You Do All The Living While I Do All The Giving

Time for a pelvis workout with Elvis Presley...or at least, you would if the camera operator hadn't deliberately gone for a close up. This is Presley performing Too Much on The Ed Sullivan Show in the USA on 6th January 1957, whilst broadcaster CBS tries to protect the nation from the smouldering, bequiffed sex symbol. 

 

Things get particularly frenzied around the 1:25 mark, when Elvis is swinging those hips (out of shot, natch) and the gallery decides that it can only defuse the situation for TV Land's impressionable youth by cutting to a close up of the guitar player. 

 

Elvis is backed by The Jordanaires, including Hugh Jarrett on the far left of the screen. Poor old Hugh is very quickly cropped from the remainder of the clip, apparently for alleged scene stealing as you can hear his increasingly prominent "Ba Doo" vocal throughout. 

Accordingly to my Apple Music collection, I last played this song on 12th November 2013. Long overdue for another airing then!

 

Too Much (Performed On The Ed Sullivan Show, 6th January 1957): Elvis Presley

Joy Is The Ploy

The second of three David Holmes mix CDs that I compiled for my friend Dave on 13th March 2005. I previously posted volume three in December 2021 and according to the stats, it's proved to be a popular Dubhed selection, hopefully with human beings as well as blogbots.

 

This one spans David Holmes' career from his first solo single in 1994 to his full band excursions with The Free Association, taking in a slew of remixes along the way. Johnny Favourite, here in it's downtempo, ambient B-side version, is a prime contender for The Vinyl Villain's It Really Was A Cracking Debut Single series. I remember buying the 12" single at Way Ahead in Derby, getting it home and putting it on my turntable, placing the needle in the groove and...being transported. Both versions are essential listening, in my opinion.

There are a couple of rarer Holmes songs here. Jackson Johnson originally appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Bow Down To The Exit Sign in 2000. I picked it up in the UK the following year on the excellent London Xpress compilation. In 2010, it became more readily available on the 'best of' collection, The Dogs Are Parading.

A little harder to find is Grumpy Flutter Pt. 1 which (I think) is only available on 1996 compilation, The Science Behind The Circle, itself highly recommended as it features additional tracks from Andrew Weatherall, Carl Cox, Secret Knowledge, The Aloof and Ashley Beedle, to name a few. Both Grumpy Flutter Pt. 1 and Jackson Johnson are an indication of Holmes' prodigious output and the quality of his music that these didn't even make it onto official singles or albums. 

Delakota's version of Don't Die Just Yet takes the form of a short narrative about a toxic couple in the Australian wilderness and was a 'remix swap', Holmes repaying the favour with an excellent rework of their track I Thought I Caught, which appeared on volume three of my mix CDs. 

 

I can never quite decide if I like the Manic Street Preachers remix; I invariably decide that I do. The mix CD's title is taken from a second remix of You Stole The Sun From My Heart that Holmes did. It appeared on a promo 12" in the UK and a promo Remixes CD in the USA and I've never heard it.

The remix of Dawn Of The Replicants' Skullcrusher is a particular favourite, as is Gone featuring Sarah Cracknell, which came in a package of really strong remixes with Alter Ego's second take a standout. 

Closing track, the Children Re-Mix of Everbody Knows was the opener of The Free Association selection I posted in June 2021 and works well whether it starts or ends a selection.

 

1) Johnny Favourite (Exploding Plastic Ambience Mix By David Holmes, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): David Holmes (1994)

2) Sugarman (VV Featuring Chilly Gonzales Remix): The Free Association (2003)

3) 69 Police (Skylab Remix By Matt Ducasse & Duncan Forbes): David Holmes ft. Sean Gullette (2000)

4) Jackson Johnson: David Holmes (2000)

5) Die Laughing (David Holmes Mix 2 By David Holmes, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): Therapy? (1994)

6) Swastika Eyes (David Holmes Mix) (Full Length): Primal Scream (1999)

7) Don't Die Just Yet (Delakota Mix By Cass Browne & Morgan Nicholls): David Holmes (1997)

