Burn Baby Burn

Sunday 5th November is officially Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night if you prefer, although most of the displays in my neck of the woods inevitably took place on Saturday night. 

Things have changed dramatically since I was a kid. The weeks leading up to 5th November used to see children pitched up outside the local newsagents with a badly stuffed and clothed effigy and calling out for a "penny for the Guy". This year my local shop had a copper-hued approximation of Spongebob Squarepants, no kids and no indication of whether poor ol' Bob was going to end up on the pyre come the evening's festivities.

Hallowe'en was virtually non-existent as a "thing" when I was growing up but seems to have completely taken over from Bonfire Night in the last few decades. We were in Valencia for the former, which is followed on 1st November by el Dia de Todos los Santos ("All Saints Day" itself derived from the pagan festival "All Souls Day"), a national public holiday and a time to remember and honour the dead.

From a meteorological perspective, there couldn't have been a greater contrast. Hallowe'en and All Saints Day were bright and sunny, with temperatures in the mid-high 20s; Bonfire Night was bloody freezing and it had been raining for much of the day. We've not been to the local firework display since Lady K very quickly lost interest in it as a child and this year was no exception. Bah. And humbug.

However, it does give me an excuse to pull together a (let's face it, verrrry loose) Dubhed selection based on fireworks, bonfires and fires in general. Spoiler alert: despite the title, Ash doesn't feature at all.

What you do get for starters is a one-off collaboration between The Go-Betweens and The Birthday Party from 1982. From there, a trio of 1986 treats by XTC, Elvis Costello and Ciccone Youth, with more 1980s gems from Redskins, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Tom Robinson following later.

On Thursday, Walter - he of the excellent A Few Good Times In My Life blog - waxed lyrical about the 50th anniversary reissue of classic film The Wicker Man. As noted, Bristol legend Katy J Pearson was invited to cover a number of the soundtrack's songs. Katy brought some friends along, including Drug Store Romeos, Wet Leg and Sarah Meth for a spine-tingling version of Fire Leap.  

Speaking of covers, the only song I have by Joensuu 1685 is their full-volume cover of I'm On Fire by The Boss. The Helsinki-based band comprises three Joensuus - Markus, Mikko and Risto - though only the first two are related. Their second album was released in 2020 so I assume that they're still a going concern.

It would be remiss of me not to include a Spanish band in this selection and whilst they hail from Madrid not Valencia, who better than the raucous Hinds? 

By complete contrast, things drop down to a much more sedate level for the closing song, The KLF adding a chilled country twang to Build A Fire from their seminal album The White Room.

 

1) After The Fireworks: Tuff Monks (1982)

2) Sacrificial Bonfire: XTC (1986)

3) Indoor Fireworks: The Costello Show ft. The Attractions & The Confederates (1986)

4) Burnin' Up (Mike Watt Original Demo) (Cover of Madonna): Ciccone Youth (1986)

5) Building A Fire: James & Brian Eno (1994)

6) Worn From The Fight (With Fireworks): Castanets (2009)

7) (Burn It Up!) Bring It Down (This Insane Thing) (12" Version): Redskins (1985)

8) Light/Fireworks: The Fall (1993)

9) Fire Leap (Cover of Magnet): Katy J Pearson ft. Drug Store Romeos, Wet Leg & Sarah Meth (2023) 

10) Bonfire: Lamb (1999)

11) Fireworks (12" Version): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1982)

12) I'm On Fire (Cover of Bruce Springsteen): Joensuu 1685 (2009)

13) Looking For A Bonfire (Unreleased Alternate Recording): Tom Robinson (1984)

14) Burn: Hinds (2020)

15) Build A Fire (1991 Album Version): The KLF ft. Maxine Harvey (1991)

 

1982: After The Fireworks EP: 1

1982: Fireworks EP: 11

1985: (Burn It Up!) Bring It Down (This Insane Thing) EP: 7

1986: Burnin' Up/Into The Groove(y) EP: 4

1986: King Of America : 3 

1991: The White Room: 15

1993: The Infotainment Scan: 8

1994: Wah Wah: 5

1997: War Baby: Hope And Glory: 13

1999: Fear Of Fours: 10

2009: Texas Rose, The Thaw, And The Beasts: 6

2010: I'm On Fire / Perfect Grace EP: 12

2016: Skylarking (Steven Wilson Mix): 2

2020: The Prettiest Curse: 14

2023: The Wicker Man EP: 9

Burn Baby Burn (59:13) (KF) (Mega)

Another Green World

Sides 1 and 2 of a Moby mixtape, compiled 11th April 1999.

