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Another selection ripped from music magazine cover mount CDs, this time featuring Paul Weller.

There seems to be such reverence for Weller in the likes of Mojo, Q or Uncut magazine that it's always a little surprising when, as with this year, one of his songs doesn't appear on the end of year 'best of' CD.

Personally, my relationship with Paul Weller's solo career has been in and out, mostly out, though I have enjoyed the handful of 21st century albums that I've heard.

This 13-song selection leans heavily on that period, with only a trio of songs from the 1990s, one original, one cover and one live version combining both. 

 

Paul Weller does like a cover version and whilst he's thrown in the occasional unexpected choice, no such surprises here with Neil Young, John Lennon, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan and (a bit of) Edwin Starr. But, what Weller does, he does well(er).

Given the disparate sources and time span, I think I've managed to sequence a coherent selection. If I were being a C90 cassette compilation purist, I would have dropped a track to keep it to 45 minutes or so. What the heck, it's Friday, have a free one on me!

1) Brother To Brother: Terry Callier ft. Paul Weller (2002)

2) Birds (Cover of Neil Young) (2004)

3) In Another Room (2020)

4) The Changingman (Live @ Glastonbury Festival) (2007)

5) Instant Karma! (Cover of John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band) (2002)

6) River Man (Cover of Nick Drake) (2010)

7) Has My Fire Really Gone Out? (ft. Max Beesley & Robert Howard) (1993)

8) I Shall Be Released (Cover of Bob Dylan) (1996)

9) Black River (2007)

10) Brushed (The Black Barn Sessions) (2020)

11) Satellite Kid (Album Version) (2017)

12) What Would He Say? (Demo Version) (2018)

13) (Can You Hear Us) Holy Man / War (Cover of Edwin Starr) (Live @ Civic Hall, Wolverhampton) (1994)

 

1993: Wild Wood: 7

1994: Live Wood: 13

1996: Out Of The Sinking EP: 8

2002: Instant Karma 2002: A Tribute To John Lennon (Uncut magazine promo CD): 5

2002: Speak Your Peace: 1 

2004: Studio 150: 2

2007: This Old Town EP: 9

2008: 22 Dreams: 9

2008: Live From Glastonbury (Q magazine promo CD) : 4

2010: No Tears To Cry EP: 6

2017: A Kind Revolution: 11

2018: The Mojo Anthology: 15 Rare & Unreleased Tracks From Our Legendary Friends (Mojo magazine promo CD): 12

2020: In Another Room EP: 3

2020: The Mojo Festival 2020 (Mojo magazine promo CD): 10

Free (48:45) (KF) (Mega)

The Sun Has Come Again To Hold You

Today's selection shines a spotlight on guest vocalists. All of the nine tracks have electronic leanings, veering from club to dub along the course of under an hour.

There will be some familiar names - Boy George, Texas, Elizabeth Fraser, Guy Garvey - and some less so, but they all add something unique to the song, even when put through the remix rinse.

 

Most of the artists will also be well known, with a couple of surprises tucked away. Cabana was a one-off collaboration between superstar DJ Sasha aka Alexander Coe and long-term producer Tom Frederikse. The former went on to global domination whilst the latter swapped music for law in 1999, specialising in Digital Media.

 

Battle Box was also a one-off project, this time for 3D aka Robert Del Naja, who pops up again with Massive Attack later in the selection.

 

The most unexpected pairing is perhaps Paul Weller and Boy George on One Tear in 2017. I haven't fact checked this at all, but was this their first time in the studio together since Band Aid in 1984? Whatever, it was worth the wait...!

 

1) Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix): Basement Jaxx ft. Blue James (1999)

2) Music Matters (Axwell Extended): Faithless ft. Cassandra Fox (2007)

3) Bailando Con Lobos (Goodmen Fresh Dub): Cabana ft. Sheila Schwok (1994)

4) Battle Box (Remix): Battle Box ft. Guy Garvey (2012)

5) The Hush (67% Mix): Rae & Christian ft. Texas (1998)

6) One Tear (Club Cut Alternative Version): Paul Weller ft. Boy George (2017)

7) Empire Ants (Miami Horror Remix): Gorillaz ft. Little Dragon (2010)

8) Group Four (Security Forces Dub) (Remix By Mad Professor): Massive Attack ft. Elizabeth Fraser (1998)

9) Strange Addiction (Bud Addiction) (Remix By Charlie May & Duncan Forbes): Spooky ft. Celestine Walcott-Gordon (2005)

The Sun Has Come Again To Hold You (58:22) (Box) (Mega)

Note: After yesterday's fiasco of accidentally leaving off Touch Me by The Doors from the Whatever Happened To Reg? selection, (running) order has been restored and you can now listen to/download the full playlist as intended. If you didn't notice the omission yesterday, please ignore this note and I may just get away with it...