8) Skullcrusher (David Holmes & Tim Goldsworthy Remix): Dawn Of The Replicants (1998)

9) Gone (Alter Ego Decoding Gone, Pt. 2) (Remix By Jörn Elling Wuttke & Roman Flügel): David Holmes ft. Sarah Cracknell (1995)

10) You Stole The Sun From My Heart (David Holmes' A Joyful Racket Remix): Manic Street Preachers (1998)

11) Grumpy Flutter Pt. 1: David Holmes (1996)

12) Everybody Knows (Children Re-Mix By Stephen Hilton & Pati Yang): The Free Association (2003)

Joy Is The Ploy (1:19:10)

Totally Together

I'd originally planned to post on Friday about Jesse Fahnestock's new single as 10:40, the rather wonderful Thickener, available in "full fat original" and "thinner" mixes and sporting a striking photo by Swiss Adam. 

 

No surprise then to find that I'd been pipped to the, er, post by Adam, who posted a Bagging Area review on Thursday. The slight pause for thought was actually for the best, as it inspired me to go back and create a playlist, bringing in Jesse’s wider music as 10:40, his collaboration with Darren Bell as Jezebell as well as remixes and re-edits from both projects. From there, I started sequencing a selection of tunes for an expanded post.

I developed a stinking cold yesterday - it always feels weird/worse when it's a gloriously warm, sunny day outside - and didn't get to finish the selection as my head was full of cotton wool. Woken by a sore throat (and a hungry, wailing cat) early this morning, and armed with a mug of steaming hot lemon, ginger and honey, I returned to the half-finished selection. I went back to Bandcamp and purchased a few 10:40 tracks and mixes that I didn't already have (I originally jumped on board in 2021 with 10:40's second album, All Of Us) and completed the selection you find here.

 

Apologies in advance for the sloppy cues, inept crossfades and bumbling beat matching. I'd like to blame it on my compromised physical health, but if you've listened to even one previous Dubhed selection, I think you know the score.

For your patience, you get 16 tracks over 89 minutes, spanning early mixes, tracks and re-edits and bang up to date with Jezebell's last two singles as well as their contribution to the excellent Shelter Me compilation. The latter is raising money for the housing and homelessness charity Shelter, a cause very dear to my heart. 

 

Appropriately, the selection closes with the song that started off the idea for this post, 10:40's Thickener, freshly released to the world on Wednesday 25th May. All in all, just what the doctor ordered for a Sunday... or any day, for that matter. Sod the cold, I'm dancing!

You can buy all of this music - and I strongly recommend that you do - respectively from 10:40, Jezebell and Paisley Dark Records via Bandcamp. The only exception is Uptick, where the original version and 10:40 remix of Universe is available as a free download on Soundcloud.

 

1) Green Shoots: 10:40 (2021)

2) Sleepwalker: 10:40 ft. David Rosenheim (2021)

3) Universe (10:40's Dark Matter Mix): Uptick (2021)

4) Hawaii (Album Version): 10:40 (2020)

5) Dancing (Not Fighting) (The Rhythm Stix Mix): Jezebell (2022)

6) Monster In The Middle (Interesting Lives Dub): 10:40 (2020)

7) On Marche (New Sheux Mix): 10:40 (2020)

8) Let Me Down Gently (10:40's Torn Parachute Dub): Spacemen 3 (2021)

9) "Bed Heads": Jezebell (2022)

10) Dizzy Dean: 10:40 (2021)

11) Allow The Beat (Dark Money Dub): 10:40 (2020)

12) Last Night But Three: 10:40 (2020)

13) Jezebelle Et Moi (Le Funk Et Moi): Jezebell (2022)

14) Stop Bajon (Primavera) (Jezebell Edit): Tullio De Piscopo (2021)

15) Left Behind Blues (Album Version): 10:40 (2021) 

16) Thickener (Thinner Mix): 10:40 (2022)

 

2020: Closer EP: 11

2020: Found Time: 4, 12

2020: Hawaii EP: 6

2020: On Marche EP: 7

2021: All Of Us: 1, 10, 15

2021: Paisley Dark Edits Box 6 EP: 14

2021: Sleepwalker EP: 2, 8

2021: Universe EP: 3 

2022: Dancing (Not Fighting) EP: 5

2022: Jezebelle Et Moi EP: 13

2022: Shelter Me: 9

2022: Thickener EP: 16

 

Totally Together (1:28:29) (KF) (Mega)

Moving Violations

Celebrating Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher of Depeche Mode, 8th July 1961 to 26th May 2022.