Apologies to those of you who may have read the title and been expecting a lovely Brian Eno ambient compilation to ease in your Sunday. Yer man Eno does appear on side 2, track 3 albeit remixed by the great great great grandson of Herman Melville.

I appreciate for quite a few people out there, Meville's descendant may be considered more Dick than Moby but I was obsessed with Moby's music throughout the 1990s, after hearing the Twin Peaks-sampling monster that is Go. 

Much as I loved his all-pervading album Play, it was wrung out to such an extent that I stopped listening to it for many years, whilst 18 and the albums that followed have been patchy listens that, aside from a few diamonds on each, often felt like they were mining to same seam, with diminishing returns.

This selection was one of three cassettes that I recorded in 1999, on the back of Play but completely ignoring it, mainly for my own pleasure. I also lent them to my mate Paul, as a sampler of Moby's work, pre-Play. I've only got two of the three mixtapes now, so it's possible the other is either still with Paul (we lost touch over the years) or buried in a landfill somewhere.

This selection focuses on the period 1991 to 1997, covering Moby's first four albums, singles and remixes of his own and other people's music. I've also thrown in a couple of his aliases from 1991, Brainstorm and Voodoo Child, the latter periodically revisited by Moby through to the early 2000s. 

Depending on your view of Moby, you're either in for just over an hour and a half of musical delight, or a split second on the 'skip' button. No surprise, I'm firmly in the former camp.

Side One

1) Now I Let It Go: Moby (1996)

2) Everytime You Touch Me (Album Version): Moby ft. Rozz Morehead & Kochie Banton (1995)

3) I Feel It (Synthe Mix): Moby ft. Nicole Zaray (1992)

4) That's When I Reach For My Revolver (Moby's Mix) (Cover of Mission Of Burma): Moby (1997)

5) James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version) (Cover of John Barry & Orchestra): Moby (1997)

6) Move The Colors (Edit By Moby): Brainstorm (1991)

7) Heaven: Moby (1993)

8) Yeah: Moby (1992)

9) My Beautiful Blue Sky: Moby (1993)

 

Side Two

1) Hymn (This Is My Dream) (Single Version): Moby (1994)

2) Go (Arpathoski Mix): Moby (1992)

3) Fractal Zoom (Naive Mix II): Brian Eno (1992)

4) All That I Need Is To Be Loved (Moby Dub): Moby (1993)

5) Bring Back My Happiness! (Extended Mix): Moby ft. Rozz Morehead & Saundra Williams (1995)

6) Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (Single Version): Moby ft. Rozz Morehead & Carole Sylvan (1993)

7) Permanent Green: Voodoo Child (1991)

8) Help Me To Believe: Brainstorm (1991)

9) Love Song For My Mom ('Little Idiot' Version): Moby (1996) 

 

1991: Instinct Dance: A6 

1991: Rock The House EP: B8

1991: Voodoo Child EP: B7

1992: Fractal Zoom EP: B3

1992: I Feel It / Thousand EP: A3 

1992: Moby: A8 

1992: The Ultimate Go (The '92 Mixes) EP: B2

1993: All That I Need Is To Be Loved EP: B4

1993: Ambient: A7, A9

1993: Move EP: B6

1994: Hymn EP: B1

1995: Bring Back My Happiness! EP: B5

1995: Everything Is Wrong: A2

1996: Animal Rights: A1 

1996: Animal Rights / Little Idiot (ltd 2x CD): B9

1997: I Like To Score: A5

1997: That's When I Reach For My Revolver EP: A4

 

Side One (46:22) (Box) (Mega)

Side Two (46:34) (Box) (Mega)

Think For Yourself And Question Authority

I'm a big fan of Richard Norris and Dave Ball's respective and prolific careers in music, so it's little surprise that I also love their work together as The Grid.

As well as hit singles and albums of their own, The Grid were ubiquitous remixers throughout the 1990s and I'd often buy a single by an artist that I wasn't all that fussed about because there was a remix by The Grid included.

Today's selection therefore focuses on The Grid as remix artists, drawing from 1990 to 1994, including a remix of themselves (featuring Dr. Timothy Leary) and Dave's former band, Soft Cell. Your Loving Arms by Billie Ray Martin initially scraped into the UK Top 40 in November 1994, but triumphantly returned to #6 when re-released in May 1995.

 

Some personal favourites from Sparks and Brian Eno, a couple of rarer tracks by Stex (featuring Johnny Marr) and Ragged Jack and single remixes of Sophie B. Hawkins and If? that I think improved on the original versions. 

 

And what better way to end than with World Of Twist? Their album Quality Street was produced by The Grid and deserved so much better than #50 in the UK album chart, as single Sweets (criminally peaked at #58) attests.

