Sunday 28 June 2009

Mayo Thompson's back ..

If you've seen The Historical Romance, the effervescent eighth issue of Your Heart Out (which can be downloaded free here), you'll know that one of the stars of the show was Mayo Thompson.

Starting with first hearing the Red Krayola do Hurricane Fighter Plane when Radar reissued the early Texas psychedelic/punk records in 1978, tracing Mayo's re-emergence at the height of the punk explosion in London, his close involvement with Rough Trade related activities, via his recordings/productions with the reignited Red Krayola, plus Raincoats, Essential Logic, Blue Orchids and so on, his contribution has been immensely invaluable. Drag City did a great job recently of salvaging a lot of the Red Krayola records from that era, and certainly the singles collection and Kangaroo are essential to say the least.

It's easy to forget Mayo was also closely involved with Pere Ubu during that time too, playing on The Art of Walking and Songs of the Bailing Man. These are fantastic records. very odd records, but fantastic nevertheless. I still don't think the world's caught up with them yet. And this performance of Birdies shows how out on their own they were. Looking at the group I'm reminded of a line by The Fall: "You don't have to be strange to be strange ..." And you get a good view of Mayo Thompson's back ...


Friday 26 June 2009

Cry for a man ...


On a day when we've lost the Seeds' Sky Saxon and Michael Jackson it seems appropriate to think of the Jasmine Minks. If you've read the elegiac eighth issue of Your Heart Out, The Historical Romance (check out our library on your left ... always on the left) you'll have seen reference to the immense influence that '60s US garage punks had on young kids in the mid-'80s. In many ways it was the unifying factor for so many groups, fanzines, clubs etc.

The Primals/Pastels crowd up in Glasgow ran for a while in '85ish a club called Splash One, where a psychedelic punk rock disco was billed. I remember going to see the Jasmine Minks there. I remember seeing the June Brides at the Pindar of Wakefield in Kings Cross then travelling up with the Jasmines the next day. It was in Glasgow that I first heard them play Cry For A Man, with Derek's memorable trumpet part, and it was incredibly moving. I'm not sure everyone realised that this punk/soul blast was the way the world should be going, but hey ho.

The Jasmines used to do a fantastic live version of In The Past, the old We The People/Chocolate Watch band number. A lot of groups had their '60s punk cover. The Wolfhounds did Mr Pharmacist I think until The Fall released their version, and The Mary Chain did the Standells' Barracuda.

Ah but there were detractors accusing us of rather being anywhere else but the here and now (guilty) and why not do something modern like all the electronic groups. Hmm. I remember Adam from the Jasmines trying to describe the Mary Chain before anyone had really seen them and then they were the ones starstruck at seeing the singer from the June Brides. Anyway Adam said the Mary Chain were like the Cabs doing Nag Nag Nag. Pure punk rock. Like these old garage punk fans cranking out an old Seeds cover. Yeah! We're all punk rockers at heart. Take it boys ...




Thursday 25 June 2009

Branching out ...



As a bit of fun there's now a companion site to Your Heart Out which is dedicated to songs about London. There's a lot of fun to be had on the 'net with sites jam-packed with London-related photos, so it seemed like a good idea to have a bit of musical accompaniment. Not sure if anyone else has done this, but they certainly won't have picked the same songs ...


The idea is to avoid the blindingly obvious choices. And of course only to highlight songs that are worth hearing (subjective I know but hey ...). And they can be London songs in a very explicit way, or in a more oblique sense. The first post is a good example of a song that is indirectly about London life, so head on over to the new site at http://www.thelondonnobodysings.blogspot.com/ and have some fun.


Hopefully there will be regular updates which will build into a wonderful compendium of songs about London. And if you have any suggestions then please do share them ...

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Summer's got me feeling ...

I heard on my favourite radio show (Russell Davies' Songbook, Sunday evenings on BBC Radio 2) that the arranger/songwriter Billy Ver Planck had passed away. It's a name I first came across via his arangements on Lydia Lunch's Queen of Siam LP on Ze in the summer of 1980. That record seemed impossibly mysterious and glamorous, and arguably it started me out down the irredeemably romantic and un-rocky road to listening to lots of lots of jazz vocal, torch songs, and so on.