 

Without this blog becoming a musical obituary, I couldn't let more sad news this week pass with no comment or tribute. Last August, I wrote about seeing Depeche Mode live in concert at the age of 15, the first gig I'd ever been to. 

I'm going to let the music pretty much speak for itself today. This selection features both sides of a mixtape that I compiled 20th October 1990. By no means the first Depeche Mode compilation cassette I did, this one features a slew of remixes by François Kevorkian, Flood, Daniel Miller, The Beatmasters, Phil Harding, Tim Simenon, The Beloved, as well as relatively rarer (at the time) US mixes by Joseph Watt, Bert Bevans and Robert Margouleff.

 

A number of these are vinyl rips, so apologies for the variable audio quality.

 

Thanks, Fletch, you did good.

 

Side One

1) Route 66 (Remixed By The Beatmasters) (Cover of Nat King Cole & The King Cole Trio) (1987)

2) Sea Of Sin (Sensoria) (Remix By François Kevorkian & Alan Friedman) (1990)

3) A Question Of Lust (Remix By Flood) (1986)

4) World In My Eyes (Mode To Joy) (Remix By The Beloved) (1990)

5) Fly On The Windscreen (Death Mix By Gareth Jones) (1985)

6) Enjoy The Silence (The Quad: Final Edit By Tim Simenon) (1990)

7) The Things You Said (Album Version) (1987)

8) Nothing (Album Version) (1987)

9) A Question Of Time (Remix By Phil Harding) (1986)

 

Side Two

1) Behind The Wheel (Beatmasters Mix) (1987)

2) But Not Tonight (U.S. Extended Mix By Robert Margouleff) (1986)

3) Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix By Depeche Mode & Dave Bascombe) (1987)

4) Get The Balance Right! (Combination Mix By Daniel Miller & Depeche Mode) (Cold End) (1983)

5) Flexible (Pre-Deportation Mix By Bert Bevans) (1985)

6) (Set Me Free) Remotivate Me (12" Mix) (Edited By Joseph Watt) (1984)

7) Dangerous (Sensual Mix By Flood) (1989)

 

Side One (46:02) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two (45:38) (KF) (Mega)

Every Day It Feels So, Feels So, Feels So Real

A slight change of plan today, as my intended post has now been shifted to Sunday - all will become clear. Instead, I'm having another dip into my 2022 music purchases to bring you a selection of ten tunes, spanning the globe and all with a nod and a wink towards the dancefloor. The BPMs are relatively low on many, but they're damned persistent and infectiously groovy.

Starting off with the wonderfully titled Chuggernaut from Nottingham producers and DJs Disco Rogues aka Nick Kipsy and Dave Holland, followed by Pan In The Flash from Leeds-based Cosmikuro aka Jamie Minto, a highlight from the excellent Paisley Dark Records compilation Shelter Me. All for a good cause, as is the Support Ukraine Compilation on the Toy Tonics label, which I featured recently and represented here by I Think I See by South London duo Athlete Whippet aka Aviram Barath and Robin Braum.

 

Confidence Man's album Tilt continues to be the gift that keeps on giving since it came out in April, whilst John Tejada puts a new spin on an old rave classic to great effect. Humanoid was a solo vehicle for Brian Dougans, one half of The Future Sound Of London, Amorphous Androgynous and a million other aliases.

 

Another legend, Hubert Blanc-Francard of Cassius and La Funk Mob and more recently film composer fame, appears here as Boom Bass with a wonderful remix of Glatson by Nathalie Duchene. 

