon to float away
She would earn a pocketful to buy me more

I have only a vague idea of what those lyrics mean but I love them.

7. Things liven up a bit with a medium-paced poppy thing with some sweet girlie harmonies. Pleasant enough.

Anika Moa - Falling In Love Again. A New Zealander singer. A nice little pop ditty as you say. In terms of quality it is indeed not up to the prior tracks but nice enough?

8. Er...this is awful Whiney-brat vocal, no tune, shit lyrics. I am amazed that the person that I reckon is behind this mix goes for this crap. But then we all have our moments

Captain Soul - Looking For Love. From a 2003 Uncut magazine songs inspired by the Byrds disc. I thought it was nice enough. But I admit that i haven’t heard of them since.

9. Cat Steven's original version of "First Cut Is The Deepest". From the days before all that bed-sit Buddha nonsense when he was just a damn good pop singer. Mind you the Koobas did it better.

Not Cat. In fact I don’t think it sounds like him at all. Someone called Buva from the movie “The Heartbreak Kid”. Another KI downloaded straight after seeing the movie (which I wouldn’t bother hunting down too hard).

10. "White As Diamonds" - Alela Diane. Top track from a great album. Whatever happened to her?

I’m not hip enough to know she disappeared. I got this from a Mojo disc and received it on a Mix Club disc myself recently though I already had it lined up for this.

11. Finely-crafted if a little cliched country song. Nice bit of cello.

Uncle Kracker - Writing It Down. My 17 year old son thinks it the hipest track on the disc, along with Track 1.

12. Good closer. "Euro-trash Girl".Reminds me of Lambchop - the lyrics are certainly witty enough. Goes on for eight minutes but you don't really notice.

Cracker - Euro-Trash Girl. Another track I can listen to on repeat for hours. Great story about being ‘lost’ in Europe. I wouldn’t want it any shorter.
Well I've been up to Paris,
and I've slept in a park.
Went down to Barcelona,
someone broke in my car.
And I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for a Euro-trash Girl.

Took the train down to Athens,
and I slept in a fountain.
Some Swiss junkie in Turin
ripped me off for my cash.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, search the world over
for a Eurotrash Girl.

The CRS on the metro
shook me down for a bribe.
On my knees for the sergeant
when my passport arrived.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for a Euro-trash Girl

Euro-trash Girl, Euro-trash girl.
Euro-trash Girl, Euro-trash girl.

Called my mom from a payphone
I said "I'm down to my last."
She said "I sent you to college...
now go call your dad
And the waitress that he married,
well she hung up the phone.
You know she never did like me,
but I can stand on my own.

Sold my plasma in Amsterdam.
Spent it all in a night,
buying drinks at the Melk Weg
for a soldier in drag.
And I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for a Eurotrash Girl

Euro-trash Girl, Euro-trash girl.
Euro-trash Girl, (I'm a) Euro-trash girl.

Yeah, I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for a Eurotrash Girl

Got a tattoo in Berlin
(and a case of the crabs).
A rose and a dagger
on the palm of my hand.
And I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for a Eurotrash Girl.

Euro-trash Girl, Euro-trash girl.
Euro-trash Girl, (I'm a) Euro-trash girl.

Yeah, I'll search the world over
for my angel in black.
Yeah, I'll search the world over
for a Eurotrash Girl.

Many thanks to my mixer. Sorry about Track 8. Reveal away sir!

Here you go. Pleased it worked. No dancehall this time!

1. Lee Oskar Before The Rain 7.58
2. Alexi Murdoch Through The Dark 5.41 (From “Gone Baby Gone” O.S.T.)
3. David Francey Things They Do 3.39
4. The Cowboy Junkies Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis) 3.59
5. Lucinda Williams Bus To Baton Rouge 5.55
6. Iron & Wine Belated Promise Ring 3.40
7. Anika Moa Falling In Love Again 3.47
8. Captain Soul Looking For Love 3.20
9. Buva The First Cut Is The Deepest (From “The Heartbreak Kid” O.S.T.) 3.19
10. Alela Diane White As Diamonds 3.30
11. Uncle Kracker Writing It Down 4.37
12. Cracker Euro-Trash Girl 8.04

[Mike Boom]

Apologies to my mixer for the delay in getting my review together, will be posted tonite, thanks for your patience.