In the past couple of years I suspect I've listened more to the jazz vocal work of Jackie Cain and Roy Kral than pretty much anything else. That's sort of reflected in the ebullient eighth issue of Your Heart Out, which is called The Historical Romance and can be downloaded for free here.

You can also have a listen to a selection of Jackie & Roy here. And if you're partial to some jazz, vocalese, harmony pop, bossa nova, sunshine pop, soft pop, fusion then you'll find something to suit the sunny weather, or at least make it seem warm and pleasant. Jackie's voice is exquisite, and oh yes their early interpretation of Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf's Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most is included. And as a taster ...

Saturday 20 June 2009

Unique selling point ...



Long ago and faraway I remember people going on about 'unique selling points' or USPs. The trouble was what I thought would be a USP seemed to be greeted with utter despair. But then I'm the kinda guy who publishes something and uses jazz singer Jackie Paris as a peg to hang it on. That's Jackie to your left, with the great Kenny Dorham, by the way.


The chances are though that your record collections are not exactly overflowing with Jackie Paris records. It's entirely possible you've not even heard how singing so sweetly that it can break your heart. That's fair enough. The whole premise of the Jackie Paris film that inspired the egregious eighth issue of Your Heart Out (The Historical Romance, which can be downloaded for free here) was how on earth did someone so talented, so cool, just disappear ... but you can at least grab yourself a small selection of Jackie's wonderful work here.

I guess that putting together this edition after watching the film about Jackie Paris and reading Cosmo Landesman's book, Starstruck, about the spectacular 'failure' his parents Fran and Jay were, well, it was sort of inevitable that the theme of fame and fate would emerge. Oddly at the time I never thought to include the Rich Kids' words about how there's those who make it and there's those who never may ...






Thursday 18 June 2009

Fortune's always hiding ...


The extremely elegant eighth issue of Your Heart Out is a special edition called The Historical Romance. It was inspired by seeing a film about the jazz singer Jackie Paris, which prompted all sorts of thoughts about fate and fortune.

The Historical Romance is a bit of an odyssey that takes in Jackie Cain & Roy Kral, Billy Vera & Judy Clay, Red Krayola & Clinic, Johnny Thunders & Patti Palladin, Freda Payne & Pennies From Heaven, plus much, much more ...

The cover star is Jackie Paris himself, and just in case you've not caught up with the film that kick-started this then here's a rather cool trailer ...


Tuesday 16 June 2009

Any old excuse ...

Before we bid au revoir to the seventh issue of Your Heart Out, the pertly titled The Archaeology of An Abandoned Soul Single, it seems only appropriate to make a tiny apology to Morrissey. I have to confess I rather like him as a pop figure, as a character, and still find some of his old interviews a joy. But that only makes the old conundrum all the more confusing. Why on earth when Morrissey was a discerning sort was the music of The Smiths so stutifyingly dull and dreary?
After all his old lists of favourite listens used to be a real treasure trove. He'd name drop Heart by Rita Pavone, or Shoes by Reparata, or Insult To Injury by Timi Yuro. With taste like that you want to hug him, and then you'd hear Still Ill or something. It didn't make much sense. He'd have the nous to steal a line from Paul Jones' I've Been A Bad Bad Boy, and then you'd hear What Difference Does It Make and despair.
The first time I saw The Smiths was at The Venue in London, September 1983. They were really taking off then. But they were totally blown off stage by the support acts, and in particular the Go-Betweens who had just become a four-piece and were on fire, just airing songs that would form part of Spring Hill Fair the following year. Our comrade Fruitier Than Thou allows a little glimpse of what took place that night here.
The best thing about The Smiths was that before their set the intro tape played the Marvelettes and Velvelettes, Paper Boy, Needle In A Haystack, that sort of thing. Some of Morrissey's favourites. I can't recall if it had another of his favourites, The Toys' Attack, but it does give me an excuse to leave you with this ...