 

Things close out in a dub-inflected style with one of Raf Rundell's four reworkings of songs from Mattiel's Georgia Gothic album, imbuing the music and vocals with a spaciousness and depth that provides a perfect way to wrap up the hour.

 

Happy weekend, everyone. More - but very different - fun tomorrow!

 

1) Chuggernaut: Disco Rogues

2) Pan In The Flash: Cosmikuro

3) 'The Mayor Of Malt Rave St' (Pete's Give Them Shelter Remix): Pete Bones

4) Luvin U Is Easy: Confidence Man

5) Didgital (Original): Omri Smadar

6) sT8818r (John Tejada Remix): Humanoid

7) I Think I See: Athlete Whippet

8) Glatson (Boom Bass Remix By Hubert Blanc-Francard): Nathalie Duchene

9) Island Avenue: Zillas On Acid

10) Cultural Criminal (Raf Rundell's Salty Man Dub): Mattiel

 

Every Day It Feels So, Feels So, Feels So Real (59:36)

The Salesman Who Sold Himself

Today's selection revisits The Times aka Edward Ball. A little under a year ago, I hosted a three-day marathon, featuring Side 1 and Side 2 of The Times mixtape that I'd recorded in 1998, followed by an all new selection highlighting Ball's electronic experiments with The Times and Love Corporation.

The previous posts focused exclusively on Ball's time with Creation Records, effectively The Times Mk. II, and were inspired by a post on The Times Mk. I on the excellent (and hopefully currently only 'resting') Linear Tracking Lives!.

I didn't have much of the earlier phase of The Times, but Brian recently reminded me that at the tail end of 2021 Cherry Red released a beautiful box set of the six albums they released between 1982 and 1986, boosted by bonus songs to a whopping 126 tracks across 6 CDs. Duly prompted, I purchased the set and have been enjoying the deep dive into the albums. Great value for money, working out at less than 25p a song, not to mention the gorgeous packaging and enlightening sleeve notes from Ball himself.

Rather than solely focusing on this period, today's selection ambitiously (foolishly?) attempts a career-spanning retrospective across two imaginary sides of vinyl. So, you get 14 songs and just under 45 minutes of The Times, from 'lost' 1980 debut album, Go! With The Times (not released until 1985) to the final Creation album, Pirate Playlist 66, in 1999. In between, there are some EP tracks, a cover version and another 'lost' album, 1987's Sad But True, which bridged the Artpop! and Creation phases but remained unreleased until 1997. 

I'll try not to leave it a year before getting round to a selection of Edward Ball's solo ventures, as there are further treasures to polish and present there.

This one's dedicated to Brian.

 

Side One

1) Up Against It (Album Version) (1986)

2) Liam Gallagher Our Leader (1999)

3) Sold (1989)

4) I'll See You In My Dreams (1984)

5) Riot House (1987)

6) Picture Gallery (Album Version) (1982)

7) The Theme From "Danger Man" (Single Version) (Cover of Edwin Astley) (1982)

Side Two

1) Song For Joe Orton (1985)

2) The American Way (1986)

3) Ballad Of Georgie Best (1993)

4) On The Peace Line (1988)

5) (There's A) Cloud Over Liverpool (Album Version) (1983)

6) I'm With You (1980)

7) Power Is Forever (Single Version) (1984)

1982: I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape EP: A7

1982: Pop Goes Art!: A6 

1983: This Is London: B5

1984: Boys Brigade EP: B7

1985: Blue Period EP: A4 

1985: Boys About Town EP: B1

1985: Go! With The Times: B6

1986: Enjoy: B2

1986: Up Against It: A1

1988: Beat Torture: B4

1989: E For Edward: A3 

1993: Alternative Commercial Crossover: B3

1997: Sad But True: A5

1999: Pirate Playlist 66: A2

Side One (22:50)

Side Two (22:41)

Remix My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To

Happy birthday, Paul Weller, born 25th May 1958. 