1) Still Feel The Rain (The Grid Mix): Stex ft. Johnny Marr (1990)

2) Your Loving Arms (Original Radio Edit By BRM & The Grid): Billie Ray Martin (1994)

3) Origins Of Dance (Electronic Future Mix By The Grid): Dr. Timothy Leary Meets The Grid (1990)

4) When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' (The Grid's Frank And Nancy Mix): Sparks (1994)

5) Memorabilia '91 (Extended Remix By The Grid): Soft Cell (1991)

6) Saturday's Angels (Elevator Heaven Mix By The Grid): If? (1991)

7) Right Beside You (The Grid 7" Mix): Sophie B. Hawkins (1994)

8) Ali Click (Long Trance Mix By The Grid): Brian Eno (1992)

9) Grid Radical (Twilight Mix By The Grid): Ragged Jack (1992)

10) Sweets (Album Version By The Grid): World Of Twist (1991)

Think For Yourself And Question Authority (55:09) (KF) (Mega)

Into Numberless Reflections

A slightly premature celebration of the birth of Christa Päffgen aka Nico, who would have been 84 on 18th October. Sadly, Nico passed on 18th July 1988, shy of 50, a bicycle accident bringing an untimely end to a complex, troubled and brilliant life.

 

Today's selection is pretty much all I have by Nico, a mixture of her lead vocals with The Velvet Underground, solo and live tracks from the mid-60s and early 70s, a mid-80s album track from the excellent One Pound Ninety-Nine compilation and a few live covers of David Bowie, the Velvets and The Doors. Pops, crackles and hisses betray the original source material.

The title is a line from Nico's 1968 song Frozen Warnings, here presented as a John Peel session a few years later. The photo is a chance discovery in September of a mythical beast, carved in wood, and seemingly abandoned atop a shipping container in a yard on the outskirts of Gloucester Quays.

 

Oh, and we've got hot water again. Hooray for Clan K.

 

1) All Tomorrow's Parties (Album Version By Andy Warhol): The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

2) Win A Few (Album Version By John Cale): Nico + The Faction (1985)

3) "Heroes" (Live @ Saltlageret, Copenhagen) (Cover of David Bowie): Nico ft. Smarkand (1982)

4) Femme Fatale (Mono Single Version By Andy Warhol): The Velvet Underground & Nico (1966)

5) I'm Not Sayin (Single Version By Andrew Loog Oldham) (Cover of Gordon Lightfoot): Nico (1965)

6) Waiting For The Man (Live @ Fagins, Manchester) (Edit) (Cover of The Velvet Underground): Bauhaus ft. Nico (1981)

7) Frozen Warnings (John Peel Session): Nico (1971)

8) I'll Be Your Mirror (Album Version By Andy Warhol): The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

9) Afraid (Album Version By John Cale): Nico (1970)

10) The End (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London) (Cover of The Doors): Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno & NIco (1974)

Into Numberless Reflections (50:01)

I Hear Your Voice At Night When I Turn Out The Light

Happy 80th birthday, John Cale.  

John Cale is back on tour in the UK in July, his first for nearly a decade.

Lazy Day: John Cale (2020)

Spinning Away: Brian Eno & John Cale (1990) 

Frozen Warnings (Cover of Nico): John Cale (2012)

Close Watch: John Cale (2015) 

Corner Of My Sky: Kelly Lee Owens ft. John Cale & Michael Sheen (2020)

The Gift: The Velvet Underground (1968) 

Venus In Furs (Demo / John Cale Lead Vocal): The Velvet Underground (1965)

Hallelujah (Live, 1992 / Offical Video, 2016) (Cover of Leonard Cohen): John Cale (1992)

Now That's What I Call Jangly

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally compiled for me by my girlfriend, sometime around 1996. Despite the title, it's not entirely jangly but it is resolutely indie. She was a big fan of The Wedding Present, The House Of Love and James and I was immersed in their music for a few years. I haven't heard many of these songs in over a decade: I'd completely forgotten about Bedflowers; there's a lovely post about them on the Cloudberry Cake Proselytism blog, which provides some backstory. The Bowie track closing side 1 feels like a bit of an anachronism, though it may have been added because I loved the song so much. We didn't part on the best of terms, but this is a reminder of happier times and some great music.