[beenieman]

Well, Beenie, sorry this didn't do much for you. The concept, for what it's worth, was to give you half a disc from 2012 and then go back a decade at a time (2002, 1992, etc.) for a trek back into the past. Not much of a unifiying idea, really, but there you go.

I always appreciate the idea of a theme. 2012 is perhaps too modern for me in any music bar dancehall

[Mike Boom]

1. I love me some Sinartra. I don't know this particular song, but its great. He had that X Factor in spades didnt he ? What a voice.

2. Straight into some reggae from The Congo's ? Not sure of the song but Im pretty sure its them.

3. Lovely song, from a female singer whose voice is strangely familiar, but I cant quite place, nice spacey arrangement and I like how the drums come in late in the song. Very nice and Im sure I will kick myself when I find out who this is.

4. Nice psychedelic acoustic number, again very airy and spacey arrangement, very enjoyable. No idea on this one.

5. Ray Charles, What Id Say, classic, love that electric piano sound.

6. MIA Paper Planes, kinda catchy, and pleasant enough , not really my bag tho I see its merits.

7. Nice folky acoustic drone, very nice keyboards, very hypnotic track, I like it.

8. Perhaps my fave Richard Thompson track, up there anyway, Vincent Black Lightening, the ending never fails to move me, brings a lump to the throat when he hands over the keys. Great lyric. Fantastic song.

9. This is some funky shit right here, great stuff and I have no idea who it is. Outstanding vocal.

10. Mozzer - The Never Played Symphonies - marvellous, one of his many many over looked gems. Love it.

11. Eno, By This River, lovely stuff. Drifts by in a lovely haze

12. Really like this but have no idea who it is, kinda Small Faceish, but not them. Great stuff.

13. Rockin Rod, Killing of Georgie - just about at the end of his classic period perhaps his last great moment ? Lovely song.

14. Not sure who this is, but it follows the relaxing, trancelike feel of a lot of the CD, and is a beautiful voice, piano track. Interested in who this is.

15. Mercy , its the Staples Singers, again featuring some nice electric piano licks, I'll Take You There, great end to a great collection.


Great mix , right up my street, this will be resident on the car stereo for a while, many thanks to my mixer for a gorgeous collection of tracks that is both relaxing and laid back without ever being boring. Perfect after a long day at work.

[dgs]

Hi Mike

Your mix this month came from me and glad that it seemes to have been well received. It was a collection of the 30 songs that I chose for this years cup. Also seems it’s better appreciated listened to rather than looked at as a list.

1. I love me some Sinartra. I don't know this particular song, but its great. He had that X Factor in spades didnt he ? What a voice.

1. I Would Be In Love (Anyway) 2:33 Frank Sinatra – Great isn’t, become a bit of a fixation lately listening to this album. Watertown, it’s a board favourite.

2. Straight into some reggae from The Congo's ? Not sure of the song but Im pretty sure its them.

2. Children Crying 4:13 The Congos – Very easy on the ear, produced by the mighty Lee Scratch Perry.

3. Lovely song, from a female singer whose voice is strangely familiar, but I cant quite place, nice spacey arrangement and I like how the drums come in late in the song. Very nice and Im sure I will kick myself when I find out who this is.

3. Little Bird 4:25 Goldfrapp – taken from their 4th album this one. They started out as a kind of trip hop act back in the day but their sound has grown and I think this one of the standout tracks on seventh tree.

4. Nice psychedelic acoustic number, again very airy and spacey arrangement, very enjoyable. No idea on this one.

4. I Am Daylights 3:05 Songs Of Green Pheasant – This is taken from the self titled first album, very interesting lo-fi folk piece. Number of albums afterward but none have managed to get the same feel as this track.

5. Ray Charles, What Id Say, classic, love that electric piano sound.

5. What'd I Say, Parts 1 & 2 6:29 Ray Charles – Indeed, we played this to death on our US road trip last year.

6. MIA Paper Planes, kinda catchy, and pleasant enough , not really my bag tho I see its merits.

6. Paper Planes (Blaqstarr remix) 4:02 M.I.A. – Yep, different mix on this one. I like the original better.

7. Nice folky acoustic drone, very nice keyboards, very hypnotic track, I like it.

7. John Taylor's Month Away 6:32 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – one of the best albums from last year, Diamond Mine, which is just about to get a redux release. Doesn’t take long these days.