Everywhere Yet Nowhere

Why has it taken me so long to post a Dot Allison selection? This one's been drifting around my consciousness for over a year, since Dot's spectacular return with Heart-Shaped Scars, her first album in nearly a decade.

I've been a huge fan of all things Dot since she emerged with One Dove in the early 1990s and I've followed her solo career over seven albums and numerous collaborations with the likes of Slam, Death In Vegas, Scott Walker and Sunn O))).

 

2022 saw the release of The Entangled Remix EP, featuring reworks of five songs by Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Lomond Campbell, Anton Newcombe, Saint Etienne and The Anchoress aka Catherine Anne Davies. Both the EP and Heart-Shaped Scars are available on digital and physical formats from Bandcamp and you really need both in your life.

Joy of joy, Dot posted this week that she's midway through her new album, mixing starts this month with a planned release in 2023. Too much to hope that Dot will go out on tour as well? Fingers crossed.

As I'd planned to post this selection on a Sunday, it's a slightly more relaxed affair, heavier on the acoustics than the electronics, although the BPMs do occasionally ramp up. It's a mix of solo and collaborations, spanning an unreleased, unfinished song, Untouched, from One Dove's planned second album in 1994 through to a song she co-wrote with Mark Peters, released as a single in July this year. The full length version of

Switch On The Sky appears with another Dot Allison co-write on Mark's album Red Sunset Dreams, out last month and also highly recommended.

There are a couple of cover versions of Scott Walker and Neil Young (I wanted to included another, of Daniel Johnston, but ran out of space) and a couple of duets with Pete Doherty and Paul Weller.

The selection closes with a version of Message Personnel, from Dot's debut solo album, here remixed by those lovely Arab Strap boys, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton.

 

All in, just over an hour of beautiful music to make you fall in love with Dot Allison all over again.

1) Lullaby: Christian Henson ft. Dot Allison (2009)

2) Did I Imagine You? (Album Version): Dot Allison (1999)

3) Montague Terrace (In Blue) (Cover of Scott Walker): Dot Allison (2009)

4) Ghost Orchid (Album Version): Dot Allison (2021)

5) Sell Me Back My Soul (Album Version): King Of Woolworths ft. Dot Allison (2003)

6) Allelujah (Album Version By Dot Allison & Kramer): Dot Allison (2007)

7) You Give Me Everything: Dot Allison ft. Tony Scott (2012)

8) Untouched (Dot Of The Jungle Version): One Dove (1994)

9) Sheepskin Tearaway (Album Version): Peter Doherty ft. Dot Allison (2009)

10) Wishing Stone (Album Version By Dot Allison & Keith Tenniswood): Dot Allison (2002)

11) Love's Got Me Crazy: Dot Allison ft. Paul Weller (2009)

12) One Love (Saint Etienne Remix): Dot Allison (2022)

13) Switch On The Sky (Edit): Mark Peters ft. Dot Allison (2022)

14) I Believe In You (Cover of Neil Young): Dot Allison (2003)

15) Message Personnel (Arab Strap Remix Long Version): Dot Allison (1999)

 

1994: Moon Angel (unreleased): 8

1999: Afterglow: 2

1999: Colour Me EP: 15

2002: We Are Science: 10 

2003: Acoustic: 14

2003: L'Illustration Musicale: 5 

2007: Exaltation Of Larks: 6

2009: Grace/Wastelands: 9

2009: Room 7½: 3, 11

2009: Triangle OST: 1 

2012: Pioneers 01: 7

2021: Heart-Shaped Scars: 4

2022: The Entangled Remix EP: 12

2022: Switch On The Sky EP: 13

Everywhere Yet Nowhere (1:01:26) (Box) (Mega)

Acoustic Tent

I've been catching up with the BBC's Glastonbury coverage on iPlayer this week: Róisín Murphy, Yves Tumor, Saint Etienne, Confidence Man, Bicep... the list goes on. I feel the need to calm things down a bit for Sunday so here's 45 minutes of acoustic loveliness for your aural pleasure.

