June 2012 Reviews

[TG]

Many thanks to my mixer this month, a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Just a couple of clunkers towards the beginning.

I was your MixMaster this time out. I did a very quick run through of your more recent mixes, Now Playing thread, etc. and figured if I stayed with punk & funk I'd be alright. I veered off here and there as the mix proceeded but that was the original thought. Here is what you got...

1) A live version of California Soul, nice and funky although I prefer the Marlena Shaw one. The end reveals it to be Carolyn Franklin.

Fanny Franklin, actually. This version was by The Dakah Hip Hop Orchestra, a 70 piece (approximately) outfit that features string section, horns, reeds, electric bass, guitar, keyboards, drums (usually Questlove from The Roots), singers, rappers, DJs, etc. I've seen them live several times and they are always amazing. They might do a song stringing several Sugarhill early hits together into a piece, another segment might be some Ellington or Basie, and they would usually do one out of left field Top 40 number. One show that I attended it was this version of California Soul and so the next year I bought the live CD.

2) An understated hammondy cover version of something, that I can only think of as being sung by some American boy band. By understated I mean a little bit dull.

Well known American boy band (even though they have a girl bass player) The Drive By Truckers backing up Booker T. from a couple of years ago. I think it's a Booker T. original. It's the B-Side of a Record Store Day 45 and those two songs are all I've heard but I like 'em both.

3) Not so keen on this. Is it the Dixie Chicks or something?

If the Dixie Chicks are this funky or have a guitarist this good I'll listen to them! This is I Know by Dionne Farris. A hit around these parts several years ago. Very commercial but I dig this a lot.

4) Ah.. now this swings a bit. Kind of a New Orleans feel to this. Great track

One of my favorite finds from the last couple of years ago. From a Dizzy Gillespie LP called "Soul & Salvation" that, according to the liner notes, was a blend of the then new-ish Soul Music and more sanctified Church Music. I found the record in a thrift store and this track (Rutabaga Pie) has given me so much pleasure. It's an obvious cop of Watermelon Man and it does swing like a mutha.

5) This is Way Down In The Hole by Tom Waits. Ace

That it is.

6) And this is.. from the early 90s. US3 ? It’s called Cantaloupe I’m pretty sure, based on a Herbie Hancock track?

Correct, except it's spelled Cantaloop.

7) Sounds like Curtis Mayfield singing.. but must be very late Curtis, actually it’s probably Prince. Pretty damn fine anyway.

Coleen by Bristol based Heavy. Guitar, bass, drums and vocals but also loads of samples, loops, etc. This is from the CD "Great Vengeance and Furious Fire" which I recommend. A band worth checking out.

8) Very funky, Hammond driven version of Bring Down The Birds (I think). I really like this, it has a lot more abandon than track 2.

The James Taylor Quartet doing the theme song from Blow Up. Another Herbie Hancock original, actually.

9) Heavy heavy funk with a load of fuzz.

Life And Death In G & A by Joe Hicks. Sly Stone song and production and it's on his Stone Flower label and it's probably him on some or all of the instruments on this really sparse track.

10) Last Poets.. Lightning Rod.. one of those proto hip hop/funk types. I do like this one but usually have a hit and miss opinion of it.

Last Poets doing O.D. with Buddy Miles playing the organ.

11) Now this I like a lot. Ton of trumpet(?) all over it

Oh it's trumpet, alright. The 45 edit of Miles Davis' Miles Runs The Voodoo Down. This should have been a hit.

12) What genre is this? I suspect this is quite modern, it’s OK without ever really quite grabbing or going anywhere. I bet it’s called Falling Down.

Falling Down by Scarlett Johansson from the CD she did of Tom Waits covers. I've put this on several Mix Club comps, I think.

13) This is one of those quirky American 90s indie types, like Cake or someone. Quite endearing really.

Soul Coughing doing Blue Eyed Devil. I hear these guys a lot and can never remember who they are. It seemed to fit the mix so it was added.

14) A sea shanty that rocks. I should really know who this is. I’m disappointed in myself but not the choice of this track

The mighty, mighty Pere Ubu doing Wasted. Guitar solo by the late and really great Jim Jones.

15) I like this one, another instrumental with a strong bass line.

I can tell you very little about this one. The band is called The Mooney Suzuki and I hear them on Little Steven's Underground Garage radio station all the time and I always like their stuff. This track - Inaarluude - is the B-Side of a 45 of theirs that I found recently. It is a cool instrumental and seemed to go into this mix nicely.

16) Sonic Youth.. Sugar Kane. An all time favourite of mine.

This is probably my favorite of theirs though, to be honest, I don't know a lot of their output.

17) And to end, a bit of the old hip hop with some pleasing farty noises... which stops part way through the track and then we cut to a snippet of a radio introduction from someone complaining about the weather in Memphis.

Treach Battle Beat by DJ Shadow. It's an interesting enough track but my favorite part is the odd little radio snippet attached to the end. The announcer is nearly giddy throughout but when he ends with - "...no worries, few cares, everybody's happy..." you can almost feel his sincerity. He's having a remarkable time.

I'm sure this was the first time I included any Hip Hop on a Mix Club CD and I gave you several tracks. I'm glad that went over okay and that the mix picked up for you after the slow start.

California Soul Dakah Hip Hop Orchestra
Reunion Time Booker T. w/DBT
I Know Dionne Farris
Rutabaga Pie Dizzy Gillespie
Way Down In The Hole Tom Waits
Cantaloop Us3
Coleen Heavy
Blow Up The James Taylor Quartet
Life And Death in G & A Joe Hicks
O.D. The Last Poets (w/Buddy Miles)
Miles Runs The Voodoo Down Miles Davis
Falling Down Scarlett Johansson
Blueeyed Devil Soul Coughing
Wasted Pere Ubu
Innaarluude The Mooney Suzuki
Sugar Kane (Edit) Sonic Youth
Treach Battle Beat DJ Shadow

[TG]

And now for my very tardy review. Sorry to all past Mix Club mixers; this is the best mix I've ever received. There are a couple of tracks that don't move me completely but the highs are so high that it would be difficult to keep up that pace over the 18 tracks on this CD. If this didn't come from a gentleman from north of here with whom I have had a beer or two; I'd be surprised.

1. Out of the box with a home run. No idea what this is but it's really funky. If I had to guess I'd say this was somebody who wasn't known as a singer and was moonlighting. Like those R&B records Bill Cosby used to make this one features a red hot band with a sort of singing, sort of talking vocal over the blistering track. I want this record.

2. Starts out with a very odd, primitive sounding guitar part that is actually well played. Begins to sound like what a 60s sitcom writer thought a rock band sounded like. Then come the vocals and after several listens I still don't know what language it is. The guitarist is mental - doing all these fast runs and volume knob tricks in the background. I don't think I'd buy this but it is an interesting record.

3. Somebody doing Just A Little Bit, a song I know from several other versions but not this one. A good band backing up an okay to good singer. Some nice sax playing.

4. Albert King doing Cross Cut Saw but a later version than the one I know. I doubt that he did a bad version of it so no matter. This is an incredible riff, the horn parts are nice, I mean how can you go wrong with this song?

5. I'm going to guess that this might be King Floyd of Groove Me fame. It just feels like that same sort of record. Whatever it is it's a fine record.

6. A very odd blend of instruments on this Southern Funk record. Sounds like Wilson Pickett singing over Booker T & the MGs with horns, an electric sitar and a pretty hot pedal steel player. It isn't that but it could almost be. I like this a lot and would likely buy this.

7. The Olympics doing My Baby Loves The Western Movies. I love this little piece of sub Lieber & Stoller storytelling. I never play this record but the inclusion here has had me singing this every day.

8. Some low down Jump Blues / Boogie Woogie with (I think) Wynonie Harris singing. Ooo-weeee this is a bad jam.

9. Starts out sounding like it might be Max Frost & the Troopers' The Shape Of Things To Come but ends up a pretty happening little organ workout. The band is working hard and pull this off. Another track I'd buy.

10. Maybe an Art Tatum record? I'm terrible at guessing these things and probably shouldn't try. A red hot bass player, drummer...hell, everybody on this record can flat out play!!! No idea what it is but damn, it's a fine tune. This is the track that I put on repeat several times.

11. Another funky instro with an amazing drummer and all sorts of wild reverb and echo and wah wah guitars and it races along at break neck speed. Seems like one of those "Funky 16 Corners" one offs or something.

12. An amazing little piece of jazz with a locked-as-tight-as-possible piano and bass playing an odd little descending riff, cool snare and cymbal work and ever so tasty horns doing the heavy lifting. I'm not sure who this is but I'd bet I own something by them. And I'd bet it's on Blue Note. I just noticed that it's almost ten minutes long and it's so great that I never even noticed its length before right now. An excellent track.

13. A very hip guitar instrumental. This guy is good. Such tone! This is someone well known and I'm going to kick myself for not recognizing this. A very serious bit of guitar playing and it wraps up in under three minutes.

14. Pig Snoots by the Natural Bridge Bunch featuring the mighty Andre Williams. I bought this record but I don't know how one could leave a record with that title and pedigree behind?

15. This is the one track that doesn't move me so much. An interesting instrumental track with Spanish language female vocals that sound a bit too close to (again) the kind of "rock" music you might hear on Love American Style or something. Just not my thing.

16. 70s soul by the sound. Maybe The Honey Cone or Freda Payne or something. Another great track that I'd likely buy. A nice vocal that somehow sells the somewhat trite lyrics.

17. The first second or two you could tell this was a Chicago Soul record and then it was just another second or two to realize it was Major Lance with Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um. I was only 7 or 8 when this was released but I loved it then and I love it now. Great choice.

18. Maybe another lost classic "Funky 16 Corners" deal? I feel like I should know this but I don't. It reminds me of that early to mid 70s East Side funk like Malo or Tower of Power or something. A very cool track that, once again, I'd like to own. This mix is going to cost me a fortune...

Thanks to the mixer for a really swell CD that has gotten and will continue to get multiple spins. And, as I'm getting far too used to saying, sorry for the tardiness.

[beenieman]

And now for my very tardy review. Sorry to all past Mix Club mixers; this is the best mix I've ever received.

