Mogwai - Mogwai Fear Satan (Live)

The days of multi platinum albums are albums almost gone, but what is extinct and has been for some time is the big selling live album.
I have a few live albums but I seldom give them a listen as the studio versions of the songs are always superior. Songs that took weeks or in the studio to get right are put onto an album that is often badly recorded.

The exception is Mogwai. Who‘s live recordings are on par with the studio versions. Like on Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 which contains a mammoth eighteen minute version of Like Herod and a superior version of New Paths To Helicon Pt I.
And the version of Mogwai Fear Satan on the recent live album Special Moves is just stunning.
As good as the live recordings are, seeing Mogwai play live is something else.



Download Mogwai- Mogwai Fear Satan (live) from this link.

Quadrophenia - The Real Me

When I was in my late teens I had a VHS tape of the film Quadrophenia that I watched many times. Back then it was one of my favourite films and I used to think that the main character Jimmy was so cool. I’ve watched it recently and although I still think it’s a good film I’ve realised that Jimmy was a bit of a twat.
After watching the film I listened to the soundtrack by The Who for the first time in a few years and it sounded just as good as the last time I heard it. Its maybe the best album they did.
And one of the best tracks on the album has to be The Real Me. As good a drummer as Keith Moon was sometimes he tended to overdo it with constant drum fills and symbol crashes. On The Real Me all of that is still going on but its played around a driving rhythm and it lets John Entwistle’s bass guitar go off in a virtuoso world of its own. But to great effect.

Work Drugs - Swimmer Girl

To get a sample of the new album from The War On Drugs I was searching around a few blogs to download an mp3. When I played it I thought ‘this is a new sound for them, smooth indie dream pop, but fair enough, sounds pretty good'.
When I played it again I realised that iTunes was wasn’t playing The War On Drugs but I had downloaded some band called Work Drugs (similar sort of name, so that’s where I went wrong).
I’d never heard of them but it turns out that they’re a duo from Philadelphia (also like The War On Drugs) who according to their website make music specifically for boating, sexting, dancing, yachting, and living.
I don’t know what that means but to mean its decent indie dream pop.



Download an mp3 of Work Drugs - Swimmer Girl from this link.

Great Cover #9 Nirvana - Here She Comes Now

The Velvet Underground have had their songs covered many times but I’ve never heard one version that is a match to the original version. That is apart from the Nirvana recording of Here She Comes Now that was originally on a split single with the Melvins but ended up on the With The Lights Out box-set.
The original is a short and gentle song from the otherwise abrasive and avant-garde second album White Light/White Heat. But Nirvana give it their full treatment and considerably boost it up in volume and length.
I would say that its actually better than the original.

Download Nirvana - Here She Comes Now from this link.

Great Opener #3 Massive Attack - Angel

Angel is the opening track from the Massive Attacks third and best album Mezzanine (Blue Lines comes a close second).
It fades in with a brewing bassline that can only be out looking for trouble. When Horace Andy’s vocals come in they’re more understated than on his previous tracks with the band but it only adds to the tension that’s building underneath.
Something has to give and after two and a half minutes boiling point is reached when some rock is added to Massive Attack’s trip-hop sound with a distorted guitar riff and beefed up drums.
I can’t separate Angel and the cover art to Mezzanine they both represent the album well, as in dark.



Get an mp3 of Massive Attack - Angel by clicking onto this link.

60 FT. Dolls - The Big 3

For me one of the best albums of the 90s and one that I still regularly listen to is by the Welsh rock trio 60 Ft. Dolls. After a string of great singles starting with 1994s Happy Shopper their debut album The Big 3 came out in 1996 (1997 in The States where they got picked up by Geffen Records) and there isn’t a dud song on it. Straight up tuneful rock songs.
The second album Joya Magica from 1998 saw them expanding their pallet with some piano, strings and horns. There’s a couple of acoustic songs and some in a more Brit-Pop style (one with a bouncy rhythm, Shed Seven type horns and lyrics about the summer. All the worse traits of Brit-Pop.) that don’t hit the mark. The best songs on the album are when they do what they do best, which is play tuneful rock songs.
The band soon split and another Welsh rock trio came on the scene to have a lot more success. But the Stereophonics have never made an album as good as The Big 3.