 

1) Ceremony (1st Version By Martin Hannett): New Order (1981)

2) Road: The House Of Love (1988)

3) My Ex-Lover's Address: Bedflowers (1991)

4) Suck: The Wedding Present (1991)

5) Sensitive: The Field Mice (1989)

6) Push: The Cure (1985)

7) Pink Glove: Pulp (1994)

8) Five-O (Album Version By Brian Eno): James (1993)

9) The Old Main Drag (Album Version By Elvis Costello): The Pogues (1985)

10) Jesus Says: That Petrol Emotion (1986)

11) In The Heat Of The Morning (Mono Single Version): David Bowie (1967)

 

Side One (45:13)

Plague Songs

In 2006, 4AD released an album called Plague Songs, where a variety of artists perform songs based on the ten biblical plagues described in Exodus. The songs were originally commissioned and performed as part of Exodus Day on 30th September 2006 and you can read more about this on The Margate Exodus website.

The line-up is impressive: Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt, Laurie Anderson, Cody ChesnuTT, The Tiger Lillies, Imogen Heap, Scott Walker, Rufus Wainwright, King Creosote, Stephin Merritt/The Magnetic Fields and Klashnekoff; the reality is that the album is a hit-and-miss affair. I picked up my copy from a bargain bin at Fopp in Bristol many years ago for a couple of quid, so it was worth the punt.

 

You can listen to the entire Plague Songs album on YouTube. Rather than picking a "favourite" tune, I've mashed Scott Walker's acapella with Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt's layered 'human fly' swarm, with a little bit of tweaking and editing here and there to create a composite sampler. 

 

Normal service will hopefully resume on Friday. 

 

Flies / Darkness (Khayem's Phlegmatic Mash-Up): Brian Eno / Robert Wyatt / Scott Walker (2021)

 

Chic Thug Stuttered Through A Stereo Dream

I have too much collected music. Simple as that. I listen to music for at least 2-3 hours every day, directly tuned in through my headphones, in the background whilst I'm working from home or soundtracking my business commutes across Gloucesterhire. I try to discover new music, revisit old favourites and dust off songs neglected in the depths of my hard drive. This selection falls into the latter category, Apple Music stating plainly (though with a possible hint of cybernetic smugness) that I have failed to give any of these songs an airing since November 2013. Jeez, that's nearly 8 years ago, where did the time go?!

The common thread here - apart from the fact that they're all very long - is that I first heard them in the 1990s, a time when I was fully immersed in electronic and ambient music. Gavin Bryars' truly epic Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet dates from two decades previously, originally paired with his equally epic The Sinking Of The Titanic. However, like many, I first heard the song on the radio - possibly Annie Nightingale's wee hours BBC Radio 1 show - in the re-recorded version with Tom Waits from 1993, which places it with the other songs in this selection. 

The post title is a line from the album version of the opening song (in this remix arguably better titled Eno's Removing The Band), Brett Anderson trying to channel Mark E. Smith, perhaps.

 

1) Eno's Introducing The Band (Remix By Brian Eno): Suede (1994)

2) Mogwai Fear Satan (Mogwai Remix, LP Version): Mogwai (1998)

3) Democracy (The Russian Tundra Mix By Le Petite Orb & Sheldon Isaac): Killing Joke (1996)

4) Wild Horse (Global Mix Communication) (Remixed by Tom Middleton & Mark Pritchard): Nav Katze (1994)

5) Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (Album Version): Gavin Bryars (1975)

Chic Thug Stuttered Through A Stereo Dream (1:24:22) (KF) (Mega)

Zoo Time Is She And You Time

Side 1 of a mixtape cassette titled heartbeatincreasingheartbeat, recorded 25th September 1991. 

 

Back in Bristol after a year working and travelling in Australia, back at college for a second go at 'A' levels having dropped out after 6 months a few years previously, back living with my parents after a period of independence and freedom and back in local record shops, sniffing out new and old vinyl.

1) The Man With The Golden Arm (Full Length Version) (Cover of Elmer Bernstein): Barry Adamson (1988)

2) Strange Days: The Doors (1967)

3) Trip, Stumble & Fall: The Mamas & The Papas (1966)

4) De-Luxe: Lush (1990)

5) Theme II: Clan Of Xymox (1986)

6) Spoil The Child: Fad Gadget ft. Joni Sackett (1983)

7) This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us: Sparks (1974)

8) Thank You For Sending Me An Angel: Talking Heads (1978)

9) The Light Pours Out Of Me ('One Pound Ninety-Nine' Version) (Cover of Magazine): Peter Murphy (1985)

10) The Sleeper: John Cale (1985)

11) The Avenue: O.M.D. (1984)

12) The 'In' Crowd (Cover of Dobie Gray): Bryan Ferry (1974)

13) Wheels Of Fortune: Fad Gadget (1982)

Side One (47:19)

Find Side Two here