[T. Willy Rye]

And now for my very tardy review. Sorry to all past Mix Club mixers; this is the best mix I've ever received. There are a couple of tracks that don't move me completely but the highs are so high that it would be difficult to keep up that pace over the 18 tracks on this CD. If this didn't come from a gentleman from north of here with whom I have had a beer or two; I'd be surprised.

I have to say that you set a really high bar with your monster mix from a few months ago. I'm glad this worked as well as it did.


1. Out of the box with a home run. No idea what this is but it's really funky. If I had to guess I'd say this was somebody who wasn't known as a singer and was moonlighting. Like those R&B records Bill Cosby used to make this one features a red hot band with a sort of singing, sort of talking vocal over the blistering track. I want this record.

This is Soul Party Part 1 by Billy Clark and the Maskman. I've been on a bit of an Ace kick lately and this is from a recent acquisition called Dynamic Grooves.

2. Starts out with a very odd, primitive sounding guitar part that is actually well played. Begins to sound like what a 60s sitcom writer thought a rock band sounded like. Then come the vocals and after several listens I still don't know what language it is. The guitarist is mental - doing all these fast runs and volume knob tricks in the background. I don't think I'd buy this but it is an interesting record.

I wasn't sure where you stood with regards to Brazilian rock hybrids, but this song has been asserting itself into my music playing rotation a little too loudly to be ignored, it's Gil Gilberto backed by Os Mutantes with Procissao.



3. Somebody doing Just A Little Bit, a song I know from several other versions but not this one. A good band backing up an okay to good singer. Some nice sax playing.

This is Rosco Gordon’s version, which, I think is one of the first versions, as he is often cited as one of the writers of the song. There appears to be some controversy, though:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_a_Lit ... on_song%29

"Just a Little Bit" was developed when Rosco Gordon was touring with West Coast blues artist Jimmy McCracklin. According to Gordon, McCracklin started to write the song and agreed that Gordon could finish it with both of them sharing the credit.[2] Gordon later presented a demo version to Ralph Bass at King Records, who was reportedly uninterested in the song.[2] Gordon then approached Calvin Carter at Vee-Jay Records, who agreed to record it. Meanwhile, Federal Records, a King Records subsidiary released a version of "Just a Little Bit" by R&B singer Tiny Topsy (1959 Federal 45-12357),[3] with songwriting credit given to Ralph Bass and several others unknown to Gordon.[2] The Tiny Topsy song, featuring a pop-style arrangement with background singers and flute, did not reach the record charts.[4]



4. Albert King doing Cross Cut Saw but a later version than the one I know. I doubt that he did a bad version of it so no matter. This is an incredible riff, the horn parts are nice, I mean how can you go wrong with this song?

You are correct. I took this one from another Ace comp called Stax of Funk 2. Late version though it may be, he still seems to be really enjoying himself.

5. I'm going to guess that this might be King Floyd of Groove Me fame. It just feels like that same sort of record. Whatever it is it's a fine record.

Another correct guess. This one is called Feel Like Dynamite. Cocksure attitude makes it.

6. A very odd blend of instruments on this Southern Funk record. Sounds like Wilson Pickett singing over Booker T & the MGs with horns, an electric sitar and a pretty hot pedal steel player. It isn't that but it could almost be. I like this a lot and would likely buy this.

Yeah, this is an odd one that I got off of a Charly reissue of an SSS comp called Southern Soul Shake! This is Big Al Downing with Cornbread Row and your explanation seems as coherent as anything I’ve been able to find about this song.

7. The Olympics doing My Baby Loves The Western Movies. I love this little piece of sub Lieber & Stoller storytelling. I never play this record but the inclusion here has had me singing this every day.

It just kinda stays in your subconscious and refuses to leave.


8. Some low down Jump Blues / Boogie Woogie with (I think) Wynonie Harris singing. Ooo-weeee this is a bad jam.

Right again. Wynonie’s Blues

9. Starts out sounding like it might be Max Frost & the Troopers' The Shape Of Things To Come but ends up a pretty happening little organ workout. The band is working hard and pull this off. Another track I'd buy.

I keep coming back to Next Stop Soweto V. 2 ; one of my favorite comps ever. The organ on this just kills me. Skophom by the S.A. Move. I know the apartheid was shitty, to say the least, but there was something magical happening in South Africa (musically speaking) in the late 60s-early 70s.

10. Maybe an Art Tatum record? I'm terrible at guessing these things and probably shouldn't try. A red hot bass player, drummer...hell, everybody on this record can flat out play!!! No idea what it is but damn, it's a fine tune. This is the track that I put on repeat several times.

Duke Pearson’s Big Bertha from his fine Sweet Honey Bee record. The jazz cats have been talking him up so I’ve been going back to his stuff lately. That’s Freddie Hubbard on horn, Joe Henderson on tenor, and Ron Carter on bass. If you don’t know Duke Pearson; Wahoo! and Sweet Honey Bee are musts.

11. Another funky instro with an amazing drummer and all sorts of wild reverb and echo and wah wah guitars and it races along at break neck speed. Seems like one of those "Funky 16 Corners" one offs or something.

This is another comp I come back to often: Sensacional Soul from the great Vampi Soul label. The is a collection of groovy late 60s early stuff from Spain. This is called Beat Gitano from Conjunto Don Pelegrin.

12. An amazing little piece of jazz with a locked-as-tight-as-possible piano and bass playing an odd little descending riff, cool snare and cymbal work and ever so tasty horns doing the heavy lifting. I'm not sure who this is but I'd bet I own something by them. And I'd bet it's on Blue Note. I just noticed that it's almost ten minutes long and it's so great that I never even noticed its length before right now. An excellent track.

I bet you have some too. A lot of people know Lee Morgan, but people don’t give him enough credit for being incredibly consistent. Tom Cat is one of my favorite records by him, this is the title track. That cymbal work is by Art Blakey, here as restrained and nuanced as he can be- I think the fact that this is not an Art Blakey record works in his favor here. Mccoy Tyner’s repeated chords keep Morgan’s trumpet at bay until he just unloads.


13. A very hip guitar instrumental. This guy is good. Such tone! This is someone well known and I'm going to kick myself for not recognizing this. A very serious bit of guitar playing and it wraps up in under three minutes.

Texas Oil by Freddy King. Someone else I’ve been quite smitten with lately.

14. Pig Snoots by the Natural Bridge Bunch featuring the mighty Andre Williams. I bought this record but I don't know how one could leave a record with that title and pedigree behind?

It makes me smile every time.

15. This is the one track that doesn't move me so much. An interesting instrumental track with Spanish language female vocals that sound a bit too close to (again) the kind of "rock" music you might hear on Love American Style or something. Just not my thing.

Everyone gets one miss, right? Haven't seen Love American Style since I was like 8; maybe time to revisit. Marisa Medina’s No Te Acuerdas De Mi.


16. 70s soul by the sound. Maybe The Honey Cone or Freda Payne or something. Another great track that I'd likely buy. A nice vocal that somehow sells the somewhat trite lyrics.

This is Rhetta Hughes’s Doing it With Her. This one should have been huge.

17. The first second or two you could tell this was a Chicago Soul record and then it was just another second or two to realize it was Major Lance with Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um. I was only 7 or 8 when this was released but I loved it then and I love it now. Great choice.


Yep.

18. Maybe another lost classic "Funky 16 Corners" deal? I feel like I should know this but I don't. It reminds me of that early to mid 70s East Side funk like Malo or Tower of Power or something. A very cool track that, once again, I'd like to own. This mix is going to cost me a fortune...


This is Hard Times from Classic Funk. I took it from a collection called True Soul: Deep Sounds from the Left of Stax. It has that Black Heat sort of feeling with didactic lyrics over groovy horns and beats.


Thanks to the mixer for a really swell CD that has gotten and will continue to get multiple spins. And, as I'm getting far too used to saying, sorry for the tardiness.

I’m so glad this worked out. You definitely deserved a good one after the one you sent my way. Let me know if I can send anything to you.

Tracklist:

1. Soul Party Part 1- Billy Clark & the Maskman
2. Procissao- Gilberto Gil
3. Just a Little Bit- Rosco Gordon
4. Crosscut Saw- Albert King
5. I Feel Like Dynamite- King Floyd
6. Cornbread Row- Big Al Downing
7. Western Movies- The Olympics
8. Wynonie's Blues- Wynonie Harris
9. Skophom- The S.A. Move
10. Big Bertha- Duke Pearson
11. Beat Gitano- Conjunto Don Pelegrin
12. Tom Cat- Lee Morgan
13. Texas Oil- Freddy King
14. Pigs Snouts, Part 1- Natural Bridge Bunch
15. No Te Acuerdas De Mi- Marisa Medina
16. Doing it With Her- Rhetta Hughes
17. Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um- Major Lance
18. Hard Times- Classic Funk

[Tapiocahead]

It's a great mix TG, many thanks.

It's bugging me about what song track 2 reminds of still... I may have to do some digging.

[whodathunkit]

June brought me a very user-friendly collection of blues/jazz type stuff. Apologies for the tardiness of my review.

1. Kicks off with a hairy-arsed guitar instrumental. The amount of distortion suggests a white guy. Link Wray. One of those.
2. A spirited version of "Wang Dang Doodle" vocally although the band seem a little restrained for my tastes.
3. Jump-blues sax feature. Don't know whether the sax is honking or booting but whatever it's pretty sweet.
4. "Let Me Go Home Whiskey". Lovely mellow vocal style which I feel I ought to recognise. Super track though.
5. As is this. A bonkers doo-wap track about the adventures of one little Joe.
6. Things stay pretty manic with this one. Latinish piano-led workout over that Cool Jerk beat.
7. A chance to cool down after that last one. Organ instrumental. I'll say Jimmy Smith but then I always do as he's the only one I know . Sometimes this sort of thing crosses over into noodling territory but this stays right in the groove. Nice guitar solo too.
8. Another guitar combo instrumental with booting/honking sax. Music to frug to.
9. A live version of "Going To A Go-Go". It's fine but like most live Motown stuff it feels like there's something missing. To be fair the first 5 seconds of the studio original are amongst the most exciting things in popular music and can never be re-created in a live situation So I'm just nit=picking .
10. Unknown (to me) soul cut obviously influenced by the 60s/70s spy movie craze, comparing a woman to a gun and all that. Very short but sweet.
11. Now here's a classic. Scott-Heron's "Lady Day and John Coltrane". Used it myself in a mix a while ago.And I seem to remember following it, rather obviously, with a Coltrane pick .
12. Don't know this one but I'm presuming it's Trane. It certainly has that "cool as fuck" quality that attracts non-jazzers like myself.
13. Back to swing days. Some gorgeous playing but could have done without the rather weak "vocal refrain".
14. Top-notch boogie woogie. Not much to say. The sort of thing it's impossible not to smile when you're listening to it.
15. Nice slow blues workout. Wild guess. Johnny Otis?
16. Buddy Guy/BB King style blues. Pretty standard but some superb soloing.
17. Time for some filth. "Big Long Sliding Thing". Dinah Washington. Great to hear this again.
18. Some cool jazz to play us out. An interesting contrast to track 12.That held me completely but here the attention wanders and I end up admiring rather than liking.