Download an mp3 of 60 Ft. Dolls - Happy Shopper from this link.

Howe Gelb - Felonious

“The piano’s stealing Lou Reed licks, licks that he probably stole."
Whether it be with Giant Sand, solo or various side projects such as The Band of Blacky Ranchette, Arizona Amp and Alternator or OP8, Howe Gelb’s musical output has been nothing short of prolific. There’s also many official bootlegs to go with the many official albums.
Out of all of them one of my favorite is 2003’s solo album The Listener. There’s the usual sound of Gelb’s picking at scabs acoustic guitar style, but it also features a lot of laid back piano and sparse string arrangements. Such as the second song Felonious with its brushes drums and Gelb’s close to the mic dusty tones in which he pays a homage to Lou Reed.
“The piano’s still stealing Lou Reed licks, licks he probably stole."

Download an mp3 of Howe Gelb - Felonious by clicking on this link.

Sonic's Rendezvous Band - Slow Down (Take A Look)

Been going through my hard rive and giving it a good cleanout. Mainly been deleting music files. Tracks that I have no intention of ever listening to, such as bad filler tracks on albums that only have a couple of good songs. Out! Live versions from bands who’s studio versions I rarely play. Out! Downloaded tracks that I was testing out but I never liked. Out!
Its tedious work, but I did come across some really good songs that I forgot I had.
Like the song Slow Down (Take A Look)from the Sonic's Rendezvous Band that I got from CD that came with a music magazine. I’d never heard of the band, but after looking into them it turns out that Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5 and Scott Ashton from The Stooges are in the band.
That makes sense as their raw garage rock sound is unmistakably from the Detroit Michigan area.

Download Sonic's Rendezvous Band - Slow Down (Take A Look) by clicking on this link.

Sigur Rós - Inni

There has been no action from Sigur Rós since 2008. Then last month their website revealed a trailer for Inni which is a DVD and double CD of the band's live performances at London’s Alexandra Palace.
I was at one of them gigs, and in truth it was a bit of a disappointment. Mainly because the main proportion of the show featured songs the recently released album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust which I didn’t get on too well with as their ethereal soundscape and sawing strings were replaced with playful up-tempo songs or ones with only singer Jonsi and a piano.

Another reason why I didn’t enjoy the gig as much as I thought I might is that Alexandra Palace is not a good place to see a band. Its not meant for rock music, also to get a drink you had to buy tokens and then go to another line to order the drink. So I spent way too much time in the venue queuing up.
But I’m sure that that won’t come across on the live CD, and as the songs are taken from two nights the track listing will hopeful span over their five albums.

No Doubt the song Svefn-g-englar that first grabbed my attention to the band will be on it. An old flatmate of mine came into my room when I was playing it and said "What is this poncy whale music shit?"
Yes it might sound like that but its a great piece of music.

Download Sigur Rós - Svefn-g-englar by left clicking on this link.

I Heard Her Call My Name

I recently went to visit my parents, and while in their garage going through boxes of C.D.s and cassettes I found a recording of me playing my first electric guitar. Saying that I was playing it is me being very generous to myself. At the time I knew a few chords but didn’t know any scales, though that didn’t put me off doing guitar solo’s where I played random notes up and down the fretboard. It didn’t help that the guitar was terribly out of tune either.
Its awful but not much more than Lou Reed’s erratic guitar solo’s on The Velvet Underground song I Heard Her Call Me Name. It sounds similar. It’s out of tune, abrasive, high pitched, metallic and sounds like it played with the same Yamaha guitar and cheep Peavey amp that I used.
Technically it’s the worst guitar solo put to record, but I find it endearing and its all part of one of my favourite Velvet Underground songs.