 

From yesterday's sorrow to today's joy, celebrating 64 years of musical genius. It's not proven that Weller was composing music in the crib but I'm sure he was thinking about it.

I've had an on-off relationship with Weller's music, particularly his solo career, and sporadically purchase his albums, usually on the recommendation of friends and fellow bloggers.

What has always piqued my curiosity, however, has been Weller's openness to the art of the remix. From his earliest solo forays with the stunning Brendan Lynch remixes of Kosmos and Sunflower to last year's Fat Pop (Volume 1) reworkings by Pet Shop Boys, Jagz Kooner & Andrew Innes and Stone Foundation, they've always been of interest to me. At best, the songs are taken on a new, equally rewarding aural journey; at worst, they'll lift a song that I originally found less appealing.

So, to celebrate Weller's constant search for new sonic environments for his song ideas, here are 12 selections across the last three decades, coming in at a smidge under 64 minutes, one for each of Weller’s birthdays to date.

I have to give a credit to the superb Thirty Minute Paul Weller Remix Mix posted at Bagging Area in April, which planted the seed of inspiration for today's selection. I've managed to avoid duplicating any of Swiss Adam's selections, so I'd strongly recommend getting over there after listening to this for an extended Weller Remixed aural experience.

 

Tenuous link time: absolutely no apologies for today's punning post title; it came to me part way through the mix in a flash of inspiration (if you can indeed call it inspiration). The last time I featured Paul Weller (albeit as The Style Council) here was on 15th May 2022, which apparently was also the 7th National Pun Day in the USA (the UK seems to have plumped for 8th February instead). Either way, that's good enough for me.

1) Aim High (Aim Higher) (The Amorphous Androgynous Remix By Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain) (2010)

2) Phoenix (White Label Remix By Steve Aungle, Anth Brown & Tom Doyle) (2017)

3) That Pleasure (Get Involved) (Remixed By Stone Foundation) (2021)

4) Wishing On A Star (Steve Mason Remix For The Beta Band) (Cover of Rose Royce) (2006)

5) Brushed (Unreleased Brendan Lynch Remix #1) (1997)

6) Rockets (Jane Weaver / Mind Control Remix By Jane Weaver & Andy Votel) (2020)

7) Starlite (D-Pulse Remix) (2011)

8) Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (Remix By Brendan Lynch) (1994)

9) Fast Car, Slow Traffic (The Primal Scream Remix) (7" Version) (2010)

10) Rip Up The Pages (Lynchmob Mix By Brendan Lynch) (2008)

11) There's No Drinking After You're Dead (Noonday Underground Remix By Simon Dine) (2000)

12) Kosmos SX Dub 2000 (Remix By David Harry) (1993)

Remix My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To (1:03:53)

The First One Began With A Kiss Kiss Kiss, The Last One Ended In A Pulverized Fist

A celebration of Cathal Coughlan, following yesterday's tragic news of his death at the age of 61. Whilst many of my college friends were going ape over Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, I bought Viva Dead Ponies by The Fatima Mansions in 1991 and went down a different path. 

I'd heard and loved Blues For Ceausescu which, in typically contrary fashion, only made it onto the UK issue of Viva Dead Ponies as a 14-second loop (the US got the full 12" version). 

 

In 1994, I was fortunate enough to see The Fatima Mansions at The Fleece in Bristol, promoting what would turn out to be their final album, Lost In The Former West. Cathal Coughlan was absolutely compelling from the start, running through a loud, paint-blistering set. I'd taken a friend who didn't really know them, apart from a hastily-compiled mixtape I'd shoved his way ahead of the night, and who left thinking it was one of the best gigs he'd ever been to.

 

Cathal Coughlan had a rich body of work pre- and post-The Fatima Mansions, with Microdisney in the 1980s and as a solo artist from the mid-1990s onwards, taking in collaborative projects such as Bubonique (with comedian Sean Hughes), The Dead Sea Scrolls (with Luke Haines) and Telefis, his latest project with Jacknife Lee. All worthy of a deeper dive, but The Fatima Mansions will always bring back happy memories of my errant and angry youth.