8. Perhaps my fave Richard Thompson track, up there anyway, Vincent Black Lightening, the ending never fails to move me, brings a lump to the throat when he hands over the keys. Great lyric. Fantastic song.

8. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning 4:43 Richard Thompson – A real song that tells a story, two in a row. You don’t get many of them these days.

9. This is some funky shit right here, great stuff and I have no idea who it is. Outstanding vocal.

9. Listen to Me 6:42 Baby Huey – Another board favourite, I have Bhoywonder to thank for this one.

10. Mozzer - The Never Played Symphonies - marvellous, one of his many many over looked gems. Love it.

10. The Never Played Symphonies 3:04 Morrissey – Agreed, love the orchestration on this one.

11. Eno, By This River, lovely stuff. Drifts by in a lovely haze

11. By This River 3:04 Brian Eno – yep. Have you heard the version by Ryiuchi Sakamoto and Alva Novo? Equally brilliant but in a modern minimalist/glitch style.

12. Really like this but have no idea who it is, kinda Small Faceish, but not them. Great stuff.

12. From The Underworld 3:16 The Herd – This is the only track that I have by the Herd but it’s a great one.

13. Rockin Rod, Killing of Georgie - just about at the end of his classic period perhaps his last great moment ? Lovely song.

13. The Killing Of Georgie (Part I & II) 6:17 Rod Stewart – Yes. I have this on a mix of about 700 songs for travelling and it seemed of late to be one that constantly came up on the random setting.

14. Not sure who this is, but it follows the relaxing, trancelike feel of a lot of the CD, and is a beautiful voice, piano track. Interested in who this is.

14. Mistress [Piano Version] 4:33 Red House Painters – Red House Painters are a bit of a doom and gloom band but this version of the track, on the piano is exquisite.

15. Mercy , its the Staples Singers, again featuring some nice electric piano licks, I'll Take You There, great end to a great collection.

15. I'll Take You There 4:45 The Staple Singers – Another one that got hammered on the road last year.


Great mix , right up my street, this will be resident on the car stereo for a while, many thanks to my mixer for a gorgeous collection of tracks that is both relaxing and laid back without ever being boring. Perfect after a long day at work.

Glad that you liked it.


1. I Would Be In Love (Anyway) 2:33 Frank Sinatra
2. Children Crying 4:13 The Congos
3. Little Bird 4:25 Goldfrapp
4. I Am Daylights 3:05 Songs Of Green Pheasant
5. What'd I Say, Parts 1 & 2 6:29 Ray Charles
6. Paper Planes (Blaqstarr remix) 4:02 M.I.A.
7. John Taylor's Month Away 6:32 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins
8. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning 4:43 Richard Thompson
9. Listen to Me 6:42 Baby Huey
10. The Never Played Symphonies 3:04 Morrissey
11. By This River 3:04 Brian Eno
12. From The Underworld 3:16 The Herd
13. The Killing Of Georgie (Part I & II) 6:17 Rod Stewart
14. Mistress [Piano Version] 4:33 Red House Painters
15. I'll Take You There 4:45 The Staple Singers

[The Fish]

Well due to the odd format of the disc I got from Diamond Dog, I have no running order as such and just the initials identifying the folder containing each track. This means that I was able to identify most if not all. Also they appear in alphabetical order, so tonight for the first time in Mix Club, my review will be done in Blockbusters stylee.



OK we’re ready for the gold run. The time starts as soon as you choose your first letters.

BM
I’m still torn on the great Associates debate. I’m probably with Slider on the voice thing, although even then I generally like that “tortured” sound. I want to like it but he just sounds too ridiculous at times. Here though, solo, where he reins in a bit it sounds great. Shades of The Bathers here which is a good thing. Quite like this on balance.

BR
I have some Bic Runga somewhere so this is a bit of a reminder that I haven’t listened to her in a while. Love the voice here although the track whilst never less than pleasant doesn’t really take off.