Hank Williams - The hmv Downstairs Section

Whenever I walk into the flagship hmv store on Oxford Street a nauseous feeling rapidly consumes me. After a very quick browse at what they have in the ‘new biggest ever sale’ I soon make my way downstairs to the blues/country/world/classical/soundtrack/ musical/folk/jazz/comedy section to get away from the crowd and the new Rhiannon or Kaiser Chiefs release that’s getting blasted out from the sound system.
I know this sounds like I’m old before my time but downstairs is just an all round better shopping experience. Okay so maybe not if you don’t like any of the music they have but even if I did want the new offering from Rhiannon or the Kaiser Chiefs I would still go down there to pay as the queue is almost non-existent.
Luckily I do like a lot of the music in the downstairs section and its where I bought my best ever value for money music purchase that is Hank Williams Greatest Hits. A two CD album with forty great songs for the price of six quid.

Get an mp3 of Hank Williams - Lost Highway by left clicking on this link.

Great Cover #8 (kind of) Beck - Burro

This is a great cover of the Beck song Jack-Ass by err… Beck. It first appeared as a B-side to the single but has since appeared on the deluxe edition of Odelay. Okay so it’s a re-working of the song but it sounds like a cover as its done in a full on mariachi style, complete with Beck singing in Spanish.
One of the main components of Jack-Ass is the sample of Van Morison’s old band Them performing Bob Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.
So Burro is sort of like a cover of a song that’s based on a cover of another song.
There’s another version called Strange Invitation which is stripped down to an acoustic guitar and strings. Its good but Burro stands out because it’s so different from the original.

Download an mp3 of Beck - Burro from this link.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

When Bon Iver’s first album For Emma, Forever Ago came out three years ago the story of the album - After the break up of his band and a relationship Justin Vernon went back to Wisconsin where he recuperated in his fathers isolated cabin out in the woods - along with rave reviews was a great selling point, and I soon bought it without even hearing a note. In the main it lived up to what I hoped it would be, especially with the songs Skinny Love, For Emma and Flume.
So where did Bon Iver go with the recently released follow up? Well in some parts he's gone back to the 80s with bad sounding synth and keyboard. On the last song there’s even some cheesy 80s saxophone. Also the vocals are in a falsetto that has as much range as a water pistol.
It’s a huge let down. Especially after the in-between EP Blood Bank. With the title tracks slightly distorted chords, varied vocal range and well written lyrics its with out doubt my favourite Bon Iver track.
Shame that on the second album he decided to sound like fucking Enya.

Download an mp3 of Bon Iver - Blood Bank from this link.

The Jim Jones Revue - High Horse

There’s not too much subtlety from the London five piece band The Jim Jones Revue. Everything is full on and raucous as they play old time fifties rock ’n’ roll in a garage style that sounds like Jerry-Lee Lewis playing with The Sonics.
I’m a recent convert and what with them being from London I’ll soon get around to seeing them play live. I imagine it to be bordering on shambolic, with a feeling that the wheels could come off at any minute. The way this type of music should sound live.
Only thing is that the next time they play in London its at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Not one of my favoured venues. If only I got into this band earlier then I could have caught them in a in a small sweaty place that skinks of stale beer. That’s this type of music’s natural home.



Download an mp3 of The Jim Jones Revue - High Horse from this link.

Great Cover #7 Pelican - Geometry of Murder

My teenage metal phase was brief. But for while there I only listened to Megadeath, Metallica, Slayer and Pantera. I don’t listen to any of them bands anymore but I still put on a metal record every so often. I would be into the genre a whole lot more if it wasn’t for the vocals. Many times I’ve liked the heavy distorted riffing, pounding drums and throbbing bass and then the growling cookie monster vocals come in and ruin it. I just don‘t understand why they pretend to be some kind of evil devil from hell, its childish pantomime. And I can’t stand the high pitched Brice Dickinson type vocals either.
That’s why I like the instrumental post-metal of Chicago band Pelican. None of that growling of operatic screaming with them. Its heavy grooves that don’t let vocals get in the way.
Here is really good cover of an Earth song. A band who don’t need vocals either.



Download Pelican - Geometry of Murder from here.