Many thanks mystery mixer for an excellent mix entirely free from spotty-face oiks with guitars shouting at me and quirky chanteuses wanting to share their pain. Lovely stuff.

[fange]

^^
Hey whodathunkit, i was your mixer this month. I'm glad that you seemed to have liked most of it. I'm away for about 2 weeks at the moment so will get the reveal up for you when get back home, cheers.

[geoffcowgill]

Sorry for such a late review.

My disc this month, titled The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, just might have a theme, as all of the songs' titles would appear to have "good", "bad" or "ugly" in them. The nifty cover art has the illustrated Eastwood from that movie's poster with his head replaced with a familiar obsidian feline's.

1- We start with some vintage radio ad for the Leone movie, heavily featuring the Morricone title track.
2- "Tell Me Something Good" kicks of the 'regular' portion of the disc. I hadn't heard this song in ages. Chic, Rufus? I don't even remember who did it. My listens to this disc probably constitute the first times I've ever actually listened to the song rather than just heard it. It's not bad.
3- This is an odd largely instrumental number with some crisp, a bit over-bright 80's sounding production. Some very nice country-style electric picking, like Chet Atkins or someone of that ilk. The chanted "Go Bad!" suggests that's the title. No idea who it might be.
4- "Dr. Dogood Is Here," appears to be the title of this one. Campy pseudo-horror-psych. Not really my thing.
5- British garage-y rocker about ugly, hideous Nora. Possibly early Robyn Hitchcock? Pretty good.
6- Busy, hyper 80s pop, sounds like. "Right Side of a Good Thing"? OK, but not very memorable.
7- Now this one I really like. I managed to figure out what it is, too, so yay me. Male/female duet. I thought I recognized Nora Jones and wondered if this might be on that duets compilation she put out a couple years ago. I also thought the guy sounded a bit like Stuart Murdoch. Well, some perusing at Best Buy verified that indeed that's what we've got here. This might be a bit too smoothly adult contemporary for some, but I thought it was a gorgeously realized number. Highlight of the disc for me.
8- This singer sounds really familiar, but I can't place it. "Baby's Got a Bad Idea". Rootsy barroom mid-tempo country rocker. Not earth-shattering, but quite competent. Very curious to see who this is.
9- San Francisco, c. 1969. Airplane? Sounds like Slick trying to be Janis. "Good For Me".
10- Well, this has to be Beefheart, doesn't it? The song is "Grown So Ugly," which I know from Black Keys. I didn't realize it was a cover.
11- I think I read somewhere that Beck and Jack White did a 'single' or one-off download or something together. My guess is that this is it. At any rate, it sounds like what I'd imagine Beck and Jack White together would sound like. Pretty good, but like a lot of relatively recent Beck, it doesn't quite have the hooks or verve of his older stuff.
12- Psychedelic jam roll-in leads to weird early-70s soundtracky stuff, then some Zappaesque narrator makes a not-very-enticing suggestion that the listener run away with him. No clue what this was. Well, I do know that it was odd, but nothing more specific than that.
13- If I knew more about James Brown's early 70s protegees, I could probably guess who this funky female may be, as she references Brown hits over a Bootsy & Maceo groove. She's "Supergood" as opposed to "Superbad," you see, with the HWMISB himself showing up to trade quips with her towards the end.
14- I though this sounded like Jarvis Cocker, but it doesn't appear to be a Pulp song. "Ugly Can Be Beautiful" or something like it is the title. Hushed 90s Britpop. Pretty good,
15- "Bad Luck and Trouble," maybe. 50s R&B, not sure who it is though. Classic stuff, anyway.
16- Standells, "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" Good stuff.
17-Early 80s American indie. Violent Femmes, I'd guess. A bit cloying, though my 15-year-old self might have dug it.
18- Pretty Things "Good Mr. Square." Doggone song is too short.
19- This is a cover of "Your Move/Seen All Good People." My guess is that this is from the Matthew Sweet/Susanna Hoffs cover project. It's alright, but especially in an arrangement this faithful, this is a song that seems pointless to cover. The original is not really going to be improved on, more a unique product by a band than a great song to be reinterpreted.
20- A reprise of the GB&U theme closes us out.

Well, a very eclectic selection, to be sure, but a bit hit-and-miss for me. Maybe I wasn't really in the mood for some of the more quirky selections.

[the masked man]

This month's disc came from New Zealand, and it's literally murder....

1) Bobby Darin (I think) - Mack The Knife. Interesting that pre-rock 'n' roll US pop could be very morbid indeed. This upbeat song about a serial killer stills sounds very peculiar indeed. I'm sure that a great compilation could be made of songs like this...in fact, this has probably already been done.

2) The Cure - Killing An Arab. I got into The Cure on their moody second LP, so it was a real surprise to find their earlier stuff was almost Buzzcocks-style pop-punk. This literary exercise (inspired by Camus) is an effectively mordant tale of emotional blankness, pared to the bone. The band always regretted the title; today, they perform it live with the amended title 'Killing Another'.

3) Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe. Took me a long time to appreciate Hendrix, I must admit, but now think his psychedelic take on the blues sounds incredible. I love the contradictions here; the drums and guitars sound like they want to soar, but they're always restrained by the lyrical tale of desperation and fear. Astonishing stuff.

4) Eminem - 97 Bonnie And Clyde. Never quite know how to take Eminem's schtick; is this tale of killing your wife just a harmless piece of imaginative writing or is it just baneful misogyny? The pill is sweetened by Dr Dre's slick, unfussy production, and the fact that Eminem is a clever wordsmith, but I'm unsure about the overall concept. (Actually, Eminem is far more interesting on songs like 'The Way I Am', where he directly tackles the morality of the public image he's created.) However, Tori Amos did a really creepy cover of this which I do like.

5) Johnny Cash - I Hung My Head. I generally like the albums Cash made with Rick Rubin, but I always found this song a little plodding. Still, his voice is a thing of real wonder - deep, rich and sorrowful.

6) The Police - Murder By Numbers. I did like The Police's earlier, spikier albums, but by the time they made Synchronicity I found their sound had become rather too slick. This song works as well as anything they did in their later period, with its jaunty tone again scarcely matching the subject matter.

7) Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue - Where The Wild Roses Grow. I am a big fan of Cave, although I have similar doubts as those I have about Eminem; Cave does seem to enjoy singing about killing people, particularly women, a lot. Although I'm pleased to note that he's laid off this subject after Murder Ballads. I still think this piece of lush balladry is beautifully executed; Kylie can actually sing!

8) Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody. I think it's fair to say I never expected to hear this on a Mix Club disc! I feel I should like Queen more, as they're really not that far away from some of the overblown modern metal I like. I do think it's fascinating that such an ambitious record became their keynote song, yet its ambitions lead to a disjointed experience. The song's various sections never cohere, and it often sounds plodding. That said, I do like the rocky section that kicks in at about the four minute mark; at least that has some genuine oomph. A curate's egg of a record.

9) Bob Marley & the Wailers - I Shot The Sheriff. To be fair, Marley's 70s hits often represent a conscious effort to package reggae for a mass audience outside Jamaica. But that's not as great a sin as is often painted. This works as a great 70s pop song, even if I always found the chorus odd - what does it matter if he shot the deputy if he's already owned up to killing the sheriff?

10) Don't know this, though the song seems to be called 'The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia'. But I like this; it's very 70s and polished, but the song is strong, and there's some neat instrumental touches. It comes from a similar corner in mainstream pop that produced Helen Reddy's frankly odd 'Angie Baby', and that can only be a good thing.

11) Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska. The title track from my favourite Springsteen album, this has an unforced ominous mood and a real sense of dread. I also like the fact he's here writing about the parts of America that don't normally feature in pop songs - how many songs set in Lincoln, Nebraska can you name other than this?

12) Fairly undistinguished 60s-style songcraft, very repetitive and uninspiring. Then I realised the singer sounds a lot like Axl Rose; this surely can't be Guns 'n' Roses, can it?

13) Richard Marx - Hazard. God, this was all over radio in the late 80s, as I remember. A pretty plaintive tale of a man protesting his innocence after his girlfriend is killed, the twist being that the lyric never reveals if he's lying or telling the truth. This type of sensitive balladry isn't really my thing, but this is still put together skilfully. I actually enjoyed hearing it again, even though the references to a 'small Nebraska town' manage to negate a point I made in my Bruce Springsteen review above...

14) Neil Young - Down By The River. It will surprise no-one to learn that I like Neil best when he turns the guitars up and thrashes away, so his earlier, folkier records are less interesting to me. That said this song, while restrained compared to his later work, does hint at something edgier. That's enough for me tonight, even if the song meanders on for rather a long time!

Sorry about the delay here. This was a themed disc that nonetheless delivered some real surprises and plenty of variety. I think I know who is responsible here, so thanks for the effort. This was fun.

[beenieman]

It was me Masked Fella. Not a lot to reveal as you knew most songs but I'll do a commentary, and reveal of remaining tracks, later in the week.

Cheers.

[beenieman]

This month's disc came from New Zealand, and it's literally murder....

That was the theme. I picked the songs from some lists on the net and some of my comments are plagiasrised (just disclaiming here).

1) Bobby Darin (I think) - Mack The Knife. Interesting that pre-rock 'n' roll US pop could be very morbid indeed. This upbeat song about a serial killer stills sounds very peculiar indeed. I'm sure that a great compilation could be made of songs like this...in fact, this has probably already been done.