DF
I recall you posting a while back about David Ford. Can’t say I’ve ever heard anything by him. Liked this well enough, but it’s a bit of an overcrowded market really, the intense singer songwriter thing and not sure this stands out from the crowd in any way.

EC
Not Eric or Elvis but Edwyn. This is actually rather wonderful. Churlishly granted, I tend to think that like Morrissey, while I do like the solo stuff, there’s always something missing it seems when removed from that band dynamic and neither has quite hit the heights of Smiths/Orange Juice respectively. But there are highs for sure and this is one of them.

EJ
Well Elton is one of those artists I really can’t decide on. I love Tumbleweed Connection and Captain Fantastic but Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for example I don’t care if I never hear it again. Wasn’t this the album that was supposed to revisit the Tumbleweed Connection sound ? I can’t see it. There is something in the timbre of his voice that irks me except on certain material. Found this a bit dull to be honest.

JB
Two for the price of one here one male and one female from a compilation it seems. Do they both have the initials JB ? Whoever they are and for whatever reason they’ve been thrown together here I quite like both. I suppose they are both of a similar style. Moody low key folky.

LW
Well the good old Three Track Shack is the way to get this batch of Link Wray albums I guess. I own a copy myself. Hard not to love this, even though his voice isn’t one of the greatest. The song is terrific.

MB
No idea who this one is as no cover art appears and I don’t recognise the album or track title. Starts as a soul pop slow burner, kind of a modern take on what Dusty was doing way back when and builds to a crescendo with massive drum rolls and big overblown cheesy guitar. Probably a bit overlong for what it is but I quite enjoyed this all the same.

PJ
Know the name Pajama Club but haven’t heard then at all. And I have to say it isn’t really grabbing me. All sung in a “soulful” voice without any real soul in it. Sorry, pass.

PW
This though is great of course. What does Yomp know anyway ? Paul Weller. Magnificent.

R
This one is totally unidentified Unknown album – track 5. Not REM is it ? Can’t imagine anything by them would fail to find a match when ripped. A bit of their style in there. Some of the progressions and tempo changes etc remind me of Nightswimming. Like this in any case.

RF
Very few people can pick up a guitar and make a noise as wonderful as this. Roddy Frame. Simple and sublime.

SP
Snow Patrol. A band I have absolutely no opinion on whatsoever. I’m certainly not a knee jerk hater, I mean I don’t actually mind Chasing Cars (not the same as loving it) but I found this all a bit dull really.

Thanks Pete. I enjoyed a lot of that with only a couple of duffers.

[Duncan]

OK, here goes...

1. A bit of early Jackie Wilson to kick us off. One of Berry Gordy's co-writes, presumably. Nice.

2. Spaghetti Western meets James Bond. I really enjoyed this, it has pretty unique sound. I love the way it strays between jazzy lounge and dark fuzzed-out guitar. I'm genuinely quite fascinated by this and I'm looking forward to the reveal.

3. The effortlessly cool Andre Williams. Two weeks ago I would have no idea what this was, but I've been gorging myself on Williams recently.

4. Another outing for Jackie Wilson. And why not. It's always good to be reminded just how incredible the man was.

5. Barbara Stephens - Wait A Minute. Another belter. I adore the piano here. The Stax rhythm guys are really cookin' too.

6. Jazzy tropical rhythms and raspy call and response vocals. Yes please. Crackin' percussion work.

7. Joyous gospel goodness. There's probably a goldmine of this stuff out there that I'm completely oblivious to.

8. Smokey late-night blues from the master, Etta James. Just about perfect, I reckon. Classy all the way. The syrupy strings on songs of this vintage tend to put me off, but here they sound great.

9. A little bit too blues bar rock for my tastes, but the drumming's great and you can't deny the infectious bounce.

10. Jackie's back, and this time he's brought Lavern with him. They work off of each other really well. Jackie did some fantastic duets but this is as good as any of them.

11. This is great. I love the lo-fi sound and the way the hypnotic guitar just relentlessly churns away under the vocals.

12. Parliament - Give up the funk. Hell yeah.

13. This is a curious little fella. It took a few spins, but I'm definitely sold. The lyrics are almost incomprehensible and the vocals are bonkers, but that just adds to the charm. Great piano and shuffly rhythms, too.