The Redlands Palomino Company

The Redlands Palomino Company are one of the best UK Alt-Country type bands around. Okay so on the surface there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of competition for that crown, but there’s a few knocking about. They’re a band that know their sound and don’t fret about wearing their influences on there sleeve. But what really sets them apart are the vocals. Some songs have slightly ragged voice of Alex Elton-Wall, some the smooth voice of Hannah Elton-Wall and sometimes they alternate like on the opening song Call Me Up from their recently released third album Don’t Fade. Its their first album in four years and sees them continue with what they do best. The Redlands Palomino Company don’t throw any curveballs into the mix, its ten straight up country rock songs with guitars, bass, drums and pedal steel. And it sounds great.

Download an mp3 of Call Me Up by The Redlands Palomino Company from here.

Guided By Voices - Glad Girls

There’s nothing more smug than an indie rock fan who says “I was into (insert name of band) before they became well known.” And if the band in question is Guided By Voices then that would take smugness to a whole new level.
I’m not one of them people myself as I only got into them when they released a best of compilation called Human Amusements At Hourly Rates. By then main man Bob Pollard had broke the band up. So unfortunately I never got to see them live or could look forward to new releases. But its okay as its never too late to get into a band, and Guided By Voices can easily become one of your favourites. I go through spells when they're the only band that I want to listen to.
Some of their songs are Lo-fi, some just a verse snippet that comes and goes before you know it. Then there's indie rock anthems like this:



Download Guided By Voices - Glad Girls mp3 from here.

Björk - Going Back To Debut

The last couple of days I’ve been listening to Björk’s first solo album Debut. Well its her first solo album if you don't include the one she recorded when she was eleven years old and the album of traditional Icelandic and jazz tunes.
The first time that I was aware of Bjork was when I saw an interview with her on MTV (back when MTV was worth watching). She was onset making the video for her first single Human Behaviour and spoke in an accent that I couldn’t place. When they played the video at the end of the interview it was clear that she didn’t sound like any other female pop singers. I was intrigued.
Venus As A Boy was another great single with a strange video, as was Play Dead (that was released as a single but not originally on Debut), but it wasn’t until I heard Big Time Sensuality that I realised that I really do like Bjork. It’s a song that I regularly listen to. A song that I never skip when it pops up on shuffle. And it has that great chord change at the start of the chorus. I never tire of it.
And another really good video.

Sugar - Some Real Power Pop

The other day I was flicking around the TV channels when I came across Top of the Pops 2. The song playing was the awful Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne. As I watched the in studio performance I realised something. That the band look as if they are in their thirties. After doing a quick Google search I found out that Fountains of Wayne had been going for years before they recorded Stacy’s Mom. When I first heard it on the radio I thought that the band must a crap new American version of Busted or McFly. Kids pop music with guitars.
Power pop bands pushing thirty or forty singing about being a teenager like Fountains of Wayne and Blink 182 are much worse than Hanson still singing Mmm Bop.
So let’s have some power pop that’s worth listening to. Husker Du had melodic pop sensibilities along with their frantic speed and buzz saw guitar. But when the band split up and Bob Mould went on to form another three piece called Sugar some of the melody’s were pushed to the front. Especially on the single If I Can’t Change Your Mind where Mould uses an acoustic twelve string guitar to give it a Big Star, REM sound type of sound.
It even got to number 30 in the UK charts. Back when some people cared about that sort of thing.

Download Sugar - If I Can’t Change Your Mind from here.

From Guitar Hero, Social Distortion

Apparently Foghat had a resurgence in popularity when one of their songs appeared on the video game Guitar Hero. Suddenly a whole new generation was being introduced to their crap boogie-blues-70s rock. It was my first introduction to Foghat as they are not at all well known in the UK, even though its where the band are from.
I played that edition of Guitar Hero and sure it was fun playing along to Foghat, but it was also fun to play along to the Scorpions. Neither bands I intend to listen to outside the realms of Guitar Hero.
After spending some time with the game Story of My Life by the Californian band Social Distortion is a song that I did want to investigate more. It sounds like a punk band covering Creedence Clearwater Revial and is much easier to play on an actual guitar than on the medium level on Guitar Hero. The album by the same name is worth getting too.



Download an mp3 of Social Distortion - Story of My Life from here.