Amazing that a song with a lyric like this could top the US charts for 9 weeks in 1959. Plus it was already a well-known song, having been written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht for their musical The Threepenny Opera. Who could understand teenagers huh?
How did parents, so concerned about morality in the era that they were banning comic books, miss lyrics like "Now on the sidewalk/sunny morning/lies a body just oozin' life"? Mack kills people and weighs them down with cement before dumping them in the river and going off to spend the money he stole from his victims
Not all songs about death and killing come at the hands of rock bands, rappers or cowboys. Some have an up-tempo sound and loungey mood.

2) The Cure - Killing An Arab. I got into The Cure on their moody second LP, so it was a real surprise to find their earlier stuff was almost Buzzcocks-style pop-punk. This literary exercise (inspired by Camus) is an effectively mordant tale of emotional blankness, pared to the bone. The band always regretted the title; today, they perform it live with the amended title 'Killing Another'.

Still my favourite Cure song, and I like a few by them. It ‘s that calm, subtly dispassionate tone that makes the song ever so much creepy. The protagonist does it, and then he does it...why?
I understand how Smith regrets how the song is interpreted by some. In fact in the song--the shooter is hardly someone to be looked up to and Smith makes that clear. "I'm alive/I am dead/I'm a stranger/killing an Arab," the lyrics go, implying that the killer has no motive whatsoever, and certainly not a racial one.

3) Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe. Took me a long time to appreciate Hendrix, I must admit, but now think his psychedelic take on the blues sounds incredible. I love the contradictions here; the drums and guitars sound like they want to soar, but they're always restrained by the lyrical tale of desperation and fear. Astonishing stuff.

I’ve been a fan of Hendrix since the first day I heard him which would have been in the 60’s. He remains unequalled. An amazing track and while a song recorded by many before & since Hendrix did it his version remains the standard.
And it isn't just the guitar work that makes that so. Hendrix was a superb vocalist as well. His vocals make it very clear that Joe is completely unremorseful about what he's done; he's more pissed that he has to flee the country than he is upset about what he had to do.

4) Eminem - 97 Bonnie And Clyde. Never quite know how to take Eminem's schtick; is this tale of killing your wife just a harmless piece of imaginative writing or is it just baneful misogyny? The pill is sweetened by Dr Dre's slick, unfussy production, and the fact that Eminem is a clever wordsmith, but I'm unsure about the overall concept. (Actually, Eminem is far more interesting on songs like 'The Way I Am', where he directly tackles the morality of the public image he's created.) However, Tori Amos did a really creepy cover of this which I do like.

What a murder song! Compared to the other songs here this is like a splatter film.
We don't know the specific stab-by-stab details of the killings but that's better because it lets our imagination fill in the details. Eminem crafts an almost tender, loving song where he tells his baby daughter how much he loves her while he takes her with him to dispose of the bodies. The tenderness in such a horrible act is just chilling; if you really want to blow your mind, play this and Will Smith's version of "Just the Two of Us" back to back. I ask you, is one protagonist honestly more genuine in their feeling for their child than the other?
You have to wonder what Hailie Mathers, Eminem's daughter, had to say when she first heard this song. (Hailie is now sixteen years old)

5) Johnny Cash - I Hung My Head. I generally like the albums Cash made with Rick Rubin, but I always found this song a little plodding. Still, his voice is a thing of real wonder - deep, rich and sorrowful.

The one song here where the murder is not deliberate. It's just a beautiful song about a horrible mistake and the regret and dire consequences that come as a result.
I could have picked any of a number of cash songs here but this is different. For me, "I Hung My Head" is just a great song.
The song was actually written by none other than Sting who doesn’t do it nearly as well.

6) The Police - Murder By Numbers. I did like The Police's earlier, spikier albums, but by the time they made Synchronicity I found their sound had become rather too slick. This song works as well as anything they did in their later period, with its jaunty tone again scarcely matching the subject matter.

And this is Sting.
This song, much like "'97 Bonnie and Clyde," is so effective and twisted not because it revels in bloodshed and massacre but because it's a calm, almost gentlemanly song. This song evokes images of men in suits sitting in an office, sipping tea as they politely discuss how one becomes a serial killer. There is something chilling about that, and Sting's lyrics are even a little seductive with stanzas like "Now if you have a taste for this experience/And you're flushed with your very first success/Then you must try a twosome or a threesome/And you'll find your conscience bothers you much less." The man invites us into his foyer and proceeds to warmly induct us into a high-class ring of assassins, maniacs and monsters. And Andy Summers' music just enhances that; it has the intimacy and shadowy sinisterness of a smoky jazz club where dark deeds are discussed in darkened recesses.

7) Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue - Where The Wild Roses Grow. I am a big fan of Cave, although I have similar doubts as those I have about Eminem; Cave does seem to enjoy singing about killing people, particularly women, a lot. Although I'm pleased to note that he's laid off this subject after Murder Ballads. I still think this piece of lush balladry is beautifully executed; Kylie can actually sing!

You have to have some Nick cave on a mix like this.
The story of Eliza Day, who becomes known as "The Wild Rose" a la Elizabeth Short becoming "The Black Dahlia" after she is murdered by her lover, is classic Nick Cave: beautiful and poignant, yet incredibly creepy as well. Kylie Minogue and Cave's vocals are perfectly matched with the slow, mournful sounds of the music. It could easily be a traditional tale if one didn't know any better; it has that timeless quality that traditional ballads do and it makes it an absolute classic, particularly within its unique and dark subgenre.

8) Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody. I think it's fair to say I never expected to hear this on a Mix Club disc! I feel I should like Queen more, as they're really not that far away from some of the overblown modern metal I like. I do think it's fascinating that such an ambitious record became their keynote song, yet its ambitions lead to a disjointed experience. The song's various sections never cohere, and it often sounds plodding. That said, I do like the rocky section that kicks in at about the four minute mark; at least that has some genuine oomph. A curate's egg of a record.

I debated quite a bit about whether to put "Bohemian Rhapsody" on this mix as I had some expectation of a poor reaction. It’s one of the most successful murder songs ever & I suspect many don’t realise that’s what it is. The lyrics of the song clearly depict a murder and the aftermath. My favourite interpretation of the song is that the song is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. On the night before his execution, he calls for God in Arabic, aka "Bismillah," and with the help of angels regains his soul from Shaitan.
It’s certainly an ambitious song.

9) Bob Marley & the Wailers - I Shot The Sheriff. To be fair, Marley's 70s hits often represent a conscious effort to package reggae for a mass audience outside Jamaica. But that's not as great a sin as is often painted. This works as a great 70s pop song, even if I always found the chorus odd - what does it matter if he shot the deputy if he's already owned up to killing the sheriff?

I could have put a dozen reggae/dancehall songs here but i went for the famous one. Marley had a cross cultural appeal unmatched by anyone, except perhaps Jimmy Cliff.

He shot the sheriff in self defence, “All of a sudden I saw sheriff John Brown
Aiming to shoot me down, Reflexes had got the better of me”. But he didn’t go on a spree. He’s no bad man.

10) Don't know this, though the song seems to be called 'The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia'. But I like this; it's very 70s and polished, but the song is strong, and there's some neat instrumental touches. It comes from a similar corner in mainstream pop that produced Helen Reddy's frankly odd 'Angie Baby', and that can only be a good thing.

So I do have a reveal to give.
Vicki Lawrence with The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia. Vicki was the Carol Burnett lokalike who had this unexpected hit in 1973 (it went to #1). She got the song as her husband wrote it (Bobby Russell) and no one else would cut it. It was to be Cher’s but Sonny said no.

11) Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska. The title track from my favourite Springsteen album, this has an unforced ominous mood and a real sense of dread. I also like the fact he's here writing about the parts of America that don't normally feature in pop songs - how many songs set in Lincoln, Nebraska can you name other than this?

Fronm Bruce’s best album. Possibly.

12) Fairly undistinguished 60s-style songcraft, very repetitive and uninspiring. Then I realised the singer sounds a lot like Axl Rose; this surely can't be Guns 'n' Roses, can it?

It is Guns ‘n’ Roses with Used To Love Her

13) Richard Marx - Hazard. God, this was all over radio in the late 80s, as I remember. A pretty plaintive tale of a man protesting his innocence after his girlfriend is killed, the twist being that the lyric never reveals if he's lying or telling the truth. This type of sensitive balladry isn't really my thing, but this is still put together skilfully. I actually enjoyed hearing it again, even though the references to a 'small Nebraska town' manage to negate a point I made in my Bruce Springsteen review above...

I don’t remember this song and only found it when compiling this mix. Whatever happened to Marx?

14) Neil Young - Down By The River. It will surprise no-one to learn that I like Neil best when he turns the guitars up and thrashes away, so his earlier, folkier records are less interesting to me. That said this song, while restrained compared to his later work, does hint at something edgier. That's enough for me tonight, even if the song meanders on for rather a long time!

Another of my favourites.

Sorry about the delay here. This was a themed disc that nonetheless delivered some real surprises and plenty of variety. I think I know who is responsible here, so thanks for the effort. This was fun.

Glad it was fun. I wasn't sure how it would go down but figured dancehall was not your thing

Here’s the reveal. You got most of it

1. Bobby Darin Mack The Knife 3.05
2. The Cure Killing An Arab 2.22
3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Hey Joe 3.30
4. Eminem ’97 Bonnie & Clyde 5.16
5. Johnny Cash I Hung My Head 3.54
6. The Police Murder By Numbers 4.34
7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds & Kylie Minogue Where The Wild Roses Grow 3.57
8. Queen Bohemian Rhapsody 5.54
9. Bob Marley & The Wailers I Shot The Sheriff 4.42
10. Vicki Lawrence The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia 3.37
11. Bruce Springsteen Nebraska 4.32
12. Guns ‘n’ Roses Used To Love Her 3.13
13. Richard Marx Hazard 5.16
14. Neil Young Down By The River 9.17

[T. Willy Rye]

his month's disc is subtitled: New Orleans New Way which arrives right at the perfect time because I haven't been watching Treme and people keep bringing up Kermit Ruffins and I try, deftly as I can, to change the subject rather than admit my ignorance.

Track 1 starts with an introduction proclaiming the ingredients to a New Orleans brass band, the kind that one simply can't resist and then that band emerges. Strong opener. The horns doing virtually everything here.

Track 2 threatens to become that sort of fusion of music with a Caribbean sounding singer who leads a watered down pastiche of styles. It is again the horns' emergence that salvage this track. They bring their history, some grit, and their gravitas making this an overall enjoyable listen.