 

This selection unintentionally omits debut album Against Nature (also highly recommended) but includes three tracks from each of the other three albums. Whilst I also have the excellent 'Only Solution' remix and John Peel session version of Blues For Ceausescu, it's the definitive 12" version here. I've also included the title track of 1991's Hive EP, which also featured the excellent Chemical Cosh.

 

Coughlan was also known for his singular cover versions, notably Bryan Adam's Everything I Do (I Do It For You) and a bastardized take on R.E.M.'s Shiny Happy People. I've gone for a much straighter reading of Leonard Cohen's Paper Thin Hotel, from the 1000% single. 

 

I've left off numerous personal favourites but I hope this selection goes some way to giving a hint of The Fatima Mansions careering course from politics to pop, beauty to brutality, raw to rock and all the points in between.

Side One

1) Hive (1991)

2) Your World Customer (1994) 

3) A Pack Of Lies (1990)

4) Purple Window (1992)

5) Blues For Ceausescu (12" Version) (1990)

6) Chemical Cosh (Album Version) (1990)

Side Two

1) Humiliate Me (1994)

2) Breakfast With Bandog (1992)

3) The Door To Door Inspector (1990)

4) A Walk In The Woods (1994)

5) Paper Thin Hotel (Cover of Leonard Cohen) (1992)

6) Be Dead (1992)

1990: Blues For Ceausescu EP: A5

1990: Viva Dead Ponies: A3, A6, B3

1991: Hive EP: A1

1992: 1000% EP: B5

1992: Valhalla Avenue: A4, B2, B6

1994: Lost In The Former West: A2, B1, B4

Side One (21:54)

Side Two (22:20)

Everybody Needs A Bosom For A Pillow

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 14th February 1998. I have no memory of this particular day so I can only hope that I'd woken early (as I do) to record this mixtape, rather than it being one of the least romantic Valentine's Days ever. I hasten to add that, either way, my girlfriend at the time was not the currently long-suffering Mrs. K.

This was definitely an attempt at an 'upbeat' selection, starting off with a Manchester two-hander from 808 State and Intastella, the latter remixed by A Certain Ratio's Martin Moscrop. Things then take a veer left(field) with possibly one of the maddest singles The Times/Ed Ball ever released, and that's including I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape. 

 

Next up is Mucho Macho's remix of Cornershop's Brimful Of Asha, from the 'flop' first release of the single in 1997. I had to check the dates but, a mere two weeks after this mixtape was recorded, Brimful Of Asha was re-released with a Norman Cook remix and went straight to #1 in the UK, where it remained for a further 12 weeks, 11 of those remaining above the #60 peak of the original release. Spooky.

 

Planetary Sit-In is Julian Cope in string-drenched pop-with-a-message mode, his last ever UK singles chart hit, #34 in October 1996. 

 

Stay was 18 Wheeler's biggest UK hit, charting at #59 in March 1997. Wikipedia damningly cites their biggest claim to fame as being the band that Oasis were supporting (at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in 1993) when Creation head honcho Alan McGee discovered the latter. Being on the same label clearly did 18 Wheeler no favours.

Fellow Scots The Apples fared similarly poorly with the record-buying public, managing just one UK #75 single, which isn't this one. This version appeared on the CD single, mis-labelled as the Stereo Guitar People Mix by Pete Lorimer. Ironically, this remix by James Reynolds is actually heavier on the guitar so you can understand the mix up. Reynolds arguably enjoyed much greater success, not least being the 4th Baronet of Woolton, having succeeded to the title in 2015.

Freak Power (aka Norman Cook & Ashley Slater) took two goes to have a hit with Turn On Tune In Cop Out, #29 in 1993 then #3 in 1995. Ashley Slater went on to appear in 2014 with his partner Scarlett Quinn as Kitten And the Hip in an excruciating X-Factor audition, which YouTube has preserved for posterity). Having survived this ordeal, the pair continue in a reformed Freak Power.