Sunday 14 June 2009

A new perspective ...



There are so many myths that persist down the years, and it seems that the more they are repeated the more they are accepted. It's like the sound of young Scotland. There are very few people that love Postcard Records more than I do, Funky Glasgow Now and all that, but you read some of the testimonials and wonder whether people have heard the same records ...

Anyway Edinburgh in 1979 seems to be the place to set the controls of your Tardis for, pre-Postcard. Just. And that's why it was so important that in the seventh issue of Your Heart Out, the pertinently titled The Archaeology of An Abandoned Soul Single, we were able to run a feature on The Visitors, whose first EP Electric Heat came out in 1979 and created quite a stir with its melody and menace. Realising that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to dust off their well-worn vinyl and give the EP yet another spin, so it's an honour to be able to offer an exclusive live Visitors track, Exploiting The Masters, here for your delight ...

The other Edinburgh group that was blazing a trail in the Edinburgh of 1979 was the very glamorous Scars, whose debut single on Fast Product was one of the best ever and went something like this ...



Friday 12 June 2009

There's one thing we've known from the start ...

Of course the whole nation, nay world, has been stimulated into debate by the seventh issue of Your Heart Out, the atmospherically titled The Archaeology of An Abandoned Soul Single, and in particular the question of how on earth The Smiths became so popular so quickly. Polls have been running in all the national newspapers about who would have felt the most aggrieved, and apparently more people have participated in this than the final of a TV talent show.


Anyway, the smart money seems to be on Hurrah! which is touchingly apt as its 27 years this weekend since their debut single The Sun Shines Here exploded onto the pop scene. Suddenly the Go-Betweens weren't the only fun in town, and there was a new anthem to put alongside Do You Believe In Magic? and It Will Stand. Dave McCullough rhapsodised in Sounds about the return of cool. Then as 1982 drew to a close Hurrah! recorded a session for Kid Jensen which showed the single wasn't a one-off, and gave the world its first exposure to the glories of Hip Hip.

Suddenly all the hipsters were talking about Hurrah! and autoharps, 15-minute sets and intricate harmonies, red Fender Jaguars and The Action, the Velvets and the Voidoids, Fire Engines and Josef K, folk rock and touch of jazz, '60s soul and Subway Sect. The revolution was imminent, and so into 1983 and eventually the second single appearing with Hip Hip on the one side and Flowers on the other which McCullough pointed out sounded like the Pentangle, which had to be a good thing. And still the people in the know sing: "Deep down inside we're all punk rockers at heart ..." Could anything stop Hurrah! and the Go-Betweens?


Wednesday 10 June 2009

Grab your silk stockings and your dance invitation ...

If you've read the seventh issue of Your Heart Out, the piquantly titled The Archaeology of An Abandoned Soul Single, you'll know that one of the men behind that forsaken 45 Sylvester Levay moved on from swinging with the Ambros Seelos Big Band to being part of the Munich disco milieu. That whole Munich thing seems to have been a fantastic time for music. Very cosmopolitan, very adventurous, and the records still sound great today, whether you're idling or dancing.

So, here's our exclusive Munich disco mix to get the party started. If you fancy some Sister Sledge, Silver Convention, Donna Summer, Munich Machine, Moroder, Roberta Kelly, Penny McLean, Sparks and Joy Fleming, then this will brighten up your day, so as the ladies sang: "Get up and boogie ..."

And as Dee D Jackson was shamefully missed out from the mix here she is, all the way from Oxford, and disco doesn't get much more cosmic than this ...


Monday 8 June 2009

All the news is bad again ... kiss your dreams goodbye.

Only one thing for it then, and that's get out the Kleenex. Only trouble is that whoever posted this clip won't allow me to embed the video. The cads. But there is also eight minutes of live Kleenex/Liliputian footage here. Yeehar!

So it at least gives me an excuse to post this Delta 5 footage. Ah nostalgia. Socialists. Rock Against Racism. Top of the Pops. Delta 5 on Top of the Pops? I think I would remember that. But I don't. Did it ever happen? Looks suspiciously like one of those 'youth' oriented shows that were occasionally on like Something Else. But I could be wrong. And who cares ...