Track 3 turns me into the George Will of New Orleans music: conservative, old and hopelessly white. I guess I feel like those horns promised more than what the track ultimately delivers, a sort of stripped down hip hop track that my 18 year-old self would have heard at a dance club in Tijuana (circa 1987) following Salt N Pepa's Push It. Maybe my coolness toward this track is a direct result of my failures with even the drunkest of females.

Track 4 starts with a hip hop Iko Iko and then transitions to a more traditional take before settling on a Cajun/Creole? groove. Almost like a deconstructionist's approach to New Orleans music. My inner George Will is appeased.

Track 5 is a jazz track with the lines “Jockomo feeno ah na nay” This line is also of course in Iko Iko. Sounds like Dr. John scatting along. Like this one.

Track 6 contains a rapper who does not seem as extraordinary as the groovy mish mash of horns that are backing him. I love the tuba's bassline; so funky. The trombone's entrance is greatly welcomed. The horn players on this one are just exceptional.

Track 7- This is certainly the sort of jazzy funky sort of track that I associate with New Orleans. A healthy slab of soulful goodness! There's a lot of call and response or choruses echoing the lead in New Orleans music, it seems. A good thing, I think. 7 minutes plus and it ends gloriously.

Track 8- Another classic New Orleans sounding corker. Let's Go Get Em chanted throughout. The horns whip up a frenzy. Love it!

Track 9 starts with an old clip introducing Mardi Gras singing. Then it's almost like the Cajun Gap Band settles into a nice groovy little 80s sounding soul track. That organ makes me think of the Gaturs, but hell, I don't know.

Track 10 is probably my favorite. New Orleansploitation. Groovy as two or three muthafuckas.

Track 11 must be some track called Popcorn Strut. My 5 year old was not sure what to make of it. Very fun track. I guess I missed the guitar a little because it sure sounds nice here. How do I put it in a can? Like apricot preserves?

Track 12 Feels like 60s pop stars doing zydeco flavored hits, though the sound quality sounds more contemporary. Maybe that doesn't sound like an endorsement, but it's impossible not to like it. Particularly the tuba solo.
Track 13- New Orleans brass band take of Sexual Healing. A pretty good idea. I'd probably like the song just about any old way.


Track 14 seemed to be more of the jazz march music I was expecting from the disc, but lurking there amidst the horn cacophony is again Marvin Gaye, right? Inner City Blues, no?

Track 15 This one just smokes! Chant: “You don't want to go to war with the Rebirth” which makes me think this is the Rebirth Brass Band, a band I will be checking into more thoroughly. Might take over top track from #10.

Track 16 A New Orleans funeral march seems a fitting end to a strong collection. Funerals in NOLA seem like far more jubilant occasions than any that I've been too.

Thanks Mike! I know June was a tough month for you. I wouldn't have faulted you for bailing on this. Instead you gave me a mix disc that ranks with the best I've received.

[fange]

June brought me a very user-friendly collection of blues/jazz type stuff. Apologies for the tardiness of my review.

Hi, whodathunkit - apologies for the delayed reveal. Glad you enjoyed most of the disc - although i didn’t think you were a big jazz fan, i was pretty sure you liked some blues - and if you like the blues then i was confident i could pick a couple of jazz tunes that would tickle your fancy too. Hopefully it worked and you’ll keep playing them once in a while. That’s me – the jazz preacher.

1. Kicks off with a hairy-arsed guitar instrumental. The amount of distortion suggests a white guy. Link Wray. One of those.

Yep, Link Wray it is, with ‘Big City After Dark’. A pretty simple bluesy rock and roll tune at its heart, but it’s that amazing sound Wray had that makes his music so special for me. Absolutely oozes raunch and trouble.

2. A spirited version of "Wang Dang Doodle" vocally although the band seem a little restrained for my tastes.

I guess it is a bit restrained musically compared to some later versions, but for me this is the one – Koko Taylor’s version from 1965 with Willie Dixon sharing vocals and producing, and Buddy Guy bringing a more soulful mid-60s take on six string blues. It may not explode, but hot damn if that pot ain't boiling nicely after 3 minutes.

3. Jump-blues sax feature. Don't know whether the sax is honking or booting but whatever it's pretty sweet.

‘Booting Sax’, love that. A tune called ‘Jackson’s Blues’ from 1949, recorded by the Don Johnson Orchestra (no relation, i believe). So much wonderful energy and exciting playing.

4. "Let Me Go Home Whiskey". Lovely mellow vocal style which I feel I ought to recognise. Super track though.

Yes, ‘Let Me Go Home, Whiskey’ by Amos Milburn. One of the great boogie woogie pianist of the 40s, who then made some killer singles in the early and mid 50s like this one, but sadly couldn’t keep his commercial success going. Swings, rocks and boogies in all the right ways though, i think.

5. As is this. A bonkers doo-wap track about the adventures of one little Joe.

It’s an ace little tune, ain’t it – ‘Run Run Little Joe’ by The Gladiolas, one of the little known vocal groups which recorded for the Excello label in the 50s. I love the Caribbean feel this has too with the percussion and the acoustic guitar break, and the way that line ‘I grabbed the knife that the butcher had/that’s when i leave Trinidad’ just seems to hit you out of the blue after the joyousness of the song to that point.

6. Things stay pretty manic with this one. Latinish piano-led workout over that Cool Jerk beat.

Keeping the island/Latin feel going with the Joe Cuba Sextet and ‘What A Baby’. Perfect hip swinging grooves.

7. A chance to cool down after that last one. Organ instrumental. I'll say Jimmy Smith but then I always do as he's the only one I know . Sometimes this sort of thing crosses over into noodling territory but this stays right in the groove. Nice guitar solo too.

I picked a relatively short track to guard against the ‘noodling’ effect, especially as it’s only a trio too. This is Baby Face Willette with ‘Stop And Listen’ from the 1960 album of the same name. Very bluesy and groovy organ soul-jazz, with the guitar duties carried out by that other maestro of the genre, Grant Green.

8. Another guitar combo instrumental with booting/honking sax. Music to frug to.

I hope you were busting a move wherever you were! Lonnie Mack with ‘Wham!’ – again, a relatively simple tune structure-wise, but the dance floor energy that radiates from it is something i just adore, and the sound Mack gets from his Flying V is pure rock and roll magic to me as well.

9. A live version of "Going To A Go-Go". It's fine but like most live Motown stuff it feels like there's something missing. To be fair the first 5 seconds of the studio original are amongst the most exciting things in popular music and can never be re-created in a live situation So I'm just nit=picking .

I know what you mean! It just felt right to add a live track here though to go with the ‘late-night-out’ feel i was trying to get with the disc, and what better than Smokey and The Miracles doing one of their greatest dance floor fillers.

10. Unknown (to me) soul cut obviously influenced by the 60s/70s spy movie craze, comparing a woman to a gun and all that. Very short but sweet.

The deep velvet tones of Chuck Jackson here, with ‘The Silencer’. A fun little tune, huh, and one just begging to be used in a late-60s styled spy flick as you say.

11. Now here's a classic. Scott-Heron's "Lady Day and John Coltrane". Used it myself in a mix a while ago.And I seem to remember following it, rather obviously, with a Coltrane pick .

A classic indeed – i love the track, love the album. And it just screams to be followed by a Coltrane track .....

12. Don't know this one but I'm presuming it's Trane. It certainly has that "cool as fuck" quality that attracts non-jazzers like myself.

...but this isn’t Trane . It’s a tune by one of my very favourite musicians ever, Lee Morgan, doing one of his coolest tunes ever, ‘Party Time’. Your Coltrane guess though was a pretty good guess, as it’s Wayne Shorter on tenor taking the first solo. Great solos from all involved, and that melody line is like a fish hook through your brain.

13. Back to swing days. Some gorgeous playing but could have done without the rather weak "vocal refrain".

It’s funny, i chose this track largely because it had some vocals as well as being a smoking little tune, and maybe lessen the ‘too jazzy’ feel. The song is ‘Mistreated’ by Harlan Leonard and his Rockets, recorded in 1940. The whole album this track comes from is wonderful – not just joyously danceable, but fascinating to listen to the way the swing, blues and pop elements of the time were being mixed to create the embryonic R&B sound. The part from the 1.06 minute mark, when the drummer starts laying that solid beat down behind the trumpeter, is as wonderful a precursor of the R&B and Rock and Roll to come as you will ever wish to hear.

14. Top-notch boogie woogie. Not much to say. The sort of thing it's impossible not to smile when you're listening to it.

I have the same reaction. This Hadda Brooks doing her tune ‘Swingin’ The Boogie’ from the Blowing The Fuse 1945 disc.

15. Nice slow blues workout. Wild guess. Johnny Otis?

Great call! The Johnny Otis band indeed, doing ‘Midnight At The Barrelhouse’ from 1947. I love listening to this tune and then some Link Wray, and seeing the way the guitar had grown and changed in the decade or so since guys like Pete Lewis, the guitarist on this track, were playing. Otis said that there used to practically be riots in the places when Lewis played his blues to close out their shows, and i can see why. The extra effects and sonic oomph hadn’t appeared yet, but that tone Lewis gets is still pretty low down and dirty.

16. Buddy Guy/BB King style blues. Pretty standard but some superb soloing.

The wonderful Little Milton with ‘Tin Pan Alley’. A great singer and guitarist, too often forgotten these days.

17. Time for some filth. "Big Long Sliding Thing". Dinah Washington. Great to hear this again.

Has there ever been a classier dirty ditty? Love it.

18. Some cool jazz to play us out. An interesting contrast to track 12.That held me completely but here the attention wanders and I end up admiring rather than liking.

This is Wayne Shorter with his tune ‘Twelve More Bars To Go’. boozy, smoky tune to wrap things up, where Shorter and the band, in particular Elvin Jones on drums, try to present a musical snapshot of a man on an all-night bender, complete with shuffling, stumbling rhythms and winding, sometimes backwards played melodies. With only the horn as a strong solo instrument i can see how it might become a bit more hard work – but i hoped the late night feel would carry you through.

Many thanks mystery mixer for an excellent mix entirely free from spotty-face oiks with guitars shouting at me and quirky chanteuses wanting to share their pain. Lovely stuff.

Again, I’m glad you enjoyed most of it! Let me know if there's anything you'd like as a follow up.