Paul Weller gets things off to an atypically rousing start with a bit of effing and jeffing, but it's generally family friendly language from there on. Charlotte Hatherley pops up twice, once as a solo artist and again near the end with former bandmates Ash. Patrick Duff delivers a beautiful version of Moon River from Breakfast At Tiffany's and the selection closes with someone you might not expect.

 

1) Come On/Let's Go (Acoustic Demo): Paul Weller (2006)

2) Easy In The Sunshine (Acoustic): Emilíana Torrini (2000)

3) This Is The Day (Live Acoustic US Radio Session): The The (2000)

4) Murphy's Law (Acoustic) (Live @ Home): Róisín Murphy (2020)

5) Crystal Frontier (Acoustic): Calexico (2001)

6) I Want You To Know (Acoustic Version): Charlotte Hatherley (2007)

7) Buzzing Round The Honey Pots (Acoustic): Dot Allison (2009)

8) Moon River (Live Acoustic Version @ BBC Radio Bristol) (Cover of Audrey Hepburn): Strangelove (1996)

9) The Sea (Acoustic Demo): Morcheeba (1996)

10) The Party (Acoustic): The Dream Academy (1985)

11) Broken & Mended (Acoustic Version): The Blue Aeroplanes (1995)

12) Burn Baby Burn (Acoustic Version): Ash (2001)

13) Too Many Walls (Acoustic Version): Cathy Dennis (1991)

1985: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want EP: 10

1995: Sugared Almond EP: 11

1996: Sway EP: 8 

1996: The Music That We Hear (Moog Island) EP: 9

2000: Easy EP: 2 

2001: Crystal Frontier EP: 5

2001: Free All Angels (ltd 2x CD): 12

2006: Come On/Let's Go EP (Japan-only CD single): 1

2007: I Want You To Know EP (promo CD single): 6 

2009: Buzzing Round The Honey Pots (official website exclusive download): 7

2014: Move To This (Deluxe Edition) (2x CD): 13

2020: Live @ Home for Festival Marvin 9.5, 10th December 2020: 4

2022: Official Bootleg 005: 3

Acoustic Tent (45:47) (Box) (Mega)

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)

You're The Best Thing

I've never been one for keeping diaries or journals but three decades ago, I kept a record of my travels and trials in Australia. There's no specific entry dated 15th May 1991. However, due to the 9-hour time difference with the UK, an account from 14th May (which I specifically timed at 8.30pm), would have been written at the equivalent of 5.30am on 15th May at home, so that's good enough for me.

At this point, I'd rocked up at Coffs Harbour, a small coastal city a little over half way between Sydney and Brisbane. After wandering along the shoreline and on the beach, reading, drawing and taking in the sights, I was catching up with some writing when an old guy with a zimmer frame and a dog on a lead sat next to me. This was Jack Witts and a memorable few hours ensued.

We got talking and, small world that it is, I found that he had been born in Swindon and emigrated to Australia four decades ago. After chatting for a while, I accepted a lift to his local pub-cum-betting shop for a few lagers and more stories. Jack had lived an interesting life: stationed and fought in North Africa during World War II, adventures working on the railroads in Australia and misadventures on the road, travelling the vast continent. All fascinating to hear and the hours flew by...

...to the extent that I thought nothing of accepting when Jack offered a lift back to his place for some moonshine. As an older, more risk-adverse adult, I still wonder why I thought getting in a car with an old guy that I'd only met a few hours previously, heading to goodness knows where in the middle of nowhere, with the promise of some homemade hooch and a place to crash for the night was a good idea. But I did it.

Jack lived at the Koala Caravan Park, just off of the Pacific Highway, and it was almost exactly as I'd imagined: a ramshackle caravan with a sheet metal 'extension' and a flower bed border; one light in working order; ornaments  fighting for space with the TV; an antique oven unit and a bucket to piss in.