14. Sassy blues number accompanied by male sobbing and gently tickled ivories. The bluesy rhythm is fairly generic but well played. I like it.

15. Yes! I love these funky party tracks that sound like they're being made up as they go along. It's great fun too. Loads of attitude.

16. Another soul-drenched piece of gospel goodness. I'm not quite as blown away by this one as track 7, but I'm certainly inspired enough to do a bit of research.

Fab. Cheers. A solid selection of soulful grooves. I'm already familiar with a good chunk of them but it was hardly a chore having to listen to them again as part of a well-sequenced mix. The tracks that I didn't know all warrant further investigation, so thanks again. Lovely stuff.

[moonie]

Hey there, glad to get you some new stuff to groove to. Will do the complete reveal by this weekend.

[Nolamike]

Yikes! I just saw that you went back and edited this post; I was waiting for a new post with everything, so here I was thinking you were slacking! Many, many, many apologies. Here's a VERY belated reveal:

1) I don't remember if I expressed my next "must do before I die" wishes here, but one of those wishes were somehow get involved in a second line. Imagine my bliss when I inserted the disc into the player and the first tune was totally a NO brass band throw down...

As previously mentioned, this is the Stooges Brass Band, with "Wind It Up." They were the main attraction on one of the nights of the recent NOLA Jolly Up... but don't worry, I'll take you to see 'em if y'all ever make it to town.

2) The first thing I thought when I heard this I thought it was James Booker, but I think it's far too old. Classic boogie-woogie piano, excellent piece!

This is a predecessor, in a roundabout way, of Booker. This is Lionel Belasco, with "Go Away Gal." He's from Venezuela, but played in a Caribbean style. Supposedly, he recorded about 50% (!) of all commercially released music in the Caribbean between 1920 and 1940 or so.

New Orleans music, especially the piano-playing, has been characterized (most notably by Jelly Roll Morton) as having "a Spanish tinge." This is the kind of stuff that's meant by that, although a bit heavier on the tinge than our local variants.

3) I love this tune, and find myself skipping back to it quite a bit. Anytime you pair a piano and acoustic guitar I'm in. Whomever is singing has the most soothing voice, and I'm not even sure I need to know what he's singing about

It's a Turkish guy, who released one gem of a folky rock album in the early '70s, and who has released things sporadically since then. Bulent Ortacgil, with "Gunaydin."

4) Have I mentioned I love track 3?
I like track 4, very playful, creole music (can you explain the difference, if any, between cajun and creole?)
I really like her voice as well...

This is Feufollet, with "Ouvre la Porte," one of my favorite-ever tunes. I still plan on learning French (the sooner the better, as my five year old daughter is learning it at school), but supposedly this is a duet between a dying wife, encouraging her husband to go out and find a new wife once she croaks, and the husband, saying he'd rather just wait until he gets to join her in the great beyond. For the subject matter, I love how whimsical it is; this is actually a centuries old Cajun tune, that is usually heard in a more somber setting. Doing odd things like that (and adding things like the toy piano) is one of the hallmarks of this band, who happen to be my favorite contemporary group.

As far as the difference between cajun and creole... basically, Creoles are the folks who come from New Orleans, and who have a mix of African and French in their backgrounds. Not to generalize, but historically (and still to this day) Creoles have often been labeled as lighter-skinned, fairly well-to-do African Americans.

Cajuns are the direct French descendants of the people from Acadia (basically Nova Scotia and Southeastern Canada) who were forcibly removed in the 1700s, and shipped to Louisiana.

If you're referring to music, you may be thinking of Cajun and Zydeco. The basic rule of thumb (though none of these rules are unbreakable) is that Cajun will feature a triangle as the odd percussive instrument, is mostly sung by folks of European-American backgrounds, and is heavy on the waltz; Zydeco features washboard as the odd percussive instrument, is mostly sung by folks with African backgrounds, and is very blues-based.

5) Love it, need to scream it at my students, I think.

Dora Bliggen, some long-forgotten New Orleans lady, recreating the cry of fruit-sellers in the city back in the late 1800s. "Blackberries," in case you couldn't figure it out!

6) This is a fun track as well, instrumental, plunky string piece of which I know nothing...really a great tune though

A track from the first-ever LP released by a group from Zimbabwe, the Green Arrows, with "No Delay." The triple-fret threat!