The Big City After Dark
1. Link Wray – Big City After Dark
2. Koko Taylor – Wang Dang Doodle
3. Don Johnson Orchestra – Jackson’s Blues
4. Amos Milburn – Let Me Go Home, Whiskey
5. The Gladiolas – Run Run Little Joe
6. Joe Cuba – What A Baby
7. Lonnie Mack – Wham!
8. Baby Face Willette – Stop And Listen
9. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Going To A Go-Go
10. Chuck Jackson – The Silencer
11. Gil Scott-Heron – Lady Day And John Coltrane
12. Lee Morgan – Party Time
13. Harlan Leonard And His Rockets – Mistreated
14. Hadda Brooks – Swingin’ The Boogie
15. Johnny Otis – Midnight At The Barrelhouse
16. Little Milton – Tin Pan Alley
17. Dinah Washington - Big Long Sliding Thing
18. Wayne Shorter – Twelve More Bars To Go

[Nolamike]

Thanks Mike! I know June was a tough month for you. I wouldn't have faulted you for bailing on this. Instead you gave me a mix disc that ranks with the best I've received.

Thank ya sir! Reveal coming tonight or Thursday!

[Nolamike]

A great lil' disc from the Southern Hemisphere, packed with some things I know, some I don't know, and a lot that I love. Many apologies for the very delayed review!

1. This is actually my least favorite on the disc - a cover of "Louisiana 1927." It's good, but gets a bit too guitar-hero-ish for me, and I don't love the vocals. But it's a great song that the artist decided to cover, so I can live with it.

2. This track is nice... it has a Texas/border vibe to the acoustic guitars (which are accompanied only by a bass). There's some great, beautiful harmonies here... it sounds like something from the Joe Ely/Jimmie Dale Gilmore scene. Makes me want to sit on my back porch with a drink on a summer evening.

3. It's Bill Withers, but it's not on any of the five albums of his that I have (Just As I Am, Still Bill, Live at Carnegie Hall, +Justments, and Menagerie). And despite my fears of the rest of his catalogue, I like this one. Quite a bit. The instrumental track almost sounds like a Shuggie Otis outtake!

4. Holy crap, this is GREAT. It sounds a LOT like the '90s Florida band, Home, who I love, though I don't know this track. I could put this on a loop for an hour and not get tired of it.

5. I like the instrumental track a lot on this one. The vocals are a bit underwhelming to me, though.

6. Is this Hall and Oates? It's a smooth, soul-ish track, about not letting one's family down. I dig it, though I think a whole album would drag out a bit - which has been my experience with Hall and Oates (further making me suspect them).

7. This track is really nice - back to the nice harmonies, with a stripped-down backing. Very melancholy, and it hits the spot just right.

8. A great Sonny Boy Williamson (the original Sonny Boy) track. Can't go wrong!

9. Sticking with the blues here, though I don't know this one. Sounds a bit Screamin' Jay-ish, though obviously far more bluesy.

10. I like this one better than my wife does. A simple riff repeats, with a couple bars after each repetition of just the drums. I dig it, just simple and to the point.

11. This one is right up my alley. It's country-rock as it should be - the fuzzy guitar and the prominent drums are right there, along with a good blend of vocal harmonies, slide/pedal steel, and acoustic pickin'. This is downright fantastic. Probably the one on this disc that I'd most likely pursue in the form of a full album from the artist.

12. The original Johnny Burnette take on "Train Kept a' Rollin." What's not to love?

13. And another one I know - Howard Tate's "How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark." I like it, but (personal failing here) I've never fallen in love with Tate the way others have.

14. The intro to this one sounds like some insane Japanese pop song. And then the song settles down and the vocals kick in... to correct my earlier statement, it sounds like an '80s song from England that could almost be mistaken for a current Japanese pop song. Which I find myself kinda liking. It's definitely not the type of thing I'd normally listen to, but it's growing on me. Uh-oh...

15. Circus-y intro here. I'm guessing we've taken a trip to Africa with this one, though I haven't a clue as to where. A very happy, cheery tune full of vocal harmonies, which, like the prior track, is a bit outside of my normal excursions (even with African music), but is still sounding nice to me.

16. Now THIS is in my sweet-spot. Just a really well-done soul track, about the singer's world tumbling down. Great organ, and just a fantastically-recorded drum sound.

17. A pretty folk track about a "spinning wheel." Just a singer and an exquisitely played acoustic guitar. At some point in the near future I think I might be going down a folk rabbit-hole, as it's one of the few genres I haven't really dug into before (well, apart from the traditional American stuff). The genre has a bad habit of getting a bit too earnest - as Corporate Whore discussed with me at our recent Jolly Up - but this track seems to avoid that.

18. This one is great - it's a totally country soul track, kinda like Elvis in '69 or Bobby Gentry recorded at Fame. The gal's warning us she's a bad seed. Heck yeah!

19. A great little trad jazz influenced tune, though the way the tenor sax and bass are played make it seem that this is from more of an r&b angle. I know I know this voice from somewhere, but can't quite place it - gahh! Trad jazz is the other rabbit hole that I'm on the verge of tumbling down; I've already started with a few albums.

20. This closing track is really nice - the female singer has a wonderful voice. I'm quite curious to find out who this one is as well...

All in all, another quality mix club disc. A few tracks I know, a lot I don't, quite a few from outside of my happy place that I have found myself enjoying. Thanks Fish!

[Nolamike]

his month's disc is subtitled: New Orleans New Way which arrives right at the perfect time because I haven't been watching Treme and people keep bringing up Kermit Ruffins and I try, deftly as I can, to change the subject rather than admit my ignorance.

Ah, Kermit... a highlight of the 2012 JUOTA, which you really should have attended. But never mind that, let's delve right in. Oh, and I should note, a few of the tracks I stole from a friend who I keep trying to introduce to the board, but he never gets around to joining. Probably because he's busy being a professor of New Orleans music (coolest job ever?), and playing guitar for Los Poboycitos, one of the hottest bands in town right for the last few years, a Latin boogaloo band whose setlist is full of boogalooed-up New Orleans classics. Notes to follow...

Track 1 starts with an introduction proclaiming the ingredients to a New Orleans brass band, the kind that one simply can't resist and then that band emerges. Strong opener. The horns doing virtually everything here.

Rebirth Brass Band with one of their classic tracks, "Talkin,'" which most other brass bands play now as well. Rebirth really revitalized the brass band scene in the early '80s, along with the Dirty Dozen; those two groups started incorporating covers of popular funk and soul tracks in their setlists, but learned all the traditional tunes as well. Basically, they made brass bands cool again for the younger kids.

Track 2 threatens to become that sort of fusion of music with a Caribbean sounding singer who leads a watered down pastiche of styles. It is again the horns' emergence that salvage this track. They bring their history, some grit, and their gravitas making this an overall enjoyable listen.

This is the Soul Rebels, a brass band that frequently has a pianist and a guitarist; their vocals are a bit more polished than most brass bands, though not always for the better. They do a free show every Thursday night a couple minutes from my house. "Let It Roll" is the track title.

Track 3 turns me into the George Will of New Orleans music: conservative, old and hopelessly white. I guess I feel like those horns promised more than what the track ultimately delivers, a sort of stripped down hip hop track that my 18 year-old self would have heard at a dance club in Tijuana (circa 1987) following Salt N Pepa's Push It. Maybe my coolness toward this track is a direct result of my failures with even the drunkest of females.

Sorry! Just thought I'd stick a New Orleans hip-hop track on there, but one that heavily sampled some brass bands. This is from the early '90s. Da Sha Ra with "Bootin' Up." I have a soft spot for bounce.

Track 4 starts with a hip hop Iko Iko and then transitions to a more traditional take before settling on a Cajun/Creole? groove. Almost like a deconstructionist's approach to New Orleans music. My inner George Will is appeased.

It's actually a mix-up of a few different versions of Iko/Pocky Way at the start, but with the Young Guardians of the Flame (a Mardi Gras Indian group) performing the bulk of the track, "New Way Pocky Way."

Track 5 is a jazz track with the lines “Jockomo feeno ah na nay” This line is also of course in Iko Iko. Sounds like Dr. John scatting along. Like this one.

This is by my neighbor (actually a block away, but I'll take it), Donald Harrison, Jr. He's got a pretty great resume - time with Art Blakey, Don Pullen, Jack McDuff, and Roy Haynes, before going out on his own. Here, he's joined by Dr. John on "Ja-Ki-Mo-Fi-Na-Hey," the New Orleans standard that's spelled eight million ways.

Harrison is also the Big Chief of a Mardi Gras Indian tribe, which sets off from his house every Mardi Gras morning.

Track 6 contains a rapper who does not seem as extraordinary as the groovy mish mash of horns that are backing him. I love the tuba's bassline; so funky. The trombone's entrance is greatly welcomed. The horn players on this one are just exceptional.

Another track from the Soul Rebels, "Flowing and Flying." Yeah, I almost took this one off - I really have to be in the mood for it. I actually meant to replace it with a Stooges Brass Band track, who I somehow left off the disc.

Track 7- This is certainly the sort of jazzy funky sort of track that I associate with New Orleans. A healthy slab of soulful goodness! There's a lot of call and response or choruses echoing the lead in New Orleans music, it seems. A good thing, I think. 7 minutes plus and it ends gloriously.

The Lil Rascals Brass Band, and yeah, they dominate on this one. Sadly, they broke up a couple years ago, but this track is just a monster.

Track 8- Another classic New Orleans sounding corker. Let's Go Get Em chanted throughout. The horns whip up a frenzy. Love it!

Rebirth Brass Band, joined by Bo Dollis, Big Chief of the Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indians, on "Let's Go Get Em." It's a traditional Mardi Gras Indian track, but which is a standard with the brass bands as well.

Track 9 starts with an old clip introducing Mardi Gras singing. Then it's almost like the Cajun Gap Band settles into a nice groovy little 80s sounding soul track. That organ makes me think of the Gaturs, but hell, I don't know.

My neighbor ( ) Donald Harrison again, though I'm not sure who he's working with on this one ( ), as I just got the track from Matt, but did not get the full liner notes. Heck, it could be half of the Gaturs. This track is "Make the Oh Nah Nay."

Track 10 is probably my favorite. New Orleansploitation. Groovy as two or three muthafuckas.