Saturday 6 June 2009

Inspirations of London

If you've seen the seventh issue of Your Heart Out you will be aware the theme was trying to find out more about an old soul single by a guy called Joe Curtis, and the strange roads this archaeological expedition takes us down. I stumbled across this today, which suggests a certain soul single is still abandoned. It is a different edition to the one I have, and the sides seem to have been flipped which makes sense to me. But what is interesting is that it does confirm, as suspected, that the Ambros Seelos Orchestra was involved.

It is possible you may have come across the Ambros Seelos Orchestra via one of the In-Kraut collections Marina has put out in recent years, or there was another comp called Achtung! of swingin' German big band grooves which included Ambros' fantastically funky workout on Mabusso. My own favourite of Ambros' works which I've heard has to be the title track of his 1968 Fire LP. You'll know the song of course, but not this scorching ska/soul version. From the same LP comes Swingle Beat, written by Sylvester Levay (or Lysy) who was really the hero of The Archaeology of An Abandoned Soul Single. And if you like the Ambros Seelos sound then check out this CD, Inspirations of London which features some decidedly swingin' tracks.

And for a bit of big band action with a German connection you can't do much better than this ...

Friday 5 June 2009

Soul flutes



Anyone who has read the seventh issue of Your Heart Out, the teasingly titled The Archaeology of An Abandoned Soul Single, will hopefully have picked up on the fact that Herbie Mann and Tommy McCook have one way and another contributed to a ridiculous amount of wonderful music down the years, and are very definitely heroic figures.


I am a real soft touch when it comes to flutes in pop/soul/jazz, so Herbie's got a bit of a head start. But he's been involved in some pretty special things, from working with the likes of the divine Chris Connor at Bethlehem in the '50s to his early championing of the bossa sound to doing the whole of Anthony Newley's The Roar of the Greasepaint, his more full-on r'n'b works like Memphis Underground, the more mod jazz flavoured LP with the beautiful Tamiko Jones, and so on.


Tommy McCook is something of a saint for the many, many great records he has been involved in with the Skatalites, Supersonics, Aggrovators and as a session player on so many of the great Jamaican ska/rocksteady/reggae discs. With the ever increasing enforced leisure time available to many of us there are worse things to do than skip around YouTube and discovering all those old ska and rocksteady tracks he played on.


And yes all of this is heading towards the fact that in the mid-'70s Herbie Mann and Tommy McCook recorded an LP together, which was called Reggae and features Mick Taylor on guitar among other guests who help mix things up in a wonderfully odd fashion. If you're like me and think the world's made a better place by there being 18 minute workouts of My Girl on a jazzy reggae rock theme then you'll be wanting to hear this and the rest of the record.

Monday 1 June 2009

Manfred Mann's protest ...

Continuing the theme of anti-racist protests against Enoch Powell at the end of the '60s, as featured in The Archaeology of an Abandoned Soul Single, the scintillating seventh issue of Your Heart Out, it's worth highlighting Manfred Mann naming a track Konekuf on their fantastic Manfred Mann Chapter Three. Read backwards it spells out what Mann thought of racist politicians, and in the UK with European and local elections only a few days away hopefully enough of us will be making clear what we think.

Anyway the Chapter Three record is a fantastic LP, and features the definitive version of You're A Better Man Than I, as covered by Sham 69 when they were trying to lose their horrendous far right skinhead following ironically. Around the same time, the end of the '60s, Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg would be involved in making the music for Jess Franco's Venus In Furs, including playing with Barbara McNair in some memorable scenes. At Your Heart Out Barbara is a massive favourite, and the Motown recordings she made are often given a spin.

YouTube has clips of Barbara in Venus In Furs (steady!) but I got more excited at finding Barbara with Rock Hudson in an episode of MacMillan and Wife. I loved that show as a kid. Then I found this. Barbara on a Noel Harrison TV special, Where The Girls Are. The Byrds were on the same show, and appear with Barbara and Noel looking uncomfortable doing Good Day Sunshine.