7) Can I just say I listen to a lot of this old stuff, and I want to kiss this man for tuning his fiddle. He's very good and I love to hear him singing as well.

A great old Cajun track, Aubrey Deville, Isom Fontenot, and Preston Manuel with "La Vieux Boeuf et la Vieux Chariot."

8) The mister LOVES this tune, I can dig it and have grown to like it much more. The mister, however, skips to this tune in the car every time lately

Tim Maia, Brazil's greatest soul singer, with "Imunizacao Racional," off of his album Racional, which was a road-map to happiness, at least according to the cult he was briefly involved with at the time of this recording. Despite the weird cultish backdrop, it remains his best album, and this isn't even the best track off the thing - I only chose this because it didn't run eight or more minutes, like the rest!

9) I don't really care what this cat is singing, it's fucking amazing.

Charley Patton with the original version of "A Spoonful Blues," which Howlin' Wolf later adapted into his own "Spoonful." Of all of the "primitive" Delta singers, Patton is my favorite, even ahead of Robert Johnson.

10) I don't know why but this song just screams "we like the Beatles"- they have a great sound and another girl vocalist I'd like to investigate.

Back to Brazil, but for a contemporary act; Karina Buhr with "A Pessoa Morre." Her entire album, from 2011, is pretty great.

11) Pre-Bop? The only reason I say that is because the clarinet/oboes disappeared right around Bop and this tune shows what a mistake that was...very bluesy but no clue as to who it is...

Very pre-bop - Duke Ellington with "Creole Love Call." And I'm right there with ya - love the clarinet/oboe sound!

12) Harmonies are cool, lay one on top of that!

A brief snippet from the recent Smile box from the Beach Boys, "My Only Sunshine, Pt. 2."

13) I kinda felt like I needed a permission slip to listen to this and track 16. "Please allow this hopelessly soulless white girl partake in this groove" or some such.

Eddie Bo has that effect on people, especially with this track, "The Thang, Pt. 1." My favorite thing about Bo (apart from his disturbing teeth and his proclivity for wearing turbans, solely for fashion purposes) are that (1) he wrote "Slippin' and Slidin'," which was covered by Little Richard and Buddy Holly (!), and (2) while he was great in that style, he later became one of the prime architects of the New Orleans funk sound. The man was an unsung genius.

14) Another rootsy/folky piece, again regional but sounds a bit more modern than some of the others...like all these tracks- totally new stuff to me.

Ann Savoy and her hubs, Joel Savoy, with an old Cajun tune, "Si J'Aurais des Ailes." They put out an album years ago with various famous folks (e.g., LInda Rondstadt) doing Cajun tunes, which got some press. They're great.

15) Time dudn't change, does it? Love her voice.

An old New Orleans preacher woman, Sister Dora Alexander, with "Times Done Changed." And how!

17) Hells yeah, brass band again. I really can't wait to get down there. Until I do, I have this wonderful cd to keep me motivated!

Yep, the Eureka Brass Band, with "Lord, Lord, Lord."

18) Good God, if I could only play like the first four bars of this I'd be happy...unbelievable piano.

The inimitable James Booker, with a live take on his signature tune, "Classified."

19) I love these random acapella pieces...they just make me think of all the mamas who sing to their babies and leave that voice with their children to remember forever.

A Lomax recording, Vera Hall with "Mama's Gonna Buy."

20) Not a clue, but it sounds very low-fi, which I like

Roky Erickson, with "Birds'd Crash." This was recorded on a tape deck during his stay at a mental institute in the early '70s, between sessions of electroshock therapy. I love the guy's way with words.

21) Some good preaching, amen.

Brother I.D. Beck with a testimony, also recorded by Lomax.

22) I love this tune, and love this version...Blind Boys maybe??

The Treme Brass Band, with their take on "I'll Fly Away," which I figured a good ol' Kentucky gal might like!

As I mentioned, I LOVE this CD. It's absolutely new stuff to me and stuff I had recently been getting more in to. Many, many thanks for the effort!!

Thanks Moonie! And sorry for such a delayed review - I screwed up there! If you ever get down to New Orleans, I can take y'all to see this kind of stuff live. Some dinners and cocktails are on me.