The Wild Magnolias, with "Ho Na Nay." Which, you'll see by the name, shares the same underlying DNA as the last song - and, in a roundabout way, with "Let's Go Get 'Em." Which makes sense, as its another Indian staple.

Track 11 must be some track called Popcorn Strut. My 5 year old was not sure what to make of it. Very fun track. I guess I missed the guitar a little because it sure sounds nice here. How do I put it in a can? Like apricot preserves?

"The Palm Court Strut." My 5 year old shakes her butt to it, as the song instructs, at least when she's not laughing over it. This is by the Tin Men, which was a collaboration between a few local guys, Alex McMurray (whose earlier band, Royal Fingerbowl, supposedly came close to making it big in the '90s), Washboard Chaz (who plays around a whole bunch, and for whom some folks named "Chaz Fest," a free festival for folks who can't afford Jazz Fest tickets), and Matt Perrine, who plays with just about everybody.

Track 12 Feels like 60s pop stars doing zydeco flavored hits, though the sound quality sounds more contemporary. Maybe that doesn't sound like an endorsement, but it's impossible not to like it. Particularly the tuba solo.

And speaking of Matt Perrine... here he is on a solo track, "May May," on which he plays the tuba.

Track 13- New Orleans brass band take of Sexual Healing. A pretty good idea. I'd probably like the song just about any old way.

The Hot 8 Brass Band. There are two '80s r'n'b hits that every New Orleans brass band plays - this one, and this one:

Track 14 seemed to be more of the jazz march music I was expecting from the disc, but lurking there amidst the horn cacophony is again Marvin Gaye, right? Inner City Blues, no?

You nailed it - "Inner City Blues," by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Track 15 This one just smokes! Chant: “You don't want to go to war with the Rebirth” which makes me think this is the Rebirth Brass Band, a band I will be checking into more thoroughly. Might take over top track from #10.

Yep, the Rebirth Brass Band (with Soulja Slim), on "You Don't Want to Go to War."

Track 16 A New Orleans funeral march seems a fitting end to a strong collection. Funerals in NOLA seem like far more jubilant occasions than any that I've been too.

Yep, the Hot 8 Brass Band with a track my friend Matt recorded at a funeral march; he added the Louis Armstrong interview intro to it.

Thanks Mike! I know June was a tough month for you. I wouldn't have faulted you for bailing on this. Instead you gave me a mix disc that ranks with the best I've received.

Thank ya sir! I had kinda put this one together a while back, but wanted to wait until I ended up with the right recipient. When I had your name for June, I thought it could work. Glad it did!

1. Rebirth Brass Band - "Talkin"
2. Soul Rebels Brass Band - "Let It Roll"
3. Da Sha Ra - "Bootin' Up"
4. Young Guardians of the Flame - "New Way Pocky Way"
5. Donald Harrison, Jr. & Dr. John - "Ja-Ki-Mo-Fi-Na-Hey"
6. Soul Rebels Brass Band - "Flowing and Flying"
7. Li'l Rascals Brass Band - "Knock With Me/Rock With Me"
8. Bo Dollis & Rebirth - "Let's Go Get 'Em"
9. Donald Harrison, Jr. - "Make the Oh-Nah-Nay"
10. Wild Magnolias - "Ho Na Nae"
11. Tin Men - "Palm Court Strut"
12. Matt Perrine - "May May"
13. Hot 8 Brass Band - "Sexual Healing"
14. Dirty Dozen Brass Band - "Inner City Blues"
15. Rebirth with Soulja Slim - "You Don't Wanna Go to War"
16. Hot 8 Brass Band - "Funeral"

[The Fish]

A great lil' disc from the Southern Hemisphere, packed with some things I know, some I don't know, and a lot that I love. Many apologies for the very delayed review!

Southern Hemisphere You sure about that ? I think your globe is upside down !

1. This is actually my least favorite on the disc - a cover of "Louisiana 1927." It's good, but gets a bit too guitar-hero-ish for me, and I don't love the vocals. But it's a great song that the artist decided to cover, so I can live with it.

Figured you'd know the song, but reckoned you'd know the artist too, being local to you. Sonny Landreth. Surprised you didn't like this so much. The vocals, granted, are a bit "vanilla" but I just love his guitar playing. He has a style pretty much his own - acid cajun I suppose you could call it. Anyway This was a youtube rip and I assume it comes from a Randy Newman tribute album.

2. This track is nice... it has a Texas/border vibe to the acoustic guitars (which are accompanied only by a bass). There's some great, beautiful harmonies here... it sounds like something from the Joe Ely/Jimmie Dale Gilmore scene. Makes me want to sit on my back porch with a drink on a summer evening.

One of my favourite albums from last year was by Ron Sexsmith. This is from the duet album he made with Don Kerr, which I like a lot more than most Sexsmith fans it would seem. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing anyway from Louvins through Everlys and beyond and there's such a great easy going vibe here.

3. It's Bill Withers, but it's not on any of the five albums of his that I have (Just As I Am, Still Bill, Live at Carnegie Hall, +Justments, and Menagerie). And despite my fears of the rest of his catalogue, I like this one. Quite a bit. The instrumental track almost sounds like a Shuggie Otis outtake!

Bill indeed. Having waited all that time for Justments to appear on CD it seemd worth stumping up for the expanded version and this is one of the bonus cuts.

4. Holy crap, this is GREAT. It sounds a LOT like the '90s Florida band, Home, who I love, though I don't know this track. I could put this on a loop for an hour and not get tired of it.

Well this IS from the southern hemisphere. New Zealand to be precise. Love this band, The Mutton Birds

5. I like the instrumental track a lot on this one. The vocals are a bit underwhelming to me, though.

I believe this guy is a multi instrumentalist of sorts, so uaually some interesting textures and arrangements. I sort of know what you mean aboit the vocals, but maybe I'm a bit more forgiving (see track 1) Anyway this is Andrew Bird.

6. Is this Hall and Oates? It's a smooth, soul-ish track, about not letting one's family down. I dig it, though I think a whole album would drag out a bit - which has been my experience with Hall and Oates (further making me suspect them).

It's actually Georga Jackson from the album of stuff he cut in Muscle Shoals. Note that isn't the same as the recent Fame release. I think the chronology is tha he went from Fame to Memphis then back to the breakaway Muscle Shoals. Being of a later vintage it shows in some of the discoish leanings but I think it's great.

7. This track is really nice - back to the nice harmonies, with a stripped-down backing. Very melancholy, and it hits the spot just right.

The late great John Stewart, who really should be known for more than just writing Daydream Believer

8. A great Sonny Boy Williamson (the original Sonny Boy) track. Can't go wrong!

I put a track from this on disc last month to Fangedango and as I couldn't decide between two tracks, carried one over to this month.

9. Sticking with the blues here, though I don't know this one. Sounds a bit Screamin' Jay-ish, though obviously far more bluesy.

It is Hawkins. I love his weirdness as much as the next man, but when he ditches the schtick he really can play it straight with the best of them.

10. I like this one better than my wife does. A simple riff repeats, with a couple bars after each repetition of just the drums. I dig it, just simple and to the point.

Singer songwriter Tim Easton. Earlier albums are more straightforward fare, but he chose to rock out a bit on this one. Sloop I think is the only other BCBer I know of who has this.

11. This one is right up my alley. It's country-rock as it should be - the fuzzy guitar and the prominent drums are right there, along with a good blend of vocal harmonies, slide/pedal steel, and acoustic pickin'. This is downright fantastic. Probably the one on this disc that I'd most likely pursue in the form of a full album from the artist.

Country rock gets a bad press sometimes, but hell I grew up with it. Anyway if you want to hear how it should sound head for The Dillards.

12. The original Johnny Burnette take on "Train Kept a' Rollin." What's not to love?

Indeed

13. And another one I know - Howard Tate's "How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark." I like it, but (personal failing here) I've never fallen in love with Tate the way others have.

Correct

14. The intro to this one sounds like some insane Japanese pop song. And then the song settles down and the vocals kick in... to correct my earlier statement, it sounds like an '80s song from England that could almost be mistaken for a current Japanese pop song. Which I find myself kinda liking. It's definitely not the type of thing I'd normally listen to, but it's growing on me. Uh-oh...

Well hands up anyone who read the above and identified the band as .........



The Cocteau Twins !!

Didn't know if they were on your radar at all Mike. Probably hard to convey all of the majesty I think they possess in just one song. Much of the board of course in the UK, although possibly elsewhere, listened to this when it was released, so I'd find it hard to imagine how this would sound in 2012 to anyone not familiar. I just find this music swooping, soaring and majestic.



15. Circus-y intro here. I'm guessing we've taken a trip to Africa with this one, though I haven't a clue as to where. A very happy, cheery tune full of vocal harmonies, which, like the prior track, is a bit outside of my normal excursions (even with African music), but is still sounding nice to me.

I'm no expert on African music and probably own less than many here, but one thing I do love is township jive. This is from one of the Indestructible Beat of Soweto series.

16. Now THIS is in my sweet-spot. Just a really well-done soul track, about the singer's world tumbling down. Great organ, and just a fantastically-recorded drum sound.

This guy has been one of my most revelatory discoveries in the last year or so - George Soule

How can someone look like this...



and sound quite so soulful

I believe his recording of Get Involved may have had some success stateside, but his main career was as a songwiter before recording himself. Analogies with the similarly great Dan Penn. He finally recorded an album himself quite late in his career including a rerecording of this track, although the version here is taken from a subsequently released compilation of demos made for Muscle Shoals (principally one assumes as guides for others to record).

I've used this track before, so have this one as a bonus..




17. A pretty folk track about a "spinning wheel." Just a singer and an exquisitely played acoustic guitar. At some point in the near future I think I might be going down a folk rabbit-hole, as it's one of the few genres I haven't really dug into before (well, apart from the traditional American stuff). The genre has a bad habit of getting a bit too earnest - as Corporate Whore discussed with me at our recent Jolly Up - but this track seems to avoid that.

Not primarily a folk artist although he ventures into that territory as he does here. 60s pop with a bit of folk crossover would be his stock in trade. Anyway I guess you know your career is in truble when you become better known as a song title rather than as an artist. This is the selfsame PF Sloan that Jimmy Webb wrote about.

18. This one is great - it's a totally country soul track, kinda like Elvis in '69 or Bobby Gentry recorded at Fame. The gal's warning us she's a bad seed. Heck yeah!