After a few more drinks and many more expletive-riddled stories, I decided it was time to leave. I was about 6km from Coffs Harbour and the hostel I was staying in, so it was going to be a push to get back there before midnight. My last sight of Jack was his head poking out of the caravan door, muttering to himself.

Of course, as soon as I hit the highway, it began to rain...and rain...and rain and Jack's offer of a place to crash didn't seem like such a bad idea after all. In another serendipitous moment, a passing car pulled over and the driver asked where I was going. "Hop in the back" he said and, in record time, I was back at the hostel to a warm shower and dry clothes. I only had dry bread and tea to try to soak up the hooch. I had the mother of all hangovers the following day, to the extent that I failed to book a seat on the next Greyhound and spent an extra couple of days in Coffs Harbour. A hell of a day, though.

On 15th May 2002, I was in Mauritius, walking along another beautiful beach, having just exchanged vows with Mrs. K. It was another momentous occasion and I'm still pinching myself that, two decades later, we get to share time and adventures together and create our own stories. As a aside/nod to Jack Witts, my nearest concession to homemade hooch is making Sloe Gin in the early years of our marriage.

We weren't alone on that beach walk as, a few steps behind us, a Mauritian wedding band gleefully doled out unique takes on some popular songs. The choices were somewhat limited - no chance of The The's This Is The Day or Billy Idol's White Wedding, for example - and "our" song was, depending on whether you ask me or Mrs. K, was a classic by The Troggs, at a push R.E.M. and definitely not ever by Wet Wet Wet.

The trio also didn't have You're The Best Thing by The Style Council in their limited repertoire, but I really wish they had as it's one of the finest pop/love songs ever written and recorded.

You're The Best Thing was released as a double A-side single in the UK, titled Groovin', on 26th May 1984, the day after Paul Weller's 26th birthday.  I'm now twice that age and can still only dream of writing such a beautiful and resonant song. 

This isn't "our song", Mrs. K isn't even particularly a fan of The Style Council or Paul Weller's music in general, but You're The Best Thing perfectly sums up how I feel about Mrs. K today.

I could be discontent and chase the rainbows end
I might win much more but lose all that is mine
I could be a lot but I know I'm not
I'm content just with the riches that you bring

 
I might shoot to win and commit the sin
Of wanting more than I've already got
I could runaway but I'd rather stay
In the warmth of your smile lighting up my day, the one that makes me say

 
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world
You're the best thing that ever happened, so don't go away

 
I might be a king and steal my people's things
But I don't go for that power crazy way
All that I could rule I don't check for fools
All that I need is to be left to live my way, listen what I say

 
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world
You're the best thing that ever happened, so don't go away
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world
You're the best thing that ever happened, so don't go away

 
I could chase around, nothing to be found
But why look for something that is never there
I may get it wrong sometimes but I come back in style
For I realise your love means more than anything
So not makes me say

 
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world
You're the best thing that ever happened, so don't go away
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me or my world
You're the best thing that ever happened, 

now don't go, I say don't go, no no, don't go away

 

You're The Best Thing: The Style Council (1984)

Shout To The Top

This came out earlier this month, but it was put on my radar by the ever brilliant The Vinyl Villian music blog. JC's post highlights Hifi Sean, perhaps better known by people of a certain age and musical persuastion as Sean Dickson, lead singer with The Soup Dragons. This time around, he's completely rebuilt and remixed a cover version of The Style Council 80s classic, originally released by Fire Island in 1998 and featuring disco diva Loleatta Holloway (also infamous for the belting sample that drove 1989's Ride On Time by Black Box).

 

When you've got Paul Weller, Pete Heller & Terry Farley (Boy's Own), Loleatta Holloway and Hifi Sean in the mix, you really can't go wrong. There are three Hifi Sean mixes, all on YouTube and all worth a listen to brighten up your day.

 

I'd highly recommend checking out Hifi Sean's other music too, especially his 2016 album Ft., which is truly brilliant. Big thanks to JC @ The Vinyl Villian for opening my ears.

 

Hifi Sean on Bandcamp

Fire Island / Farley & Heller on Bandcamp