 

Not much to say about Groove Is In The Heart, other than Deee-Lite were a breath of fresh air in 1990 and this song still has the desired effect, three decades on.

 

Last but not least, the mysterious collective, The KK Kings. I heard this song originally on the soundtrack to the wonderful 1993 film Bhaji On The Beach. I think this was their only official single, though they'd previously released a promo, Justified & Ancient, which together with their prodigious use of samples, led to comparisons with The KLF. It's so much better than that and a shame that we didn't get to hear more from them.

 

As a final note, the mixtape title comes from a key line in Cornershop's Brimful Of Asha, which itself is the hook of the Mucho Macho remix. Despite all this, I still managed to write Everyone Needs A Bosom For A Pillow on the cassette sleeve. Again, either a case of not enough sleep or the worst Valentine's Days ever. Amazingly, I was in the same relationship the following year, but I have no record of whether Valentine's Day 1999 fared any better. It couldn't have been any worse, could it?

 

1) Lift (7" Version): 808 State (1991)

2) This Is Bendy (Remix By Martin Moscrop): Intastella (1991)

3) Finnegans Break (Edit By Ian Shaw & The Big Noize Supremists): The Times ft. Tippa Irie (1993)

4) Brimful Of Asha (Mucho Macho Bolan Boogie Mix): Cornershop (1997)

5) Planetary Sit-In (Album Version): Julian Cope (1996)

6) Stay (Radio Edit): 18 Wheeler (1997)

7) Beautiful People (Silver Sky Mix By James Reynolds): The Apples (1991)

8) Turn On Tune In Cop Out (Radio Mix By Norman Cook & Simon Thornton): Freak Power (1993)

9) Groove Is In The Heart (Peanut Butter Mix): Deee-Lite (1990)

10) Holidays (In The United KK Kingdom) (Extended) (Remix By Mikha K): The KK Kings (1994)

 

Side One (45:25) (Box) (Mega)

No Colours Or Shapes, No Sound In My Head

A return to my very infrequent selections based on past gigs I've attended. Today it's the turn of Goldfrapp.

 

Mrs. K loves Duran Duran* so when the original line-up, including errant guitar player Andy Taylor, reformed in 2004, then it was a no-brainer that we'd get tickets to see them live in concert. I'm not particularly a fan of Duran Duran or arena concerts, but the fact that the "special guests" were Goldfrapp was greatly appealing.

 

Being in Block G, Row H, I'll admit that the view of Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory and band was a tad distant and the nuances of the costumes and set pieces were a little lost on us. Aurally, the band were in great form and Alison inevitably in stunning voice. It was a relatively short support slot of just seven songs, heavily focused on second album, Black Cherry, with a couple of Felt Mountain tracks to open and their cover of Yes Sir I Can Boogie by Baccara thrown in for good measure. It's fair to say that for Mrs. K, like the PJ Harvey gig later the same year, Goldfrapp fell into the category of 'didn't like' but Duran Duran were great that night, so that's all that really mattered.

 

For today's selection, I'll dusted off some little-played remixes, the promo-only extended mix of Yes Sir and a nice new Italian bootleg re-edit of Lovely Head that I stumbled across recently.

 

1) Utopia (Sunroof Mix By Daniel Miller & Gareth Jones) (2000)

2) Lovely Head (Mix 2022 By Gianluca Avagliano) (2022)

3) Tiptoe (Album Version) (2003)

4) Twist (Single Mix) (2003)

5) Train (Ewan Pearson 6/8 Vocal) (2003)

6) Yes Sir (Extended Mix) (Cover of 'Yes Sir I Can Boogie' by Baccara) (2003)

7) Strict Machine (Paris Loaded) (Remix By Dave Bascombe & Tom Elmhirst) (2004) 

 

2000: Utopia EP: 1

2003: Black Cherry: 3 

2003: Train EP: 5

2003: Twist EP: 4

2003: Yes Sir EP: 6

2004: Strict Machine EP: 7 (aka Guitar Mix)

2022: Lovely Head EP: 1

 

No Colours Or Shapes, No Sound In My Head (41:41)

 

* Unlike my unconditional, arguably obsessive, love for certain acts, Mrs. K is a bit more discerning with Duran Duran. It's the original line-up only: little or no interest in their albums once Andy Taylor had slung his hook (both times).