Second ot third Mix Club outing for this as it's usually a banker. I can totally see the Gentry thing, although this is actually Motown. Chris Clark

19. A great little trad jazz influenced tune, though the way the tenor sax and bass are played make it seem that this is from more of an r&b angle. I know I know this voice from somewhere, but can't quite place it - gahh! Trad jazz is the other rabbit hole that I'm on the verge of tumbling down; I've already started with a few albums.

The postwar to start of rock and roll era really does throw up loads of wonderful stuff. I'm a sucker for all all of it Jive/trad/jump blues/honking saxes and of course thanks to all of the reissue labels Ace, Kent etc there's no shortage. Anyway this is a Liggins brother - Joe although Jimmy is similarly recommended

20. This closing track is really nice - the female singer has a wonderful voice. I'm quite curious to find out who this one is as well...

Swedish sisters and current BCB fave First Aid Kit. Along with many here their current album is one of my favourites of theyear, although this is from their first album.

All in all, another quality mix club disc. A few tracks I know, a lot I don't, quite a few from outside of my happy place that I have found myself enjoying. Thanks Fish!

Well sometimes you wonder what on earth you're going to put on a disc when your recipient has such different taste. Other times such as this it's a breeze and it comes down to what to leave out. We're obviously cut from the same (musical) cloth Mike. It's been my pleasure.

1. Sonny Landreth - Louisiana 1927
2. Sexsmith & Kerr - Listen
3. Bill Withers - Close To Me
4. The Mutton Birds - As Close As This
5. Andrew Bird - Imitosis
6. George Jackson - Can't Let My Family Down
7. John Stewart - Dreamers On The Rise
8. Sonny Boy Williamson - Wonderful Time
9. Screamin; Jay Hawkins - In My Front Room
10. Tim Easton - Stormy
11. The Dillards - One A.M
12. Johnny Burnette - The Train Kept A Rollin'
13. Howard Tate - How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark
14. The Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck
15. Imitshotshovu - Ngixolele
16. George Soule - My World Tumbles Down
17. P.F Sloan - Spinning Wheel
18. Chris Clark - Bad Seed
19. Joe Liggins - My Heart Cried
20. First Aid Kit - Wills Of The River

[T. Willy Rye]

This is by my neighbor (actually a block away, but I'll take it), Donald Harrison, Jr. He's got a pretty great resume - time with Art Blakey, Don Pullen, Jack McDuff, and Roy Haynes, before going out on his own. Here, he's joined by Dr. John on "Ja-Ki-Mo-Fi-Na-Hey," the New Orleans standard that's spelled eight million ways.

Harrison is also the Big Chief of a Mardi Gras Indian tribe, which sets off from his house every Mardi Gras morning.

Donald Harrison's your neighbor? That's really cool!

[Nolamike]

1. Sonny Landreth - Louisiana 1927
2. Sexsmith & Kerr - Listen
3. Bill Withers - Close To Me
4. The Mutton Birds - As Close As This
5. Andrew Bird - Imitosis
6. George Jackson - Can't Let My Family Down
7. John Stewart - Dreamers On The Rise
8. Sonny Boy Williamson - Wonderful Time
9. Screamin; Jay Hawkins - In My Front Room
10. Tim Easton - Stormy
11. The Dillards - One A.M
12. Johnny Burnette - The Train Kept A Rollin'
13. Howard Tate - How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark
14. The Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck
15. Imitshotshovu - Ngixolele
16. George Soule - My World Tumbles Down
17. P.F Sloan - Spinning Wheel
18. Chris Clark - Bad Seed
19. Joe Liggins - My Heart Cried
20. First Aid Kit - Wills Of The River

Thank ya sir! Would you believe (of course you would) that I have both the Andrew Bird track and the Chris Clark track already, but (apparently) don't know my own collection at all.

[Cosmic American Girl]

Sorry for such a late review.

My disc this month, titled The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, just might have a theme, as all of the songs' titles would appear to have "good", "bad" or "ugly" in them. The nifty cover art has the illustrated Eastwood from that movie's poster with his head replaced with a familiar obsidian feline's.

1- We start with some vintage radio ad for the Leone movie, heavily featuring the Morricone title track.
It would seem necessary to begin with and I happen to have had a radio commercial for the movie.

2- "Tell Me Something Good" kicks of the 'regular' portion of the disc. I hadn't heard this song in ages. Chic, Rufus? I don't even remember who did it. My listens to this disc probably constitute the first times I've ever actually listened to the song rather than just heard it. It's not bad.
It is Rufus and what a killer song it is. Often times songs heavily played radio heard years later can sink in and lose the overplayed syndrome.

3- This is an odd largely instrumental number with some crisp, a bit over-bright 80's sounding production. Some very nice country-style electric picking, like Chet Atkins or someone of that ilk. The chanted "Go Bad!" suggests that's the title. No idea who it might be.
This is Jonathan Richman with Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad from the album Jonathan Goes Country.

4- "Dr. Dogood Is Here," appears to be the title of this one. Campy pseudo-horror-psych. Not really my thing.
This is the Electric Prunes from Lost Dreams. Sorry it didn't suit you.

5- British garage-y rocker about ugly, hideous Nora. Possibly early Robyn Hitchcock? Pretty good.
Close as it is The Soft Boys and it is Ugly Nora. I use Robyn in many of my discs out of love and his wide diversity of song topics.

6- Busy, hyper 80s pop, sounds like. "Right Side of a Good Thing"? OK, but not very memorable.
This one is from The Fleshtones and you were right on the song title.

7- Now this one I really like. I managed to figure out what it is, too, so yay me. Male/female duet. I thought I recognized Nora Jones and wondered if this might be on that duets compilation she put out a couple years ago. I also thought the guy sounded a bit like Stuart Murdoch. Well, some perusing at Best Buy verified that indeed that's what we've got here. This might be a bit too smoothly adult contemporary for some, but I thought it was a gorgeously realized number. Highlight of the disc for me.
It is a great song. I love the way the worked together.

8- This singer sounds really familiar, but I can't place it. "Baby's Got a Bad Idea". Rootsy barroom mid-tempo country rocker. Not earth-shattering, but quite competent. Very curious to see who this is.
This is Justin Townes Earle from Nothing's gonna Change he Way I Feel About You. I love JTE! I could listen to him all day and often do.

9- San Francisco, c. 1969. Airplane? Sounds like Slick trying to be Janis. "Good For Me".
This is actually The Monkees. with You're So Good. You are right, Micky Dolenz does channel a little Grace here.

10- Well, this has to be Beefheart, doesn't it? The song is "Grown So Ugly," which I know from Black Keys. I didn't realize it was a cover.
Right on with the identifying the good Captain. From Safe As Milk.

11- I think I read somewhere that Beck and Jack White did a 'single' or one-off download or something together. My guess is that this is it. At any rate, it sounds like what I'd imagine Beck and Jack White together would sound like. Pretty good, but like a lot of relatively recent Beck, it doesn't quite have the hooks or verve of his older stuff.
It is Beck and I got it from from the True Blood Soundtrack.

12- Psychedelic jam roll-in leads to weird early-70s soundtracky stuff, then some Zappaesque narrator makes a not-very-enticing suggestion that the listener run away with him. No clue what this was. Well, I do know that it was odd, but nothing more specific than that.
This is from the album Strange Mysterious Sounds by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. The song is A Child's Guide To Good And Evil.

13- If I knew more about James Brown's early 70s protegees, I could probably guess who this funky female may be, as she references Brown hits over a Bootsy & Maceo groove. She's "Supergood" as opposed to "Superbad," you see, with the HWMISB himself showing up to trade quips with her towards the end.
This is Vicki Anderson with a response song to JB's Super Bad. It's Super Good from Mother Popcorn. I love all the JB girls but she may be my favorite.

14- I though this sounded like Jarvis Cocker, but it doesn't appear to be a Pulp song. "Ugly Can Be Beautiful" or something like it is the title. Hushed 90s Britpop. Pretty good,
This is actually The Real Tuesday Weld with The Ugly And The Beautiful from my favorite of theirs, I, Lucifer.

15- "Bad Luck and Trouble," maybe. 50s R&B, not sure who it is though. Classic stuff, anyway.
It is definitely 50's. It's Fats Domino and you got the song title right.

16- Standells, "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" Good stuff.
Agreed on the goodness of this one.

17-Early 80s American indie. Violent Femmes, I'd guess. A bit cloying, though my 15-year-old self might have dug it.
It is the Femmes and I still love the funness of them and the way it takes me back to "the day."

18- Pretty Things "Good Mr. Square." Doggone song is too short.
Agreed that this is way too short. I love The Pretty Things and Parachute is one of my favorite albums.

19- This is a cover of "Your Move/Seen All Good People." My guess is that this is from the Matthew Sweet/Susanna Hoffs cover project. It's alright, but especially in an arrangement this faithful, this is a song that seems pointless to cover. The original is not really going to be improved on, more a unique product by a band than a great song to be reinterpreted.
Yes it is from Under The Covers 2. I know they cover songs so close to the originals but I love them anyway!

20- A reprise of the GB&U theme closes us out.


Well, a very eclectic selection, to be sure, but a bit hit-and-miss for me. Maybe I wasn't really in the mood for some of the more quirky selections.

Sorry for the lateness of my reveal and not really hitting it for you on a lot of the selections. I'm glad that you found a few things to enjoy.

1 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' Movie Ad
2 Tell Me Something Good Rufus
3 Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad Jonathan Richman
4 Dr.Do-Good The Electric Prunes
5 Ugly Nora The Soft Boys
6 Right Side Of A Good Thing The Fleshtones
7 Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John Belle and Sebastian
8 Baby's Got a Bad Idea Justin Townes Earle
9 You're So Good The Monkees
10 Grown So Ugly Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
11 Bad Blood (Soundtrack Version) Beck
12 A Child's Guide To Good And Evil West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
13 Super Good (Answer to Super Bad), Pts. 1-2 Vicki Anderson
14 The Ugly & The Beautiful The Real Tuesday Weld
15 Bad Luck And Trouble Fats Domino
16 Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White The Standells
17 Ugly Violent Femmes
18 The Good Mr. Square The Pretty Things
19 I've Seen All Good People: Your Move / All Good People Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
20 The good, the bad and the ugly - Il buono, il brutto, il cat Ennio Morricone