Ever Dim, He Bollocks, He Liles

After yesterday's 40-minute excess of State Of Independence, there was really only one place left to go today. I give you Andrew Liles, self-styled multi-instrumentalist, sound artist and purveyor of "massive extensions of classic tracks. Elongations to test your endurance and revolt the purists."

 

Liles has previously focused his attention on the likes of Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Donna Summer, The Sisters Of Mercy, Van Halen and Iron Maiden. 

 

On Wednesday, it was the turn of Sex Pistols, ahead of the 45th anniversary of the release of God Save The Queen on 27th May 1977. It's not quite the excessive extreme of the 10-hour edit of Neu's Hallogallo, posted by Swiss Adam on Bagging Area on Monday as possibly the ultimate Monday Long Song. Neither is it the 73-minute stitch-fest of every Thin Lizzy guitar solo 1971-1983 by His Name Is Alive. 

 

However, 45 minutes of God Save The Queen is potentially enough to drive even the most fervent monarchist to recalcitrant behaviour. I love it.

45 Minutes Of 'God Save The Queen' For 45 Years (Andrew Liles Re-Edit): Sex Pistols (2022)

Bring Me To Meet Your Sound And I Will Bring You To My Heart

Vangelis aka Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου, 29 March 1943 to 17 May 2022.

 

Sad news about the passing of another musical genius. I haven't trawled the blogosphere, but the main musical focus in the news reports - understandably - has been his ground-breaking film soundtracks for the likes of Blade Runner and Chariots Of Fire.

However, his 'pop' (or at least as close to 'pop' as Vangelis got) excursions with Jon Anderson are equally worth a mention, especially the majestic State Of Independence, which I first heard as an 11-year old in 1982 when Donna Summer's cover version was a UK Top 20 hit.

Fingers crossed that you also like the song, for here's a 40 minute Dubhed selection of choice versions, opening with Jon Anderson's "this one goes up to 11" live performance with Todmobile, full-on orchestral and in incredibly good voice. Along the way you get Moodswings' dance rework (twice) featuring Martin Luther King and Chrissie Hynde, the Donna Summer 'original' (& best), a bootleg remix of Jon & Vangelis and closing with the 1981 album version, complete with cheeky calypso outro.

Vangelis' music will endure.

 

1) State Of Independence (Live @ Eldborg Concert Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland, 15 November 2013): Todmobile & Jon Anderson (2013)

2) Spiritual High (The Moodfood Megamix): Moodswings ft. Martin Luther King (1991)

3) State Of Independence (DSD Balearic Mix By Sparky Deep Sound Design): Jon & Vangelis (2013)

4) State Of Independence (Long Version By Quincy Jones): Donna Summer (1982)

5) Spiritual High (State Of Independence) (Radio Edit): Moodswings ft. Chrissie Hynde & Martin Luther King (1992) 

6) State Of Independence (Album Version): Jon & Vangelis (1981) 

Forty Minutes Of State Of Independence (40:36)

Return Of Thee Wild Party

Neu Tech by D.S.D. aka Damien Doherty has just been released as the closing track on the latest volume (six) of Thee Wild Party EP series via the always reliable Paper Recordings. It's a pulsing, insistent monster of a track that manages to evoke the last five decades of synth-based disco, whilst embodying the sound of right now. At a tad over eight minutes, I could easily listen to Neu Tech if it was twice as long, lost in the deep groove.

It's available on Bandcamp as an individual track, but I'd strongly recommend buying the entire EP, featuring Benny Pitcher, La Guardia De La Luz and a fantastic gospel-sampling opener from Lanowa.

 

Sean Johnston (A Love From Outer Space / Hardway Bros) describes Thee Wild Party Volume 6 as "all great!" and he's not wrong.